mandatory

recently i had an experience that i believe should be mandatory in the life of every mother!
i had a get away.
nothing fancy...
just a 24 hour absence from all responsibilities.
no husband,
no children,
no cooking,
no cleaning,
no training.....
just plain and simple rest!

although it may sound strange... the fact that there was a QT at the exit to my hotel was sooo exciting! i love everything about QT... the cookies, the drinks, the coffee! amazing!

this is the pic that best describes my time... me and my friend ASHLEY chillin' in a hotel room doing a whole lot of NOTHING! well, not completely... we did ALOT of talking... we are all caught up. can i just say that it has been about five years since i have had an uninterrupted conversation with this sweet friend and it was MUCH needed!

and of course we took a midnight run to taco c... i mean, i'm pregnant, right?

i ended my trip with a short stop to see this cute family! this is my cousin, greg, his wife, keri, and their NEW baby, london! so exciting to see them with a new little one!

so, there you have it! go on, momma...
plan a get away - use me as your excuse...
believe me, it is worth the effort... you need it!
i did too.
and, i am a better momma today because of it!

**Thanks to our husbands/friends that made this 24 hour retreat happen! It was refreshing!!!**

Grandma

We attended lance's grandma's funeral today.
It was a celebration of a life lived to the fullest!

In her life she taught her kids and grand kids to show hospitality to all and to "live it up" when at all possible.

In her death she reminded me that I can not be with my children forever, but the legacy I leave them can go on. With that in mind, tonight, I held my children close and prayed that if they see nothing else in my life... I want them to see a woman that unashamedly LOVES JESUS with all she has. May God show favor to continue a legacy that began far before I was a mother. Many ladies have come before me in the Sisco heritage and to each I'm grateful... may His name be honored for generations to come!

We love you, Grandma! We love you, GG!
We know you are "living it up " in His presence!

been busy

we have been "xing" off the stuff on our summer list. and, although, painting a bird house was not on the list... it was fun!

caleb and daddy built this bird house before summer started and we decided it was time to paint it!

it looked pretty cool when they were done.... now we just have to hang it in the back yard.

visiting friends

This week the kids and I took a day trip to Kaufman, TX to visit these beautiful girls! Ashley, Ashley, and Lydia... three friends that go WAY back to our younger, college years. Now we've all begun our families and time spent together is chasing or holding kids... but we loved every minute of it!

We met at Ashley B's mom's house... where she had the most amazing blow up slide. Even Riley got in on that action.

here is caleb and riley colliding at the bottom of the slide

here is Ashley C's baby girl - Rachel... it was way too hot to keep a shirt on! :) I think that this little girl is going to be ALOT like her mommy... watch out folks... two ashleys!

Lydia with her little man, Bobby. He is adorable and has a single tooth grin that i missed in this shot.

Angie (ashley B's sister) and her doll, Olivia. She has a face for everything and doesn't like her feet or bottom to touch the grass...hilarious!

hudson, ashley B's oldest kiddo, seems like he should be a sisco... he's got lots of energy and personality! LOVE HIM! I didn't get any pics of sweet, baby ellie because she was napping once i got my camera out! boo!

The john deer truck was a big hit with my big kids. this is caleb giving riley a ride around the yard.

anna, ashley C's other kiddo, with allie. allie kept saying, "it's just girls in this car, ok?"


that was it - an afternoon with nine kids that never stopped moving and always needed something. sorry we didn't get any good talk time in girls, but it was such a blessing to watch your kids and see their sweet personalities! Love you all!

confessions of a mother

part two

I got in my car that fatal Saturday, put my head on the steering wheel, and began to sob. I was overwhelmed by the events that had unfolded, but even more upsetting was the deep intuition that lurked within my mind. For almost two weeks I had the unsettling feeling that I was in fact pregnant.

the Lord and i exchanged words that day, but His voice spoke soft and sweet... "I have this, Mandy!" so I dried my tears, reassured my children that mommy hadn't completely lost it, and drove us home.

Three days later I convinced myself (with a little help from a friend) that 14 days late did mean it was well past time to take a test. I woke up that morning, tinkled on a stick, confirmed my anxious thoughts, hid that stick, and left the house in utter disbelief. oh, that's right, i did not mention one word to lance about the news, but instead thought denial was the best policy!

The same evening, just the two of us were headed to dinner and he (wouldn't you know) began a conversation about kids, pregnancies, etc. Toward the end of what we were discussing he said, "It is times like these that I am so glad we are done" and then lovingly looked toward me for confirmation. of course, I did what any well meaning wife would do and blurted out, "I am so pregnant!" He thought I was kidding and apparently needed more convincing so i said, "No, I mean it. I took a test. It was positive. I am so pregnant."

Needless to say the last week has been lance and I wrapping our minds around a different year than we had anticipated. And before the jokes begin you should know that we are well aware of what causes this and birth control was in place! Although we are in shock and in utter dismay that the Lord would think this a good idea, we know His plans always succeed. We are standing on His Word and claiming His promises daily. He has much to teach us about being flexible to what He desires for our lives.

The big kids are thrilled. Allie has kissed my belly at least ten times today and wants the baby to come tomorrow. And Caleb's exact response was, "This is awesome!" So who can argue with that?
This is awesome!
Thanks to the Lord for giving the perfect gift that we didn't even know we wanted!

confessions of a mother

part one:

last Saturday we were out of diapers. i decided that i was tired of buying small packages only to turn around and buy another one the next week. i made up my mind to drive all the way to Sam's club with all three kids to get a large box of diapers. it may be a longer trip, but i will only make it once in three weeks, right?

the timing of the trip was a little tricky because last Saturday was camp's switch week and we had an event to be at by 12:15. i chatted with the kids on the way about helping mom be speedy and reminded them that we weren't getting hot dogs, pizza, or slushies, although all of them are super yummy and encouragingly affordable there! they agreed to be helpful and we proceeded to the store.

upon entering Sam's, i stuck Riley man in the cart and flew through the aisles to the back of the store. any other shopping trip he would have been securely belted in so that i could peruse the goods, but what was the point... we needed one thing and we would be fast. i grabbed that box of huggies and darted to the checkout counter. Caleb had a firm grip on the side of the cart and loved the speed in which his typically slow mommy was driving the cart. Allie, however, found it entertaining to see if her little legs could keep up with mommy and, for the most part, they did.

huggies went onto the belt, Allie handed the unassuming cashier the Sam's card, and Caleb was about three feet away scoping out some merchandise. i slid my debit card and began typing in my key code when glanced to my right. our oldest child and the most determined of all three had decided to scale the stack of four pallets so that she can look into the giant, open BBQ grill that is on display. i threw my wallet and debit card down while yelling, "Allie, don't...." my words trailed off as the grill rolled forward and fell from the top of these pallets. it is only by God's infinite grace that she was not even scratched. we were both shaking and crying hysterically. she blurted out, "mommy, i am soo sorry!" on repeat between her never ending sobs. i held her tight out of endless love and complete fear. Shaking, i stood up and realized that Riley was crying and, of course, unbuckled still. i began to walk toward him when i realized that i didn't see Caleb nearby. still trembling i mumbled that i could not find my son. all the bystanders from the previous event assured me that he was in the shopping cart and just kept saying, "oh, miss... he's in your cart." i was too far gone into hysteria to be able to piece together a sentence stating that I HAVE THREE KIDS! so finally, out of exhaustion and terror I screamed at the top of my lungs (much like my kohl's experience with this same child), "CALEB!" His blonde little head came bounding from around the corner, "Here i am, mommy!"

i scooped him into my arms and put him in the cart with Riley with what seemed to be hundreds of baffled on lookers. I'm certain that i even heard someone say, "oh, my she has three." HA! I would love to say that I left Sam's with my head held high. That i wasn't completely humiliated by the happenings of that day, but that would be a lie. Not only did i feel like a foolish woman, but inside I was withering away and questioning my abilities to parent my three adventurous kiddos.

stay tuned for the part two of this confession...

psalm 100:1

"Make a joyful noise, all you nations"

i was so glad that this verse fell on the fourth of July. not only were we able to talk about what it means to make a joyful noise, but we also talked about the fact that the Lord wants ALL nations to make a joyful noise!

we made these tambourines to assist us in our joyfulness! ;) it is simply to plates stapled together with beans inside. we added some crate paper and stickers for fun!

today i asked that they take their joyful noises into the garage! HA!

caleb's #1 pick

when we wrote out our summer list, caleb's favorite choice was the fire station.
So, last week we loaded up and headed into tyler to fire house that we pass often.

they were so gracious to show him EVERYTHING!!!

He and Riley enjoyed getting inside the truck and checking it all out. After they showed us the ends and outs of all their equipment, they took the kids inside and showed them where they eat and sleep.

We were so grateful for their enthusiasm and time. Caleb will not soon forget his experience there. And, they told him that he could come back anytime!

yogurt pops

made easy!

buy individual yogurts, pierce them with a popcicle stick or in our case a skewer with the sharp end cut off. place them in the freezer and then enjoy!

it is a great snack with two benefits.... better for your kids than ice cream or Popsicles AND it takes a longer time to eat... ah, the joys of a few moments of quiet! :)