What do you want for Christmas?

Shelby:"Barbie and a bike"

Jerzy:"Barbies."

Knox: "Cars." ( and then tears when he realizes Santa doesn't give you what you ask for right then and there)



Patience Bubba....11 more days...just 11 more days.....

Halloween

Halloween weekend was a fun time . On Thursday the kids wore their costumes to school. They had a costume parade through the elementary school next door and classroom Halloween parties in the afternoon.

Saturday we had supper with Andrew's parents and also visited the Hart's house before wrapping up the evening at Grandaddy Herchel's and Granny Trish's. Shelby asked why we didn't go to "more people's houses".... I wish we could have done more, but I was wiped out and coming down with the flu. Knox was also feeling puny ( strep!) and we didn't know that Jerzy would be getting sick also late that night...

All in all, the cheerleader, Sleeping Beauty and Lightning McQueen had a fun time and plenty of sugar.

We Did It!!

BEFORE...7:20am,33 degrees, let's do it!

AFTER... 2:00pm, ~50 degrees, what were we thinking!?!

Our souvenir banners

Andrew and I completed the Chicago Marathon this past weekend! I can now check that off my bucket list! ( whew.) We ended up staying together the entire way...all 26.2 miles, for 5 hours 57 minutes. The weather was cold , but actually perfect for running. It was an amazing experience. I'm not ready to tackle another one anytime soon-- except maybe the New York marathon in another year or two. For now I will stick to shorter distances, maybe a half marathon here and there. Andrew was hoping to do White Rock in December, but his ankles need a little break.

We left here early Saturday morning on a flight to O' Hare. Andrew's cousin Bob, his wife Ann and daughter Carissa picked us up at the airport. We had a drive-in lunch at Superdawgs and made our way to the Marathon Expo. We picked up our race packets and explored the different booths. Lots of runners and all kinds of running related apparel and paraphernalia-- amazing stuff!

After leaving the convention center, we took a driving tour of the last 10 miles or so of the race, giving us an idea of what to expect. We then checked into our hotel and headed out for a delicious pasta dinner. The whole city was ready for the race-- the first thing our waitress asked was if any of us were running.

Bob, Ann and Carissa left us at our hotel to rest up for the race. Bob and Ann returned early the next morning to walk down with us to Grant Park. They wished us well and we made our way into the crowd, anxiously awaiting the start. 45,000 were registered, but somewhere around 34,000 actually finished. It took us 20 minutes to cross the starting line, then we enjoyed our "tour" of the city.

Thanks to Bob and Ann for their hospitality, support, pack mule and chauffeur service . It made the race experience so much more enjoyable. They made us banners and we saw them twice along the route. They took pictures along the way and at the finish. Thanks guys!

Thanks to Aunt Barb for her hospitality in gathering the extended Tokarz/Panek/Szabo/Seitz/McConnell crowd for a delicious supper on Sunday evening. We also appreciated the hot shower, comfy bed and a ride to the airport.

Thanks to Dad, Trish , Kemp and Vicki for taking care of kids and Gus while we were away. The kids had a great time, but we were all glad to see each other on Monday!

Thank you to everyone else for your well wishes and encouragement.

At the expo on Saturday afternoon

Andrew with his 3 aunts ( his dad's sisters)-- Tina, Patty and Barb

Amy, Bob, Carissa , Andrew and Ann

The kids enjoyed all the stuff we brought home for them.

School Ends, Summer Begins

We wrapped school up during the first week of June. I survived my first year as a high school teacher. It wasn’t always easy…it was actually quite stressful and exhausting at times…but it was worth it. I really did enjoy it and treasure the relationships I developed. I will be returning to my same role, with some different, new courses added. The kids did really well at their school and have developed quite a relationship with their friends and teachers. They all will return there in the Fall, and move up one class level.

The Monday after school was out—we started swim lessons. S, J & K went M-F for 30 minutes for 2 weeks, at our local natatorium. It was great! The girls had individualized attention for the most part --- they often shared a teacher btwn the 2of them and some days they each had their own teacher. Andrew and I split duty going with Knox in the infant/parent class. He had no fear at times and then other times he was crabby and hesitant. ( that’s all changed now—2 months later!) We are very grateful to the coach and staff (mostly HS and college students) who showed our three fishies how to love the water.

While they were taking swim lessons, we had the opportunity to start using our next door neighbor’s pool at our leisure. We have used it several times a week all summer. It has been a huge blessing to us and has gone a long way in helping the kids develop more confidence in the water and build on what they learned in their lessons.

On the day we finished swim lessons….we went home ate lunch and started our week long adventure to Disney World!! Stay tuned….

Happy 4th of July!

Have a safe and happy Holiday. Here are our little firecrackers in their patriotic shirts ( Thanks Nana!).

Mother's Day Weekend

I’ve done no blogging this summer. ( I'm actually finishing writing this on 8/15) Now I have one week of summer break left and then it’s back to school for all of us. And back to work for Andrew! We have been blessed with wonderful memories of this summer. I’m going to dive right in and get caught up.

May was busy with Mother’s Day activities, end of year school fun and more.
The kids’ school hosted “Muffins with Mom” on the Friday before Mother’s Day. I made the rounds and tasted several treats. In each class they had made a different gift, so I ended up with a nice collection of photos, poems, and a plaster handprint too!

That Saturday Andrew ( with Knox in the stroller) and I ran the Lovejoy 5k up at the high school. Vicki joined us to keep up with the girls while we ran. Afterwards, we enjoyed a sausage and pancake breakfast.

On Sunday we went to Grapevine to ride the Vintage Railroad. Mothers rode for free! It was a great adventure. Dad and Trish rode with us. We went from Grapevine to the Ft Worth Stockyards. We had about 2 hours there to eat a late lunch and explore. Then it was back on the train for the return trip to Grapevine. We saw a mock train robbery and we watched the longhorns walk thru the stockyards .

It was a wonderfully memorable Mom’s Day wknd. Thanks family!

May Fun-- stay tuned....

We have had lots more fun this month, but it's getting late. I promise to catch up the rest of the May fun, at least before July! ( Maybe before June if we're lucky!) But I'll leave you with some simple pictures of the kids..... if you haven't seen them in awhile these pictures represent just a bit of the sweetness, light, joy and blessing that these 3 bring to our days.

May Fun--- Colored Pancakes

On the weekends, we usually make at least one big breakfast.... when we make pancakes , the kids pitch in to help. They had been asking to make colored pancakes. So that's what we did one morning this month...it was one of the rainy, cold days that we had. The kids each chose one color ( or mix of colors) that they added to their portion of the pancake batter. They loved it. We had purple, orange and an interesting teal-green color ( Knox's choice) . Plus we also wrote initials on the "normal" colored pancakes. They looked funny--- but tasted great as usual.

For some reason that morning-- Knox wanted to wear a hat ( he gets in that mood occasionally) -- thus the striped toboggan in the pictures.....

May Fun

The month of May has been a busy and fun one. The kids are growing and changing so much....Knox is talking and keeping up with his sisters more. He has turned into quite a monkey-- he loves to climb on anything and everything. This includes Daddy's motorcycles, slides, the stair rail, the back of the couch, and more!

Early in the month he was invited to a birthday party at one of those indoor play ( bounce houses, slides, arcade games) places for one of his classmates. This was the first party he went to without his sisters!! He loved playing on the inflated slides and obstacle course, as well as the basketball games in the arcade. He ate 2 pieces of pizza ( he is eating dairy products now-- not drinking milk-- but eating cheese & yogurt) and a large piece of "pincess cinrella" cake. He had a blast with mom and his buddies-- and fell promptly asleep on the drive home....

Rainy Night

The kids have been fascinated with the fog,rain, lightning and thunder we have had this week. Tonight after supper we spent a few moments on the patio enjoying the storm. The kids had fun reaching out to feel the rain and dancing around patio cover posts, getting themselves wet.

A short time later as we gathered upstairs putting pajamas on and brushing teeth, we were having a discussion about storms, storm sirens and what it meant to take shelter. We also heard thunder at this time. Shelby got a little panicky-- but sweet Jerzy quickly offered comfort and reassurance. She says to me" Momma- Jesus will save us, right?" As soon as I said yes,she turns to Shelby and says- "Shelby, don't worry, Jesus will save us." Oh the wisdom and faith of a 3 year old. Thank you Lord! Yes Jerzy, Jesus saves.....

Easter Weekend Fun

The Tokarz gang took a road trip over Easter weekend. We drove to Burnet, TX for my cousin's wedding. We had a great time. This was the Lowery side of the family. My Aunt Libby's ( Dad's sister) daughter Elsie, married her longtime boyfriend, Brad. It was a great reunion of Aunts, Uncles and Cousins. The wedding was in a CAVERN!! Yes... a cave...a big dark hole in the ground...but it wasn't too dark due to all the torches, tealights and other accessory lighting!

The wedding was at Longhorn Caverns State Park. It was a really neat setup-- a beautiful wedding and fun reception, despite the cool, windy weather. The kids had cute new clothes-- covered for awhile by jackets, sweaters and blankets. Then after we ate ( yummy bbq!!) the Park staff and DJ graciously moved everything inside to the gift shop/snack bar area, where we danced , laughed and enjoyed cake ( which was all Jerzy and Shelby were waiting for!!).

The next morning, after the Easter bunny magically made deliveries to our hotel room, most of the Lowery clan gathered for the Holiday Inn free breakfast . After visiting and hugging and saying our goodbyes...we hit the road for home. We stopped for the required bluebonnet pictures and some lunch, making it home in time to have Nana and Papa over for a visit and dinner.

Andrew & Amy waiting for the ceremony to begin.

Shelby sitting in Brennan's lap waiting to see the "white dress."

My silly girls!

This was the best shot I got of either of the girls' new dresses.

Uncle Kemp and Bubba Knox share a cold one.

The Lowery/Tokarz gang ( Andrew was at the car- rounding up blankets& jackets) before the reception moved indoors.

New 'Do

Knox is a big boy! A couple wks ago he stayed home with Andrew due to an ear infection. That afternoon Andrew went to get a haircut and Knox got one too. He fought it every second, so it came out a little patchy. But God bless the woman at Great Clips who was ever so patient and persevered to get it done! He was a cute 2 year old before, now he's handsome little devil.

AFTER

BEFORE

First Catch of the Season

Fishing fun has started again. The rods and reels were put away during the cold months, but now that we've had some awesome weather , the kids ( including Andrew) were itching to fish again. So...one night this week we finished supper early and headed out to see if the fish were biting. Well... it was a little slow going. Of course it may have had something to do with Jerzy and Shelby telling us the fish might be sleeping....and then proceeding to yell " Wake up fisssshiess! Wake up!" And then there's Knox...he just scampers around saying "FISS! FISS!"

Andrew did manage to catch one-- the first one of the season-- maybe it was a perch?
The kids were excited. It was sweet to see Knox getting into it, when we had last been out there in the Fall, he was not quite ready to sit still,nor was he talking much. Now he's really interested in it and has lots to say. The girls have developed more confidence as well as patience. It was a great way to end the day.

Happy New Year

I can't believe it has been 2+ months since I last posted. Lots has happened since then...but no time to blog it all now. We are fine. The kids are growing and changing constantly. They love school. We had a joyful Holiday season full of many blessings.

Andrew travelled for several wks before Christmas, but has been home since. He has been busy with work, home improvements, and enjoying the toys that Santa brought. I have been busy supporting him in the home improvements, as well as wrapping up my first semester as a high school teacher ( I LOVE MY JOB!) AND chasing after the 3 little rascals.

Hope everyone is having a great 2009. I will try to post more SOON!