Christmas Eve Take Two

After our family spent some time together around our tree, we headed over to Mimi and Papa's for some more Christmas blessings. We enjoyed a wonderful, yummy dinner and some fun with family. When dinner was over the kids changed into their warm pajamas and took a few posed pics for mommy. I love these kids smiles! I asked the boys to give B a kiss under the mistletoe and Connor was all for it. Notice Jack is not so into it! Connor loves to love on his sister. Jack not so much anymore. He's too grown up for that!

The cousins took some pictures with their Aunt Tamara.

The Three Silly French Kids!

We had a wonderful Christmas Eve at Mimi and Papa's. We were all five truly blessed and received more than we could have expected to receive.
Next, we headed off to hop in bed and wait for the big guy in the red suit...

Christmas Eve Take One

Christmas Eve after some last minute shopping by all of us, we cleaned the kids up and decided to have our family time that afternoon before heading to Mimi and Papa's house. We sat around our Christmas tree and watched out the window as it snowed a beautiful white all over our yard. It was truly a surprising blessing to have a white Christmas.

As a family, we were very grateful to ALL be healthy this Christmas. That hasn't happened in, well ever... Our sweet Connor has continued to remain healthy with his white cell counts staying up. What a blessing!

Our family tradition is to open our gifts to each other on Christmas eve. This year the kids all saved allowance and actually bought each other very well thought out gifts. The boys got together and got Bailey a Webkin that she really wanted. The older two found Connor the cutest Medical cart and Dr. costume. He loves to play Dr. because he has been worked on enough to have the routine down!!! B and C pooled money and got J a new Nerf gun he has been wanting. I was so impressed with the thoughfulness that went into each of their gifts for each other.

Then they each opened up the gifts mommy and daddy got them. Bailey got a new book, shocker, B wanting to read. Connor got a new Spiderman t-shirt, he loves Spiderman. He put it on over his clothes. Jack's gift was the best. Mommy decided to play a little joke on my jokester. He got Spiderman undies in his gift box from us. He tried so hard not to look disappointed. His face was too sad to keep the joke up too long. So, mommy pulled out another box for him. He was so relieved! He actually got a Florida Gators shirt. He really likes Tim Tebow and I couldn't swing a Tebow shirt ($120 ouch) so a Gators shirt did the trick. He loved it.

Blessed are those whose strength is in you, who have set their hearts on pilgramage. Ps. 84:5

Happy Holidays!

Be Joyful always. 1 Thessalonians 4:8 Love,
Jack (9 1/2), Bailey (8), Connor (3 1/2) and Princess Lulu Buttercup!

The Richardson Christmas Parade

The first Saturday in December was spent decorating the house, getting in the spirit and being in a parade in 20 degree weather! Both kids are in scouts this year so they were both in the city Christmas Parade. The theme was Texas Christmas. Our kids sang a song called, The Twelve Days of Texas Christmas. It was very cute. Here are Bailey and some of her girl scout buddies sitting on the float waiting for it to pull out. It was a beautiful day, but very cold!

Jack never got cold! He has too much energy to get cold. Greg walked along beside them and I waited inside Sears for them to get back! Mommy doesn't like the cold very much.

November Recap- A little late!

November was a fun filled month!
My sweet baby Connor had his Pre-School Thanksgiving Program the Thursday before Thanksgiving. Every age was something different. The two's were Pilgrims, the three's were Indians and got to pick an Indian name. Connor picked Porcupine Bear! He was the cutest Porcupine Bear! The four's were very cute turkeys. Connor had been singing his Indian songs to me in the car for weeks! I knew them forward and backwards! Sadly, I didn't know a word of my four year old classes songs:( It was so much fun to watch Connor sing and act cute on stage. Daddy got caught in traffic and missed the whole thing. We were so sad, but Connor didn't mind singing his songs to Daddy at home. Doesn't he have the cutest smile!

The next week, after Connor and I were out of school, the older two had their annual Turkey Trot. I got a good shot of Jack as he flew past me at the start of the first lap. He was about half way back in the pack at that point. By the time he came back into sight around the school he was in third place and he never looked back!

Jack moved from 7th place last year to 3rd place this year, and no one was really close to him! We were cheering so loud and were so proud of him.

Later in the afternoon Bailey came out to run. This is actually her right after she crossed the finish line. I couldn't get a picture of her running. She improved her finish from last year, and she never quit running! I was so proud of my girl who tells me all the time, " I don't like to run!"

The Birthday Girl

Behold, children are a heritage from the Lord...
So this year Bailey turned eight! I still find it really hard to believe that my sweet baby girl is already 8! Everyone knows Bailey loves birthdays and has had hers planned for a least a year. She actually got to celebrate for 3 weeks!!! First, the weekend that we all got sick around here her Aunt Gretchen took her to the American Girl Doll Store to have brunch with one of her dolls. She loves doing this and it is the second year her aunt has taken her. Then the next weekend on Sunday her Memaw and G-Dad came into town and brought cupcakes and presents and she got to celebrate again. (No, she doesn't wear glasses, she loved wearing them with her costume and continues to put them on for fun)

Finally, after all of that celebrating the day was finally here... I always take a picture of the kids in bed before they get up on their birthday and she was ready to get up this morning. Usually I have to drag her out of bed, not a morning person.

She got dressed for school and then got to open her gifts from us. The boys got her a new Webkin (Connor's idea) and a new book she wanted (Jack's idea). Mommy and Daddy gave her new black boots, a new necklace, a cute nightgown and a cute new shirt. She loved it all.

Here are 8 fun facts about Bailey...

1.She loves school. She loves anything school, reading, writing, math, science...

2.She is a very loyal friend.

3.She is very helpful around the house. She loves to clean!

4.She is a planner. She is always making lists, wonder where she got that, hehe.

5.She has the biggest heart. I love her sweet spirit.

6.She worries too much. Another thing she probably got from me!

7.She loves clothes and shoes. She is such a girlie girl.

8.She is beautiful, inside and out!!!

Happy Birthday my sweet Baileybug!!!

Halloween Fun

I am really behind in my blogging! The week before Halloween our family was hit hard by the swine flu! It was not a fun week to live in the French household. By Halloween night all of us had been fever free for over a day so we decided to celebrate with some pumpkin carving and dressing up! They all three loved carving the pumpkin, but for some reason I didn't get one picture of our carved pumpkin. It was so cute this year. Jack made up the design and daddy carved it out for us. As usual, Bailey and I are the only ones that got our hands dirty. The boys detest pulling the seeds and gunk out.

After carving we got our costumes on. I love, love, love Connor's costume this year. If you know Connor at all you know he loves horses. He actually still calls them Neigh, Neighs. Too cute! He was the cutest cowboy on a horse ever!!!

Jack was Harry Potter and had been growing his hair out just for his costume. A few days after Halloween we took him to get a hair cut. He loves to read the Harry Potter books and this costume was a good compromise for a mommy who isn't ready for him to be a gross character.

Bailey was a cute 50's girl. Her Memaw made her this adorable hot pink poodle skirt. She loved it. It was too big on her and will probably fit her for many years to come! After we trick or treated our street we headed over to Mimi and Papa's for a good scare and a fun "gross" dinner.

Papa always comes up with some fun way to scare the kids each year. This year he came out from behind a tree as they rang the door bell dressed as a ghoul with glowing red eyes. I don't think the older kids were scared this year but Connor and Brooke were not happy with Papa! I took pictures outside but they didn't turn out at all. Mimi made us a fun dinner complete with scary foods! Heart parts, monster brains, tombstone cupcakes and other spooky foods.

Aunt Tamara brought pumpkins for them to decorate and they had a blast. About this time of the evening Jack and I were getting very tired. It took the two of us longer to get over the flu.

Connor went over board with the stickers! He really loved Halloween this year. Not just the candy, he loved the decorations dressing up and helping Jack and Bailey make bats, and jack o lanterns to decorate our front window. Sometimes I forget he is 3, he is growing up so fast.
After a long, eventful day, we headed home exhausted to fall into bed and gain an hour of sleep!

Pearce Mustangs!

Last Friday before all this swine flu happened around our house, another blog, we spent a fun, crisp and cool night at the football field. Bailey attended the Pearce cheer clinic a few weeks ago and one of the perks is they get to cheer with the Varsity Cheerleaders at a home game. It just happened to be the same Friday that Greg was out of town and the same Friday that Jack started acting sick but we made the best of it and had a good time. Bailey and her friend Bella got flowers from their super sweet teacher after they performed. They love their teacher and I love that they have a teacher who would take time out of her Friday night plans to come and watch them and bring them a surprise. We are truly blessed.

I couldn't get a good shot of the girls cheering and they wouldn't look my direction, they were too busy looking at their teacher in the stands!

This is the third year that we have done this camp and probably the last, but it was fun to watch B on the big field cheering her heart out!

Pumpkin Patch Adventures

These are the children God has given me. God has been good to me... Gen.33:5 I love, love, love this time of year. The cooler weather, the warmer clothes, the beautiful colors, the pumpkins and leaves and football! When we finally got a little break in the rain, we headed to our local pumpkin patch to pick some pumpkins for our yard. Jack looks so old to me all of a sudden. He is really growing up this year.

This was my favorite picture of the afternoon. I am truly blessed by three wonderful children. After they all gave me their best smiles we ran around and picked out our pumpkins to take home.

Bring on Fall!

Cheer Clinic

Last Saturday was the Annual Pearce Cheer Clinic. This was Bailey's 3rd year to attend but the first without the Milegar twins running it. Bailey loves the twins and really enjoyed watching them cheer at high school games for the last few years. I wasn't sure she would feel as comfortable going without them but she surprised me! Several of her sweet friends also attended and that made it all that much more fun. They learn several yells, and a cheer and a "dance". Not much dance, more yelling. One more perk of the camp is that the girls get to attend a Pearce home game and go on the field to cheer the team on and do a yell for the crowd. That game is in a few weeks.

This is B with her best buddy Isabella and the cheerleader that ran their group.

Silly cheerleaders!

Her friend Kayla also attended and they were in the same group again.

Not so sure she will ever be a cheerleader, but she really enjoys this cheer camp and it gives her a chance to "pretend" to be a cheerleader!

Connor's Turn

Monday was the beginning of Sunshine School for Connor and myself. Connor began his year in a three year old class and I went back to teaching in the fours. Connor was so sad last week when Jack and Bailey went to school. So, it was so cute to see him so excited about going to school himself. So many things have changed with this big boy in the last year. During the last year of school he potty trained, gave up pacifiers, started talking all the time, his white blood cell counts have remained up and he has stayed healthier than ever! He has the best sense of humor, we all laugh at him all the time. He is also the most stubborn of the three and into everything! He tends to get into things the other two didn't because he has access to things that they didn't. He loves scissors and tape! Many of our important papers have suffered. He loves animals and has a very tender heart when it comes to them. He loves to line his stuffed animals up and he has names for all of them.
This mommy is having a hard time letting this one grow up. He is such a sweet, bright and funny little man.
My prayer for Connor is to have a wonderful year with Mrs. Laura again and to stay healthy this winter!

Off We Go!

If you ask my two older children if they are ready to go back to school they will answer with a very loud NO! But, I secretly think they are ready and excited. It was so easy to get them up this morning. After dressing, brushing hair and teeth and getting backpacks packed with lunches we were off to our annual donut breakfast. We have a first day routine that we have been doing for the last 5 years. (5 years!!!) First, pictures in front yard in new clothes with backpacks, then off to donuts at our favorite donut shop, then pictures with new teachers and giving them a little Sonic gift card for an after school treat! Then finally, after I pick them up we head to Braums for some ice cream and to talk about their first day. We are so blessed this year, Jack gets to have his 2nd grade teacher again in 4th grade. She was an awesome teacher and Jack thrived in her class. We look forward to another great year for Jack.

My sweet Bailey knows who she wants for a teacher way before the end of school and last year she really wanted Miss Johnson, well of course she got her! We think Bailey will have a good year also.

Here they are all dressed up and ready to get started! Look close, Jack may not look so nice the rest of the year, he has asked me not to dress so "nice" after the first day. I guess I can let go a little and let him more of what he wants to. Maybe!

Freaky Friday!

Yesterday was one long, crazy day spent up at the kids school! Early yesterday morning Jack, Bailey and I headed up to their school for them to help last years teachers get their rooms ready. While the kids helped their teachers I set up for the "End of Summer Beach Bash" Luncheon for all the teachers and staff. I get the fun job of Teacher Appreciation stuff again this year and was really excited to start this new school year off with a fun luncheon. So after drinks iced, tables decorated, food placed, and game set up, the teachers all came in to eat and play. After lunch I ran to the front hall to decorate the bulletin board PTA is in charge of. Thanks to BETA club for helping me! After that I went to clean up the lunch and begin to stuff first day packets with all the millions of papers that go home that first day! Then we started to set up for the school supply sale and I set up the PTA table for Meet the Teacher.
I then worked the PTA table for a while until Greg and the kids showed up to meet their new teachers. Jack got his 2nd grade teacher again in 4th this year. We are so excited, we love Miss Bradley! Bailey and her best buddy are together again, they got the teacher they wanted. Miss Johnson will need to keep these two separated! Somehow in the middle of all this Bailey talked me into letting Bella spend the night and so we all headed home to eat pizza and for mommy to crash!
So, here we go, starting another new school year. I never becomes old hat with me. I really am a little sad to see them off to school each year.

An Upgrade

It was inevitable, Connor's long legs outgrew his little trikes, so we upgraded him to his big brother's old bike. This was actually Jack's second big boy bike! Connor is so tall he skipped the first bike size and jumped right to this one. He looks so cute riding his "new" bike and he loves being a big boy like Jack!

Way To Go, Bailey!

First, let me say, Bailey is my cautious child. The child who wants to please us, take care of us, and detests getting into trouble. The boys don't really have a cautious bone in their bodies. So, I needed to brag a bit on my Bailey. She has faced a few of her fears this summer and had a great time doing it! For several summers B has been in the same level for swim lessons. We have worked really hard to get her to swim with no luck. This summer it all just clicked. She passed another level in swimming and has now begun to jump off the diving boards! She even jumped in a few weeks ago without holding her nose. Big deal for our B. As you can see by the pictures above and below, she also got on a tube in a lake and had a blast! I was shocked when she announced on the second day at the lake that she wanted to tube. We hadn't bugged her and she simply decided on her own to try it. So proud!

She also found out this week that she tested into the Gifted and Talented Program in our school district. I think this will be a great program for her to be in.

Bailey has definitely faced fears this summer and come out better for it. Is she still cautious, yes, but she is beginning to realize when to be cautious and when to go for it!

The Lake House

We packed up and headed to the Lake House last Thursday for a fun mini vacation! The lake is outside of College Station and Greg and his family have been going since they were young. Greg's Uncle Jerry owns it and was so sweet to let us come out and enjoy the beautiful lake and all the fun water sports. Early Friday morning we ran into College Station to hit the Aggie Bookstore and check out the 7X7 football tourney that was going on. Connor had never been to A&M so we had to get a picture of all three of the kids with the 12th man. All around the lake were deer. They would come right up to you and were not afraid. The only time I saw them run was when the next door neighbors two black labs ran them into the woods.

Of course the best part was the boat and water sports! It was so fun to watch Jack learn to water ski. He was really pretty good for someone who had never been on ski's or even in a ski boat. He had NO fear.

He also loved the tube! First, all three kids started out with Daddy, but very soon, Jack was solo on the tube. He wanted Jerry to give him an "Adult" ride, but Jack is such a light weight that he could not sling him very much.

Watching Connor on the tube was so funny! He wasn't in the least bit scared. He would jump off the boat and jump on and off the tube without any help. Here is my 3 year old who really can't swim on his own yet, all over the lake. He would laugh and laugh the whole time he was tubing.

Bailey was harder to convince, but she did tube. I didn't have my camera with me any of the times she did but Gretchen did and when I get her pictures I'll post them. Bailey tubing was the biggest deal! She is really hesitant to try anything out of her comfort zone. We all were so proud of her. She also was jumping off the diving board and sliding into the lake which is something else she wouldn't normally do. Way to go Bailey!

Our trip to the lake was a huge success. We had so much fun spending time with family and spending time at a beautiful lake. The kids can't wait to go back!