4 Year Old Sunday School Class

This was Mackenzie's last Sunday to be in Ms. Jill (Curry) & Ms. Jamie (Webb)'s 4 Year Old Sunday School class. What a blessing it is that she had such wonderful teachers this year. I am a little sad for her to move up, but I'm sure her new teachers will be great too. Aubrey, Emma, Mackenzie, Bella, Walker & Bo have been together since they were babies. How fun to watch them grow up together!

Jill did the sweetest thing for Mackenzie...after Pa died, she brought her this little Guardian angel bear & the sweetest book called The Invisible String. It is a story that reminds her that she is never alone, and we can always have a connection with those we love because of the "invisible string" of love that we have with each other. She signed it,

"Mackenzie, Pa loved you so much! How cool is it that he is now your guardian angel!? We love you! Robin, Jill, Emma & Foster Curry

It meant more than words can say that Jill did this for Mackenzie. She loves her little bear, and I know it is something that will always be special to her. We are blessed with wonderful friends & a church family that loves and supports us.

"Every Morning at Play Group"

It really doesn't seem possible that this little girl is big enough to start "Preschool." We really weren't planning to start her, except for Friday's, until next year. However, she has asked repeatedly, "I go 'cool!" so we decided to go ahead and send her on Tuesdays & Thursdays. She started a couple weeks after Mackenzie, so it was fun that they both had their own "first days." I so enjoyed spending Tuesdays & Thursdays with Madison last year while Mack was in school. I will miss that time with her this year, but I really do feel like ELP will be great for her. She has really come out of her shell lately, and is very excited to go to "cool!" The night before her first day, I read "Every Morning at Play Group," just like I did before Mackenzie's first day last year. I was glad to make it through the book without tears this time! This is a book that I loved when I was a little girl, so it is special for me to read it to my girls now.

Mackenzie took these pictures for us. She is quite a good little photographer!

The Bedroom Dilemma...

I have gone over and over in my mind what the best scenario would be for the girls' bedrooms...so, we have decided that the best thing for now, is to put the girls in the same room...but, figuring out exactly how to make that work has been harder than I thought. I am having a hard time making decisions about little things right now...much less about major changes, like getting a new bed for the girls. (I know, it's not that big of a deal, but for some reason, in my world, it is right now!) Grandma Baldwin came up and spent the night with us on Friday night, while Daddy was at the All-Nighter and helped get the rooms somewhat organized and cleaned up. Until we found the new bed, we put Mack's toddler bed in Madison's room, and turned Madison's bed into a toddler bed instead of a crib. They loved it & wanted to trade beds! I think it will be a lot of fun for them to share a room...Mackenzie wanted me to push the beds really close together so she and Madi could hold hands. How sweet is that?! After looking, and looking...and looking, and having the house turned upside down for about a week, we finally found the perfect bed! Yea!!! Daddy just had to put it together for us...it came in a LOT of boxes. (He's so good!)

The Playroom!

I am SO excited to have all of the toys in one room, with a separate room for the girls to sleep in. I get so tired of their bedrooms being strewn with toys, that I can't stand it. They seriously make such a mess, that you can't even walk in the room. We try to teach them to pick up their toys, but it just doesn't always work, and I end up cleaning their rooms all of the time. So, I decided if all of the toys were in one room, I could just shut the door if it is a mess! =0) Great plan! I took some pictures of the new "playroom" because it was perfectly clean & I knew it would only stay that way until 30 seconds after they woke up the next morning! I don't know what we'll do if we decide to have another baby & need this room for a bedroom...I guess we'll have a lot of toys to get rid of! For now, I love it!

This and That

These are just some random pictures from the past couple of weeks. I don't even have anything to write about them, really...they are just cute pictures that I didn't want to leave out.Mack's new tennis shoes... You just never what they will come out wearing! Mackenzie always wants to be "announced." How fun to have a sister & constant playmate! We went to Newcastle to spend a few nights, and Madison decided she was sleepy, so she just climbed in and put herself to bed. I kinda felt bad about it, actually! I have had so much on my mind lately, that I can't hardly keep up with everything, but I'm trying. As long as she has her pony & her blankie, she is ready to go to sleep!

First Day of Pre-K

Today was Mackenzie's first day of Pre-K at the Early Learning Program at STBC! She was SO excited, and honestly, so was I! She loves it so much, and it will be very good for her to get back into a "normal" routine, after the summer we have had. Her teachers this year are Ms. Anne & Ms. Janice, and they are wonderful already! All I kept thinking during the week before school started was how GLAD I was that Mackenzie went to ELP last year, so the first day of school wouldn't be so hard for me this year. I don't think I could handle any more traumatic events in my life right now. I actually felt a little bit guilty, because I wasn't really sad at all about the first day this time. We missed the Open House, because of the events of the past few weeks, but it was no big deal. G-Ma got to be there to take her to school that first day, and that was very special. Mackenzie wore a new outfit that Grandma & Grandpa Baldwin bought for her while we were on vacation. She picked out a Littlest Petshop backpack & lunchbox, and I made her a pb&j in the shape of a crayon & an apple for her first day. (I know, that is probably over the top, but I just wanted her to feel special and know that I was thinking of her!) There are 9 boys and 6 girls in her class this year. Bella, Josie, Brooklyn, and Emily are all friends from her class last year, that she is with again this year. (Mackenzie was a little sad that Ben wasn't in her class this year...she liked Ben!) It is hard for me to imagine that she could actually be going to Pre-K 5 days a week at Jenks this year...not ready for that just yet! What is even scarier is that next year she will be in Kindergarten, all day, 5 days a week. =0( We are still praying about what to do concerning that, or Homeschooling...just not sure yet! I wish God would just give us a clear answer on it. But, for now, I know she is right where she needs to be. We are looking forward to a great year of Pre-K!!!I love that her backpack & lunchbox were purple & matched the outfit that we already had picked out for her first day. We didn't plan it that way, but it worked out perfectly. G-Ma bought her the matching thermos for her lunchbox. Madison grabbed her a backpack too & was ready to go to "cool!" (Just a few more days, and she would get to!) I am so thankful we have such a wonderful church home & a place where our girls can go to Preschool in a christian environment. We are blessed!
Madison was in the big middle of everything when we dropped Mack off. Mackenzie wanted her to get in the picture with her teachers! Mackenzie got to be the Calendar helper on the first day of school!

Happy Birthday, Uncle Clint!

Happy 26th Birthday to Uncle Clint!

After Uncle Clint & Abigail's wedding shower at WHBC on Sunday, we headed back home to Tulsa & G-Ma came with us to spend a few days. Uncle Clint's birthday was on Monday, and we went to dinner at Osaka, a Hibachi Grill. This was a new experience for us, but it was very good & the girls were completely entertained by the Chef who cooked our dinner right in front of us. Mackenzie's favorite part was when he cracked an egg in the air with a spatula, and when he tossed a shrimp up on top of his head into his hat. It is hard to have a "good time" right now, because we are all so sad, but Dad would want us to keep going & enjoying life. I know it was a hard birthday for Clint, but I'm glad we could all be together to help celebrate his special day. I love my little brother very much!

"What Big Eyes You Have!"

My posts lately have been pretty heavy & sad, so this one is just for fun. I don't even know what to say about it, except that these pictures definitely make me laugh! Mackenzie has this sticker book where she can design faces...we were sitting on the couch with G-Ma, and we looked over and she had these eye stickers on her face. It was so funny...G-Ma helped her fix up the rest of her face! That's just wrong...but hilarious! (My favorite is her crooked eyebrow...she did that part herself!)

Yea, for Pee-Pee!

Hip-Hip-Hooray!!! Madison used the potty today!!! We went to church with G-Ma on Sunday, and then had lunch at Western Sizzlin' with Grandma Shaw, Rod, Craig & their families, before Uncle Clint & Abigail's wedding shower. When we got back to the house, I asked Madison if she wanted to try to potty, and she said, "Yes!" Well, we have tried and tried...and tried...but nothing has happened. I went into the bathroom with her, and was SO excited when I heard her actually using the potty!!! (I think it surprised her too!) Look at the sweet excitement on her little face. She was so proud! It was very sweet, because Mackenzie was so excited for her too! We had a big celebration, called Daddy & told him about it, and then ran to tell G-Ma. She celebrated with us, but it was a little bittersweet, because Pa wasn't there to see it. He would have been so excited for Madison. I can just see him doing a little happy dance in the hallway for her. (He would have been VERY proud that she made this big accomplishment at his house!) I know there will be many, many moments like this, when we will miss him so much & wish he were there with us. I am so proud of my big girl! (I am writing this blog post a few weeks later, and we have only had one other successful attempt at using the potty, but this is a start!) I am not sure what we are going to do when we go to public places...she is terrified of sitting on a regular toilet. She will only sit on her froggy potty! Time will tell, I guess!

Mack's 1st "Real" Haircut

We finally decided it was time for Mackenzie's first "real" haircut! (The real trick was convincing Daddy that we had to cut off that "baby hair!" He was very sentimental about it...moreso than me even!) She has had her bangs trimmed lots of times, but never the back of her hair. I wanted to get it done before she started school, so we went to Stacey & she cut nearly 5 inches off! I was very sad to see those pretty little blonde curls go, but it needed to happen. I can't believe how full and healthy Mack's hair looks now. We are trying to grow her bangs out, so for now, we are just putting them in a clip to the side. Stacey put her hair in a little baggie for me to take home. Not sure what I'm going to do with it, but it just seems like one of those things you should keep. This is yet another sign that my baby girl isn't quite a baby anymore.She looks so grown up...not sure if that's a good thing or not, but it is part of life I guess.

A few nights ago, I was up with Mackenzie during the night because she was coughing a lot & I said, "Mack, I can't believe you're almost 5." She looked at me very sweetly, and said, "Remember, I'll still be your little girl!" "And Daddy can still carry me cause he's the strongest person ever. He said he could even carry me when I'm 48!" It almost made me cry! It was so sweet that she wanted to reassure me that she would be my little girl even when she is 5, and that I didn't have to be sad about it. She is precious! (Daddy liked hearing that he is the strongest person ever, too!)

This was a picture of the back of her hair right before we left to get it cut...it was getting so long that it was losing some of the curls. It is much easier to wash her hair now that there isn't quite so much of it! She really enjoyed getting her hair washed. She just hopped right up there and crossed her legs & relaxed, like she was an old pro. She's like her Momma...she likes to be pampered!Stacey is such a good sport...we had the camera & iphone out, making sure we captured this moment...you would have thought she was graduating from High School or something!There it goes...=0(

SWEET, SWEET, SWEET!!! Madison still has a thing about hair...maybe she will be a hairdresser one of these days! It was so cute to watch her looking at her hair in the mirror. She loved it and kept swinging her head back and forth, showing off her new 'do! The finished product...so beautiful!