Just a normal day...

I want to learn how to celebrate the ordinary!

Today, as I sat down to write my blog, I realized that I don't have anything extraordinary to share about our day. It was just a typical day in our lives. So often, I call my Mom or Mom Q and say, "I don't have anything to tell, just wanted to call." That's what I feel like today. "I don't have anything to tell..."

Then I realized, that I am so grateful for an ordinary day. We didn't have any emergency room visits, our house was still standing when I arrived home, the cars are both working, everyone is healthy... Wow! It was an ordinary day! Whooo Hooo!

I also realized that I am going to quickly forget the ordinary. I feel like the days are going to stay fresh in my mind forever, but I know that pretty soon I am going to forget what is was like to have an ordinary day with Austin as a 2 year old. So, here it is... a complete blog dedicated to our absolutely, ordinary day.

I woke up and got dressed in my "mother's day out uniform." Red t-shirt, ponytail, jeans, sneakers, and very little makeup. I woke up Austin at 7:30 am and then he ate a banana and cereal while I packed lunches. I got him dressed and he cried when I turned off Mickey Mouse Club to get him to brush his teeth.

Austin typically finishes his breakfast in the car - while I become the bag lady.
- A diaper bag
- 2 lunches
- Nap mat for Austin
- Ducky or "quack quack"
- and numerous bags full of teaching tricks, supplies, and bribes for my own classroom.

If we leave early enough, we have time to pull through Sonic where I order my large Coke and we are off for a caffeinated day of teaching and learning.








Here we are in our car ready to go!
Not really, at the moment, I am driving a 2004 Honda Accord and James is still driving our awesome 1999 Toyota Forerunner with close to 200,000 miles. So, yes, this could be a picture of Austin in our forerunner.

School starts at 9 am and is a full day of play, music, computer, phonics, crafts, etc. until 2:00 pm.

We leave and Austin normally falls asleep immediately when we get in the car. Today, we went to the grocery store! Austin fell asleep on the way home anyway! Austin naps and I check email, blog, watch tv, or sleep... I should be doing laundry, dishes, or cleaning the house, but I don't want to:) After naps, we play and Austin helps me cook dinner. Tonight we are making lasagna. James comes home, we eat, we play, Austin gets a bath and goes to bed! Yeah for the ordinary!


I'll add a prayer on here later for Austin, but right now I smell my lasagna burning! - maybe i'll have an extraordinary story to tell after all!

My Butterfly

If nothing ever changed, there would be no butterflies. - Unknown


When I look at this picture of Austin, I just want to laugh out loud! Isn't he absolutely adorable. He was only 4 months old in this picture! He has those huge cheeks that widen whenever he smiles. I love it. Oh, I was so concerned at the time. Every time we went to the Doctor, Austin was off the charts in weight. He just kept getting bigger and bigger and bigger (which is exactly what babies are supposed to do)! He was truly my little chunk! I cannot tell you how many times I was stopped in grocery stores by concerned elderly women asking me what in the world I was feeding that baby!

I took pictures of Austin in his diaper every month for the first year, and now as I look back over the pictures, I am amazed at the change from month to month, and now year to year! A baby goes through so much growth that first year of life.

We are so scared of change, and yet it is the lack of change that causes a new parent the greatest concern. Growth means change. Growth is both difficult and necessary.

Austin no longer has that baby chunk! He is growing into a little boy every single day. He has moved from rolling over to crawling to walking. He is no longer using sign language as much as his verbal speech develops every day. Today he said "more, chips, mom." I didn't know he knew the word "chips." On Sunday, he was working a puzzle on transportation, pointed to a taxi and said, "taxi, mom." I don't know where he learned the word "taxi!" Oh, he is growing!

This week I am teaching my four year olds a lesson on butterflies, and I am reminded once again how much preschoolers remind me of these flittering creatures. On Tuesday, one of my students, Keira had a birthday. She danced around the room all day making up songs. "Today is my birthday! I love my birthday! I brought cupcakes!" The song had its own unique tune as Keira flittered through the classroom. A little butterfly.

Austin was trying to communicate with me today at the BSM. We were eventually both in tears as his tantrum increased and I kept saying, "Austin, I'm sorry. Mommy just doesn't understand that word." Growth is both confusing and irritating. Just like a caterpillar growing into that beautiful butterfly.

The changes are happening so quickly. The days are flying by and I want him to remain a baby forever. Today, he didn't want to take a nap, so I held him for a few minutes in a big chair, just singing in his ear. "Oh, I want this moment to last forever, I thought to myself!" Then I laughed at the image of a 6'4" college-aged Austin sitting in my lap being sung to by his mommy! Oh, I want to pinch the cheeks of that little four month old boy again! Don't let it go by too quickly, Lord!

"Dear Lord, I pray that you would help me to cherish every moment I have as Austin's mommy. Please let the days go slowly and allow me to capture the memories in my mind. Thank you that preschoolers teach me the importance of growth, and I pray that you would be with Austin as he grows. Lord, please help him to grow up into the man of God that you want him to be. Please never allow me as his mom to inhibit his growth by my own fears."

Be Kind to thy Sister...

Be Kind to Thy Sister...
Not many may know the depths of true sisterly love...

My sister and her son, Andrew

I don't have much to write about today from my own life, so I thought that I would occasionally dedicate a blog entry to all the members of Austin's extended family. So, today, I am going to start with the inspiration for my own blogging debut: My Sister, Jenny.

Jenny is a master story teller in both her speech and her writing. She is able to make a mundane task come to vibrant life with something as simple as a dramatic accent, a tale of something lost or found, or the description of something she saw. I few months ago, she started recording her days through a blog. As our parents daily read her blog, they started encouraging me in the same way, "Emily, you should write a blog too! Then we could keep up with Austin!"

Great Jenny, thanks so much.

Even though I am only 18 months younger than my sister, I never felt like I was compared to her. We grew up with such different interests and strengths that it was really easy to follow in her footsteps. Jenny doesn't mind a good adventure (or risk), so growing up, I was able to watch Jenny to determine which actions were "spanking worthy" and later "grounding worthy." To this day, I still call her about parenting and say, "Jenny, what would happen if I let Austin do this? Have you ever let Andrew eat that? Was he allowed to jump off ____? I still evaluate so many risks in light of my sister. Since I hate breaking rules (see earlier post), I love having an older sister to lead the way.

Jenny is the "queen of everything!" Really! If I can't track her down, I can always call my mom... "Mom, do you know where Jenny is today?"
"Mmmm.. ," She'll reply. "She is leading MOPS this morning, then driving to Brooksville to take Andrew strawberry picking. After that, she is delivering meals to sick friends while taking care of their 16 children. She has a small group meeting in her house tonight after leading her Beth Moore Bible study and then is surprising David (her husband) with a gourmet meal (she made herself) and an evening away at a luxury hotel (that she paid for making gift bags for orphaned children). So, I think if you call her between 5:00 and 5:03, you might be able to catch her."

I have never met anyone who can volunteer for everything and then do it all 100%. She lives life to the full everyday and she has this amazing fashion sense. (I know that doesn't really relate, but I just thought of it and it is something else that I admire.) Whenever I'm in town, I always ask to just walk through her closet.

I know that this blog might not be interesting to anyone besides my family, but I want to record all these thoughts somewhere. I want Austin to someday know how I felt about his family - my family. I want him to know where he got his love for shoes (Jenny and Granny) and his rich heritage.

So, Jenny, thanks for the inspiration to write this blog.

Do you have some good friends?

Do you have some good friends?
I never know quite how to answer this question. And strangely enough, I am asked this question a lot. Perhaps it is because we move quite a bit. Perhaps it stems from the fact that I have friends all over the country. Perhaps it is a question of concern since my best friends live thousands of miles away? Maybe people are just nosy? No, I think they mean well, but I am often asked, "Have you made some good friends in _____ (Denton, Fort Worth, at your church, at your school, in your neighborhood, fill in the blank).

So, today, it is time to finally answer the question - and hopefully identify with some other moms out there in blog land. Yes, I have many friends in _____.
I would love to introduce you to the ones I spend the most time with.

These are perhaps my most faithful friends. They are always there for me and really reliable so far. They aren't my best friends - as you can tell, they haven't learned how to sort, fold, or put away, so we are just hanging out together right now.

James thinks Oreck should be my best friend ever (see previous post), but I see our relationship more as one of convenience.

My best friend! However, I have found that she is not near as interested in making me look good as she is in providing me comfort!

The worst friend of all - she just lays around and makes me do all the work. (This is my pilates mat!)

So, for all my friends living so far away, I am happy to say that i have made some great new friends, but there is always room in my life for you!

The Other Side of the Story

"We are not illegitimate children," they protested. "The only Father we have is God himself." John 8:41

Yesterday, I told you all about my messy side... today it is time to tell you about my other side... James Kenneth Quesenberry

When I make a mess, James is always there to help me clean it up. James loves a house in order, everything in its place (especially dishes and laundry). His "love language" is acts of service and he feels so loved when he comes home to me vacuuming..
sometimes I wish he felt love when he came home to a huge watercolor painting lesson going on in the middle of the coffee table...

I am so thankful for his patience in the midst of the mess, and I love having my best friend around to share in this adventure called "parenthood!"

I love to watch James and Austin play. I love to watch them wrestle on the bed at the end of the day. I love the way James throws the ball on top of the roof while Austin giggles with glee. I love the way Austin runs to the door and yells "DADA!!!" when he hears the garage door open around 6pm every night. And I love the way Austin screams "DADA" every time we pass a Starbucks. Maybe I should be concerned...

Oh, how we are so richly blessed! Some of my friends have really struggled over the years with the idea of God being a "father." Their earthly fathers invoked such hurt and pain that considering God a "father" was just too difficult. I, on the other hand, found it so easy to understand God as a Father. My own dad provided such stability, such security, and such love that I wanted God to be like my dad.

I believe that Austin is going to have the same kind of rich experience - with a daddy who is so head over heels in love!

"Austin, I pray that you will always understand how much your daddy loves you! I want you to know that he has always been so proud of you and loves to show you off to the world. Today, he was so excited that all the older women at Sam's stopped to tell him how precious you are. He loves to tell Austin stories, because he loves you. You dad will never be perfect, Austin, but I hope that you will always find it so easy to call God "Father" because of the daddy you have been given!"

Sometimes... okay... Typically, we are very Messy!

I do not mind a good mess. I am not talking about dust or trash, I am talking about paint, brownie mix, chocolate, sand... a good, real mess. My mom is an artist, so I quickly understood that there was nothing wrong with paint on your clothes and clay on your fingers. I want Austin to richly experience life - a life full of messy hands, tasting new foods, and painting huge pictures. Today, Austin and I decided to take a dip in the pool. We have a beautiful pool! Have I told you about our pool? It's about 2 feet wide and 1 foot deep (only $2 at Walmart). Today, I decided that Austin needed some outside time and since it is 102 in Denton this week, the pool was a great way to spend the afternoon. So we decided to splash, to throw water at one another, to soak each other with the hose while still wearing our good clothes. I figure that if it can be washed... well, you get the picture.

Can you just picture Austin and I sitting in our pool together. He actually has to sit in my lap because I take up the whole pool. Oh, I wish that I had a picture. Then again, this is my blog, and I don't want to look ridiculous in it!

I am not just a messy mom, I am a messy teacher.

Fortunately, Ms. Carrie doesn't mind a mess herself and our classroom is full of playing and painting. Yes, we often have to stay later than other teachers cleaning our room, but I like to think that we are boosting learning (I hope!).

I tried to find a Bible verse to bolster my argument for messiness. Did you know that "messy" is not in the Bible? Well, the word isn't. But, there are lives full of messiness, and a God who cleans it all up! Oh, that's the best kind of mess!

I am still writing, and writing, and writing...

I wanted to post a quick note that I am still writing, just not on my blog for a few days. As most of you know, my focus shifts when I have papers due. I have a paper due tomorrow by midnight, so I will not be updating my blog until it's done. So, if you have called, emailed, etc. in the last two days - I will try to call, email, write back on Saturday when this paper is in:)

- Emily