Thanksgiving with the Schoen's
Thanksgiving with Aaron's Family
Christmas in Branson
Excitement Continues At The Robb House! November 3, 2009
Things have continued to be exciting around here. Along with the excitement, things have been NON-STOP! Life has not seemed to slow down of late and the blogging has had to take a back-seat in priority. Our biggest news….we have a new addition to our family. Chloe (also known as Aaron’s dream girl) joined our family about four weeks ago. She is a 10 week-old chocolate lab. Aaron has wanted a chocolate lab since he was a kid and well…he finally got her. We all think she is pretty special, though!
Katie, Kelsie, Caleb & Chloe
Other excitement…Halloween. Although it was exciting for the kids, for Mom, it was a heart-breaker. This was the first year I couldn’t convince them to dress as a trio. They are growing up and…it makes Mommy really sad.
Katie - Ms. Pumpkin Spice
Kelsie - Our Little Princess
Caleb - Spiderman
The final bit of excitement around the Robb house is the completion of our first quarter of kindergarten. We received our first report cards and had our first parent-teacher conference. I must admit…I was a little nervous. The reports read that all were doing excellent academically. Katie was described by her teacher as “bubbly” and just “being everywhere.” (Boy is that ever a great description.) Kelsie is described as being sweet to her peers, very caring of others and a high achiever. Caleb (the whole reason why I was nervous) is described by his teacher as “having me right where he wants me.” Boy is that ever true. The first time I met the lady my thought was…she is not going to take anything off of that boy. Was I ever wrong! She readily admitted during our conference he has her wrapped around his finger. If nothing else…I guess his charm will take him far in life.
Life is good at the Robb House. Very busy, but very blessed! Christmas music began playing yesterday and we are excited the Holdiday Season is upon us. It is yet another reminder to me of how blessed I am. God is so good!
Jesus FINALLY Answered His Prayers October 4, 2009
Katie lost her first tooth in February. Since that time, Caleb has been praying for God to help him lose a tooth. This request has become very routine during his evening prayer time. Recently, Caleb started doubting…”Why isn’t God ever going to let me lose a tooth?” We continued to reassure him that he would soon…lose a tooth. Finally on Friday, God answered his prayers. Caleb was elated!
Can you tell....he was just a little excited!
Caleb and Kelsie were very excited to discover they had both lost the same tooth - how sweet!
Kelsie was very quick to offer her brother words of encouragement and congrats! Katie on the other hand.....
Caleb Takes Up Basketball…Or Is It Boxing? September 12, 2009
Caleb decided this summer he wanted to take up the sport of basketball. Our church hosts the Upward Basketball Program so we thought this might be the perfect opportunity. Aaron decided to coach so both boys in our house have been very excited about the upcoming season. Practice started a few weeks ago and well…things have taken an ugly turn. Caleb has some difficulty with dribbling and shooting. Aaron and I have both told him that is totally OK. I have strongly encouraged Caleb to work on being a “defensive” player and to work on “guarding his man” when the other team has the ball. My plan backfired! When Caleb is on the offense and someone tries to guard him, Caleb immediately thinks the other player wants to wrestle (hmmmmmm, I have no idea where he has learned that) and starts swinging. Unfortunately, basketball has become a source of great stress around our house. Before we left for the games this morning, Caleb and I had a very loooooooooooooong heart-to-heart. Thankfully, the game ended with no injuries. No one had to take the brunt of Caleb’s enjoyment for boxing. Most moms are stressed that their child will get hurt or how they will play. I’m stressed about who Caleb is going to take down to the ground next. As for the game…the score…I have no idea who won. All I know is Caleb did a great job! He stayed focused on the game, ran up and down the court when he was supposed to and…didn’t give anyone a black eye! The moral of this story (as I’ve said many times before), my sweet little boy is going to make an old woman out of me very quickly. I sure do love the little guy though. God knew what he was doing when he sent him to me. Through Caleb’s “boyness,” he has taught me A LOT! I feel certain he has a lot more to teach me in years to come. Great Job Caleb Aaron, I love you Buddy!!!!!!!
Caleb Aaron-My Favorite Basketball Player!
Caleb and his coach-Aren't they cute?
Caleb In Action!
Caleb Scores!!!!!! It may have been during warm-up, but hey he did score!
Proof That Our Family Is “NEVER NORMAL!” September 7, 2009
For several weeks now our family has been planning our first camping trip to take place this weekend. Although the girls and I were not thrilled with this idea, the boys had convinced us…it’s just what families do. We had our tent, most supplies and were excited about the big event. Unfortunately (or maybe God’s way of answering my prayers) the camping trip did not go quite as planned. Two days before the big event, Katie had an asthma attack. Because of all the medication Katie is on after having an attack and because she has continued to have some minor problems, we felt perhaps the camping trip should be postponed. Knowing this would break the hearts of three little people in our house, Aaron and I had to get creative. The following pictures tell it all:
We started a fire in the back yard, roasting hotdogs and making smores. Our friends Tom and Susan stopped by the campfire to enjoy a smore with us.
We set up the tent in our family room downstairs. This was a creative way to keep us out of the cool night air and close to the nebulizer if needed.
We spent the night inside the tent in our camping clothes and in our sleeping bags.
To make sure this was a real experience, Dad downloaded "Forest Sounds" to a CD that we listened to all night. The boys woke up early and went on a nature walk while the girls made breakfast over the campfire (or maybe it was in the oven - not sure!)
The First Day of Kindergarten August 24, 2009
Because this is a tearful day…I’ll just let the pictures speak for themselves. In case you are wondering, the kids were excited! Mommy…not so much!
Kelsie
Katie
Caleb
My Precious Trio
They may be leaving Mommy, but one thing is for sure...they are sticking together. They walked into class hand-in-hand. *tear!*tear!
Locks Of Love August 24, 2009
Katie & Kelsie - before
Katie & Kelsie - after
After learning from a friend a couple of years ago about the Locks of Love program, the girls decided they wanted to be a part. For several months, we have been measuring their hair waiting for it to reach the needed “10 inches.” Finally, their hair was long enough. We went yesterday and had ten inches cut off and mailed it off this morning. The girls were not only very excited to donate their hair, but were also excited with their “new look!”
Boo-Hoo-ed, But Blessed! August 13, 2009
What an incredible day this has been! I spent the day at home with my three favorite little people. We spent the evening taking the kids out to dinner, attending Kindergarten Open-House and topped off the evening sitting outside in front of the ice cream shop enjoying our favorite flavors. I am reminded once again today how blessed I really am. Today was not only a “BIG” day because of the open-house, but was also big because I was reminded of what a mighty and loving God I serve. Five years ago today, I was diagnosed with breast cancer. At the time, doctors told Aaron and I that it was very aggressive and my chance of survival was “grave.” I went back to my journal today and read my entry from five years ago. This is what I had written:
“My head has been filled with thoughts of leaving behind my husband and best friend and not being able to see my babies grow up. I’ve thought about not seeing them take their first steps, open Christmas gifts, celebrate birthdays, struggle with potty training, and see them start their first day of kindergarten. I have been devasted by these thoughts and have prayed for strength. God has reminded me today that it is not strength that I should pray for, but instead pray that he break me and make me weak so that I must totally depend on Him.”
How ironic that kindergarten open-house would fall on this day. As we pulled away from the school tonight, I tried to refrain from boo-hoo-ing, but quickly felt my eyes filling with tears. Five years ago today, I did not know if I would celebrate my babies second Christmas, let alone attend their kindergarten open-house. I thank God for breaking me. I thank God for making me so weak. I thank God for being The God that I can totally depend on and who has brought me to August 13, 2009. I thank God for allowing me the opportunity to attend kindergarten open-house tonight. I thank God for allowing me this opportunity to “boo-hoo” about my babies heading off to kindergarten, but reminding me of truly how blessed I am!
Katie-giving the open-house a big thumbs-up!
Kelsie-blowing us a kiss and assuring us it is OK to leave *tear, tear*!
Caleb-so eager to begin learning!
The kindergarten teacher (in the blue dress) and her husband (to the left in tan pants) greeting the children as they arrived.
Caleb, Kelsie & Katie-anxiously awaiting their first day on August 24th!
A Relaxing Evening At The Spa July 27, 2009
The Robb house has been a little “extra” crazy the last few weeks. The girls and I decided that tonight, we were in need of some rest and relaxation. We treated ourselves to an evening at the spa getting manicures. The girls were EXTREMELY excited! As they were sitting under the dryers letting their nails dry, a lady walked by and commented on how pretty their nails were. Kelsie quickly replied, “Thanks, but oh my, our Daddy is going to have a heart-ooooooooo-tak when we get home.” To their surprise…Daddy thought their nails were beautiful!
The Robb Girls after their manicures!
Another Exciting Night For The Robb Family July 10, 2009
The trio
Tonight was McCarthy Baptist Night at the St. Joseph Mustangs game. It was a great night with the church family. Some of the men from our choir sang the National Anthem, one of our members threw out the first pitch, and three members participated in “between innings” entertainment. To make the night extra special…this was the first baseball game for Katie, Kelsie and Caleb. Kelsie added to the excitement of the evening by losing her first tooth. It was a great evening with the McCarthy family and with my family. I just love summer!!!!!
Kelsie loses her first tooth!
Men from the McCarthy Choir singing the National Anthem
The crowd-1800 in attendance!
