In case you were wondering...

First off, we the Kinley's are all healthy and doing good right now, I say this because apparently we are very loved by lots of folks up north who are checking in on us frequently and we are so grateful for that. Now that being said I've just learned that the Swine Flu is for reazzal my nizzal and they just closed the Fort Worth ISD till May 8th, that's till next Friday, because of a confirmed case of the Swine Flu at a middle school here in Ft Worth!!!! The really bad part about that is that this middle school happens to be the very same one that our favorite neighbor's daughter goes to...EEK!! Since the incubation period for the Swine Flu is 2 to 7 days, I don't think we'll be going next door to play in the next week. I have to admit that I just got a little more freaked out when I heard about the school closures. Please feel free to remind me that God is sovereign and in control, I think I'm faltering a little.  Prayers for our continued good health and for me not to be distracted by the panic that the news is trying to spread would be gratefully appreciated!

Hanging with daddy

Watching my first game of PeeWee baseball and I LOVED IT!!

Coloring......

Mommy's shoes are a lot harder to walk in that she makes it look like....glad I don't have her job...ha! ha!

I don't think so!

I guess kids will always just amaze me. JT NEVER took a paci and trust me I tried like heck to get that boy to suck on one, but we wasn't havin it! So when we were playing over at my friend Georganne's yesterday JT found Austin's paci and after some failed attempts of trying to get Austin to take it like a good baby, I guess he just decided..."hmm, maybe there's something I'm missing out on".....and here's the result!

Um, NO! I've been watching several of my friends trying so hard to break the paci addiction that I am not in the least bit jealous that I'm not apart of that club. Being a former thumb-sucker myself, I know what oral fixation withdrawl feels like and if I can avoid that with this strong will boy....all the merrier! All joking aside, I don't think I have anything to worry about the only thing this boy is interested in sticking in his mouth is an entire sandwich all at once and then giggling like crazy....oh, little boys!!!!

Good News for the Poor

I love when humor is mixed with truth, guess I'm wired strange but I truly remember things better if I've had a good laugh to go with it.

Watch and see what you learn....


Kingdom Coming from Shaun Groves on Vimeo.



I don't like when people have music attached to viewing their blog. I can't read with music playing because I truly love listening to words of songs and the melody of the music....so that being said I'm just going to post this video to one of my favorite songs. I wish so badly that the words ring true for my life, but sadly I can't say that I have laid down my pride, such a huge struggle for me. Kerri I know you will love this song!

Stats:

We had the ol 18 month check up yesterday with the good Doc Worsley (love him!) and here are JT's stats:

Weight 23 lbs - 20%

Height 34" - 90%

Head 50 cm - 97%

So basically he's long and lean like daddy and has a big ol noggin like mommy (you're welcome JT)....or as Travis describes it, he's a bobble head ;-).

We got one lil poke in our leg and he only cried for a sec, which is the opposite of norm for him. What can I say, just like his momma, he's a baby when it comes to needles....BUT the boy can take a fall like a champ or get bitten pretty hard at school and never make a peep about it so the culprit has still yet to found by Ms. Michelle and Ms. Sarah. Oh, but let this be a warning to the  "little bitter": you will get caught sooner or later, because one bit always leads to another and next time you'll end up bitting someone who's a whole lot weaker than JT Kinley. OK, mommy needs to remember that Forgiveness is good and Revenge is the Lords....repeat, repeat, repeat. 

Have a good Tuesday!

A little encouragement for me

I have since discovered this blog written by a very entertaining mommy of a little boy named Jackson also. I've been peeking at it regularly for about a month now and have been so encouraged to know that my Jackson is not the only little boy out there that is "wired" the way he is. Her Jackson was fussy and particular when he was a small baby, even demanding that she stand and bounce him during dinner out with some friends, in order to keep him soothed and quite in the restaurant....ummm, hello that's how I spent the first few times out with Jackson until I learned that we just don't go out to dinner with him. I love that she is so honest and open about her struggles with her strong willed son and that she is also so in love with that personality now. I have to admit that I wasn't always in love with my Jackson's personality. There are some days that I feel utterly defeated when trying to be consistent in teaching him, but the more that I rely on prayer for the patience (and sometimes the ability to just walk away and ignore the behavior) the more I realize that God matched this little person specifically with me because he knew that only I could handle Jackson and his strong will. This has been the pre-cursor to so many other wonderful things that I am thankful for my son's personality. I'm so proud of his determination and curiosity, yet I struggle with not being the good steward that I should be with these precious qualities that are sometimes coming out in ways that that leaving me anything but cool, loving and encouraging. I know that he will never be a follower, which is something that I really never was and admire my husband for being the same, I also love that he is so animated and expressive, which I'm hoping will one day be a great tool for him to use to lead others to Christ. I know I know, mom's love to brag about their kids and if you spend time with me day to day you would know that I am usually chatting about the latest "battle" that JT and I had, so I reserve this blog for bragging rights.....trust me it's not all rosy at this house as this blog my sometimes make it appear to be. 

OK so what's my point? I just appreciate moms who are open and real about their struggles with their kids personality traits. It helps other moms like me who are sometimes wadding in a pool of doubt that "I'm the only one". I love JT with all my heart. He is funny, creative, talkative, caring (loves to pat little babies and give his friends hugs) and pretty much the life of the party......a personality that God matched specifically for me!! A friend once told me this and I remind Travis all the time...."just because you child misbehaves does NOT mean that you are a bad mom! And just because your child behaves does not necessarily mean that you are a good mom, either!" I know a lot of you will disagree but we all have choices, including our children, and I need to remember to be consistent in teaching and helping Jackson make good ones. I know that I can't just give up when we've had a hard day....I've got to finish the day well and I'm super thankful to God for this big, timely reminder that these things we work so hard on really will bear fruit in time.

Galatians 6:9 - "And let us not grow weary while doing good, for in due season we shall reap a harvest if we do not lose heart."

HAPPY EASTER!

Yesterday we took a little field trip and very conveniently there ended up being a big ol patch of bluebonnets, so by golly we were going to get into the Texas tradition of having our "picture made" in the bluebonnets. My hopes, which I knew were way too high, was that I would be able to get my very active, lively, expressive, strong 1 1/2 yr old to sit and say "cheese" while I snap some adorable memories to hang on my wall. Then reality checked in and, well, here's the results.....

Here the star is taking in the scenery...meanwhile I'm other the other side of the lens begging him..."JT, look at Mommy, come on look at mommy"

As I continue to plead with him, he still keeps strong with his selective hearing, points off in the distance and saying "boat, water"

Then he bolts, running from the perfect patch of bluebonnets and giggling all the way....He knew what I wanted and his strong will was screaming at him from the inside "run from her!".....little does he know that I'm super talented, I caught this one while I was running backwards. It turned out kinda how I in-visioned.... him smiling with bluebonnets nearish....I'll take it cause it's all I'm gonna get!

Bolting for the water and the new toy daddy bought him

Debating whether or not to go in. I kept telling him....brrr, cold, but you could see the gears just moving, questioning if mommy was fast enough to beat him to the water. We went to Joe Pool Lake yesterday to test drive the boat you see in the background. Yes, our list of BFF's just got a little longer because we ended up buying it. It's a Procraft fish and ski combo, but it's a little more fish and a little less ski than I'm used to. It's exactly what Travis wanted and I figure he'll probably be spending more time on it than me so what the heck, I'll won't fight this battle. Come to find out it was a wise choice. The "fishing" boats generally don't have the deep V-hauls that I prefer and with the shallow lakes in TX there not exactly ideal for getting up close to where the fish hang out because you can get stuck pretty easy. 

Helping daddy back the boat up. I could tell Travis was a little nervous cause he hadn't driven a boat for a while, but mostly because the water is so shallow for such a long distance off the shore (we're talking 3-5' for about 50 yards) that he didn't want to break anything before we had decided to purchase it.....that would be our luck, right?

I love this picture! He was seriously watching this other boat that was passing....I wish I could know what he's thinking!

While daddy was learning about the trolling motor and the foot pedals that accompany it, JT was getting in some drive time.....now he smiles!!!

Is it really my fault?

Ok, so I've started to notice that the clothes are getting a little snug these past few days and I'm getting a little frustrated by that. Every gal loves getting new clothes to dress up in, but NEVER do we like to get them because we've stepped up a few sizes...eek!

So here's the problem, my all time favorite food is Mexican! I seriously could just inhale it, that's how much I absolutely LOVE Mexican food, then add in the mere fact that I live in the best state in the Union for this overly indulged food and top it off that my awesome neighbor is from Mexico and brings something yummy over to my house at least twice a week....nail in the coffin folks!! What am I suppose to do, slam the door in her face?! No, Laura I can't eat your tacos because you, me Amiga, are single handily making me FAT....so rude and un-neighborly. I'm suppose to love my neighbor and when you tell a Hispanic lady that "no I don't want your food" well I might as well just tell her that she's the worst person in the world. Augh! I know I know, you're saying "well why don't you just throw it out after she brings it over" PEOPLE this is homemade Mexican food, you don't just "throw it out", you indulge, you savor, you linger, but then after those 5 seconds are up.....you inhale it! See my problem here? That, my friends, is why I need to move. I have the best neighbor in Ft Worth who treats me like a sister, loves on my baby and makes us feel like we're apart of their family, but since I have so self-control when it comes to her food, I'm sadly going to have to cut this friendship when we finally move. At least for the sake of my waist line.

OK, so on to the real reason you read this....the pics! Last weekend our sunday school class did an Easter Egg hunt with all the kids and it was so cute to watch all these little toddlers totting around these huge baskets picking up eggs that had been "hidden" on the lawn. We had an age span from 1 to 5 so we staggered the hunt to make it a little more fair. The littlest got to go outside first and start picking up the ones in plain sight, then after a few minutes we let the ones that could count go and they had a "quota" that they could get, then we turned loose the runners and hunters AKA the 5 year olds. I was impressed by the organization that we had, course we have some pretty organized moms in our class, (course, me not being one of them) so I wasn't at all surprised.

Here's some cute pics, but they're really tiny because I once again forgot my camera and Travis ended up taking these with his phone that he so lovingly calls the "poopberry". It's a blackberry that XTO has all their employees use and he was happy with it till I got an I-rene (what I lovingly call my awesome gadget, yes the much coveted I-phone) and now he just sees what a wonderful world it would be if XTO would not be such Apple haters!

So excited about his big find!

My 1st fishing trip!

What a fun and busy weekend we had, which I must say is well deserved after the several crappy ones we've endured...gotta take the good with the bad and I love taking a whole weekend of good!

On Saturday we took JT fishing for the first time and even though it didn't last but 2 hours he still had a great time and Travis and I were reminded just how much we love the great outdoors. So as soon as we get into another house and get rid the hole in the ground that we pour $ and water into (aka the pool) we've decided that we will once again be a boating family. I don't think you can own both, a pool and a boat, since both are high maintenance. As my family puts it...boats are a hole in the water in which you pour $ into.....well since we've had the experience of owning both, we can safely say that boats are more our speed. Now we just need to get a little more friendly with the folks we know that have pools ;-)

Helping daddy mow on Saturday morning....I get what he misses

It was so cute he would follow Travis back and forth

Sorry Kashuba's had to do it ;-).....Our friends Michael and Amanda stopped by after their sons soccer game down the street and Travis had yet to see the new wheels they were sporting. The look on his face when he saw the college softball stars pull up in a mini-van was priceless. I snapped a picture of Michael and Amanda laughing at Travis's response....which was "wow....never thought I would see y'all in a mini-van....so why didn't ya spring for the wood paneling?".....so funny!

JT taking a break from mowing to smile and wave at the Kashuba's in their mini-van

Later after the nap we headed to Lake Worth for some fishing with our friends...what a nice warm spring day...I think it was 83 when we got out on the water

all boy! when we started going fast across the water JT was all over it!! Check out that smile

Fishing with daddy

So this just goes round and round....cool!!! We didn't end up catching any fish with the boys, but Travis and Derrick went back out after Georgeanne and I took the boys home and they ended up catching some. Sure wish JT could have seen one be reeled in this trip....maybe next time

JT's little future hunting/fishing buddy, Austin. Their daddies do a lot of hunting and fishing together so you know they will be spending a lot of time getting their testosterone pumping

Mr Derrick let me help drive the boat...so cool!!

Austin using the radio as a climbing tool....that boy can crawl FAST!! He's 10 months old today!!

Me and my daddy

Future fishing buds.....I think each year we'll snap a photo of them side by side

Worst Week

And I'm not kidding about that either. JT and I recently went to Wyoming for a visit and all I can say is that I learned a very valuable lesson....never take the super structure loving toddler from home when he's not feeling well. Augh!! I promise I learned that one well!! 

JT screamed on the flight there, which I thought was just because his ears were popping and he wouldn't drink something to help....well a mere 36 hours later and a trip to the ER at 1 am in the middle of blizzard we discovered that he had two ear infections and one was "really bad" as the ER Dr said. Nice...mom of the year over here! The part that made it even worse was when he couldn't lay down to go to sleep (even though he was exhausted) from the pain he would be screaming, crying and pointing at the door saying "daddy, home". We would have gotten a flight out of there sooner but ANOTHER snow storm came through making travel impossible. So we toughed it out with antibiotics and made it to Saturday and was on the first flight we could get back to Texas and to "the daddy." 

I love snow, I love our family, I love seeing my friends BUT having to deal with a sick toddler who will not allow anyone to look at him (forget touching him) besides his mommy plus no sleep to boot....I was worn out! I'm too old for that! We plan on going back in June for Travis's cousins wedding and I know that it won't be as bad as this time...whew! I do have to admit that out of the 6 times I have flown to Wyoming with JT this was the 1st that we have had to deal with a sickness....so 1 out of 6 really is great odds. 

The 1st snow storm that blew thru...according to everyone I "came the wrong week", guess just 2 days before this picture was taken it was a high of 72 there.....figures!

Starting to through a fit.....little did I realize at this point that he had 2 ear infections going on. Oh and playing in the snow after he got to feeling better was not an option.....he hates snow now, not sure what happened because when we went there in October he loved it!!

A few hours after the antibiotics kicked in. Uncle Scott taught me this new game of peek-a-boo where you use your hands to hide your face, I always just used Bob the Blankie before

Boo! Ha! Ha!

I am so mad at myself for not getting my camera out and snapping some more pictures of JT with his cousins. He LOVED playing with them, especially the boys, Trenton and Mason (below)

Playing in the bathroom drawers at Meemee and Boppos

rocking on the fish at Miss Tara's

Having to learn how to share is hard work for a sick toddler.....yes that's him throwing a tantrum in the background.....but I am bound and determined he's going to learn how to share because my pet-peeve is a toddler who can't share because no one made them learn

Playing with my lady friends....Taelyn and Tawnee Dye.

I love my Uncle Scott....he's one of the few people I would let touch me

My favorite toy at Papa and Grandma's house....the wooden turtle....Grandma says it used to be my Aunt Tammy's when she was little

C'mon turtle....I loved dragging it all through the house

My grandma had surgery on her knee a few weeks ago so she was hobbling along on these metal things....guess my cousin, Sarah, calls them "grandma's pogo sticks"

Grandma helping me play with the dolly.....daddy doesn't like when I do this, but mommy thinks it's cute. My Aunt Tammy used to stick my daddy in this same high chair when he was a baby

My dad taught me this...carry it like it's dead then no one will make fun of you...that's how he packs mommy's purse

Beating on the drum with Papa

Suppose to be brushing my teeth but I got Meemee to splash a little with me...that bathroom was soaked when I was done

Dancing with Grandma Teresa before leaving for the airport

back home and happy....shooting Copper with my new gun, the flashlight

High in the sky....a future pilot here.....LOVES going super high and super fast...I want to vomit just watching it

So excited

Just noticed daddy is doing something without my direction....

Watcha doin daddy, need me to show you how? (Travis planted these around the pool equipment....FINALLY something to camouflage it

I should've took a video of this...he was just a jabberin about something and pointing at the bushes

Look at that left foot....he likes to lean on one leg when he's in great description about what he's talking to you about

Hi mom!

And then this morning I caught another site of Copper's arched enemy....Pulido the Possum...he lives in our backyard (where I've yet to discover) and torchores Copper every morning

Pulido will just sit up on the fence and stare at Copper for a good 20 mins...playing possum I presume