Palm Sunday

Guess what Maggie did during church services today?

middle school

Pershing is our neighborhood middle school and our 1st choice of middle schools...until we got the mail today! Maggie was accepted into Hamilton Vanguard School (which we didn't even apply to) and wait listed at Pin Oak and Lanier. Lanier is out of the question but we have a pretty good of a shot getting into both programs at Pin Oak. All her friends now want to go to Pin Oak...the choice is Maggie's. Stay tuned...

volleyball

The girls wear crazy socks this year on game days for good luck!

OMG !!!!!!!!!

We were woken up at 4:00 am when the police rang our doorbell during a crazy rainstorm. He was concerned about our car. The storm drain in front of our house was spewing mud and water 4-5 feet into the air. The sidewalk had already flooded and a 1/4 of our corner lawn was gone. An hour later Maggie looked outside and said something was wrong with the stop sign...you couldn't see the pole anymore. It sank into the ground. When the rain stopped, we found a huge sinkhole in our yard...it was quite amazing!

Grandma Marion's

Maggie spent the long weekend at her Grandma Marion's house. She loves it there because there will always be a handful of little cousins to play with and of course, Grandma Marion! We always miss her at home but know she's in good hands and having fun being spoiled!

Love Thursday

pig pen at Barrington Living History Farm

Washington on the Brazos State Park

Today we visited Washington on the Brazos State Park. Within the park they had a real working farm called Barrington Living History Farm. We especially loved all the period clothes and houses. The 5 day old spotted piglets were adorable! Recently, Maggie and I finished watching the PBS series, Texas Ranch House 1867 and Frontier House 1883...it made today's field trip that much more interesting and real to her. I love that Maggie loves pioneer history like her momma!

Maggie completed a scavenger hunt within the Star of the Republic Museum. Ian would have been jealous...he is the Texas history buff of the family! We also visited a really cool replica of Independence Hall which is revered as the one of Texas’ most significant historic places, it was here in 1836 that representatives of the Texas settlements met to make a formal declaration of independence from Mexico. This replica of Independence Hall marks the place where the Texas Declaration of Independence was signed and the government of the Republic of Texas was created.

We also managed to find 2 letterboxes on site!

Our day wasn't complete until we stopped in Brenham for lunch and Blue Bell ice cream at a restaurant called Must Be Heaven on our way back home!

Little House

Today we went to go see a Little House on the Prairie play at A.D. Players. It was adaptation of the book series that I loved as a child. It pleases me that Maggie loves it, too. I hope someday she is able to go see the Little House museums and houses up north...I always wanted to do that, too.

rodeo carnival

We went to the rodeo carnival today despite it being Spring Break. It was crowded but for some reason the ride lines were not that long. It was a beautiful day and we had a great time being together.

Love Thursday

Maggie came home with this from Girl Scout camp recently...her first attempt at whittling!

Jonas Bros.

We lucked into some tickets to see the Jonas Bros. at the rodeo at the last minute. Maggie was quite pleased at the surprise!

5th grade auction item

Every year Maggie's school has an auction to raise money and each class contributes a project. This year Maggie's interest in origami influenced their class project! I think it turned out really nice and should sell for a sizable amount of money for the school.

Love Thursday

Thanks, Vicki

Young Inventor's Project

This year Maggie's school opted to do an invention project instead of a science fair project. Our Maggie is always thinking up ways to be cozier and warm! She invented a way to attach her pajama bottoms to the tops of sock with velcro so the pants wouldn't bunch up to her knees! Clever girl.

Spring !!!

Spring seems to finally be here...knock on wood! We've had a harsh winter this year! Maggie's Meyer Lemon has quite a few sprouts. We'll see what happens. This is the same tree that snapped in half during a storm. Who knows what it has grafted into! Nonetheless, we are excited!

I don’t know about y’all, but I’ve been anxiously awaiting the news on Monica’s re-staging today, and it’s good! She just called with this report from her oncologist: the two lesions in her lungs that had previously decreased in size (as seen in her sneak-peak CT scan in Jan.) are almost completely resolved, meaning the tumors themselves are gone, but there is essentially a scab left that will be absorbed by her body. In addition, the tumor in her spine is shrinking nicely. Finally, no new cancer activity anywhere – the only measureable tumor left is the one in her spine, and it’s going away! Hallelujah! Monica said that the whole oncology staff was excited and happy. Even Dr. Seifker, who is usually very serious and sober, was smiling and kept saying “this is good news!” Big sigh of relief. So, the plan is working, and they’re sticking to it. She is waiting around to get in a room and have her first treatment of this next cycle. This is the Cisplatin + Gemcetabine combo day, so she’ll stay the night in the hospital. Two more cycles of chemo and then another restaging. Today I am so thankful for this good news, for Monica's strength of body, spirit, and character, and for all of you who sustain her through this. - Jennifer