Connor's 9th Birthday Party - 2010

My 1st born is 9...when did that happen. That kid is growing up faster than I can manage to get a handle on. He is such a wonderful little boy. I have so much to be thankful for. He is funny, sweet, smart, kind, handsome...I could just go on and on.

This year, Connor picked his 3 best friends and we went to The Magic Time Machine, then we came back to the house for cake and to spend the night.

Halle's First Visit to the Fair - October 2010

We had a great time at the State Fair of Texas this year. It was Halle's first year to go to the fair and she had a great time. We always go on the day before Rockwall ISD's fair day. That day always falls on a Tuesday which is the day of the week that they always have 1/2 price rides. We go after school and we don't have to worry about how late we are gone because we don't have school the next day. This year the word must have gotten out because it was packed and it was hard to move around with four small children in tow.

We had a great time until....well that is the next blog post...ugh...

The First Day of School 2010

The first day of school 201o! This was an exciting day. Jaxson started Kinder and got to go to school with me and Connor. He was so excited about starting school. I take a picture of Connor in front of the Hays sign every year on the first day of school. Starting this year, I will take one of Jax as well.

We were very happy that Jaxson got Mrs. Swann as his teacher. She was the same teacher Connor had in Kinder and she is a good friend of mine. We went to college together. Connor had a great year in Kindergarten and we were hoping for the same for Jax.


Connor got Mrs. Boryk. She is a new teacher but she was at our school most of the previous year as a long term substitute for two of our 2nd grade teachers. We were very excited about the possibilities there as well.

Kaden's 3rd Birthday - July 2010

Kaden's birthday party did not go so great this year. We had it at the city pool like we did the year before. Kaden loves having a pool party so it was a perfect fit...unless there is a thunderstorm and there was.

I was so sad. Kaden, being 3, wasn't really affected but I was so sad that his party was ruined. He was able to get in the pool for maybe 5-10 minutes before we had to get out. We tried to wait out the rain, but it was storming too bad. We had to quickly open presents and eat cake under the awning and then head out.

Here are a few pictures I was able to take before we left.

Resolution?????

I am horrible about updating my blog...h-o-r-r-i-b-l-e. I really do want to be better. What stops me is that I am a very chronological person. I am not organized per say, but there are areas of my life that I am very chronological. It is hard for me to update my blog but not have everything in a certain order.

A week or so ago, a friend's father posted on Facebook that he had been reading his grandmother's diary. He read a post from the day he was born. How awesome is that? I told him what a treasure he had. It inspired me to want to be better about blogging. I would love to have something to read like that. If it is something that I wish I had, well then I need to provide it for my own children.

So, for the next week I am going to try to post enough to get me caught up today which will be easier to maintain if I am up-to-date. I also hope to revamp the way it looks! I may need some help from some of my favorite bloggers!

Summer!!!!!

Okay, so we all know how horrible I am at keeping my blog updated. I do a pretty good job during the summer, but once school starts, it is impossible. But, it is summer again, so I will give it a try.

It makes me so sad to think that we are almost a month into summer. We have been so busy and have not had any rest time. The first week of the summer I was at a math training. I hated being away from my kids the first week of summer, but it was something I had to do!

We planned on going to Gulf Shores this summer, but with the oil spill, we didn't want to chance driving all that way and then not being able to get in the ocean. So, we scrapped that deal and at the last minute booked a trip to Galveston. We had so much fun! Some friends went with us, which made it even better. The Whitakers have 5 kids and I thought that we were going to have a tough time having 4 adults and 9 kids, but it was no problem at all!!! All of the kids were so well behaved and got along so well. We had such a good time, Here is a shot of the 5 oldest.


I want to go back now!!! We didn't do a thing but play at the beach and in the pool at the hotel.












Connor went straight out into the waves and had a blast the whole time. We doesn't fear the ocean at all. Jaxson was the same way for the most part, but at times he did get scared and decide to move closer to the shore. Kaden wasn't a big fan of the beach. At best, he sat in the sand where the waves crashed in, but most of his time was spent playing in the back of the Yukon.


Halle wasn't a big fan of the beach either and spent most of her time in her daddy's arms or my arms...but that was okay too!!!

I always wonder when we go on vacation why we don't just stay in a hotel in Royse City because all they really want to do is play in the room and swim at the pool!!!


This week has been busy because is doing two different camps. He is going to baseball camp from 8-11 in the mornings and Twilight Camp from 5-9 in the evenings. He is having a blast but he is very tired. Monday he had a dental appointment and I had a doctor's appointment in between camps and today we are going swimming at a friend's house in between. We are keeping that boy busy!

After this week, the summer shouldn't be so busy. We don't have anything planned except VBS at the end of July.

In Memory of PeePaw

A week ago I lost a very important person. My PeePaw died. It was an unexpected death and while anytime you lose someone that you love is hard, this was excruciating. PeePaw had cancer and I am pretty sure it was about to get worse. His cancer was in the bones, but I truly think that we were about to get the news that it had actually turned into bone cancer. PeePaw was in a lot of pain and it hurt me to think of what he was going through and what he was going to have to go through in the next few weeks, months, and years. I spent many nights praying that God would take away his pain. I know the miracles that God can perform and so I was hoping for one of those.

A few months ago, he had surgery and wasn’t doing so well. I wanted to leave then and go see him. I knew how important it was to go see him. I didn’t get to. I let everything else in my life prevent me from going to see him. Work, my family obligations, and money stood in my way of doing want I really needed and wanted to do.

On Saturday, I got a call that he had fallen and was being Careflighted to the hospital. I said a prayer but I really didn’t think that it would be fatal. I was worried, but really thought that he would be okay. So, I went to Jax’s soccer game and held my phone waiting as patiently as possible for the call from my mom telling me that everything was alright. I didn’t hear from my mom until I pulled into my driveway. That was when my world stopped spinning. I knew it wasn’t good because she first asked me where I was and then if Brock was home. I dropped the phone and started crying hysterically.

It wasn’t supposed to happen like this. I was supposed to get to see him again. It wasn’t supposed to happen like this. I didn’t even get to say good bye.

The next week was a blur. Beau and I drove to Illinois for the funeral. I had so many emotions. Part of me wanted to be nowhere but in Illinois with my grandma but the other half of me didn’t want to face reality. If I didn’t go, then I could pretend that he wasn’t dead and that I just hadn’t seen him in awhile. The worst part of it all was the pain of knowing that I would never get to see him again. We arrived at their house at about 1:30 in the morning. I could not go in. I looked at the house and saw my grandfather. Growing up, their house was one of my favorite places to be. I LOVED going to Savannah to see them. Going in their house, I felt him everywhere. His shoes were still by the door, his sunglasses were still on the end table. I wasn’t even able to go upstairs in the house for some reason. I couldn’t go in the basement. Being there was good but it was hard at the same time…really hard to explain. The visitation was hard because it was so long and I really wanted to help my grandma and my aunt as I knew that they were hurting most. So in between my breakdowns, I was trying to help them. Every time my grandma broke down, tears streamed down my eyes. I hated hearing my grandma tell everyone that she tried to save him. She was an amazing wife to him and his death was in no way her fault and there was nothing that she could or should have done differently. I started to wonder if this was God’s way of answering my prayer for his pain to end. I couldn’t stand the thought of that. I knew that his early death saved him from a lot of pain and people told me that over and over but it didn’t take the desire to have him sitting next to me.

My biggest regret is that I don’t think I ever told him what he meant to me. I know that he knew that I loved him, but I don’t think he knew how much. Everyone loves their grandparents and that is special, but like one of my friends said to me, “Not everyone has a PeePaw”. As a kid, I would sit in his lap and we would tell each other elaborate, crazy stories. We would each add to the other’s story to make it more outrageous. I LOVED donuts and he knew that. Every time he would come to visit, he would take me for donuts. I didn’t have to ask, he just knew that was what we did together. He always called me “Schauna Marie” or “Schauna Baby”….what I would do to hear him say that to me just one more time. PeePaw liked to take naps. He always slept on his back with his hands on his stomach. When I would walk by, he would open one eye and kind of smirk, like he was tricking everyone into thinking that he was asleep. He had a lot of health problems and was diabetic so grandma had to help control his diet and such. While she was telling him something, he would always look at me and make this face, I can’t describe it, but I can see it in my head. I loved the way he loved my grandma. The preacher at the funeral said that my grandpa didn’t walk, he shuffled, which is so true. I loved to watch him move. He just made me laugh.

God is every important to me and it is very important for me to know that PeePaw is playing golf in heaven, eating donuts and salami and all the other things that he had to be careful of here on Earth. He was very active in his church and he believed. One of the songs that they played at his funeral was “He Walks With Me” and they said that was one of his favorite songs. Since then, the song just keeps playing in my head, I go to bed hearing it and wake up hearing it. I can’t help but think that it is God’s way of telling me that He is walking and talking with PeePaw. This makes my heart smile because I will get to see him again.

All four of my kids bare names that belong to people that are very important to me and Brock. None of that is by accident. Connor Ellis is named after Brock’s PawPaw. He is another amazing man that has no idea how much he means to us. Jaxson Brock is named after my dad and my husband. Again two very important people in my life. Kaden Samuel is of course named after my PeePaw and is often called Samuel. It was very important to me to have a child named after one of my all time favorite people. Halle is named Marie after me and my grandmother, but mostly my grandmother. She is an amazing woman and if Halle is half the wonderful woman my grandmother is, she will be blessed.

I love you PeePaw and I wish that I could tell you that in person. I wish that I could hug you and tell you some crazy story like we did 20-25 years ago. I wish that we could go get donuts or just sit and chat. I would settle for just looking into your eyes and seeing your wonderful smile one more time. I know that isn’t going to happen, but at least I know that when my time is up, I will get to see you again.