if at first you don't succeed...

...try, try again!

12

So I don't know what's wrong with these babies of mine. I have emphatically told them that they are to STOP having so many birthdays. None of them are being obedient in this area.

Hmmph.

The Pook went and turned 12 yesterday. Goodness. Where does the time go? It's been so fast and such a blessing. She can still walk up and give me a hug and an "I love you, mama." on a bad day and everything is right again. I just adore her and am waiting with bated breath to see the Lord's plans for her unfold.

Jase and I talked a lot about Kennedy's upcoming birthday over the last several weeks. About what to get her and how to make this a great birthday for her. Not that we wanted to go overboard. But she's just had a hard go of things this year and we wanted her turning 12 to be memorable.To be honest, we've struggled about when to allow her to have a cell phone. Most all of her friends have one, but that doesn't matter to me. I'm not typically swayed by stuff like that. Of course she's been begging. And by begging I mean

BEG. GING.

I have to say, that turned me off some to wanting to get her one! We generally say "No" to our children about 80-85% of the time. We aren't really "Yes" parents, because my goodness. We'd have no money, no life and really, no control if we said yes to everything. Our plan was to let her have a phone this Christmas. 7th grade. Not bad if you ask me. But we began talking about it and one thing led to another. I was still happy to wait until August when school starts again. The newness of it may be a problem though and she may be distracted with it. So we caved. Sigh. And decided to take the plunge.

We always spend $100 on our kids for their birthday. Kennedy couldn't decide what she wanted, other than a phone, and since we had told her that she couldn't have one, she said she'd like to go to the mall with her friends and buy clothes, jewelry and of course a Java Chip from St@rbucks. :) The more we talked about it and the more we researched, we realized that spending $50 on an inferior phone along with  the mandatory data plan...it made more sense to just buy her an iPhone with our $100.

I can't believe I just typed that.

Of course there are rules. And we are sticking by them. She will have a secure browser with controls. There are limits in place as well as shared ID, etc. We monitor texts, usage, etc. And though she is pining away for a cutesy rhinestone case, we explained that she must have an Otter B0x or not get the phone. We're not paying for insurance either. You heard me right! JASON SAID "NO" TO THE INSURANCE!! lol. If you know my hubster in real life, this is quite comical. But we figured that we are paying $100 for the phone and if she breaks it, that's it. She can use one of our old ones or nothing at all. Nuff said. She will also be forfeiting part of her allowance to offset the monthly fee.

So there it is. Our 12 year old has a phone. And when we told her? When we drove to the store and she was like "What are we doing here???" in a non suspecting a thing kinda tone, and we said, "How bout an iPhone for your birthday?"...there were squeals as you've never heard before! And hugs all around.

Needless to say, she loves her phone. And we love that we can get in touch with her whenever we want...and, that we have a new power! The power to take it away! lol.

In lieu of a slumber party or get together, Kennedy wanted to have her sweet friend, Emma, come down  from out of state to stay for a few days. It's funny, Emma's dad and Jase are best friends. And to now have our daughters be so close is a blessing and really, one I never saw coming. But they just clicked one day and have a really sweet relationship. It was a blast having her here. We enjoyed some yummy Uncle Julio's for lunch near the big city on Friday {Kennedy's choice and always mine too!} and then met some of her friends on Saturday for a jaunt to the mall.

{At Uncle Julios!}

She also wanted a simple, from a box, red velvet cake. I baked it. She and Emma iced it. Which was hysterical by the way. It looked pretty pitiful but hey, it tasted yummy to her {I don't much like red velvet cake}. Did I mention she loves her phone?

We snapped a few pics of she and her friends before our mall trip. I love these girls...love them for Kennedy and am so happy to see her so happy. Year 11 was a tough one! 12 may be tougher still. But today, she is doing well and it's such a blessing to be able to say that after the year she has had. She has some really great friends and you know, life is just better with great friends!

Dear Pook~

You came to us a wee bit early at 36 weeks and wrapped up in a 

5lb 10oz package. We didn't think we could love you more than we did on

that day. But here we are 12 years later and we just absolutely do. You make us 

smile and laugh and cry funny tears. It is our joy and our blessing to parent you and 

raise you in this life. We pray that you will see the infinite beauty of Christ and desire
Him above all the world has to offer. We love you sweet baby and are so blessed by you.
Mama and Dad

trying something new

So he tried something new last weekend. And to be totally honest, I have very mixed feelings about it. Because, you see, it means that my sweet baby, that gorgeous Thai Tornado, is growing up fast. For goodness sake, y'all. At Joel's begging, Jase took off his training wheels!

He hasn't mastered it yet. But soon, soon...sigh. It's rained here off and on for several days {Haleluyer! We need it!} and so he keeps asking if he can go try again.

I LOVE that about him.

He's so darn determined. And resolved. And adorable.

I still pinch myself that I get to be his mama.

the graduate

So he went and did it. He finished preschool on Thursday.

Stinker.

I told him emphatically, "NO!"

But he would have none of it and he went and graduated anyway.

Hmmph.

I have to say, it was precious. They had an American theme going for this year's commencement. And so the big song for the graduates was "God Bless the USA". OMGoodness. Hearing {And seeing! There were motions!} the Thai Tornado sing the chorus,

"And I'm proud to be an American where at least I know I'm free..." was just about too much to take in. This gorgeous boy who came to us from Thailand is now standing with his friends singing about being an American. I know I'm a big cheesy dork but come on! That's just too much. We did video it. Gonna try to upload some of it here. :)

And then came the commencement. Goodness. Have you ever seen a cuter boy get a diploma? I didn't think so.

And after, we went out to snag a few pictures in his cap and gown. We have similar shots in this very spot outside of our church with the girls when they graduated preschool here too.

What a sweet day it was and how great it feels...we're almost finished with school! Summer is coming and we are pretty darn stoked about that around here!