Halfway There

Well, I have survived three full days and nights of Jim being on another continent. Even more impressive is I have survived three full days and nights with two kiddos who miss their daddy. We are actually doing great, (sob!), no really, (sob, sob!) we are all terrific! Jim, just ignore the sobbing....we really are all fine and our dog is still alive. AFter tonight, we will be halfway through our time apart, and I can start counting down the days until Jim is back in my arms. His trip is going well. The kids and I were able to talk to him on the phone Thursday morning, but I don't expect to hear from him again until Sunday. He is trying to post on his new blog whenever he gets a chance, which so far has not been often, but I will take whatever he can give me. Follow his travels and see what God is doing at http://www.jimbobarcher.blogspot.com/

Let me brag on how precious and thoughtful and wonderful and sweet and incredible my husband is. He knew that one of the hardest things we would encounter while he was gone was bedtime. Grayson has to, has to, has to have a "goodnight hug and sugar" from his dad each and every night. So, Jim wrote letters to the kids for each night that he was gone and called them his "goodnight hug and sugar." Included with each note to us, is a Bible story for us to read and a small present. So far the kids have gotten toothpaste (Not only did he think I would forget to feed our dog, he also must have thought that I'd forget to brush our kids' teeth and he would come home to more huge dental bills), a new pair of pajamas, and books to read at bedtime. He even threw in a coffee card for me (since he's not here to make my coffee each morning...I know, I'm spoiled) and some new books to read when I'm up in the middle of the night because I can't sleep without him. These little surprises and words of love from Jim have made our transition to bedtime much easier. Is he not unbelievably wonderful, or what? Gosh, I miss him so much.

This week has been busy enough to keep me from dweling on my loneliness too terribly much.
School has been hectic, but fun with awards ceremonies, end of the year parties, and Buddy Fun Day. Presley had her first Buddy Fun Day at school today. She had a blast! I can't believe she is almost officially a first grader. Crazy! I will post on her awards ceremony soon. I also found out that all my students passed the writing TAKS test! 100%! My mom and dad have also been awesome in keeping us busy and checking up on us. I am so proud of Jim and the work God is doing through him. I know he will have so much to tell me when he returns. Thanks for praying for his safety and the trip overall. Only five more days to go!

Just Like Daddy

Like a lot of families, we have our best conversations at the dinner table. Often they are very random and come out of nowhere. Take today for example, Jim, Presley, Grayson, and I sat down to our PBJ sandwiches at lunch today and the following conversation was started by my "always full of interesting thoughts and random questions" daughter....

Presley: I wonder what my last name will be when I get married.
Jim (almost choking on his food): Well, I don't think you really need to worry about that anytime soon.
Presley: Yeah, I know. It's against the law for a girl to get married until after she's a teenager. She has to be like 20 or maybe even 30.
Jim: That is exactly right, Presley.
Me (thinking it is quite funny to watch Jim squirm): Whatcha lookin for in the guy your gonna marry, Pres?
Presley: Well, the most IMPORTANT thing is that he knows what kind of drink you like.
Jim and I (thinking we may need to spend more time on this topic in the future): Oh Really?
Presley: Yeah, you know, Mom, like how Daddy knows you like Diet Coke, so he always surprises you with one from the store? Oh and it is real important that he doesn't steal.

This is where Jim and I usually stop talking and just listen. Presley gets on a roll, and she is just full of information. Here is what else she had to say about marriage.

Presley: The boy you marry also has to do a lot of stuff. He has to take care of the kids and the woman. Just like Daddy does. Also, the most important thing is that he has to love God and have faith like Daddy does. (now she's getting it)
Grayson: I have a face. (He is good at interjecting his own opinion now and then.)
Presley: When people get married, it's kinda embarressing for us kids because they have to kiss each other in front of all those people....EWWW. They should have kids real fast because we kids are so much fun.
Me, AKA the woman: What do you want him to look like?
Presley (with the sweetest little grin): Well, he has to have green eyes, and brown spiky hair, and wear t-shirts.
Does that sound like anyone you know? Yep, sounds just like Daddy.

Here's to my precious, loving, meant just for me Man who knows exactly what my favorite drink is, who NEVER steals, who takes care of his kids and his woman, who loves God and has incredible faith, who is also very HOT with his green eyes, spiky hair, and his t-shirts. I love you, Jim. Thank you for showing our daughter what to look for in a husband when she is 20 or 30. I love you and I will be praying for you this week as you serve in Morocco. I'm gonna miss you like crazy, but I am so proud of you! I can't wait for you to get back so we can cuddle and I can hear all about your trip. I love you, Jim Bob!

Nats and Butterflies

Presley has just been soaring through Kindergarten this year! Yes, as a nat and as a butterfly! Last week, we attended her last NATS ceremony for the school year at Nat Williams Elementary. NATS stands for Nice and Terrific Students. Each six weeks students are awarded for good behavior, attendance, and effort. During the ceremony, the principal and teacher present the students who qualify with a NATS t-shirt. Each time they make it, they get a paw print added to their shirt. The fun part is that the parents cheer for their child and then get to put the t-shirt on their child. I am so proud of Presley!Mommy and Daddy at the ceremony with our little NAT!

Last Friday, she and her Kinderfriends soared through the entire building for Monarch Migration. She got to soar right through my classroom, too! Have I mentioned how much I love the fact that we are at the same school? I can't believe that her Kindergarten year will end in a few weeks. That means I will have a first grader!!! Okay, more on that later...can't talk about it right now!

Monarch Migration

My Son the Superhero!

I have become very educated recently on the world of superheroes. Until about three or so months ago I could have probably identified Superman, Batman, and Spiderman in a line up but that would be about as much as I knew about Superheroes, much to my husband's dismay I might add.

However, that was until my son woke up one morning, decided he was going to grow up, and trade his sweet stuffed animals he had slept with since infancy for little figurines wearing capes. Since the day I found out my second child would be a boy, mothers of sons have warned me with a smirk on their face about this day.

Until now, I have snickered in amusement at women tugging on the dirty little hands of little boys wearing cowboy boots with shorts in the mall. I may have even questioned a parent's amount of control of their children as they push their mask wearing sons in the grocery cart at Wal-Mart, explaining to every person they pass that this was all their sweet boy would agree to wear.

Yes, that was until now.

Now I am that mother.

Just this week the whole family went for a walk in our neighborhood with Grayson wearing his Superman suit, his cape, and his favorite green crocodile rain boots to top it all off. I didn't even flinch when passing cars would slow down just to get a good look. So far, we have succeeded in talking Grayson into wearing "real" clothes to school, but the minute we get home he turns into Superman, Spiderman, Batman, Aquaman, or Flash.

Last night he escaped the bathtub before Jim could get his p.j.s (Spiderman p.js, of course) on. He spent the next thirty minutes running around the house stark naked saying he was Flash. At least his costume was appropriate.

Where does he get this stuff? I'm pretty sure Jim or I have never told him who these superheroes are. It's funny how they are just born with this instinct, huh?

Here are some picture of my little superhero!

On our neighborhood stroll, we made our way to Mimi and G-dad's house. Mimi couldn't resist taking a picture of Superman before we continued on our walk.

It's especially fun when Spiderman puts on his very own little concert for us!

His very favorite superhero....Daddy!

Superman celebrated his third birthday with Uncle Coby who turned 29!

This superhero always comes to his sister's rescue! Aren't they sweet?

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.