Julia's Best Friend

Julia has a number of friends at church but her most favorite friend is James Daniel. He is a few months older than her but they absolutely love playing together. It will be a happy day when Julia turns 3 and is able to once again go to the same class as James Daniel on Sundays.

Last night at church they played air hockey together and then danced in the gameroom during praise and worship. When it was time to say good-bye they hugged and hugged and Julia gave him a big kiss on his cheek. Good thing Daddy didn't see that! =) They will get to play together every Wednesday now that James Daniel's parents, Cathy and J.D., are helping us with youth. Wednesdays are just so much more fun now. =)

Labor Day with Papaw

Sunday afternoon found us driving to Midland with rainy skies and somewhat cooler weather. Papaw isn't doing well so we went to visit over Labor Day. We stayed at Mimi and Papaw's house - Julia thought that was great fun since Mimi has an enormous doll collection. It was a bitter-sweet trip since Papaw was so sick. He wasn't breathing well so John helped his dad get Papaw in the car and they took him to the emergency room. They admitted him to the hospital and he was doing better by the time we left on Monday evening. His pnemonia was making him feel so much worse than he already did.

Right now, in Midland, John is joining in with Matthew, Sandy, and Mimi as they have a consultation with the Doctor. They said on Tuesday that they were almost certain the cancer has spread to his lungs but we should know for sure after this morning. We love you Papaw....

Changes, Changes, Changes

It's been 2 weeks since my last post and life has been very different around our house. Good, but different. Bedtime comes early these days - when the sun starts setting it's almost bedtime! And unfortunately, wake up time comes before the sun starts rising. Today was especially hard because it rained all night and was still raining this morning. With the windows open and the skies still dark, it wasn't easy to quit pushing that snooze button. =)
John David is doing well in school. He has had a "happy face day" every day except one so far and he is really learning a lot. They are working on all their vowels as well as simple math. He has memorized The Lord's Prayer, a poem called "I Had a Little Turtle", and a couple of Bible verses already. He loves Thursdays because that's pizza day in the lunchroom and he even gets chocolate milk! How exciting! =) Every other day he takes his lunch with him.
Julia still misses him a lot while he's gone and she's never very happy about taking him to school. Today she stayed in bed and slept while I took him so it's been an easy morning. Picking up John David is the highlight of her day and it's so cute to hear her squeal in delight when she first spots him.
We have less than 6 weeks to go until this little Baby Sullivan is born so I'm keeping myself busy getting ready. I learned my lesson with Julia and this time I plan to be totally ready 3-4 weeks early. In case you're wondering if this baby has a name yet, the answer is no. She won't be named for sure until after she is born and we can see her and hold her. We do have a couple of names that we both agree on and will choose between though. (Another lesson learned from having Julia!)
My duties as children's pastor are winding down and will be totally done within a couple of weeks. Yesterday was my last day to be in charge of Sunday morning Impact service but I will be shadowing my replacement for the next couple of weeks to make sure the transition goes well. Junior Bible Quiz is already out of my hands except for just giving advice and support to the people running it. I'm sure I won't know quite what to do with myself once I'm all done. Maybe I'll go to a big people service! Although, unless there are games, puppets, and some object lessons involving slime or whipping cream, I'm not sure my attention span can handle it anymore. =)Oh, well........

Lifetime of Lasts

Well, I did it - I survived one of the hardest days of my life. I sent my baby boy to school for the first time! I wasn't worried a bit about him because I knew he would have a great time (that was confirmed when he stood in the hall with me as first one class and then another filed by before the tardy bell rang and he loudly said hello and waved to every student as they passed). I was the one I knew would have a hard time. I was holding it together decently as we left (decently meaning I was only crying silently and not wailing) until Julia started crying and saying "John David, come back!" Once we were in the car, we cried a little more and then we headed to Walmart to shop away our pain (don't laugh that we went to Walmart - it was just the only store that was open at 8:00 in the morning).

I came across this poem last night. It's written from the perspective of a mother looking back over the years after her son is grown. We have so many memory making times ahead of us and I want to treasure each moment as it comes knowing that my baby will be all grown up much too fast.

"Long ago you came to me, a miracle of firsts
First smiles and teeth and baby steps, a sunbeam on the burst.
But one day you will move away and leave to me your past,
And I will be left thinking of a lifetime of your lasts.

The last time that I held a bottle to your baby lips...
Last time that I lifted you and help you on my hip...
Last time when you had a binky stuck inside your mouth...
The last time that you crawled across the floor the this old house.

Last time when you ran to me, still small enought to hold,
Last time when you said you'd marry me when you grew old.
Precious, simple moments and bright flashes from the past,
Would I have held you longer if I'd known they were the last?

Your last few hours of kindergarten, last days of first grade...
Last at bat in Little League, last colored paper made.
Last time that I tucked you in for one last midday nap...
Last time when you wore your beat-up Green Bay Packers cap.

Last time that you caught a frog in that old backyard pond...
Last time when you ran barefoot across our fresh-cut lawn.
Silly scattered images to represent your past.
Would I have taken pictures....if I'd known they were the last?

The last dark night you slipped in bed and slept between us two,
When last I read to you of God or Horton Hears a Who!
Last time that I smelled you hair and prayed after your shower...
Last time that we held devotions in the evening hours.

The last time that you giggled watching doodle bugs go,
Last time that you made an angel in the melting snow.
I never even said good-bye to yesterdays long passed.
Would I haved marked the moments...if I'd known they were the last?

Last piano lesson, and last soccer goal you kicked...
The last few weeks of middle school, last flowers that you picked.
Last time that you needed me for rides from here to there...
The last time that you spent the night with that old tattered bear.

Last time that I helped you with a math or spelling test,
Last time when I shouted that your room was still a mess.
Time and life moved quicker, taking pieces of your past.
Would I have stretched the moments...if I'd known they were the last?

The last time that you needed help with details of a dance...
Last time that you asked me for advice about romance.
Last time that you talked to me about your hopes and dreams.
Last time that you wore a jersey for your high school team.

I watched you grow and never noticed seasons as they passed.
I wish I could've frozen time, to hold on to your lasts.
For come tomorrow morning life will never be the same.
You'll plege forever to your girl, and she will take your name.

And I will watch you, knowing God has blessed you with this day.
I never would have wanted to somehow make you stay.
They say a son's a son until he takes for him a wife.
You're grown-up now; it's time to go and start your brand-new life.

One last hug, one last good-bye, one quick and hurried kiss...
One last time to understand just how much you'll be missed.
I'll watch you leave and think how quickly childhood sped past.
Would I have held on longer...if I'd known it was your last?"

The Sith Sense

Check out this super cool site - it'll blow you away and it's fun! (You have to copy and paste the link into your browser.....)

http://sithsense.com/flash.htm

Baby Girl

Here's our newest little Sullivan Baby. We had a special 3D sonogram done today and it was like looking right at her. Her arm is on the left side of the picture covering part of her face. She would never move her arm entirely out of the way. She now weighs about 2 1/2 pounds and is still due around October 8th. I'm more in love now than ever.....

John David's First Fish

While we were in Wichita Falls for Granny's 100th birthday party, John David got to go fishing for the first time. He loved it! Gran and D have a big pond across from their house and a family friend took John David fishing. He was out fishing in his pajamas before I was ever even up and dressed. He can't wait until he gets to go fishing again and he really wants his own fishing pole now!

A Few Words From Our Self-Proclaimed "Modern Man"

John David says, "I ate at Burger King today and I tried to follow an ice cream truck I saw driving down the road but I missed the truck. I should have stopped that truck from going but it will come back real soon and I will destroy that ice cream truck with a knife and a fork! At Burger King I got a Superman toy fan. I thought it would shoot that disc on it but it didn't because it was actually a fan. But I decided to use it and pretend it's a blower to blow people away and shoot Superman disc bullets.

I finally "beat the clock" with JBQ and earned my prize that I really wanted so badly! My prize is a light-up toy for my mouth. I can turn it off and on with my teeth.

And I played Zelda and tried to follow my daddy's instructions on how to beat the bad guy on Zelda and tried to go back to the cave to defeat him but Daddy said he left the cave and went back to the city. Now I need my Daddy's help. That's all........"

Dress Up Queen

Julia loves to play dress-up and this is what she came out of her closet wearing tonight. I'm on the lookout for a dress-up chest for both John David and Julia because they both LOVE to wear costumes and they have a lot of them already. =)

Our Newest Dance

Well, it's potty training time at our house again and so our newest dance we do is called "The Tee-Tee Dance". So far we've done this dance 3 times which I suppose isn't too bad since we just started yesterday morning. We were going to be here at home all week long while John and Steve were at nationals so I thought we should try to get a good start. After all, this has to be done soon because we do NOT want 2 kids in diapers. =) The picture is when Julia sat on her potty for the first time, which was actually a couple of months ago. It's just taken me awhile to get going.....

Happy Father's Day

In honor of all dads, I'm including a link to the funniest video I think I've ever seen. I cried when I watched this because I laughed soooo hard!

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=8798242020576043158

I Am a Survivor

I'm alive! Yes, I survived kids' camp and had lots of fun too. =) It was definitely good to get home though. The kids all had an awesome week (they got to do so many fun things) and the speakers we had were great too. My favorite was a puppet named Elmer - I haven't been able to stop thinking about him! He was so funny!

So Elmer was the funniest part, my nap on Wednesday was the most relaxing, my sunburn was the most painful, all the things that would have been the most fun I wasn't able to do since I was pregnant, but someone (we have NO idea who!) throwing up in my icechest and then leaving it all week in the hot van was absolutely the grossest!!! The smell was breathtaking and faint inducing and the sight of chunks floating around was just plain nasty. Maybe I should offer a reward for any information leading to the capture of the gross-wad that did that. EEEWWWWWWWW!!! If I had a picture I would post it - sorry, I was too busy gagging to think about taking a picture.....

100 Years!

Here's a picture of our family with Granny at her 100th birthday celebration in Wichita Falls. There were LOTS of people there and it was a busy 3 days! I told Sandy she was a crazy woman for doing all that for 3 days straight! =) We made some great memories though....

We talked on our way home about whether or not we would want to live 100 years ourselves. Would you want to?

The Good Report

Our day in Abilene was wonderful and well worth the trip. We had a good report from the doctor there! Our baby definitely has kidneys and he showed us four things that look completely normal that down syndrome babies usually have. He said our baby looked completely normal and healthy to him. And it's definitely a girl! We were smiling pretty big when we left that appointment. =)

We spent the rest of the day having lunch with Chad and Mindee and going to see their church, going to the mall, taking a nap in the van, and eventually eating at Chickfila where we got our babies back! We had a happy reunion and now we're home again. It feels good. It's been a long but good day - signing off now to go to bed. =)

"The God We Serve"

In less than 2 hours we will leave to drive to the perinatal specialist to hopefully find out what's going on with our newest little one. I feel like Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego this morning. When they were faced with the fire they looked Nebuchanezzar in the face and said, "We do not need to defend ourselves in this matter. If we are thrown into the blazing furnace, the God we serve is able to save us from it, and He will rescue us from your hand, O king. But even if He does not, we want you to know, O king, that we will not serve your gods or worship the image of gold you have set up." I'm looking this initial report in the face and saying that I know God is more than able to give me a baby in perfect health. But even if He does not, I will not bow down to despair or depression. I know that God's plan, whatever it may be, is what will ultimately come about, regardless of whatever threats the enemy may make.

If there was going to be an altar call to this blog posting, the music would have to be that old song, "Whose Report Will You Believe? (We Will Believe The Report of The Lord!)" Those were the days! =)

Why I Never Stood A Chance

I just want everyone to clearly understand why it is that I never stood a chance in life to NOT cry about everything. This picture to the left is my mother, Biggie, crying at Disneyland. Currently, I don't have a picture of my dad crying, but I will get one. It shouldn't be hard. These people cry about everything! Theme Parks, TV commercials, songs on the radio, good stories, sad movies, funny jokes, funerals, weddings, graduations, new babies, old people, people getting voted off of Survivor...the list goes on and on.

So don't ever think it odd if you see me crying about something silly - it's in my genes.

Some California Memories

Disney Land!

Our whirlwind trip to California is over and we are now recovered! We spent Thursday traveling to DFW and then flying to California - we didn't get to our hotel room until about 2am Central time. Friday night was John's graduation and that was a proud moment! We're all glad he's done with school for now - he finally has a little more time. =) After graduation we all went to a restaurant called Northwoods along with the Collins family, John's old friend from Bible Quiz and his wife and kids. Northwoods was a strange place at best, with horrible service! I've never been somewhere so expensive yet so undesirable! If you ever happen to see one still in business, keep on driving down the road.

Saturday we all went to Disneyland. I think the day would have been better if we had let Julia sleep in longer, because she was one fussy child. She definitely had many moments of happiness, but she was fussy in between all those moments. =) In retrospect, there were lots of things we didn't do there that I'm sad about. But overall, we still did LOTS of fun stuff! One of my favorite moments was taking the kids to the Playhouse Disney show. It was so wonderful to see their faces light up whenever they saw a different character. We were right up front so it was awesome! Julia jumped up and down almost the whole time. John David was more mature and reserved, but I know he loved it too.

We didn't get to see Mickey and Minnie and at the end of the day, Julia kept saying, "Mickey...Minnie....Where are you???" We did see Goofy, Donald, Mr. and Mrs. Incredible, Hercules, JoJo, Goliath, and Mulan. It was great!

I'm not sure how many churros we all ate or how many miles we walked but we sure made some great memories. Could our kids have been any happier - Disneyland with all their grandparents? Anything they wanted was theirs! =)

I still love Disneyland and I can't wait to go back again. I guess we'll have to go in about 3 more years with baby #3!

Our Silly Girl, Julia

I just had to share this moment with everyone. This was a few weeks ago now. I had been doing some housework in another room for awhile and while I was working I kept hearing Sesame Street music. I figured John had just put a video on for Julia. When I came back to the living room I found John and Julia listening to a Sesame Street CD on a little CD player and they were both singing all the words as best as they could. It was the cutest thing ever. Julia was really belting it out - she loves Sesame Street!

A Quick Update....

Just a quick post to say that we had a wonderful Mother's Day weekend in Dallas. Fine Arts was great and our human video group did advance as well as Eowyn's children's sermon. Everything else was close but didn't advance.
It was nice to not have to come home on Saturday night but to stay longer in Dallas instead. We got to spend wonderful time with Davus and Biggie and even Jeremy too. They took the kids to Six Flags while we had Fine Arts and then when we were together we hung out and went to Pappasitos (where I froze to death and we had the new waiter from H*ll!) On Monday we ate at Spring Creek (where Jeremy bathed in BBQ sauce) and then went to Chuckey Cheese for the kids. It was a wonderful time that went to quickly. =( We at least get to all be together again for John's graduation next weekend.
After we left Dallas to go to Wichita Falls for a quick visit with John's family and the Curtis family. It was good to get to see all of them too. We didn't leave there until after midnight though so we got home and in bed at almost 5 in the morning! The kids at least slept the whole way so I got to sleep most of the way too.
Ok, off to run an errand and then make some dinner for my man. More later....=)