The End of Summer/The Perfect '10'

With school fast approaching and summer slowly coming to an end, we thought this was the perfect opportunity to spend some time at the beach. Since we rarely get out of the Clear Lake area to eat dinner, we thought we'd mix it up a little bit and take the kids to the Rainforest Cafe in Galveston and go to the beach. Since the kids didn't seem to take to the beach very well during our beach house vacation this summer, we weren't sure how they'd do. But once they warmed up, they really seemed to enjoy it. The kids had a ball!

Here's Layton playing with another boy his age on the beach (Layton is the one in the back). We think he's found his long-lost twin. They look so much alike, don't they? Weird, huh?

Here's some other pics of the kids at the beach. Ashlyn is playing with one of the frogs we got the kids at the Rainforest Cafe. You didn't think we'd make it out of there without buying something for the kids, did you?:) Of course, we had to buy something for Layton after he fell out of his booster seat at the restaurant. Yes, Layton had another accident. I'm beginning to wonder if he's somehow inherited my penchant for having freak accidents. Of course, he's doing perfectly fine at the beach. My poor, sweet boy...

Flashback to the '70's. Here's Ashlyn pretending to be Bo Derek in the movie '10', minus the cornrows...

Here's Layton in his '10' moment. Hope having mommy in the background, doesn't spoil it!

Hope your summer was wonderful too! How are you spending your 'last days of summer'?

Whew! I'm tired!

Training for a marathon is hard. Its tiring waking up early to run (yes, waking up at 5:00 a.m. does get old after awhile!), and its both physically and mentally exhausting. One of the ladies that ran next to me at our speed interval training this morning asked me, "what made you want to do this?" Good question, I thought. What makes me want to do something like this. I don't know. Maybe its the fact that it burns about a zillion calories and gives you great leg muscles (which I'm still hoping for), or maybe its for the stress relief I get after a really good run. But I really think it comes down to me answering the question for myself, "What am I really capable of?" Running helps answer that question for me. After running 8 miles on Saturday (yes, the farthest I have ever run in my life! Wahoo!), I discovered that there is something deep inside me that's driving this whole thing--determination. I want to show not only me, but my kids that they can do anything that they put their minds too. Ashlyn & Layton, this is for you...

Big Boy Bed

Well, it's official now! Layton has actually moved out of his crib into a big boy bed! Sniff, sniff (here, let me wipe a tear out of my eye before I proceed...)
Since Layton is so close to turning two, we decided that it would be a neat birthday present to get him a fun toddler bed that he could sleep in. We got a great deal on this cool 'Thomas the Train' bed, so we thought, "Why not now?” So, Layton now has an official ‘big boy bed’ in his room.

Here's Layton standing in front of his new 'Thomas' bed. Note: Ashlyn’s foot is in the background (hee, hee) . She has been playing in his bed ever since we put it up! Ashlyn loves the bed almost as much as he does, so it has been a little bit of a challenge to get her out of his bed so that he could try it out!


Here's Layton playing in his bed. This photo was hard to take since Layton kept putting the covers over his face and hiding. Luckily, I was able to pull the cover off his head just in time for Jason to snap the picture without him crying. The things we parents do to get a good picture...


Suprisingly, Layton adjusted very well to his new bed! Jason put him to bed this evening and he said Layton just got in his bed, laid down and went to sleep! I’m so thankful that this has been an easy transition for him! Since he did so well his first night in his new bed, I just couldn’t resist sneaking in and taking a pic.


Isn’t he adorable? Sweet dreams, my dear baby boy…

The School of Hard Knocks

Wow! Looking at the post below about the girl I was years ago really made me see how different I was then from how I am today. I'd like to say that I was perfect all through my life up to this point, but I know that is not true. I've learned 'the hard way' throughout my life that the Bible is very real and very true. It's amazing how easy your life goes when you follow what the Bible says and how difficult and complex you can make life for yourself when you do contrary to what it says. I'm so thankful that Jason and I have grown up together throughout our relationship. Now we ask ourselves, "What does the Bible say about it?" when we are dealing with our marriage or our children because we know from experience that what the Bible says is true.
My prayer is that I can raise my children to be caring, compassionate, gentle individuals who have a great love for God and a strong concern and compassion for their fellow man. I'm still not perfect, but I want my children to know that its okay to make mistakes, but to keep trying to be a better person every day. To me, that is the greatest goal I can have.

8 Things About My Marriage

I’ve been tagged, (my first tag!) by my friends, Holly and Lacie to answer some questions about how I met, fell in love and married Jason. Here goes…

8 Things About My Marriage



1. Where did you meet your husband? We met while we were both attending Harding University in Arkansas. We knew who the other was, but we didn’t actually meet until the end of our college careers.

2. What was the first thing you said? I’m not sure what I said. I’m sure it was something clever and witty, like “So you’re Jason Stansell, the guy all the girls in the dorm talk about.” Let’s just say he was a secret crush of some girls I knew.

3. Where was your first date? One of my friends, Claire, asked me to go to Memphis with her and her friend, Todd, to see a concert. She was friends with Todd, but liked him as more than a friend and wanted me to go for moral support. Jason tagged along with Todd, so I guess we were the tag-alongs for their “date”. We drove to Memphis State (or was it University of Memphis?) in Todd’s tiny Mitsubishi 3000GT to see the Gin Blossoms/Dishwalla in concert (yes, this was ages ago, when these bands were actually popular!) After the concert, we ate ribs in downtown Memphis off Beale Street at a restaurant called ‘The Rendezvous’.

Here is a picture of Jason and I on our “first date” (thankfully, my friend, Claire, thought this was an important enough event to take a picture!) I think I knew then that we were meant to be together, since he was as big a goofball as I was.

After this date, we started hanging out a lot, doing things together with our friends, Claire and Todd. Here we all are on the top of Sugarloaf Mountain. Note: I’m hanging onto Todd’s arm and Claire’s touching Jason’s hand. Don’t ask me what’s going on, because I’m not really sure…(Todd was just a friend, but maybe Claire had a secret crush on Jason?…Hmmm)

First kiss?
It was towards the end of that year, we went to a music festival in Memphis, called ‘Memphis in May’ (I guess we were both really into concerts back then!) and had our first kiss at a club in downtown Memphis called, ‘616’ (yes, I was a ‘party girl’ back then). I’ll have to say that it was the best kiss I ever had—I think we both felt weak in the knees then.

4. Long or short courtship? We went out on a couple of dates April/May of 1996, but had to go back home from college for the summer. We corresponded with a few letters and phone calls, but didn’t reconnect until the Summer of 2007, when we both discovered we were back in Arkansas for summer school. After that, we dated for about 2 1/2 years before we actually got married.

5. Where were we engaged? Jason proposed to me at my apartment on Memorial Day 1999. I was living in Arkansas finishing up grad school and he was living and working in Houston at the time. He came up to visit me and proposed. He also did the traditional thing by calling and asking my dad for my hand in marriage.

6. Where were we married? We were married at my home church in Collinsville, Illinois, January 15, 2000 by Jason’s grandfather, Delton Haun. Delton just recently passed away, so it was very special to have had that memory of him performing our ceremony.
You can imagine how cold it was in Illinois that time of the year. I'm sure Jason's family was freezing when they camp up for the wedding. I remember being really nervous about his family coming up for the wedding, because my family and his family had never met. Since they were traveling so far, my mother offered to put them up at our house. Luckily, everyone got along and remained good friends afterwards.

7. Where was the reception? The reception was in the church’s fellowship hall. My mom pretty much catered the entire reception for 100-150 people (she was amazing!)

8. Where was your honeymoon? We went to San Antonio for our honeymoon. Since Jason was working for a terrible company at the time (Sysco!), he only had about four or five days off of work for our wedding and honeymoon, so we had to make it quick. We did have a wonderful time for the amount of time we were there. After that, I was an official Texan.

Here’s us at the Tower of Americas in San Antonio on our honeymoon. I was skinny then (sigh…

good times, good times!)

Thanks for the tag, Holly and Lacie! It’s been fun walking down memory lane again.
I tag Deanna, Robyn and Heather. You’re it!

Motherhood

I wish I could tell you who wrote this, but I don’t know. One of my friends e-mailed me this and I thought I’d post it--I guess it just struck a chord. Okay you moms out there, get a tissue…

Motherhood

We are sitting at lunch one day when my daughter casually mentions that she and her husband are thinking of "starting a family."
"We're taking a survey," she says half-joking. "Do you think I should have a baby?" "It will change your life," I say, carefully keeping my tone neutral. "I know," she says, "no more sleeping in on weekends, no more spontaneous vacations."But that is not what I meant at all. I look at my daughter, trying to decide what to tell her. I want her to know what she will never learn in childbirth classes. I want to tell her that the physical wounds of childbearing will heal, but becoming a mother will leave her with an emotional wound so raw that she will forever be vulnerable. I consider warning her that she will never again read a newspaper without asking, "What if that had been MY child?" That every plane crash, every house fire will haunt her. That when she sees pictures of starving children, she will wonder if anything could be worse than watching your child die. I look at her carefully manicured nails and stylish suit and think that no matter how sophisticated she is, becoming a mother will reduce her to the primitive level of a bear protecting her cub. That an urgent call of "Mom!" will cause her to drop a soufflé or her best crystal without a moments hesitation. I feel that I should warn her that no matter how many years she has invested in her career, she will be professionally derailed by motherhood. She might arrange for childcare, but one day she will be going into an important business meeting and she will think of her baby's sweet smell. She will have to use every ounce of discipline to keep from running home, just to make sure her baby is all right. I want my daughter to know that every day decisions will no longer be routine. That a five year old boy's desire to go to the men's room rather than the women's at McDonald's will become a major dilemma. That right there, in the midst of clattering trays and screaming children, issues of independence and gender identity will be weighed against the prospect that a child molester may be lurking in that restroom. However decisive she may be at the office, she will second-guess herself constantly as a mother. Looking at my attractive daughter, I want to assure her that eventually she will shed the pounds of pregnancy, but she will never feel the same about herself. That her life, now so important, will be of less value to her once she has a child. That she would give herself up in a moment to save her offspring, but will also begin to hope for more years, not to accomplish her own dreams, but to watch her child accomplish theirs. I want her to know that a cesarean scar or shiny stretch marks will become badges of honor. My daughter's relationship with her husband will change, and not in the way she thinks. I wish she could understand how much more you can love a man who is careful to powder the baby or who never hesitates to play with his child. I think she should know that she will fall in love with him again for reasons she would now find very unromantic. I wish my daughter could sense the bond she will feel with women throughout history who have tried to stop war, prejudice and drunk driving. I want to describe to my daughter the exhilaration of seeing your child learn to ride a bike. I want to capture for her the belly laugh of a baby who is touching the soft fur of a dog or cat for the first time. I want her to taste the joy that is so real it actually hurts. My daughter's quizzical look makes me realize that tears have formed in my eyes. "You'll never regret it," I finally say. Then I reached across the table, squeezed my daughter's hand and offered a silent prayer for her, and for me, and for all the mere mortal women who stumble their way into this most wonderful of callings. May you always have in your arms the one who is in your heart.

Author Unknown

Think Positive!

Have you ever had one of those days/weeks when you feel like you haven't done anything right as a wife/mother/sister/daughter/human being?! Well, I have...and it doesn't feel so great! After ranting and raving to my dear husband, he suggested that maybe I should start talking about more positive things. Of course, you can imagine my reaction at the beginning...but, you know what? I think he's on to something! So here goes nothing, my list of things to be happy about:

• My fantastic husband. He loves me, supports me and is always there for me. Not to mention, he's always honest with me and tells me what I need to hear (even if I don't always like it) . We all need someone in our life that loves us that much, don't we? Love you, darling!
• My dear, dear children. Even though sometimes I get frazzled, I wouldn't trade having these two wonderful children for anything in the world. They have brought me so much joy in good times and definitely in times when I have been at my lowest. As you mothers know, there's nothing like the feeling you get when your child hugs/kisses you and tells you, 'Momma, I love you'. There's nothing like it in the world!:) (I feel tears coming on!).
• My wonderful church and church family--I am so lucky to have so many wonderful, supportive people who continuously encourage me and support me.
• My group of 'best girlfriends'--you know who you are! You have been with me through thick and thin! We have laughed and cried together (even all in one night). Plus, you can't beat sitting around chatting over a cup of coffee (or maybe one or two).
• My sweet father and sister. Even though our family is small, its big in heart. I don't know what I'd do without either one of you. I love you dearly!
• I looked at my list and I could not leave off my dear mother (God rest her soul). Even though she is not physically here, she is always with me in my heart. Sometimes when I feel down, I just think to myself--'Lily would not sit here and be like this--remember, you are your mother's daughter!!' If nothing else, my mom has ignited the 'fire' within me and it will not be put out! I love you mom!

My life has been blessed!

Fishy kisses

The Stansell Family Out Fishing

Here's Layton helping daddy reel in a "big one". Don't look too close--Layton has a big "shiner" on his left eye. But that's a whole other story...Let's just say, Layton doesn't always look where he walks. My poor baby!











Here's Ashlyn playing with the "fishies".










In case you can't see what she's got in her hands, let me zoom in for you.










We just can't seem to get her out of the bait bucket!

No, your eyes are not deceiving you--she is making the 'fishies' kiss! That's a girl for you!

Do I know you from somewhere?

Have you ever run into someone and had the feeling, "Have we met before?" Well, I had a incident like that this weekend. I was attending the birthday party for the daughter of one of my sweet friends from the library. In the process of meeting some of the other mothers there, I met a lady whose name, strangely, I already seemed to know. Weird, huh? Well, anyway, she didn't remember me at all and I still couldn't shake the feeling that somehow we had met before. Anyway, (to make a long story short) after meeting up in the bathroom to take our kids to the potty, she asked me, "Who's your OB/GYN?" Well, that sounded like a strange question to me, but I went ahead and answered , "Dr. Klein--why?" Well, she told me that she was a doctor in the same office. Come to figure out, I recognized her from the operating table. She assisted my OB, Dr. Klein, in performaing the C-section for my daughter, Ashlyn. She actually helped deliver one of my kids!! So of course, I'm speechless! All I could say was, "I'm forever grateful to you!" I'm sure she wanted to laugh at my comment! I guess it is strange to actually see your doctor in a normal, everyday kind of situation, and actually re-acquaint yourself with someone who was there at such an important event in your life. In the words of the (dog?) on 'Wow, Wow Wubzy', "Kooooky..."

Did I mention that I'm a runner?

Somewhere in the midst of the hectic life I call 'motherhood', I became re-acquainted with an old love of mine--running! Now, let me expand on what I considered running pre-motherhood. Running to me was never about the distance of miles run, just about the time I spent out there exercising (you know, the old calories in vs. calories burned scenario). I ran solely for the purpose of trying to manage the constantly moving roller-coaster ride known as my 'weight'. But, I discovered that as I began running more I actually enjoyed it. Imagine that?! I 'm not exactly sure what it is that I like so much about running. Maybe it's the feeling or the "runner's high" that I get after a really good, physically exhausting run or maybe its the feeling that I am pounding all the day's stresses and frustrations into the pavement and leaving them in the dirt. Either way, I think I've become addicted to that "runner's high". Not to mention, a few of my friends are runners too. Well, due to my renewed interest in the sport and the fact that some friends of mine are big fans too, I have actually joined a running club and have (gasp!) registered for the Houston Marathon in 2008. Yes, it is a little hard to believe that I will actually be running 26.2 miles (even typing the mileage makes my heart beat a little faster), but what's a girl to do? I'm in it for the long-haul and I'm going to cross the finish line (walking or crawling if I must). Here goes nothing...Woo-hoo!

Makin' funny faces

1000 Coffee Cups

I know what you're thinking...she must drink a lot of coffee! I do like coffee, but not to that extent. But if any of you are wanting any cups (for the next 10 years) to put your coffee in, you've come to the right place.
Since I just recently started my blog, I couldn't resist sharing a little story about good intentions gone bad. My friend Heather and I were riding together to go to the church's monthly ladies night. I had basically hitched a ride with her, since I wasn't too sure about how to get to the location. Anyway, long story short, I felt bad about making Heather any later than she already was to help the hostess prepare and Heather was already having a bad day. So, since she was supposed to bring styrofoam coffee cups and I was feeling guilty about making her come pick me up, I had the bright idea of running into Sam's Club (of all places) to get those cups for her. Well, as you already may know, Sam's Club specializes in bulk items, so I ran in and got the coffee cups as I had promised (all 1000 of them). Needless to say, Heather was quite taken aback seeing me walk out with a box almost tall as myself. We had a good laugh over it, but I think Heather still has the box in her car (all 925 cups). Any takers?

Addicted to blogging...already?

Okay, I feel like I've finally entered the 21st century and joined the "blogging revolution". What took me so long? I'm not sure. I think I just got a little nervous about adding one more thing to my already busy schedule. But now that I've seen just how easy blogging can be, I'm getting a lot more into it. I'm just excited that it has inspired me to start taking more pictures of my kids and really taking account of all the adorable (and not so adorable) things they say and do throughout the day. So welcome to my wonderful (hopefully, not boring) life...