Monday, January 28, 2008

Grocery Shopping with the Tribe

Nothing like grocery shopping in the cold and rain
Can you tell Aiden hates rain on his face
First time with his own basket...He loved it and did great
They are such good sports
Gracen is so in love with Grier...but sometimes she expresses that in a rough way

Sunday, January 27, 2008

Girl Time

Mommy and Gracen-the goof ball
Big Sis and Lil Sis-I love this picture of Grier admiring Gracen
Playing Games
A Joyful Child
Fabulous New Haircut-Big Thanks to Aunt Cara!

For whatever reason lately, I have had so much precious time with my girls. I love doing girly things with Gracen...playing with My Little Ponys, baby dolls, dress-up, playing with her hair. When I was young, I was the girliest of girls, but at some point I got it in my head that I only wanted boys. I wanted to drive the mini-van and be the soccer mom, and have a bunch of boys at our house all the time. But when Gracen came along, that all changed. My pink sparkly inner girly girl came out and I was counting down the days until Gracen would start playing with things other then her toes, stacking rings, and rattles. She is so much fun, and I feel such a different connection to her then with Aiden...I think it is simply our shared femininity. As I watch Aiden and Blake I see the same thing with them...well, masculinity that is. With their shared love of things that go and make noise, and stack and crash, they have a connection that is special to them, and awesome to watch. Again, I can't wait until Grier discovers baby dolls, and strollers and bows...oh, how we love our bows around here. Every morning after Gracen and I greet each other, she says. "Mommy, I NEED a bow." I love it! I am overwhelmed by the love I feel in this house with my family! Thank you Jesus...


Wednesday, January 23, 2008

Three Little Monkeys Scrub a Dub Dub



This is the first time I bathed all three kids together...and they did a great job. With the baby in the middle, things are A LOT more peaceful. She serves as a sort of buffer between the other two. It is so fun to see them all together in the tub. I am a blessed woman!

Monday, January 21, 2008

Dress Up!

She is Super Duper Excited to be a princess...Can you tell?
Dressing up with Good Friends
This is a precious picture to me...my kids and my best friends kids. As you can see Gracen was not giving in to dress up peer pressure.
I'll save the day, my Princess! At least that's what I think he's thinking.
Wahoo! She's dressing up!

So my kids have finally discovered Dress Up. It has been long time coming. For whatever reason, Gracen has resisted this. She is so girly, but the thought of putting shiny, sparkly clothes on freaks her out. It's kinda strange...I know. And I wasn't really expecting Aiden to be into it. But we had some friends over right before Christmas, and the 6 year old boy dressed up in some of Aiden's costumes, and now he thinks it's pretty cool. Gracen has slowly come along, as she sees Aiden transform into a super hero. I have had fun watching this process. The kids really do take on this new identity. If only clothes had that effect on me!


Sunday, January 20, 2008

Who Knew Brushing Teeth Could Be So Fun?



My kids favorite thing to do right now is brush their teeth. It is the highlight of their day. Strange, I know. I guess there could be worse things...

Saturday, January 19, 2008

Precious Children's Devotional


So with the start of the new year, Blake and I have made a commitment to go "back to the basics". We feel like there are so many things we neglected while in seminary. Since we graduated (I say "we" b/c I held down the fort while he worked multiple jobs and was a full time student.) we have been more spiritually drained then ever before. So for 2008 we have decided that our family needs to step back and kind of start fresh. We have made a commitment to pray consistently with each other. Blake and I have also been getting up before the kids wake up and he leaves for work to have our daily time in God's Word, and to pray for God's guidance for the day. Wow, this has been amazing for me personally. I have really loved my children well lately. I have taken so much joy in them! if I start my day in prayer, focused on the big picture...I have so much purpose in the daily grind. We have also been convicted on our lack of initiative with our neighbors. We really want to be "salt" in our neighborhood, and point people to Christ...So, as you can see there are many "basics" that we need to revisit and become consistent in.

Another desire for 2008 is to have consistent devotions with our children. I came across this book on http://www.christianbooks.com/. Although it is quite a bit cheaper on http://www.overstock.com/ and I think right now there is $1 shipping. This book is absolutely precious. It is for children 2-5 and it is perfect for our kids. And there are really 365 devotions....all different topics, for instance: sharing, helping others, being patient, keeping promises, Listening, sad or mad, sister love, brothers and sisters, forgiving, kinds words...well you get the picture. This really is so age appropriate. If you have toddlers or preschoolers, I would check it out. It's called God and Me, and it's by Penny Boshoff.










Wednesday, January 16, 2008

The Hostile Stomach Bug

So the Magee Tribe has been through the ringer this last week. We have all had this terrible stomach bug. Aiden was the first to get it, and then he gave it to his baby sister, Grier. Grier then gave it to her big sis, Gracen. Gracen preceded to give it to me and my mom at the same time. Wow, we have been wiped out. Somehow Blake has eluded this horrible virus...how I'm not sure. But I am really thankful. He took care of all three kids yesterday on his day off when I was laid up in bed, thinking the end was near. We are all feeling a lot better...and happy to say, bug free.

Our Bathing Beauty

What a sweet face

Grier gets the tongue thing from me...Blake can't do it, but all three kids can. It's the only thing I have on him...so I take a lot of pride in it.

Grier is our little adventurous baby. She is always looking for trouble.


Wednesday, January 09, 2008

Now Entering the Blogosphere

Well, ladies and gentlemen you are reading my first blog - ever. This historical moment may come as a surprise to those of you to whom I never returned a comment on facebook or made any comments on your blogs, or even perhaps neglected to return your email. It's not that I don't love you (in most cases); it's just that I haven't entered into the blogosphere...until now. Much of this comes as the result of my wife's "encouragement" to catch up with "what the kids are doing." So here I am. And now I'm wondering what to write about. Just kidding. I'm writing today to give you the link to a great sermon we heard on Sunday entitled "Keep Hill Country Bible Church Weird." It was based on the Apostle Peter's letter (1Pet 2:4-12) about Christians' relationship to the world (And of course a play on Austin, Texas' mantra "Keep Austin Weird"). I thought it was such a good sermon because it really captured the essence of finding the balance between being set apart from the world but also being salt and light. It's a really difficult thing to do, but when we drift too far one way or the other, things get bad. So, thought I'd share it with you: http://www.hcbc.com/templates/System/details.asp?id=28485&PID=212443
But if you don't feel like listening to a sermon (and I don't blame you) here's an hilarious video from youtube for all you facebookers: http://youtube.com/watch?v=rSnXE2791yg

Friday, January 04, 2008

...More pics of the Magee Tribe

The Little Munchkin found a chocolate chip on the ground when I was baking. As you can see she loved it!
Trying to get Christmas pictures...unsuccessfully
Say Cheese
Watch out for the Magee Girls
Aiden and his trucks...

Pics of the Magee Tribe

Gracen's first dance recital at Christmas
She was a little nervous
Our little "mover and shaker"
An Austin date with the "big kids"-Trail of Lights
Looking at the BIG tree with Daddy

A Great Resource for the Busy Mom

Okay, so I just bought this book last weekend, and it is FABULOUS!
All you Moms out there, I totally recommend this book. She does a great job of helping you dive into scripture deeper for yourself, instead of always depending on a bible study. It is basically tools that Blake learned in seminary but packaged in a really cute girly way...and it's super practical for busy moms, hence the title. If you are not familiar with Lisa Whelchel, please get to know her. She has so much wisdom and is so VERY VERY practical. I have enjoyed many of her books. I'm reading another book of hers right now for a parenting book club I'm in, called Taking Care of the Me in Mommy...so far so good!!

Thursday, January 03, 2008

Happy Birthday Jesus!

Merry Christmas
Grier is not sure what to think about all this

The kids are really excited about the birthday party

Wednesday, January 02, 2008

Blogging in 2008

Okay, so here we are almost 2 1/2 years after our initial post. I admit that this is sad and pathetic...but what can I say, a lot has happened. We are now a family of 5, comprising of 2 adults, a baby, a toddler, and a preschooler. Life is moving at a pace we can't seem to keep up with. Blake has graduated seminary after a very long 4 year stretch and we have moved back to our home town. We have gotten plugged into ministry at our previous church, as we pray and plan for our new church starting in the Spring...Free Chapel. Check out the link on the side. We are starting this church with some friends from seminary, Jeremy and Ashley. We are very excited about this. They are such a neat family, and we can't wait to be doing ministry side by side with them.

Blake and I just celebrated our 7th anniversary. We really enjoyed reminiscing of those early days of meeting, dating, breaking up, dating, breaking up, dating, engagement, and then of course marrying...that's for all of you who were on that journey with us. We do recognize that we were a little crazy. :) We already dream about being empty nester's...although we love our children immensely, we also really enjoy each other's company...

Speaking of children...Aiden our oldest, is 3 1/2 and full of fire. He is inquisitive and has a great memory. He loves to go on adventures and dates with his daddy. Actually, he would do anything with his daddy, seeing as Blake is his very favorite person in the whole world. Poor Blake...between a wife that adores him and a son that adores him, he doesn't have much alone time. Aiden has just started getting into super heroes. I am mystified by this. He has never seen a show with any super heroes or read any books. Yet they seem to enter every conversation or interaction with him. I really think it's hard wired in guys and somehow written in their DNA. At the moment he is enamored with Spider Man and tries to put the whole family in webs...it's precious...really.

Then there is Gracen, who is 2 1/2 and very loving. She is more independent and needs alone time like her daddy. She is affectionate and sweet, but just like any girl, she can change moods quickly. And watch out for those mood swings...they are fierce. She is finally realizing that Aiden's way doesn't always have to be the way...and I secretly cheer for her every time I see her assert herself with Aiden.

And last but certainly not least, there is Grier, who is almost 10 months old. She will not be forgotten. Talk about fire...this girl is brimming over with adventure and excitement. Everything is worth investigating, and checking out. It is rare to not catch her smiling, and she thinks her big brother and big sister are two of the funniest people out there. They can get her laughing in no time.

And as you can guess, I'm busy with the three mentioned above. Every day is a gift with them...One of my 2008 goals is to enjoy my children on a daily basis. There are times I lie in bed at night and realize that I didn't really laugh or take in all of their antics...and all 3 of them are so funny. I was too busy doing something else that I regarded as more important like cleaning out the pantry for the 5th time in a month or reorganizing their dresser drawers...So I'm asking God to help me slow down and simply enjoy my precious children, b/c time is going by quickly.

We want to blog on a regular basis...mostly to keep family and friends updated, but also as a sort of therapy to get it all out...and of course, to testify to the greatness of God in our life. And hopefully, our track record will be a little better then before.

Happy New Year!