Mr. Mark update #1...

thanks to those who have offered to donate to Mr. Mark.. there's no doubt he will put it to good use & be incredibly grateful.. as am I..
when I offered to write a letter on his behalf, I asked him if he knew any other parents... he knew of one family that might be interested, but only knew the little girl's name.. I mentioned it to Taggert, and he knew the little girl's teacher.. I emailed the teacher, who connected me with the mom, who happens to be very active in the PTA.. she had not realized Mr. Mark had been terminated & was also upset.. she knows several other families who feel the same about Mr. Mark & know the impact he had on our children.. she believes they, too, will write letters on his behalf.
additionally, she knows some people who may be able to give him a job- someplace close to where he lives so he can ride his bike, since he is unable to drive.. I called Mr. Mark to share this possibility and really caught him off guard- he had a hard time speaking for a moment.. everyone cross your fingers.. : )

readers of this blog...

One of the counselors in Taggert's after school program has been terminated.. in my opinion, and the opinion of some other parents, undeservedly so.. I have written to the YMCA Board of Directors and executives for the program, and am waiting to hear something at this point. I'm writing this because, this is a good man… truly..

Without a doubt, Mr. Mark was there for the kids.. he was kind, not only to Taggert and the other kids there, but to Riley as well when we would pick up Taggert. he was one of the only counselors that was always playing with the kids, not chit-chatting with the other counselors.. and the kids loved him.. I think it was partly due to his kind & overflowing heart, and partly due to his slow & unsteady demeanor, the result of a closed head injury brought on by a tragic car accident years ago. he talks slow and walks even slower, which makes it easier for the kids to keep up…

Because of his differences, it's hard for him to find employment… and times have gotten a little tough for him now. Mr. Mark has not had many breaks in life, so I am hoping that his luck will change.. but, in the words of Anderson Cooper, "hope is not a plan"..


soo.... I would not be writing this if I did not strongly believe he was a good person, deserving of our love and support… therefore, if you feel so inclined to get involved, please let me know if you are interested in donating something to help him with living expenses… or, if you have any ideas to share on ways to help Mr. Mark along.. even still, share my information with someone you think could help... anything is appreciated..


We are helping on our end and I'd welcome any other support available... anything or nothing is fine, absolutely no pressure at all.. it's just that this has weighed heavy on my heart for the last week, and I wanted to put it out there.. I appreciate you taking the time to read this.. just another opportunity for us to count the blessings we all have..

celebrating the little things..

This week I took my first trip as an adult where I didn't check any luggage.. for those of you who have traveled with me, you know I pack enough to survive a long winter, regardless of the fact it may only be an overnight trip.. it's some sort of illness I have that makes me think something I don't want to wear when I am at home will look better when I get to a far away destination.. then maybe I'll wear it with a skirt, or these pants.. by the time I'm done, I'm rolling two body bags down the driveway & throwing them in the back of the van.. anyway, this week I cut my airport time in half by cramming everything into one carry-on.. I got all my liquids into my tiny ziploc, minus the toothpaste- which the hotel happily provided..
Speaking of "celebrating little things".. while I was out of town, Riley told Troy, "I miss mama when she is gone.. because she sure is a cute girl.." awe..

Panther Bowl 2008..

Last week the Panther moms got to play the Panthers in the first ever Panther Bowl.. sad to say, the 4 & 5 year olds may have had better moves than the mothers.. however, Nikki did go ahead and knock a Panther to the ground in the "flag football" scrimmage.. to her credit, he was half her size & hard to see.. way to take one for the team Nik!.. ; )
Also, thanks to the Joneses for showing up to cheer us on. it was so sweet how Taelyn could not hold herself back from joining in the fun, little girl heels and all! love it!!

Sunday pruning..

we hate our front trees.. ever since we bought the house in Round Rock we have hated them.. they look as if they were dragged behind a rickety old pick up truck down a dark alley, leaving most of the branches only on one side... we recognized this as a huge problem the first Christmas here, when I strung lights and they were pretty much only on one side..
today Troy finally tried to rectify the situation.. still not perfect, but a little more even at least..
the boys were able to find a creative use for the extra branches.. they used them to make their fort into a tree fort.. as you can see, they were very proud of themselves.. : )

Riley's injuries..

Riley wore his Crocs for the first time in a year and a half, and they were a little tight.. when we came in for the night, he realized he had blisters on his feet.. upon noticing this, he asked his brother to hold his hand as he walked around the house getting ready for bed, so he wouldn't be inclined to walk too fast (very sweet).. then he came to me and asked for a wheelchair... of course, once we were all ready for bed and snuggled up watching tv on the couch, he forgot all about the blisters..

an all-sports weekend..

Friday night we headed to the opening day game of the Round Rock Express with the neighbors.. as you can see from the photo, a $3 ticket will get you the best seat in the house- the lawn, where all the kids can run around..

On Saturday, both boys had football again, both winning.. Taggert scored the final 2 points in his game.. Riley pulled out his super-secret move to distract the other team- making armpit noises with his hand... surprisingly, he was successful..

owing The Man...

so I decided that I'm going to stop paying someone to do our taxes and learn more about our finances.. I pulled out our old H&R Block packet & used it as a guide as I spent about an hour and a half completing our taxes on TurboTax..

sad to say, TurboTax told us we will be owing an additional $5516 in taxes this year... yuck.. we spent about 7 minutes trying to figure out why we owe this year instead of getting a refund like every other year, but ultimately we said "oh well", and moved on...

for $29 H&R Block will check your work... I figured what's another $29 on top of $5516, so I went down there.. after 6 1/2 minutes, Earl tells me we are getting a $300 refund.. after their filing fees, it's actually $25, but hey, it's better than my results.. sold!

needless to say, my accounting career has come to an end... : )

Hanging around Zilker Park...

On Sunday afternoon we grabbed a picnic lunch from Whole Foods and headed to Zilker Park... in our 2 years in Austin, this was our first visit.. what a beautiful place.. we road the train, played on the playscape, ate snow cones and watched a clown make balloon animals. A perfect April Sunday..

Oregon, Winter 2007

Some pictures from our last visit to see Ethan & Terrie in Oregon.. we loved visiting the Domain Drouhin, a beautiful winery in the hills of Oregon.. also known as Terrie's home away from home..

Saturday, April 5th

Another Saturday, another two wins on the football field.. Nanny & Papa drove down to catch the action.. Riley is running in the right direction more regularly now... and the coach said that Taggert is his most cerebral player.. he said he only has to tell him something once and it sticks.. what??... I have never had that experience with him... would it help if I carried a clipboard & blew a whistle?...

After football we headed to Ginger & Stephen's to celebrate our godson Jackon's birthday.. no, we did not intentionally dress Taggert & Jackson alike.. and yes, Jordan is still able to stay prissy after spending so much time with all these little boys.. we don't see them enough..

Taelyn's game...

This week, while Troy was out of town, Taggert, Riley and I joined our friends the Hensons at Taelyn's softball game... with two families full of little boys, we weren't used to the pink bats, pink gloves, and rhinestone-covered visors.. it was great! Taelyn was excited to have her own cheering section, and checked often to make sure we were all still watching her.. : )

On the way home from the game, Taggert & Riley were in the back of the van taking turns cracking each other up.. at one point, I heard Taggert tell his little brother, "Riley, we were born to be funny"... too cute..