Hale Household

Are you ready for some RANDOMNESS? Ok, here goes... What do you get when you spit watermelon seeds on your front porch?
Yep, you guessed it... watermelons, watermelons, and more watermelons.
We took the first of our crop to Aunt Vi and Uncle Gary's this weekend so that we could share the joy of our watermelons with family.
I must say, we are GOOD watermelon farmers. Aren't they beautiful?

Yep, I did it!! I completed my third triathlon this season. Have I gone bonkers?? I even became a member of the USAT hoping it would encourage me to train more and do some more Tri's next season. I didnt feel as good after this triathlon as I did the previous two. It could be that I spent three days in the hospital, got a job, and havent trained near like I should have in the last month. Oh well, I did it... accomplished it... and feel good about it all.

I have always wanted my girls to be at one of my races so that I could have a picture just like this one. My dad, Dee, Megan, the girls, and Gary all came down this morning to watch me cross the finish line. Abbey and Emiley ran with me the last few yards to the finish line. I was in tears... they mean the world to me! Thanks Dad for getting this picture. Will also competed this weekend. He was not planning on competing since he did the Burnet Tri last weekend and is doing a half iron man next weekend, but he couldnt resist. He did great (as usual) I think he placed in the top 30. He missed getting an award in his age group by 30 seconds.
Love this picture, too. I am not sure where Lainey was... I bet she was standing under a shade tree because it sure got HOT!
Our good friends Luke and Betsy also competed! It is so fun to have a group of people you LOVE to spend time with go to these events with you. Luke and Betsy both did great! Betsy even beat the time that she had hoped for herself. Way to go BETSY!!! Jennifer and Michelle also competed and I have a picture of all of us on my camera... but until I get them downloaded, you will have to enjoy these pics that my dad took :)
Hope your weekend was a huge success, too. There is nothing better than challenging your body, being with good friends and having lots of family time. While we were not racing we enjoyed lots of dominoes, good food, and family visiting at Aunt Vi and Uncle Gary's. I think we broke their new house in... We had every bedroom and the living room full of family. Sneaky little Lainey took my spot with Will last night so I slept with my MiMa. It reminded me of the days when I would sleep with MiMa and PiPa and listen to Johnny Carson and Pi Pa snoring. Abbey, Emiley, and Megan were spread out in the living room. I hope we didnt disturb them at 5:30 this morning.

Thanks family for a great weekend and for keeping the girls while we "TRI"ed our best at the race!

I LOVE this song.

So turn up your volume, listen, ENJOY, and tell me what you think!

Once again... HAPPY WEEKEND!!!

(I am going for my third tri this weekend, wish me luck... or better yet, say a little prayer that I make it through. Not much workin' out has gone on since the salmonella.)

Yahoo Whoo... I received my first paycheck in MANY, MANY years. It is sort of a good feeling :)

Yahoo Whoo... One of my former preschool students brought it to my knowledge that I am a certified teacher! He is such a cute little boy... This is what he told me yesterday while sitting in my classroom, " Mrs. Hale, Congratulations! I heard you are now a certified teacher!"

I told him thank you... then broke the news that I have been a certified teacher for over ten years and that I have a master's degree as well. He was shocked! I told him that yes, I had graduated from college some time ago and had "just been a mommy" the last few years. But now I was ready to use my education.

I was so happy for the compliment though!

Happy Weekend!!!

Well, things are going GREAT on the home front. We are all adjusting to me working and having to be at school before 7:30 am. Abbey and Lainey are, of course, continuing on the same track as the last few years and making good grades and minding their P's and Q's. I had my first parent-teacher conference with Miss Em's teachers. They reported that she is doing great... knows everything they are teaching... has only had one minor incident that involved kicking a little boy who was sitting on HER square... and is ready to take home her first homework, her very own READER!

Emiley has been taking great pride in her homework and I know it is because she feels like she is as big as Lainey and Abbey. We sit every day and read from her new reader. Emiley is so proud of her book. She reminds me every day that we MUST take good care of it because she has to return it to the school on Friday so she can get a new one. The other day we were heading out for Lainey's ballet class and Emiley wanted to take her reader with us to ballet. Our usually plan for loading into the suburban is that I go into the garage, start the car, and pull it out. The girls wait for me on the front porch. Once I have backed the car out, they come pile in. This particular afternoon Emiley informed me she could not wait on the front porch because something horrible could happen to her precious book. She said, "The horse could get it and eat it. The rooster could knock me down and poop on it. The kitties could take it from me and tear it to pieces. So I better go with you mommy through the safe garage with my book."

Good job Miss Em, protect the book with your life! You never know what might happen around here.

My dad sent me this "little reminder" this morning. I loved it! I told someone just the other day how I was missing the classy Olympic stars from the swimming, diving, and gymnastics events who were such humble winners. I get so tired of watching some of the track athletes and the NFL stars "in all their glory!" Enjoy

Get Over Yourself
“In humility consider others better than yourselves.”
Philippians 2:3 NIV

Columnist Rick Reilly gave this advice to rookie professional athletes: “Stop thumping your chest. The line blocked, the quarterback threw you a perfect spiral while getting his head knocked off, and the good receiver blew the double coverage. Get over yourself.” The truth is, every touchdown in life is a team effort. Applaud your teammates.

An elementary-age boy came home from the tryouts for the school play. “Mommy, Mommy,” he announced, “I got a part. I’ve been chosen to sit in the audience and cheer.” When you have a chance to clap and cheer, do you take it? If you do, your head is starting to fit your hat size.

Happy Hump Day!

Sometimes it is the simple things that can really make your day. Those simple things that make your heart skip a beat and you say, "Thank You Lord for all you are doing in my life."

Like a hug from a student at morning drop off,

or helping a little one find her gym shorts so that she wont be late for PE.

Like playing a math game to finish work that seems overwhelming,

or sending a special "I *Heart* U!" note to my girls in their lunches.

Like visiting with my co-worker friends during lunch,

or seeing the faces of my three babies as I pass down the halls.

Thank you God for blessing me with the simple things that take my day from ordinary to extraordinary! Help me to stop and rejoice in your AWESOMENESS.

Phil 4:4, "Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again... REJOICE!"

What a fun weekend get-away we had!! This is our weekend home... not too fancy!

Emiley had a short but sweet, wild and wacky birthday celebration yesterday after school. She invited three friends over and they all dressed up in their favorite dress up outfit, put on some make-up and had a tea party. Emiley put in the special request for sweet tea and communion bread. Yes, I did say communion bread. (I stayed up past nine o'clock for once this week and whipped out a batch of homemade communion bread just for my little darling!)
Emiley, Courtney, Taylor, and Bailey had a GRAND time and all cried when it was over! Yes, I even pulled out the China for the occasion...
And finally, this is one of our MANY watermelons that we still have growing on our front porch. Yep, they are really getting big! Hope they make it long enough for us to get to enjoy them...

Happy Weekend!

(Since I am now a working momma, I will post the night before the BIG DAY for Miss Em.)

On September 18, 2002 (yes, just 14 short months after my last child), Miss Emiley Morgan Hale blessed us with her presence. I truly think I cried most of my pregnancy with her. We decided to move to a town we had never heard of, sale our "first home" in Ft. Worth, and move our two young daughters right after I found out I was pregnant again. Through all the tears, Miss Emiley has been such a blessing in our lives.

She was my biggest baby at 8lbs. 13 oz. She was born with red hair, pale skin, and green eyes. When I first laid eyes on her, I knew she was going to be "different" than my other two daughters. Man, was I right!!

Poor Emiley did not have a name for almost a day. Will and I could not agree on one. I wanted her name to end with "ey." I was really pulling for Emmey, but Will was not going for it. Finally almost 24 hours after her arrival, Will came back from lunch and said her name is going to be Emiley. He said I could spell it with an "ey" and decide on her middle name. I decided to name her Emiley Morgan because Morgan was a name I had liked with the other two girls and because I had the even liked the name when I was a younger girl.

Miss Emiley is truly one of a kind. In celebration of her sixth birthday, I am going to share six things I LOVE about Emiley Morgan Hale.
1. Emiley is always happy. She always has a smile on her face and can make ANYONE smile, too. She is funny and quick witted. I truly believe she could be a comedian. Emiley can brighten my day just by looking at her, seeing her smile, and hearing her contagious laugh.

Have you heard my news? Well, I am now a full-time sub at the girls' elementary school until the end of January. I hate the circumstances that surround the way I got this opportunity. The mother of a good friend of ours has had some cancer and is now undergoing chemo. She is unable to work during this time because the of the germs that the kids carry. So, they moved a teacher from Content Mastery into her room and put me in Content Mastery until after the new year. I am so very excited and have LOVED my first two days. Please pray for Mrs. C and her treatments and they she may remain strong and fight through this battle over the next few months...

Happy Hump Day!...

It's somebody's birthday tomorrow... so stay tuned for lots of pictures!

Each morning as I am fixing the girls hair I have them stare straight ahead at something. This morning as I was fixing Lainey's hair I had her staring at Abbey. Abbey was standing super still, not moving a muscle, not blinking her eyes.

Emiley says, "Abbey you better at least blink your eyes or all your saliva is going to be gone!"

Lime Slime... Feel the Ooze! That is name of Abbey's soccer team this year. Abbey's team did AWESOME this Saturday in their game. They came away with a win 6-2. Abbey scored two goals. I am super duper proud of her. Abbey loves soccer and I love watching her! We played soccer on Saturday Hurricane Ike style. We played through the wind and the rain.
Abbey's team is all girl power... no boys allowed! The other teams in the league all have at least two boys. Our girls are tough. They are rough. And they will take nothing but a win. Way to go girls!
I was in charge of the snacks this week. Arent these little sugar soccer balls cute? I had to get them to add to our sugar cookies. We only had a slight problem in that the paper wouldnt come off the back of the balls. Oh well, we just warned everyone to NOT EAT the soccer balls.

Way to go Lime Slime!! Cant wait for next Saturday.

*For Family--
Here is the schedule. Hope you can make it to a game or two.
Sept. 20 at 10
Sept. 27 at 11
Oct. 4 at 10
Oct. 11 at 11
Oct. 18 at 10

I wish I was Oprah and could give each of my readers all of my favorite things. Since I am not and I cant I will share with you through blogland my favorite home things...

First are my portraits from Ashley Phillips. I got black frames and made a photo arrangement under my favorite white shelf my dad made me. I LOVE IT! It is a great greeting in my entry way... I think it SHOUTS, "Welcome to our home." My shelf is also the new home to my "blessed" sign that I won at Keeno :) (Excuse the missing picture, I am waiting to get one back of Abbey.) Second is my new Southern Living at home platter. Super cute with my favorite colors red and turquoise. It also goes great with my turquoise tidbits.
Next is my red table runner... accents Mr. Rooster and my red hoosier cabinet. And I must say my pewter dishes SHINE against all the red.
Then is my red Southern Living red vase and my turquoise decanter. Beautiful!
And finally, my sunroom. I recently moved my computer and all the contraptions that go with it into the sunroom. I now have my own quiet space to work and blog! The move of the computer has also made our den seem much roomier. I also love it because I dont hear the girls playing their games on the computer either. Its great!

What are the simple things that make you smile in your home? I hope you have lots and lots of them. Maybe someday I will be Oprah and I can share with you the things that make me smile... until then!

Happy Weekend!

Where were you?

I am sure that is a question we have all asked someone today. Where were you September 11, 2001.

I was in Cloudcroft, NM with my husband, my two year old Abbey, and my two month old Lainey. We were vacationing with our best friends, the Horton's. Will and I woke up early to feed the baby Lainey and were interrupted on Sports Center with the unfolding of the tragedy. We flipped through all the channels in our mountain cottage and caught glimpses of what was unfolding in our nation.

We dressed and headed over the the Horton's cabin to see if they were watching. They were not, so we gave them what knowledge we had and all sat and watched... not believing what was happening. Our families began calling us on our cell phones... checking in... telling us they loved us.

Around lunch we finally headed out to shop and visit in Cloudcroft. The town was buzzing about the days events. Everyone was in awe, everyone cried, everyone united as one.

We headed to Will's parents the next day. The gas stations were packed. People were still frantic. People were so uncertain. I remember holding my babies and crying, and praying, and crying, and praying.

This day has forever changed our nation.

God Bless you all... especially those you have suffered directly for the events on this day seven years ago.

Where were you?

Am I still SORT OF a teacher at heart after all these years??

I am up at 5 a.m. searching my brain for ideas for the first graders I am visiting today as a sub. because it is pouring rain outside. This means no recess so I have time to fill in the classroom. I have pulled stickers, music, color and shape Bingo, and a few craft ideas so to have some "filler" today.

Does that mean I am still a teacher after all these years??

I hope so because I had a great time yesterday and cant wait for today and tomorrow :)

Happy Hump Day!

Really, I am sure this is the cutest little gymnast that you have ever seen.

Miss Em started gymnastics yesterday and she was SO VERY EXCITED. She is actually really pretty good. She got all "pumped up" about gymnastics when the Olympics were on and never got over her new passion. So we let her start a class! Emiley surprised me and her teacher both when she did a one handed cartwheel ON HER FIRST DAY! She even stayed on the line for her regular cartwheels. We have a star among us.

This week is crazy, busy, fun... with gymnastics, soccer, ballet, and 4-H... along with me subbing for three days this week... along with an office party for Will... and a football game at home this Friday!

YEAH for busy-ness :)

I was raised as an odd chick. I am raising my three daughters to be odd chicks, too.

Go HERE and read what Will's cousin has to say about being an odd chick. I loved it!!

Happy Weekend!

I know I have two other equally adorable, funny daughters, but the baby of the family just keeps cracking me up. So once again its all about Miss Em.

While Will and I were in CA this summer, my dad and Dee took the girls shopping for some school clothes. Emiley is a very picky dresser so I was OVERLY thankful that they had taken the time to take the girls shopping. One of the shirts that Miss Em purchased was this one seen in the picture. It is super cute. It has a white shirt under a brown sweater with a thin belt. Emiley calls this her "Smart Shirt" because she says it makes her look smart. Emiley picked her "smart shirt" to wear to school yesterday along with her brown leggings, white skirt, and the very popular silver shoes. After school yesterday Emiley proclaimed that yes in deed her smart shirt had made her smarter because she remembered that eight came after six and seven without even having to think about it. She then said she wished her "smart shirt" would help with the wax in her ears! WHAT?!?! She is so random, so free spirited, and so funny!

Happy Weekend!...

Miss Emiley's teacher informed me Emiley has been complaining of way too many wedgies at school. Miss Em has pantie issues... I am aware of it. She is a very picky pantie wearer! I am just sorry she is feeling the freedom to share her "personal" issues with her teacher. Good thing her teacher is a GREAT friend of mine.

I have been really proud of myself the last few days. I have been working out EVERYDAY! This is so unlike me but I really dont have anything else to occupy my time since my babies are all at school. I have been run/walking and riding my bike. On Tuesday, I really enjoyed a 20 mile ride with two of my best buddies. I have been feeling a little guilty for spending so much "me time."

What else has been going on??? Well, lots of "stuff" that has been keeping us busy. Ballet has started again. Soccer is up and running around here and homework, homework, homework. I found myself with all three girls huddled at the bar all three doing homework. I must give my John Hancock at least three times a day for assignment notebooks and AR folders. The girls are LOVING school so far! Abbey did admit that it would be better if school started at 9 a.m though!

Happy Hump Day!

Only in Texas can you enjoy two rodeos in one weekend. Only in Texas will you see the rodeo clown showing off half of his hind-end.
Only in Texas will you see three cowgirls as cute as these.
Only in Texas do best buddies meet up to watch some bull riding, calf roping, bronc riding, and barrel racing.
Only in Texas do you get to practice your own rodeo skills at home on your own horse.