Lily is TWO!!

Lily and Daddy's Birthday

Happy Birthday Lily and daddy! We just celebrated a big day in our house - our baby turned two. And we won't discuss how old Jason is now! :) Of course, the focus of the day is now on Lily (as displayed by the Strawberry Shortcake candle on the birthday cake). Jason realizes his day is now shared with an adorable blonde that steals the show, but he doesn't seem to mind.


Here is Lily - ready for some shopping on your birthday. She and her best buddy, bear. She has to take any and everything she can hold with her in the car - pillow and bear were just a few of the selected items on this outing.


Lily and dad love chocolate cake - and couldn't wait to get the candles out of the way to dig in. We put 2 on one side for Lily and a few more on the other side for dad, but in the end Mia is the one that blew out all the candles.




Lily and her cake - yum!

Happy Halloween!!

After school our cul-de-sac started a Halloween street party. The kids played and we had dinner - all to help pass the time until dark. Once the ghostly hour arrived they kids got on their costumes and we started the trick-or-treating. Lily was not sure what this was all about for the first few houses, but once she caught on she didn't stop. Towards the end of the night her bag was so heavy she could barely carry it. I offered to take it, but she quickly responded, "No, mommy - mine!" What was she thinking - I would never take her candy and eat it. What kind of mother would do that?!? :)

I loved every minute of watching both girls running door to door with their friends. They were so excited, and had so much fun. All until Mia got tired and her feet started hurting - then the smiling and fun stopped. But once we were back on our street by the fire pit with our friends and eating lots of candy - the smile was back! It is amazing what chocolate can do for a tired child with sore feet.


Mia - our delicious bag of popcorn!


Lily - our super silly and shy spider!


Trick-or-treat!!

Halloween School Parade

Our day of Halloween festivities started with a costume parade at Mia's school - she totally "popped" as a cute bag of popcorn!! I think she was the only girl not in a princess costume. :)

By the way, where has October gone? I cannot believe Halloween has come and gone. Mia loved looking at her costume each day for weeks - we are so sad that it is now all over for another year.

She and her friend, Katie -
they liked the parade, but were most excited about the pinata and pizza party that came after.

Soccer Season - continues

We are in the middle of soccer season now, and Mia has really gotten the hang of this sport. We have started scoring goals and getting quite aggressive. Snacks at half time are still the highlight of the game, but the competitive spirit of running and taking the ball away can be seen in her eyes now! It has gotten really fun to watch and cheer her on.

Go Dolphins - 3 more games to go!!

Soccer Season - Game 1

Just like all other kids her age, Mia has started soccer. Her season got a late start this year thanks to hurricane Ike. She is excited to be on the team with her friends Lauren and Morgan - they took dance together this summer, and now they're trying soccer. The first game was on Saturday, and was quite comical. During the first half there was lots of running the wrong way, touching the ball with hands and not wanting to take the ball away from someone else. Snack time seemed to be the highlight of the game. But the light seem to go on during the 2nd half and Mia started running towards the correct goal and getting more into the game. I find it strange, as a mom, to yell "take the ball" and explaining that "it is alright to kick someone when you take the ball, that is why you are wearing shin guards!" It is so opposite to what I say at home, "be nice and share" and "don't kick your sister!" Mia seemed to enjoy it, and I'm sure she'll be our soccer star in no time.














Lily took her turn on the field, and wanted to play just like sissy. Monkey see, monkey do!! After watching Mia play this season, Lily will be ready to dominate the field when she is old enough to be on the team.

Master of the Cheese Smile

Lily is finally interested in having her picture taken! In no time she has mastered the "cheese" smile. She even looks at me and says "cheese" whenever she sees the camera. So cute!!

More of Hurricane Ike

Make a Smilebox postcard

Tales from Hurricane IKE

We made it! The worst part of Hurricane Ike moved into our area about 2am on Saturday morning and left us about noon later that day. Mia and dad slept on an air mattress in my closet (the safest and quietest room in the house) and Lily and I rode out the storm in my bed as I watched and listened to the howling storm outside (ready to run to the closet if needed). About 7am we realized we had lots of water coming into the house...only to have our neighbor call and say he could see our roof was down to the wood in several places. In no time we had water pouring into the office, living room and Lily's bedroom and coming in under the front door and windows. We got lots of towels and buckets in place and were able to move the furniture - thanks to our brave neighbor, Dan, that come over during the storm to help Jason. We also lost a tree in the backyard, that crashed through our fence. And our pool looks like a swamp. The storm hit with strong winds from the North and that side of our house took a major hit.

Our neighborhood as a whole is a sad sight with trees and fences down everywhere, but the good news is -- everyone is alright! We lost power about 10pm on Friday night and we were one of the lucky few that have gotten it back as of Monday night. We have been ripping out wet carpets, cleaning and trying to get back to some kind of normal - more grateful than ever for electricity, clean water and working phones.

Mia and Lily were troopers; however, they never had to completely "rough" it. We have a generator so they still had the comforts of tv, a fridge/freezer full of cold food, a toaster, fan and lamp. Our family had it better than most!! Classic Mia - on Sunday I was making lunch (PBJ sandwiches) and she told me she'd prefer a quesadilla with chicken and cheese...how quickly a 4 yr old forgets that a major hurricane had just hit us and making quesadillas was not high on my priority list. Lily spent the first few days in front of the portable tv watching Strawberry Shortcake and Mickey Mouse Clubhouse videos over and over. She even took the tv with her to our neightbors for dinner one night. (Did we mention she was a tv junkie?) She has really been out of sorts - when it is time for bed she goes up the stairs to her room and stares at the empty room with the saddest look. It will be months before her room is ready to live in again, and that just breaks my heart.

We have been so blessed to have a cool front move through, and the weather has been perfect. Our great friends/neighbors in our cul-de-sac have pulled together to help out cutting trees and cleaning yards. We have been having BBQ dinners and even cooked s'mores by the fire pit. The kids have no school and think this is one big party! One of the greatest blessings is getting through this tragedy with such great people around us. Our neighbors have become the family we don't have here in Texas. They are friends we will cherish forever.

Mia's constant questions - When can I go swimming? When do I go back to school? When can we go run errands? She has no concept that life, for so many, has completely changed. She has no idea how lucky she is that her life will continue as she knows it.

Although I get sad looking at the damage to our home, I have to remember how fortunate the Ray family is - there are so many that have lost so much more. Eventually the sounds of generators and chain saws running will be gone, kids will go back to school, grocery stores will open and our daily routine will start again. Hurricane Ike will be a major part of our life here in Texas, and will be a constant reminder to give thanks for the many simple daily blessings that go overlooked in the midst of our routine.

Thanks to everyone for your prayers and concern on our behalf!

I have lots of pictures that I will post as soon as I can.

Back to School

I cannot believe summer is gone, and school is back in! We had such a great, fun summer. But Mia has been counting the days to start school again. She loves it. This is her third, and final, year of preschool. She is excited to be a Blue Bear (4 yr old class) with Ms. Kelli and Ms. Susie. However, her new countdown will now focus on turning 5 and going to "real school" (as she refers to kindergarten) next year.

Mia also had her first soccer practice Friday night - I think getting her new uniform was the most exciting part for her. She wore it home from practice and out to dinner that night. I cannot wait to see her first game next weekend.



Mia and Lily - so cute!! Lily is adjusting to not having sissy around during the day. Mom loves having just one little one at home - I seem to get a lot more done in a lot less time. Friday was Mia's first full day, and after being out for a few hours running errands with Lily we drove past Mia's school on our way home for lunch, Lily pointed out the window and said, "Sissy." She knew right where Mia was. I couldn't believe she recognized and remembered the building. At home - she kept looking for Mia saying, "Sissy, where are you?" or "C'mon sissy, lets go." I am amazed everyday just how much she loves and looks to her sister (even when Mia isn't always so nice to her). I just hope they have a friendship like I am lucky enough to have with my sister!!

Up next for Lily - she and mom start Kindermusik on Monday!

Summer 2008 Scrapbook

Make a Smilebox scrapbook

Our Mia

Mia finally does Build-A-Bear! Her reward for being a big helper while Meemaw watched the girls when mom and dad went on a childless vacation.

Mia is our busy 4 year old peanut - gymnastics, swimming, dance, preschool and starting this fall - soccer. As long as she is busy, she is happy!! It took a while to adjust to having a little sister around, but this summer Mia has really turned into mommy's helper. Her favorite jobs - sweeping the floors and helping Lily put on her shoes and brush her teeth.

Best Mia tales this summer -
1. while on vacation in FL, we were at the beach with meemaw (that is my mom, Linda) and we were getting ready to go to dinner. We were going to a VERY casual beach restaurant so my mom didn't blow her hair dry. She left it wavy and when Mia saw her she said, "Meemaw, is that how you are wearing your hair?" When my mom replied yes, Mia said, "but everyone is going to laugh at you." You have to love an honest little girl. :)
2. having to explain the years of practice and hard work it takes to make it to the olympics and do the types of tricks those athletes do. While watching the games this summer she broke down watching gymnastics and wanting to know why her teacher wasn't teaching her the same things in her class. We had a meltdown and lots of tears!! The next class she asked her teacher to please start teaching her some of the same moves - she was "ready to learn and be like the olympics people." The cute part was watching her get excited when the athletes look in the camera and wave - she just knows they were waving to her personally.

Our Lily

Nothing is more satisfying to Lily than black beans and rice with a giant Diet Coke! Like mother, like daughter... (disclaimer - that cup has just a little bit left that I didn't finish - I'd never be a bad mom and give my little girl that much diet coke...she'd never go to bed. But she loves any little bit I'll give her.)

Lily is our spirited almost 2 year old - she always makes us laugh. Mia likes to refer to her as "silly Lily." She is growing so fast, and following everything her big sister does (some good, some bad). She only knows Mia as "sissy," and on most days sissy is her best friend. Her newest obsessions - taking off her pants and diaper anytime I am not looking and brushing her teeth (she thinks she needs to brush them anytime she walks past the bathroom).

Lily's tale from summer - Lily is our tv junkie and she may not be able to talk in sentences, but she can sing the opening songs to most shows (so sad, but true). Her favorites - Strawberry Shortcake, The Backyardigans and Wow Wow Wubbzy. What a talent we have discovered. :)

Better late than never...

Well, we have been in Texas 3 years, and I am finally getting to creating a way to stay in better contact with family and friends. Our little family loves Texas (but not the summer heat); however, Mia and Lily have found a favorite spot during the summer - the pool! We have 2 darling little girls that keep us busy and create daily tales we are excited to share with you.