Better Late Than Never

Okay, so I have a ton of catching up to do. Grayson had a great birthday, and I still cannot believe he is three years old. We have been super busy since Easter, but it has been a good kind of busy for the most part...Anyway, I am what you call WAY BEHIND as far as blogging goes, so I will attempt to catch up over the next few days. I was gonna just do it all in one "shabang" (I apologize if that is just a Kelli word...all at once) but I didn't want anyone to go blind due to reading the computer screen too long, so I will just start with Easter. So, here we go, a brief (well, I will try my best to be brief....I do tend to ramble....such as now) summary of the last few weeks....
Easter was wonderful. We had a great time with family and friends. Although we did have 5, yes 5, Easter egg hunts, our family spent a lot of time reflecting on Christ's sacrifice and resurrection. Jim and the Heights Band provided an amazing time of worship the Thursday before Easter in which we focused specifically on Christ's death on the cross. Of course, we followed up with a huge celebration worship service on Easter Sunday praising God that He is risen and alive! It was perfect! With that we were able to spend time with our close friends and both my family and Jim's family in Lamesa. We even had a good ol' fashion indoor Easter Egg hunt at the farm (Jim's parents house) since there was zero visibility due to the yearly West Texas Easter sandstorm. Here is a few (or maybe more than a few...) pictures of the Archer's Easter Festivities....

Grayson's Easter Egg Hunt at Calvary PDO.....prior to his Easter haircut, I might add.

Presley's kindergarten egg hunt

I am SO blessed to work at her school so I can easily attend her kindergarten events. Jim also came and helped "hide" hundreds of eggs.

Easter Sunday

My beautiful children....I love it when I actually capture a moment when they show that they really do love each other!

Easter at Mimi and Papa's house in Lamesa

This is a picture of Presley and Grayson with some of their cousins on my mom's side of the family. I have spent almost every Easter Sunday of my life with my Mimi and Papa, aunts, uncles, and cousins. Every year when I was little, all the cousins would line up on the sidewalk just like this before the big hunt. Next year, Camren will be ready to run with the others!

I love this picture of Pres. She looks so sweet here. Only minutes after this picture was taken she was slamming confetti eggs on everyone's head...She had a blast! Grayson did not care so much for sister whacking him on the head and getting paper all in his new haircut!

One of the most fun things we did was have an egg hunt with friends. Here are all the kids lined up ready to go. Yep, my kid is the one with the basket on his head....no surprise there! Stay tuned as I try to catch up over the next few days! I hope everyone has a great week!

April 13, 2006

Has it really been three years since my baby boy was born?? Grayson will turn three years old tomorrow! This time three years ago I was anxiously awaiting the first time I would see my son's face and hold him in my arms. I was enjoying the last few hours of feeling him move in my tummy and cherishing those last moments as a family of three before Presley would be so blessed with a baby brother. Wow....it seems just like yesterday. Three years later, I have a beautiful brown eyed boy who melts my heart and fills my life with incredible joy. This boy of mine is something else....always ready to go and full of energy, but always willing to crawl up in my lap and cuddle. Grayson has the reputation with teachers and family as being "very witty." I am constantly asked by those who know him if I write down all the funny things he says, and if I don't I definitely should! Grayson loves to be the hero, rescuing his big sister from the "bad guys." He loves to play with his "good guys", race Hotwheels, watch Dora, drink chocolate milk, and play baseball. He loves G-Dad's motorcycles, Mimi's house, Daddy's guitars, and Momma's kisses. (Well, maybe not LOVES the last one, but he is kind enough to put up with LOTS of kisses!) He sings a mean rendition of 5 Little Monkies Jumpin' on the Bed and can easily entertain a roomful of people with his funny expressions and conversations.

The third birthday is bittersweet for me....I am so blessed to watch this little boy turning into a big boy right before my eyes. He is becoming so independent and I look forward to all the neat things he will be able to do as he gets bigger. On the flip side, the third birthday is a farewell to the baby stage. He really is a big kid now. He rarely needs me to carry him anymore, he no longer needs me to change his diaper, he goes to the potty pretty much on his own, he gets his own goodnight drinks, he cleans up his room, he expresses his opinions (although not always appropriately) and so on and so on. Where did my baby boy go?

I thank God for this handsome, healthy boy He introduced me to three years ago. I thank God for Grayson's wonderful personality and witty sense of humor. I thank God that I can come home each day to a welcoming shout of "MOMMY!" a toothy grin, and hugs and kisses from my little man. I pray that he will love God with all his heart and that his desire will be to follow Christ. I pray that he would grow into a man of God and that he will be a Godly leader. I pray that as his parents, we will be good examples to him and point him toward Christ.

Grayson Jack Archer--8 lbs. 13 oz. 12:15 on April 13, 2006

Grayson's 1st Birthday

Grayson--2 years old

Grayson--3 Years Old

Happy Birthday, Grayson! We love you!

Conversations

One beautiful afternoon last week......
Grayson and I are walking towards the park playground equipment. He sweetly grabs my hand and says, "Mommy, I love you. Will you hold my hand so the wind won't blow me away?"

Thursday afternoon......
Grayson pooped on the potty (YES!!!), and he looked at me and said, "I pooped just for my daddy. He gonna be so proud of me!"

Friday morning...
Presley: (looking outside at the snow): Mom, I know how the weatherman knows what the weather is going to be.
Me: (expecting a scientific answer): Really, how?
Presley: When they go to sleep at night, God whispers it in their ear and tells them. You know how I know? God whispers in my ear, too. I can't see him though because he always stands behind me when he says something, but that's how I know it's him.

This morning......
Jim overheard this conversation between Presley and Grayson. They were laying in the living room floor watching cartoons.
G: Ew, sister, your feets stinky.
P: Hmmmm, let me smell them. Yep, they are. I bet your feet are stinky too. Let me smell your feet.
(She takes a big whif)
P: Grayson, your feet smell like pancakes.
G: Yeah, and your feets smell like sausage.

I Wish I Had a Pet Octopus

Strange title, huh? Well, that is one of the things Presley said this morning right after the nurse gave her the "sleepy juice" and right before they put her in a little red wagon and rolled her into surgery. God knew her mommy and daddy needed the comic relief at that moment! Anyway, Presley did great this morning with the dental surgery she had to have. I didn't realize it would be as intrusive as it was, but she handled it all like a champ. I tell you what, my baby is a tough cookie. She has been resting most of the day, but I think she will be able to fully enjoy her last official day of Spring Break tomorrow without too much trouble. Her friends will REALLY think she has shiny teeth when she returns to school on Monday. She even "lost" another tooth today. The anesthesiologist warned us that the breathing tube could dislodge her bottom front tooth which was just hanging by a thread, so we asked the dentist to just take care of it for us. (I really hope we don't get billed for that!) I bet the tooth fairy is extra good to her tonight after all she went through today!

On a side note, Grayson is doing AWESOME with the potty training thing. He hasn't had an accident since Monday, and even started letting us know when he needs to go. Yeah!! I have to admit I was doubtful after I walked into the bathroom on Monday afternoon to find my son wearing the potty seat around his neck....UGH! However, since then I have been pleasantly surprised by his progress. Hopefully, he will continue to do well over the weekend. We are taking it one day at a time. I hope everyone enjoys the next few days of Spring Break!

Follow Through...

I've always said that Jim and I have wonderful ideas and great intentions, but unfortunately, we don't have a lot of follow through. However, this Spring Break has been a week of following through with SOME of those great intentions.

1. We have always said that we wanted to have a block party in order to get to know the people living around us, and hopefully, enable us to reach out to our neighbors in some way. Unfortunately, we have always put this off due to the obvious awkwardness of inviting complete strangers to eat food in your driveway. Lately, however, we found that this neighborhood meet and greet was a necessity due to our social butterfly, Presley, who has befriended half the street. It's a good idea to make an effort to get to know the people who your kids are hanging out with right? So, the whole Archer clan went door to door down to all the houses on our street and the adjacent alleyway and gave out invitations to our neighbors to come join us for a hotdog tonight. We were pretty sure that it would just be us and my parents (because, of course, I begged them to come share in the awkwardness, and they obliged as they didn't want us to be weird alone.) However, it was a HUGE success! Eight families came and ate in our driveway and visited until it got too dark. Two families who couldn't come even came and introduced themselves and left us with amazing Italian sausage and some incredible desserts! Overall, I think we made connections with great people and brought our neighborhood together!

2. We started potty training Grayson on Monday morning and we are still sticking with it. I must admit, that I doubted myself in this one. I half expected myself to INTEND to potty train him, but with all the fun options of Spring Break, I figured my follow-through would amount to giving up and waiting until Summer. However, I am proud to say that, again, follow through has prevailed for the Archers. Has it been easy? NO WAY! Has it been better than I thought? Yes! We didn't have any accidents today, but we weren't exactly successful...does that make sense? How can a child go that long without using the restroom? I have completely new worries now.

3. I have also started a new Bible Study...one that I have been intending to start for quite some time. So I've started, now I just need to pray that I can actually keep it up and finish it rather than stopping on the 6th week. The outlook is great!

My list of good intentions is still very long...I intend to clean out the kids closet, clean out my closet, take Presley on a mommy-daughter movie/lunch date, make a drop off to Goodwill, clean my car, have lunch with some friends...BUT I'm off to a great start!

One last note, please keep Presley in your prayers on Thursday. She is having dental surgery at the SurgiCenter. Pray that she will be brave and not scared (right now, I am way more freaked out about it than her...I want it to stay that way), also pray that we wouldn't have to wait a terribly long time for it to begin as she can't eat after midnight on Wednesday. I am also praying that she feels okay after the procedure and can enjoy the rest of her Spring Break. While you're at it, please pray that the insurance company will pay for more than we were first told! I will keep everyone updated on these prayer requests!

I like this follow through stuff...I'm off to bed so I will be rested to start on that list tomorrow! :)

Star of the Week

After many months of waiting for her name to be drawn, Presley finally got to be the Student of the Week in her class! On Sunday, I helped her make a poster "All About Presley" to share with her classmates. She was so excited to show everyone her poster...it was so cute!

Another neat thing that happens when you are Star of the Week is "Warm Fuzzies." Throughout the week, her teacher allows each student in the class to come up to her desk and say nice things about the Student of the Week. Her teacher then types them up and puts them all in her "Warm Fuzzies" bag. Presley couldn't wait to get home and read her Warm Fuzzies. She also informed me that she can keep them in a safe place so she can read them when she is sad and lonely. Some of the things her friends wrote were adorable....Here are some examples.

Presley's teeth are so shiny.

She helps me build nests at recess.

She plays with me in centers and is very creative with Legos.

She chases boys at recess, and I run with her.

She looks good every day. (A young man in her class wrote this...hmmm)

(Her daddy wasn't too excited about those last two!)

Some of the things she brought for show and tell were her favorite stuffed animal, the photo album of her favorite place (Family Kamp), the jar she decorated and puts money in for our Compassion International child, and a letter we recently received from Luana (Brazil), and her favorite book. Today, she came running into our room holding something in her hand. "I know what I'm taking for show and tell today!" And she proudly held up a tooth! Yes, she finally lost her first tooth, and actually pulled it herself! Of course, I let her take her tooth to school....she was just so excited about it. I'm sure her teacher loved that! :)

This is a great opportunity to brag on my beautiful daughter. These are some of the wonderful things going on with Presley.

1. She is doing so great in school. She is reading well above a Kindergarten level, and I am amazed at the work she brings home. She has a great teacher who has taught her a ton!

2. She gets up every morning right when her alarm clock goes off, goes into the bathroom and gets completely dressed, brushes her teeth, and then comes into our room to tell me she is ready for me to fix her hair. I don't even go into her room in the mornings! Is this amazing or what????

3. She is super sweet to her little bro. Even though he annoys her to no end, she still makes a huge effort to play with him. She is so encouraging to him when he does something good. (I think this is going to be a huge help when we start potty training Grayson this weekend!)

4. She loves Jesus. Who could ask for anything more?

Thanks for reading about what a Super Star my Pres is!

Confessions of a Very Blessed Woman

I have a confession to make....I have been doing a lot of senseless complaining lately. Anyone that has had even a brief conversation with me lately would certainly agree. Yes, it has been a very stressful, busy, exhausting week. Yes, I am tired, and with good reason. However, as I was sitting in church this morning, it hit me like a ton of bricks. I am incredibly blessed, no-- way more than incredibly blessed, yet I have been doing a lot more complaining than praising God over the last few weeks. Why is it that small, trivial things can get me so stressed out, cause my frustration levels to sky rocket, and take my mind so far away from positive things? It makes me so mad at myself. Although I have not yet had to face a major tragedy in my life, I have faced trials that scared me and drew me closer to God because I knew that everything that mattered rested in Him, and that He was big enough to handle anything. Shouldn't it be the same way with even the little stuff? I think I know what happens with me....I think I can handle being in control of the "little stuff." Why bother God with something I can handle on my own, right? WRONG! All that "little stuff" adds up, and before I know it, I'm not handling it....I'm stressed out, frustrated, and complaining.
This morning, in church, we were singing The Desert Song. The lyrics during one part say
All of my life,
In every season,
You are still God,
I have a reason to sing
I have a reason to worship
It talks about life being in a dry season, a season of weakness, a painful season of trials, and a season of harvest and favor...No matter what season of life I am in....I have a reason to sing and to worship. Yes, even when I am complaining about the senseless itty bitty stressful things in life...My prayer this week is that I would remember this simple idea....That I would not spend the majority of my conversations with people talking about how stressed I am or how I wish certain situations were better than they are, but that I would spend my day with thoughts and words of praise for what God is doing, has done, and will do in my life. I have many, many, many reasons to sing every minute of the day and to worship Him with everything I do. So, with that being said.....I'm off to start my day with Less Complaining...More Praising!!