1.  It has been almost nine years since I have blogged. I adore going back to read. I am sure I am the only one who visits this site any more. It is mostly to find old photos. But every now and then I will read a bit of what I wrote.

    I loved blogging back in the day when it was more popular. I got out of the habit and it never became part of my routine again. Actually, once Rives was born I couldn't seem to find the time. Little did I know that life would only get busier.

    I was talking to a friend yesterday about how very rarely do I read parents writing, either on social media or in a blog post, about their college students. I see Instagram posts called "nine tips for helping your college student make friends" or "what to do when your college student comes home for Christmas". But what I don't find are my peers sharing the heartache of having a college student.

    Not to be dramatic, but wow is there heartache. Watching my girl navigate friendships, classes, social clubs, and soccer has been a lot for me so I can only imagine what it has been like for her.

    The hardest part for her, and me to be honest, has been the friendship aspect-or lack thereof. 

    She was burned at the end of high school and just has not recovered from that loss. To be fair, she played her part in the "break" but my goodness the punishment did not seem to fit the crime. 

    She went through a break-up with a boy her junior year of high school and I believe the break from the friends is more lasting. It has damaged her self-confidence, her feeling of worth, and her ability to reach out to new people this year. And it has broken my heart to watch her navigate everything.

    I want to brow beat the girls that hurt her. I want to tell them that what they have done to her is 1000 times worse than the mistake she made. I want to do that but would never. Just in my head. Don't follow me for maturity tips. 

    I also kind of hate "life 360" because she is able to see where new friends are at all times. Often times it is not with her but they are all together. That is tough. Matthew and I have encourage her to put herself out there, text people to do something with, find friends to study with. So much easier said than done, I get it. She has a few safe friends that she can reach out to but it is just not the same as what she is seeing happen on the "socials".

    I believe that because of this heartache of not having friends and not having much confidence in that area it is causing a lack of confidence in other areas. Specifically classes. Man, that has been a learning curve too. My super smart girl has struggled in her super hard classes and that has been a bit of a blow too.

    ANYWAY, enough complaining and bellyaching. I know that she is getting stronger because of these trials. She will come out stronger and she IS having some good times too. I know she has had some laughs and she adores her roommate. That has been a huge blessing.

    I wish that there was a comfort level to sharing trials of the college mom/student. Because I sure do need a "how to" book like I had when she was a baby girl. Because of the book Baby Wise I made that girl cry it out and I knew she would be okay....BECAUSE THE BOOK TOLD ME SHE WOULD BE.   I need a book about "crying it out" the freshman year of college. Maybe I should write it. But it will likely not be a "how to" but more of a "good luck" book. 

    I am so proud of my college freshman. She is making it and man, that is something. She is going to her classes, not missing any practices, keeping her laundry mostly clean and her room clean-ish. I love her. And I am very very very prayerful that her next semester is one of joy and confidence. She sure could use that boost.

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  2. I began this blog nine years ago.  The reason I started it was because of this girl:
    This 7 pound 10 ounce baby is NINE YEARS OLD today.  I seriously just blinked.

    Over the years I have neglected my blog (for instance, the last time I blogged was over a year ago.  sheesh).  I have let Facebook and Instagram and life (3 kids, full-time job, husband) get in the way and this blog has suffered.  And I am sad about that.  Matthew tells me all the time that I should start blogging again.  He is correct, of course.  I just need to figure out where to fit it all in.

    But, back to the REASON I started the blog.  Nora Elizabeth Henderson.

    When she was 4 months old I decided that, for the benefit of family who lived far away (ALL of our family) I would write about our life.  At the time I didn't realize how much I would, nine years later, treasure these writings.

    I cannot believe that she has survived to see 9 years old.

    Matthew and I were talking last night about when we had her.  We were SO DUMB.  I wish I had a time machine to go back and watch us have this baby.  The delivery wasn't super smooth (emergency c-section) and I barely remember the first few hours of her life.  But we were over the moon thrilled with this person we had made.  If I had that time machine I would tell Dallas and Matthew of 2006, "You guys have no clue what you are about to get yourselves into.  Having a baby isn't just about cute clothes and extra attention.  It is FOREVER.  And you guys are stupid."

    But Dallas and Matthew of 2006 wouldn't have listened.  Because they were dumb and thought they knew what to do and what they had gotten themselves into.

    But let me tell you, Dallas and Matthew of 2015 are ready to raise their hands and shout AMEN!  You are correct, time machine woman, we DO NOT have a clue!

    We pretend that we can parent.  If you see us out and about, just know, we are fake parenting.  Yes, it's a thing.  Fake parenting.  And we are GREAT at fake parenting!!!!!

    People tell us all the time that we are super parents, that we have really nailed parenting, that our kids are turning out fantastic....ALL the accolades and compliments get thrown our way.

    Listen up world...we are FAKING IT, PEOPLE!!!!!!!!

    We are clueless.  Complete idiots.  Thankfully, God has put people in our lives who are incredible parents (possibly good fakers too...we'll never know).  We have studied them and tried to mimic their moves and listened to every single word these parents have said to their children....and we have copied it all!

    I also have a lot of friends who admit they are faking it too.  They TELL ME they are faking and we sit around and share what we have seen actual good parents do and take notes.  And then talk about what did and did not work.

    I say all of this because, despite Matthew and I not having a CLUE, Nora has become a WONDERFUL 9 year old.  Only GOD could make this happen.  DESPITE our parenting and short comings, God has allowed a precious girl to grow.

    It is a true miracle!

    Nora is NINE.  She is a great sister.  Most of the time...I mean, come on, having two siblings who are younger probably gets annoying.  She does love Elyn and Rives.  But, sometimes a girl just needs her own space and some quiet.  But, the majority of the time, she is pretty great to them.

    I know it's not easy to be the oldest.  I KNOW!  I know Matthew and I are setting her up for some serious baggage to take to counseling one day because, as mentioned above, we are FAKING IT.  Especially with her.  I want to look at her every day and say, "Listen kiddo.  We have no clue what we are doing.  Unfortunately, you are the guinea pig.  You are the first one.  We will mess up."  But, I don't.  She will figure it out soon enough.  Until that day, she continues to think we are awesome.

    She is a great student.  She loves to go to school.  She loves her teachers and learning.  Reading and writing and math and science and computers.  She gets her work done without us, most of the time, having to remind her.  She gets out of bed each morning WHEN HER ALARM GOES OFF.  She gets herself ready without us having to say anything.  She loves a calendar and likes to know what is coming next.  She reminds us when a family member is having a birthday.  She is responsible and dependable.  Everyone needs a Nora in their house.  Maybe in your house, it is one of the PARENTS.  In ours, it is our oldest child.

    And this is a testimony to how awesome God is and how He works.  Because it is ALL HIM!

    She is an old soul.  She is innocent.  She is still little.  She still plays with her American Girl Dolls.  She loves Little House on the Prairie.  She watches shows on tv that Rives likes.  She is growing up slowly...and I am VERY thankful for that!

    She loves soccer and sewing.  She does not love piano but takes lessons and tolerates practicing.  She loves swimming and wants a horse.  She cannot wait to go back to camp this summer.  She makes a friend and loves them forever.

    She is emotional and sensitive.  She still functions best when she has gotten between 10-11 hours of sleep each night...I completely understand this.  And three evenly spaced out meals are also important.

    She changed my name to Mom and I am still surprised by that.  And so thankful!

    I cannot believe how fast 9 years have gone (but honestly, some DAYS seemed like they took 9 years).  I can't imagine how fast the next 9 will go.  And then, she will be an adult.

    We still have a lot of fake parenting to do before she turns 18.  Our prayer is that God intervenes often and that He places people in her life who can lead her to Him.  We know this precious 9 year old is not ours.  She belongs to Him.  She is His.

    We are thankful for what she has taught us and how she loves big.

    We love you so much Nora Elizabeth Henderson!!!!!



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  3. I have told Matthew several times that I just need to get rid of my phone and replace it with a flip phone.  I spend way too much time on my phone and feel like I am addicted to it at times.  The only problem is that I take 95% of my pictures with my phone.  It is so easy to grab my phone and capture moments.  Since that conversation with Matthew, I have deleted some of the apps off my phone that consumed most of my time.  I think it is a bit more under control.  My contract is up in May and I can re-evaluate then.  Until that time, here are some pictures I took with said phone.
    Ice cream this summer



    Last day of first grade...and last day at Elm Tree Elementary


    Soccer camp, June 2013

    Helping earn their keep

    a family reunion, of sorts, with my dad and brother and cousins


    An actual family reunion, with Matthew's family, at a camp ground in Okalahom


    Nora's first fish!



    Muscles!

    Nora had some money burning a hole in her pocket...she needed to spend it!  She spent, probably, 30 minutes walking up and down the aisles at Target picking out the perfect thing.


    Both girls meet their teachers, at their new schools.  Elyn and Mrs. Bentel, kindergarten

    Nora and Mrs. Buerkle, 2nd grade

    Rives will never be potty trained, ever.  But we still try.

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  4. Just punished Nora. And her punishment is not being able to watch wheel of fortune tonight.

    We are at Wendy's, eating lunch, Nora ordered a baked potato. When it came she said "where is the cheese and ranch?" I said they don't have shredded cheese and ranch. She sighed loudly and said-well, they must not be trying too hard to sell potatoes. Cheese and ranch would help that!

    Matthew put the dessert together and keeps going on and on about how good it is and all. Elyn looks at him and says-you're acting like you cooked this. Haha! Store bought cake, berries and whipped cream. 
     
    "Google it ", What Nora says when she wants us to look something up online.

    "Mines", what Rives says when he it is his.
     
    You were in my dream mommy, do you remember that? Elyn
     
    Heard from my bathroom-"Mommy, I need the shampoo for my body!" "You mean, soap?"-Nora
    Rives-my hold daddy
    Cut the end of rives pacis tonight (back in June). He tried to suck on it and said "broken"!!!! He told me to throw it away. Currently in his bed crying :(.  Lasted 30 minutes. Didn't cry again for them.

    Nora just told me to wear something that looks like art work for tomorrow.
     
    Nora, while looking at the ranch dressing jar....mommy, did you get this at Best Buy? (Best by 9/14/13)
     
    Nora has a field trip to Spanish Treasure Caves....she told me she isn't good at Spanish
     
    Rives had to go to time out tonight for throwing a screaming fit at dinner. Matthew plopped him down and walked away. He continued screaming, but stayed put. Nora looked at us and asked, "has he been practicing 'time out'?". We told her no and she said, "well, he sure knows what to do!"
     
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  5.  May 11 was a busy day for us!  The girls both had a soccer game that morning.  Thankfully, it turned out to be a beautiful morning, despite the huge rains that happened a few nights before.  The field made for some muddy socks and shoes!
    After going home, giving everyone a bath/shower, eating lunch and giving Rives a super quick nap, we headed to Elyn's recital.  She was a part of "Jitterbugs", a dance and movement activity at her preschool.  It is the cutest thing ever!  She loved it and we loved watching her dance

     After Jitterbugs was over, we rushed back home to get ready for the biggest event that day, Rives 2nd birthday party!  Unfortunately, in true Dallas style, I was horrible about taking pictures.  But we had fun and are thankful for all the friends and family that came over to celebrate our sweet boy!

    Rives is really into all things "boy", which is a little surprising considering he is surrounded by all things "girl".  God is amazing at how he works the gender thing!  Rives loves tools, cars, trucks, and balls.  And throwing balls.  And running.  And jumping. And dirt.  I love him!

    To make my life easy, which is necessary these days (and even when I make it easy, let me assure you, I am two steps away from losing it all.  Sigh.) we did a "ball" birthday party.  Boy parties are way easier than girl parties.  Or maybe it is "3rd kid parties are way easier than 1st and 2nd kid parties".  Probably that is it.

    My first "boy" cake.  I'm pretty sure you saw this on "Cake Boss" a few years ago :).
     Coordinated "ball themed plates".  See, I went all out.
     Awesome pictures of the guests.  And my crazy face.
     Ball themed balloon.  Stop it with all the awesome party decorating!
     Also, when you are the third kid and have two big sisters, they will open all the presents for you and read your cards to you.  And hopefully take over the raising of you when your parents are too tired to do a proper job.  Kidding.  Not kidding.
     Telling all his friends, "thank you".  I love him.
    The family picture.  My sweet family.

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  6.  Right before Rives turned two, he got really sick and it was really sad!  He was running around a 104 degree fever, with tylenol and motrin.  Poor boy!  It just struck him from out of no where!  Matthew and I took turns staying with him at home.  The day that Matthew stayed with him was the day he was the most sick.  Matthew took him to the doctor and he was diagnosed with croup.  Matthew showed me a video he had taken of Rives breathing and it broke my heart!  Saddest sound ever!  Matthew had taken the video to send to his sister to find out if we should take Rives in...um, yes was her immediate answer!
    sick baby boy!
     Thankfully he perked up pretty quick and was back to himself.  He even mustered up the energy to help me make the cake for his birthday party.

     Happy boy, once again!


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  7. I got to celebrate being a mom at Elyn's school too!  However, I already knew every single thing that was going to happen...one downfall to being the director at the preschool she attends.

    Even though I knew what would happen, I was still happy to celebrate with my girl and eat some muffins with her!
     Rives tagged along because it was an "at home" day for him.  I think he enjoyed the muffins just as much as the preschoolers!
    Her classmates sang a song to all the moms:
    What a blessing to be a mom to the three best kid in the universe!!!!!
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  8. Matthew and the girls ran in the Gold Rush Race for the second year.  Last year the weather was nice and toasty, this year, not so much...
    They were troopers and ran the entire time (only doing the one mile run this year after an unplanned fall in the 5K, last year, that resulted in Matthew carrying Elyn a portion of the route).  I was super proud of them, especially Elyn since she did no "training".

    Here they are crossing the finish line:
     Nora's friends that participated in the race too...
     The next morning, we had soccer games.  This is a picture of how I felt about the games...
     Rives was miserable too.  I don't know if he was miserable because I had him wear pink gloves or because it was 38 degrees.  Regardless, we were both ready for the final whistle to be blown!

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  9.  Some randoms:

    Over May break Nora wanted to work on a "research paper"-ha!  Little nerd-haha!  Here is her report on rabbits (plagiarizer alert!).
     The night that Nora and I went to Shoguns on our little date, Matthew decided to get creative with making cookies.  He made some cookies with peanut butter, chocolate chips, red pepper and BACON!  And they were good!  Nora and Rives enjoyed crumbling up the bacon, he said :).
    I asked Siri to tell me a joke the other day, while I was driving (I was a little bored).  This is the joke she told me.  Ha!  I did make me laugh out loud.  Oh Siri.
    The day we had the historic May snowfall, Rives and Elyn spent quite a bit of time building a fort out of the couch cushions and pillows.  While Nora tried to lay on the floor and watch t.v.  Ha!
     I walked downstairs on afternoon to this....grrrrrr.  All three went up to their rooms so Mom could cool down.

     When your toddler gets your phone, this might happen...
     I was working on a small craft project for school and asked Matthew if he had an old paint brush I could borrow.  This is one of the options he brought me.  Ha!  Beggers can't be choosers, I guess.

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  10.  While Nora was on her May break, she had to come to school with me one day.  I was worried she would be bored, but she entertained herself with books and movies on the iPad.  She also colored a million pictures and enjoyed talking to me.

     At the end of the day, I put her to work, cleaning tables and reading to some kiddos.
     When Matthew got off work, he came to pick her and Elyn up and Nora started crying.  I didn't understand why she was throwing a fit because she had been so good and happy all day long.  Matthew took her aside and told her to get it together and after talking to her for a few minutes figured out that she was sad our day together was over.  Well, that made me cry.  Ugh.  I can understand wanting to spend time all alone with someone and it not happening.  I told Matthew to leave her with me and we would go eat together.

    As soon as I told her that, tears were done and she was happy again.  Break my heart!  She just needs more one on one time with me and Matthew.  Being the oldest is hard sometimes!

    I let her choose where she wanted to eat and she chose "the fire place" aka Shoguns.  Yummy!


    I love my time with this girl!  She is getting so big and growing so fast and I cannot believe that she is almost 7 1/2!  I need her to stay my little girl and WANT to spend time with me, all by herself.  What a blessing she is to me!
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