New Ideas

Since Tyler has been out of town this week, and Vacation Bible School is next week, I took the free time I had (during nap time...the only "free" time)and really started reading other peoples blogs. I love the blogging world. Its so wonderful to read other people thoughts and experiences. Its nice to have a place to sort of journal your thoughts and allow other people to read and react to them. I read The Conservative Mommy blog and appreciated how she practices her right to freely express her views. I look forward to reading what other people are writing about, and hopefully finding more "blog buddies". I started this blog over a year ago just to keep anyone who was interested up to date on Tyler's progress as he went through the DPS Training Academy. I used to think, why should I blog, there is not that much interesting things going on in my life that people would just want to sit down and read about. I have recently come to realize that the internet is a great way to get helpful advice and share ideas. So, I figured, if I enjoy reading what others have to say, maybe there is someone out there that will really enjoy what I have to say. So heres to viewing my blogging experiences in a whole new way!

To celebrate my new love for the blog I went to the website: http://pinkarmchairdesigns.blogspot.com/ and ordered a new "cuter" blog. I am hoping that this will help keep me devoted to sharing my thoughts, and my day to day experiences as a Mommy and Wife!


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Tyler will be coming home this weekend. Thank goodness for husbands who are active in their kiddos lives. Tyler is so excited about coming home and loving on his baby girl. I am of course going to hand her over and take a well deserved break from the hectic "single mom" life I have been living this week. Not to say that it has been bad, because I clearly enjoy my time with her. I think all moms would agree that getting away, or just being able to take a nice long shower, is healthy and should be practiced! I am so anxious to hug his neck when he gets home. I am thankful for him going to Austin, as he is doing it to provide for our family financially, but I am so happy to get him home for this weekend. The REAL celebration will be NEXT Friday when he is back home for good and we can get back into the swing of life again!

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Tyler and I are doing P90X, which is an extreme home fitness program, to keep in shape. We did a week of it, and then he had to leave for two weeks, so we are basically just going to start our 90 day journey over again when he returns for good. I am hoping we are satisfied with our results, as the workout is extremely difficult. Its nice to have a good challenge ahead of you though, right? Must keep telling myself this....

Now...cleaning must happen before Tyler returns, and I can no longer put it off...

Zoo-riffic!

I guess it has been a while since I last blogged, but lately it is just so easy to let time get away from me! This have been wonderful and life has been busy, but good. We took Anslee to the Waco Cameron Park Zoo for the first time this past Tuesday. Tyler had the day off work and a friend (Susan) from church invited us to go with her and her two kiddos, Cash (4) and Ava (10 months). We had a blast. Here are a couple of pictures of Anslee enjoying her first Zoo experience.




This is Anslee watching the fish in the Aquarium


This is Anslee with her Dad...taking a breather!


Here is a family shot of us in front of the TeePee (Buffalo area)


And finally, Anslee had all the excitement she could take!


We really had a good time, and hope to go back someday, maybe when Anslee is a little older and can really get excited as she learns about and sees all the animals!

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Tyler will leave tomorrow to head for Austin, Texas (yet again) for more training. He will taking Crash Reconstruction level 2 courses. While it is very necessary for him to go, I am always sad to know he won't be coming home in the evening. He will be gone for two full weeks, but luckily he will be able to make it back to Hillsboro for the weekend in between. This will be the first time I have Anslee all to myself, 24 hours a day, without the sight of any relief. I am confident that we will all still be living and breathing, I have also come to realize what a great help Tyler is, and how I have really depended on him for a break here and there. I have not had the easiest time swallowing the fact that the State is requiring him to leave AGAIN, when it has not even been a year since they required 6 months of his life for training. Its just one of those things that goes with the Trooper title, but I will say its not my favorite aspect of his profession. He will do great while he is there, and will certainly benefit from the classes he will take. I just ask for prayers that nothing come up that I can't handle on my own! Thank goodness he will be off for 3 full days when he returns from the school!

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I will be teaching Vacation Bible School at FBC Hillsboro next week! I am excited about what God will do in the lives of the children that attend. Please pray for all of our kids, and that I (and the other teacher) can effectively speak truths to the 3rd and 4th graders. We have an "Austrailian Outback" theme and will talking about everything from Boomerangs to Sheep Shearing all while incorporating The Gospel to these kids.

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An update on Anslee! We had our 4 month well baby appointment on May 28th. She was actually 4 months and 1 week to the day when we visited Dr. Nesmith (who we love!) At the appointment she was 13.7 lbs and 24.5 inches long. This puts her in the 50th percentile for growth and development and her height and weight were perfectly proportional. The Dr. commented on how well tempered she is, and he said that it was time to start the big girl on solid foods. He told us to start out with rice cereal and to introduce it slowly, a little bit at a time, and once daily for a while.

Anslee enjoying her first experience with cereal!


We have found that Anslee has just developed a whole personality all of a sudden. She enjoys her new found "voice" and loves to listen to herself and certainly wants to make sure everyone in a shouts distance can hear her clearly. She loves to eat her toes, play with and grab at toys, and smiles almost the entire time she is awake. I never get tired of seeing that smile or hearing her laugh. I will say that going out in public is an interesting endeavor...as people look at us while she squeals and shrills at the top of her lungs in her amusement. We love her though, and so glad that the Dr. gave nothing but good reports after checking her over...and giving her the dreaded shots. Thank you, Tyler, for staying in the room while I left in order to NOT hear the sad cries of Anslee being pricked by needles!

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I hate to end on a sad note, but Tyler had to work a very unfortunate situation last night. A woman, in her early 30's, called herself into the sheriff's office for the murder of her 13 year old daughter and major injury to her 12 year old daughter. I know it takes a special kind of person to be able to stand strong through working these kinds of crime scenes, and proud of Tyler I am, as he was courageous and professional while dealing with such a gruesome situation. Prayers go out to the young girl who survived and for the family in general. It really hits home when things like this happen within a 7 mile radius of where you sleep at night. Thank you to all who support Tyler and his job, he is doing well and standing strong as always.


Here is a link to the news story if you want to read about the case

http://www.wacotrib.com/blogs/content/shared-gen/blogs/communities/breakingnews/entries/2009/06/06/hill_county_woman_charged_with.html

More updates on the Moses home as they arise!

Sad Goodbyes

We were blessed to move this past year to a place where we do have friends that live near by. I always said that if we could not live near our families, our friends would take us in as family and that has been our experience. We have enjoyed being able to see our Hardin-Simmons friends more often that we used to while living in Abilene. While we are still a good 45 minutes away, we have taken advantage of the shorter distance and spent weekends and even some evenings together. Two of our best friends, Ronnie and Christen Leidner, welcomed us to Hillsboro while living in Crowley and made special efforts to see us now that we were more available. Now that we have moved here, the Lord has called them in a different direction. God is so faithful, yet, still we don't always understand why things pan out in our lives the way that they do. Ronnie has been accepted to the Master's program for Athletic Training at Texas Tech University in Lubbock. We are so proud for his accomplishment in getting admitted to the program, and so sad that it will be taking their family away from ours when we just got used to being able to visit each other on a more regular basis. We got to enjoy their company one last time as a group at a going away party this last Friday evening. Tyler had to work, so Anslee and I went together! Here is a photo of the Leidners!




We will be missing them so much in the future, but wishing them well at the same time. I have realized the value of friendship in truly being happy for them, even though it causes a little heartache on our side. The party was a lot of fun, and I think that they felt very loved by their "family" here in Texas.


Christen and I realized that great of friends we are, we have not taken a picture together (just us) in literally years. Why? We don't know. So we decided to take one to make up for lost memories over the years.

Well, Mother's day is tomorrow, and I am so excited and blessed to celebrate my very first one this year! I am blessed to be a mother and a wife, and could not ask for anything more!

Baby Boom

Well the baby boom is on, and continuing to be a bigger boom. I feel like that is all I can blog about, simply because that is all I seem to know right now. You know its getting that way that whenever the phone rings, and I see its one of my girlfriends, my first thought is: Are they pregnant? To that question, I quickly answer my phone, and more times than you would think, my instinct has been right on. Over the past two weeks 3 precious friends, and 1 family member (My brother!) have welcomed sweet additions to their families to the world. Landon and Nikki Day brought London into this world on April 29. She weighed 8 lbs 1 oz. She is one gorgeous baby girl, but we all knew she would be, considering who she belongs too! Dicky and Sarah Smith also welcomed baby girl, Molly Kate, almost two weeks ago. She is a beauty too, judging from the pictures I saw posted on facebook. A sweet friend from church gave birth on May 2nd to baby girl Paley, weighing 6 lbs. This was Cassi's 3rd little girl to welcome home!

My little brother Trey welcomed Sweet Isabella into his family on April 26ths at 6:20 in the morning. She weighed 6 lbs 6 oz and was 18 and 1/4 inches long. Her pictures are gorgeous. I love being a Mommy, and now I have the pleasure of being an Aunt as well. Congrats Trey and Sarah, you have a beautiful baby girl.

Now, Not only were there 4 births in the past two weeks, but I have found out that 4 pregnancies that I have been made aware of! Two of these pregnancies are to very close friends of ours! Travis and Tate Reid announced that Tate was 6 weeks along this past week. We are excited to be apart of their lives as they travel down the lovely road of pregnancy. December 19th is the Big Day! The other pregnancy has not been totally made public yet, so out of respect to them, I will let them remain nameless until they give the green light! The other pregnancies belong to sweet acquaintances that I of course will be wishing my very best of luck too as well!

Here is a picture of Nikki and Landon, with their new bundle of joy, London Noel Day



So I guess I could say that this blog post is dedicated to sweet friends, acquaintances, and family members that are new parents or new parents to be! Congrats to all!

Easter Weekend!

We always enjoy the opportunity to come together with family. We are so blessed by the families that we come from, and so having holidays such as Easter to be together is something we always are looking forward too. We were able to spend Easter with both the Sims and Moses sides of the family and so Anslee got to see all her grandparents. I have to say that Anslee should consider herself VERY lucky to have such loving grandparents on both sides. She is spoiled beyond belief, but we are so glad she will have the relationships with her grandparents that she will cherish and so the spoiling is well worth it for Tyler and I. No complaints here! We started off the weekend by heading to Coleman for the annual Easter egg hunt. Aunt Jacy was so sweet and bought Anslee a Pottery Barn kids Easter basket. So cute. Here is a picture of Anslee enjoying her Easter basket before it was full of Easter eggs! Tyler had so much fun hunting eggs with Anslee, and I had a great time following them around with a camera.
This was our first holiday to celebrate with Anslee as a part of the family and so it was so much fun to bring her into the traditions and watching her participate. (well as much as she could at 2.5 months old)She did really well and did not fuss too terribly much. Tyler and I decided after all the fun was had and the weekend was over that keeping her on any kind of a schedule just won't happen when we go visit family, and that is perfectly fine. She is so young and won't stay this way forever, so we want everyone to enjoy her when they get the opportunity. We were still so proud of of how well she did, despite the schedule changes! We also spent time in Abilene with the Sims side of the family. We had a great Easter day lunch at my Papa and Nell's house, that Nell prepared for us. Then the rest of the evening we spent with my parents at their house. My Mom and Anslee and I spent the day on Monday shopping. We are getting into a terrible habit of doing that each time I come to Abilene. There is just something about shopping for little baby girl that has me near addicted. She got some really cute, really big new bows and two new outfits. She will be super cute in all her new items.
Well this is all for now...I am getting better about this blogging already!

Anslee Elyse Moses, January 22, 2009

As horrible as I am at blogging, I thought I should go ahead and provide an update. The Moses household has all but changed in every way possible since the last post on December 7th. We welcomed our first born, precious, baby girl Anslee Elyse Moses into the world on January 22, 2009.
This is her first glamour shot. Anslee was surprisingly born 3 weeks and 2 days earlier than planned. We went in for my 36 week pre natal check up, and after looking at the ultrasound, Dr. Moore felt it was best to be pro active in taking her early due to there not being enough fluid in the placenta. He said she would grow better on the outside than on the inside. A little shook up, we headed to the hospital and got settled in. The next morning, I headed to the OR for an elected C-section. They tried to give me a spinal, but I was clearly still able to feel everything, so after the 2nd try with the spinal that did not work, they put me totally under. Tyler was not able to come into the room because I was put under completly. Anslee came out very small at a whopping 4 lbs 11 oz, but perfectly healthy. You can see from the photo above that her lungs were fully developed. I like to think thats because I continued working out during pregnancy (up until the day before she was born) which did increase the oxygen brought to her in the womb. But, really, who knows if that is really true. Ha!

Trooper Moses is easing into fatherhood perfectly. He is an excellent father, and it has been the most precious thing for a new mom to watch him settle into his new and most important role. He has been wonderful and changing dirty diapers, feeding her, and when she was not sleeping though the night, he would even bite the bullet and wake up with her to give me a break. Luckily for us, for the last two weeks, Anslee has slept about 8 hours each night consistently. She will go down about 10 or 10:30 and wake up right before 7 am. Mom and Dad are so thankful for that. She is even an excellent napper! Anslee is growing so fast. At 10 weeks now, she is weighing a little over 10 lbs, and is almost 22 inches long! She certainly has the Moses limbs, we think she will be fairly tall...but we will see!

This is Anslee now, at 10 weeks old. We can't believe how quickly she has grown. We are still waiting to see intentional smiles, she is trying though, and every now and again we think we see one. I am so excited for the next little milestones, such as the smiling, and laughing, and sitting up. She holds her head up pretty well when placed on her belly, and coo's at us all the time. We love reading, singing, and playing with her when she is awake! Being able to stay home with her has been a huge blessing that works great for our family. The time I have with her is so precious and I am so glad that my sweet husband is happy being the working one, while I keep our baby girl during the day (or night, when he works nights!)

Blogging is an excellent way to keep up with Anslee's growth and updates, so i am going to try to committ to blogging more often. If I can sneak away while she sleeps, I will put up more photos and updates on our growing family!

Goodbye 2008

I suppose its time for an update, when our lives have changed quite considerably since the last post on July 29th!

Tyler did graduate from the DPS Academy in Austin! The 6 month commute between Abilene and Austin is over, for good! We sure are glad to be able to live together like a full time married couple again, but are better for the challenges we faced and overcame! We have moved to Hillsboro, Texas. It is a small town in between Austin and Forth Worth right on Interstate 35. Since moving here on October 1st, we have been able to attend the First Baptist Church regularly and Tyler has started patrolling as commissioned Peace Officer. He has seen some pretty interesting things as a State Trooper. He loves his job, even though the hours are strange and he has to work weekends and holidays. We are so happy that he has great job satisfaction and that he has already started a path to a successful career!

Tyler and I will actually celebrate our ONE YEAR wedding anniversary on Tuesday, December 9th. It has been a whirlwind of a 1st year of marriage, and of course we have been through a whole lot together for only being married 1 year, but it has been a memorable one and we are thankful for our first year has been a fantastic year, and we can only seem them getting better and better! Here is what all our first year of marriage included:

1. Tyler starting work with the DPS
2. Tyler going through the 6 month long academy, and GRADUATING
3. Finding out we are Pregnant with a baby girl
4. Moving from Abilene to Hillsboro

It may not seem like a long list, but we both agree that we are almost just exhausted from the hard work and surprises that 2008 included.
One of the biggest changes for me, was going from working full time to not working at all. I had worked for Lauren Engineers and Constructors for a little over 2 years when Tyler and I moved to Hillsboro, and now I am staying at home and preparing for Anslee to get here. I am glad that I am able to stay home, right now, considering Tyler's work schedule. Its wonderful that I am always off when he is and that we have that time together guarenteed. It has just been a change becuase I enjoyed being productive and having specific goals to meet on a daily basis. I know that we have made the right decision for me to stay at home, and as time goes on, I am adjusting better to being responsible for things here at home.

At 30 weeks pregnant, I am feeling good and constantly saying prayers of thanks to the Lord for such an easy and healthy pregnancy. Anslee is growing at a perfectly normal rate, and I have not suffered through any kind of symptoms. I also continue to pray that the last 10 weeks of this pregnancy will continue to go just as easy as the first two trimesters have gone! We are still on target for a Valentines Day delivery, but we will so how she cooperates when it gets closer to time!

Trevor and Jacy's weddings are closely approaching and we are all very excited for those days to get here so we can celebrate with them! Life is not slowing down, but we are certainly glad to have exciting events to look forward too.

Look for more updates soon, now that I am at home, there should be no excuses! :)