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!