Swim Lessons Part 2

Today was the last day of swimming lessons for Lauren.  The parents were allowed to come and watch the entire lesson.  I was so excited! 

Lauren looked excited when I got there.

It went downhill from there.  She had a complete meltdown.  I have no idea what happened.  She had been enjoying the lessons every day up until yesterday.  They had to make up for a rain out the day before and her teacher told me that yesterday's lesson was tough on her.  I was thinking it was because they doubled her pool time.  I thought she'd have fun staying longer, but apparently not.

Sweet girl could not stop crying.  I pulled her out of the pool and we had a talk.  She said she wanted to go home.  Break my heart.  She finally stopped crying and I told her we needed to finish the lesson.  There was only 10 minutes to go.  I thought she was fine.  She got back in the water.  And then the flood gates opened again.  Hopefully she is not scarred for life from this incident. 

She really does love to swim!  And she was doing a great job swimming without anyone holding onto her (the only thing she needs to work on is coming up for air... sweet girl would hold her breath and then gasp for air at the end!) 

Hopefully she just had a bad day and all will be better next time we have lessons... which won't be until next summer.  :)

Swim Lessons

So, I mentioned that Lauren started swimming lessons yesterday.  She was so excited!  I was going to try and go watch her, but I didn't make it in time.  And besides, they don't really let the parents close enough to see anything until the last 5 minutes of the lesson.  I'm planning to go back another day.

Anyway, so I wasn't able to make it yesterday, so I went to sit with her during lunch instead.  I wanted her to tell me all about it.

Let me begin by saying that Lauren thinks she can swim.  Because at home she has floaties on and jumps right in, no problem.  She has become quite brave in the water.  Fast forward to her lesson yesterday morning and she tells me that she "sinked."  Say what?

Apparently all the kids (there are only 3 or 4 in the class) were sitting on the edge of the pool, waiting to get in.  I guess Lauren got antsy and decided she was ready to swim and the girl jumped in the pool!  Of course she "sinked"!!!  Thankfully the instructor was right there and got her.

And then she did it again!  Who is this child?  I was terrified, I mean terrified to get my face wet as kid.  I would never have jumped in like that, but my girl is apparently fearless.  And didn't learn her lesson the first time.  She said it scared her, but she was ready to do swim lessons again!

CRAZY!

Weekend Recap

Catherine is 3 months old today!  That is crazy to think about.  She is growing so fast and getting big too quickly.  If this is our last baby then I need her to ssssssllllllloooooowwwww dddddddoooooowwwwnnnnnnn.

Friday we had Catherine's PT evaluation to see if she has torticollis.  She has a minor issue with tilting her head to the right.  The PT said her rotation is good (she can look left and right equally), but her tendency is to hold her head to the right.  I'm supposed to do some stretches with her every day and it will work itself out over time.  I don't think she'll need to see a PT every week.  I don't even think she'll qualify for the KidSource program and that's fine with me.  Her little neck muscles will get stronger with increased tummy time.  And hopefully when she starts rolling over her little flat head will round itself out.

Saturday morning Trey headed home to take the tractor back to his Dad's house and the girls and I headed to Walmart for some essentials.  I got into the store and in the McDonald's line (Lauren likes to shop eating a sausage biscuit) and realized I didn't have my wallet in my purse.  Went back to the car and searched for it... not there.  Called Trey in a panic.  He hadn't seen it.   GREAT.  So, we drove all the way back home and searched the house.  Started calling places that I used it last on Friday... no one had it.  Now I'm in full blown panic mode.  So I thought maybe I'd left it at the daycare because I had tried to pay fees on Friday but their system was down and I couldn't.  I had called several people trying to track down the phone number for anyone that could let me in.  I was dialing her number when it hit me.  Check the diaper bag, dummy!!!  UGH.  I had checked the diaper bag, but not the side pocket.  It was in there the WHOLE time!  I felt like an idiot and I just burst into tears at that point.  At least I found it, but man did I feel stupid. 

So, we got back in the car and headed back to Walmart because there were things that I really needed for that day (FORMULA).  Lauren said, "Mama, now can I have a sausage biscuit?"  Bless her heart she was starving.  We got to Walmart, got our sausage biscuits and started shopping.  I actually remembered everything this time.  At least I think so, ha!  And I had about $15 in coupons and was pumped!

Got to the checkout and gave my coupons to the checker.  He scanned and bagged all my stuff and then handed me my receipt.  Without running my coupons?!?!?!?!?!  Seriously.  I was not about to leave the store, so I had to wait in the customer service line at walmart, on a Saturday.  It wasn't that terrible, but finally I got my $15 worth of coupons processed and they gave me the money for them.  The rest of the day went much better and both girls got good naps and I was able to clean the house.  I would really love a housekeeper.

Thankfully Sunday was better than Saturday.  We didn't do a whole lot and didn't make it to church either.  Maybe next Sunday.  Hopefully Trey had a good Father's Day.  We gave him cards and a picture frame that says We Love Daddy.  Although I told him that he would have to print out his own picture on the photo printer because I tried and it would only print in black and white.  Oh well. 

Lauren starts swimming lessons today!  I'm so excited for her and she is excited too!  Except I don't think they let the parents watch.  Well, they do, from a distance and I don't know how much I'll be able to see so I'm not sure if I'll get any good pictures.  I need to try though!

9 years and counting!

WARNING:  This is the longest post in the history of posts.  But it's a great read.  :)

I've wanted to document how Trey and I met for a long time and I finally got around to writing it... here goes:

Trey and I met in college. We fell in love. We got married.

The end.


Just kidding!

Seriously, I wanted to chronicle our love story before I get too old to remember all the details. This is more for us and our kids than anyone.

I honestly don’t remember what year it was I met Trey. I think it was our sophomore year of college. It’s funny, because I do remember a conversation when we did first meet, I just can’t remember when it was. And I don’t remember who introduced us either. Oh well.

Here is what I do remember about that first encounter. Trey was standing next to a big trash can outside of the kitchen at the BSU (Baptist Student Union or Baptist Collegiate Ministries). I’m pretty sure he was talking to someone. The friend I was with, the one I don’t remember, asked me if I had been introduced to Trey Steiner. I said something to the effect of, “No, not officially… I mean, I know who he is, but I don’t KNOW him, know him.” She pulled me over there to the trash can and introduced me.

I remember he was dating someone at the time. Someone I thought did not fit him well, even though I didn’t know him. And what’s funny is that later on, when I admitted this fact to him, he said he thought the same thing about me. Because I was dating someone at the time that didn’t fit me at all either. Turns out we were both right about each other.

But the Lord knew what He was doing. We didn’t date those folks for long. Soon we were both single and we stayed that way for a while. I think God was trying to tell us to wait for His choice to be presented. I had no idea it was Trey… and I don’t think Trey had a clue it was me.

In November of 2000 the BSU went on a mission trip to Mexico. I was assigned to the same team as Trey. The goal was to build a house in a week. I have no idea why I signed up to go on this trip, except for the fact that every one of my friends was going. I did love mission work, but we were going to have to sleep outside… in army tents… in the COLD… with NO SHOWERS FOR A WEEK. In hindsight I thought maybe I would have served better at home… praying in my warm bed. But again, God placed me on that bus for that umpteen hour drive to Juarez. He had other plans.

I was so blessed by those people who were so grateful for a ‘hole in the wall house’. It was basically two rooms. It had no bathing facilities… it had NO plumbing. And I remember one of the men for whom this house was being built; he was so proud and so thankful just to have the roof over his head.

It still reminds me how much I take for granted in my own life. So what that I froze to death in the cold in temperatures that reached 16 degrees at night? It was for one week. Some of those citizens live that way their whole lives.

Okay, so Trey and I were on the same team on this mission trip. I can remember watching Trey on the roof of that house, driving nails in with his hammer. We brought our own tools on this trip. I could tell from watching him that he knew what he was doing. He was no rookie. I was though… I think I could count on one hand how many times I’d actually held a hammer up until that point. I tried to help hammer nails in the two by fours for the walls and missed so many times… I held up the progress. So, I did what most of the other girls did… I played with the kids or I help sift the rocks out of what would be the cement used for the stucco. Basically, I stayed out of the way of progress. And I’m pretty sure I whined some about the cold.

Trey and I didn’t have much interaction on that trip. I just mainly remember watching him. Until one of those days I had a splitting headache. I was sitting down with my head on my knees and he walked in front of me. He asked me “what was the matter” (Actually, I think he words were, “What’s your problem?”) I told him I had a bad headache and didn’t feel well. I could see he felt bad for his comment and he said, “Oh, sorry…” before walking away. Our next encounter was much more lighthearted.

Remember I said it was cold while we were down there? Well, it was windy too… everyone was chapped from the cold. Chapstick was in high demand. And this girl has always got some Chapstick with me. Trey had been either laying the foundation or putting the stucco up that day and he was sitting down on the ground taking a break. He was dirty and his hands were gunky. And his lips were severely dry and chapped. He was in need. And I happened to walk by. He asked me if I had any Chapstick, and if I did, could he borrow it. I said, “Sure! But I’ll have to put it on you because your hands are really dirty and I don’t want my Chapstick to get yucky” (or something to that affect). He puckered up and I applied the Chapstick. It was quite funny.

Someone even said, “That’s what married people do!” Little did anyone know…

We got back from Mexico and life was busy with Thanksgiving holiday and then Christmas. I was getting a serious crush on Trey at that point and I kept waiting, waiting, and waiting for him to call me. It was February before he did. Talk about taking his sweet time!

We had both attended a college fellowship one Sunday evening after church. It was pouring down rain when I left, I remember being scared that my little Toyota Corolla was going to get stuck leaving the muddy street side I’d parked on. The phone rang shortly after I arrived home. It was him! I was giddy and trying not to be too excited over the phone. I could tell he was a little nervous. He asked me to lunch… Of course I said Yes! Then I hung up and began fretting about what to wear.

It was Monday, February 12, 2001 when he picked me up at my apartment (duplex) and we headed to Trenton Street Café. He was driving the little black S-10 (nickname: the Best10) with the broken seatbelt. We sat in a booth and talked about our families and where we were from and all that stuff. It was so fun and very sweet. He dropped me back off at my apartment and he headed to class. I headed to work at the church. He was late because we talked so long! And I was BEAMING! as I strolled into the office that day. Even the Pastor noticed something was different. He found out that I’d been on a date with a guy named Trey and from then on the Pastor would look at me in the office and just wave with three fingers to tease me.

I don’t remember us ever having a conversation about being an official couple. We just were. We got pretty serious about each other pretty fast. It’s one of those cliché things – when you know, you know – and we just knew. I think it was sometime in May when Trey first uttered those 3 little words every girl wants to hear. It was a huge deal to me for someone to say that they loved me. I’d never heard that from a guy I’d dated before, because I’d never been too serious about any other guy I’d dated. I had told Trey early on that he’d better not say those words to me unless he was for sure that he meant it. And I also told him not to say “it” unless he knew wanted to marry me. I just feared so badly getting my heart broken that I never wanted to hear him say those words and then take it back. I was trying to be careful with my heart. And I knew he was holding it.

I can remember exactly where we were and what I was wearing when he told me he loved me (at his house, snuggling on the couch and I was wearing a short black skirt and turquoise short-sleeved top). It had gotten real quiet and he just leaned over and whispered in my ear… “I think I love you.” Immediately my heart started racing because I knew I was in love with this man, but he took me completely by surprise at that moment. So, I said, “You think you do?” And then he clarified, “I don’t just think so, I do love you.” And then I scared him by waiting a few seconds before I responded because I needed to catch my breath. Then I said, “I love you too.”

I’m pretty sure I reminded him of my stipulation about those words… he had remembered what I’d said. And then I heard wedding bells.

We continued to date and grow closer over the summer and by the time Fall Quarter started I was wondering when he might pop the question. I was ready to plan a wedding! He finally did ask me to marry him December 22, 2006. I remember that I had planned on going home that day for Christmas break and he asked me to stay one more day and wait to go home on Saturday. I wasn’t at all expecting to be proposed to. We drove to Monroe to eat dinner and catch a movie (Ocean’s 11, I still have the ticket stub). We were driving back to Ruston and getting phone calls from friends that wanted to hang out. I thought we were going to go to a friend’s house for awhile, but Trey said he just wanted to go home. I thought he was just being anti-social, ha!

We went back to his house to just hang out and he started acting all nervous. I asked him if we were going to exchange Christmas presents and he said okay. He went to get mine and it was in this big box. I started unwrapping it and was confused when I saw a picture of a telephone on the outside. So I opened it up and then noticed that the inside of the box had pennies glued to it (to make it heavier). I looked inside and saw a small ring box. THEN I knew.

Trey quickly took the ring box from my hands and opened it up to show a sparkling diamond ring. He got down on one knee and asked me to marry him! Of course I said Yes! I was shaking from the shock and excitement! He really had me fooled.

I found out later that he had driven to Shreveport earlier that week (or the week before, I can’t remember) to talk to my Dad and ask his permission. My parents knew the whole time! And he had also fooled me the day he went to pick out my ring. I thought he was studying at a friend’s house, but little did I know that he had driven to Alexandria and back to pick up the ring. So sneaky, but very sweet!

Our engagement was a quick 6 months and somewhat stressful! I was trying to finish school and working on an impossible group project for a class that took so much of my time. There were times I thought I wasn’t going to make it through. We did, thankfully, and I was never more relieved to graduate knowing it was only a month later we’d be married!

My graduation, one month before the wedding

June 15, 2002 was our perfect wedding. I don’t remember being nervous, but just giddy excited! I do remember being told about a nervous groom in the hallway though…  We said, “I do” just after 2:00 pm and I’ve never regretted it.

Horse back riding on our honeymoon.  Trey was not thrilled, but I was loving it.  And I picked the biggest horse they had!  Ha!

Sure, we’ve had ups and downs. We’ve moved 6 times in 9 years and totally remodeled 2 houses. We have 2 precious daughters (one came easy, the other was a struggle). But through it all I’ve always been glad to have Trey by my side.

Gussied up for Mardi Gras Ball in 2006.

Blowing in our insulation in our current house... messy! (2009)

“God gave me you for the ups and downs
God gave me you for the days of doubt
For when I think I’ve lost my way
There are no words here left to say, it’s true…
God gave me you”

Dave Barnes



Trey, I love you more than words can say. In our day to day lives we say, “I love you” many times, but it I feel those words each time I say them. I can’t believe it’s already been 9 years since we said, “I do.” I love you deeply. Happy Anniversary, Babe!

Happy Flag Day!

It's Army Birthday week so we are all decked out in our Patriotic gear this morning (Catherine's onesie says, "I'm made in America").  We'll wear the same thing on the 4th of July, but I thought this picture from this morning was too cute not to share. 
Lauren has a great smile going on, but Catherine looks a little concerned, ha!  I guess it will be a while before I can get a picture with both of them smiling!

TGIF

I am so relieved that it is Friday today.  My word, this week has been interesting.  It's hard to get around with just one vehicle when you are used to having two!  My surburban was in the shop getting worked on.  We dropped it off Monday morning and picked it up Thursday afternoon.  I was so glad to have my vehicle back!  I was driving Trey's truck and we were taking turns dropping each other off at work and picking up and it was just getting OLD.  Don't get me wrong, I don't mind carpooling, but we were having to leave the house 30 minutes earlier than I'm used to and we already leave at 7:00 am as it is!

At least the weekend is here and we'll be able to get some rest.  Or at least we'll try.  In between the cleaning, laundry, and cooking.  Who am I kidding?  I'm not going to get much rest but at least we'll be at home with the girls!  Hopefully we'll get to do some swimming this weekend.  Trey and Lauren have been able to get in the pool, but I haven't yet.  We may have to take turns staying inside with Catherine.  I think it's just too hot out there for her.  Unless we are swimming in the very early morning or late evening.  Which we probably need to do anyway because in the heat of the day the pool feels like bath water... not very refreshing.

It won't hurt my feelings too bad even if I don't get to swim since I'm sure none of my swim suits fit properly yet.  I haven't had the courage to try one on.  I still have 13 pounds of weight to lose and it's giving me a run for my money.  I'm trying desperatly to eat good and make healthy choices... cut back on portions... cut out sweets.  If you know me at all cutting out sweets has been the hardest.  I give in occasionally, but you can't go your whole life and never eat another brownie.  It's just not possible.  And exercise?  Are you kidding me?  When am I supposed to exercise?  I'm hoping this weekend I'll be able to get on the TreadClimber for at least 30 minutes on Saturday and Sunday.  I'm going to have to make it a priority or else it won't get done and I'll get busy doing something else instead.  It's just that I don't really like to excerise.  But if I'm ever going to be able to wear my clothes again I need to learn to like it.

But even if I never lose the weight and are forever in a size bigger than I'm used to, it will totally be worth it.  Because I've got two of the most amazing and beautiful girls I could ever ask for.  Worth every bit of the muffin top.  :)

Weekend fun with friends

I got NO pictures of the adults from this weekend!  Ha!  I really meant to get pictures of whole families, but when you've got a 5 year old boy, a (almost) 3 year old boy, a 3 year old girl, 2 month old and 10 month old all in one house, well, let's just say it can get crazy!

We had so much fun this weekend with our friends, the Byrds and the Powells.  We don't get to see the Byrds but every 2 years due to their location overseas.  So it's a treat when we do get together.  It's hard to believe we've been friends for over 10 years now and we have 4 children between us!  They got into town on Thursday late afternoon and left on Sunday morning.  I'm so glad we had that time with them.  They are such good friends and we miss them terribly!

The kids had a BLAST swimming in the pool.  And I was so proud of Lauren for getting in there without me!  I think it was positive peer pressure from the boys.  On Friday she wore her swimsuit with the built in floaty and floaties, but on the second day she just wore her regular bathing suit and floaties.  Which, by the way, I need to get her a new pair of floaties because those leave black marks on her arms from the writing, oops!

The boys were fearless and loved the water!

The Powells little girls stayed inside with her Mama while the big kids braved the heat.  It was so hot out there!  She liked looking out the window, searching for the big puppy!

Catherine did some chillin' in the house as well... it was just too hot for the babies during the mid afternoon hours.



We did venture down to the River Market on Saturday evening for some Flying Fish and a walk down by the river.  We were all drenched with sweat by the time we made it back to the cars so we headed over to the Purple Cow for some ice cream treats.  Yum!  It was so good and hit the spot.

I have to mention the funniest thing that happened on Thursday night.  The Powells hadn't arrived yet, so it was just us and the Byrds.  Well, the littlest boy, Patrick, was going to sleep on an air mattress in our guest room and Lauren was going to sleep in her bed, just next door.  Well she had been saying that she wanted to sleep in Patrick's bed and that "he can share with me!".  It was so cute.  Well, we put the kids to bed and I was downstairs in Catherine's room when I heard footsteps upstairs.  So I poked my head out of the room and told one of the other adults that they might want to investigate.  So, Scott went upstairs and found Patrick in Lauren's bed and they were just laying there talking!  HA!  I thought it was so funny and cute.  They are both snugglers so I guess they got lonely in their beds by themselves and decided to have a sleep over.  Needless to say, they did not stay that way, but it was cute that they tried!

We are looking forward to the next time we are able to see our friends the Byrds and the Powells!

Time is flying...

and I WISH it would slow down!  It's hard to believe that it's June already!  Next week should technically be my first week back to work after having Catherine.  That is if she would have stayed put until her scheduled delivery date.  But life doesn't always work out that way you planned it, does it?  And that's okay.  I can't imagine how I would have lasted another 4 weeks before seeing this sweet face.

She is such a little sweetie and growing like a weed!  She is starting to "coo" and smile a lot more.  I just love that little toothless grin!  Already she takes a 5 oz. bottle just about every 4 hours.  She slept until 4:00 am this morning and gave me almost 6 hours of sleep.  Blessed miracle.  I was hoping she would hold off until 5:00 to get up, but I'll take what I can get!  She'll get there, and really, I'm in no hurry.  When it's quiet and still in the house we are able to snuggle in the dark and it's such a sweet time.  I know I'll miss it when she starts sleeping longer.  I always treasured my time snuggling with Lauren too.

Going back to work has been alright, I suppose.  We are trying to get into a fairly decent routine.  If I can get just about everything done the night before it goes much smoother in the mornings.  It's hard getting myself and two girls ready in the morning!  I'm sure it will create another challenge once Catherine starts having an opinion on what to wear, but that won't be for a while.

I still catch myself grinning when I say "the girls" or "the kids".  It sounds so strange, but I love it.  I wouldn't change anything for the world.

Lauren is just hilarious these days.  I wish I could remember all the things she says on an average day, but she really cracks me up a lot.  She is becoming a little lady (for the most part, ha!) and on occasion she is a little too big for her britches.  But I love that she loves Catherine.  She wants to hug her and kiss her all the time and it truly melts my heart.  I hope they grow up loving each other and being the very best of friends.