Cornelius Chronicles

Xavier is growing fast and has come down with an acute case of "I'm A Big Kid Too!"-itis. Everything Loyd and Bekah do he has to be part of too. He will not be left out. He is a happy participant in story time with all the other kids, he studiously colors and looks at books during Sacrament meeting with his older siblings, and he follows Bekah and Loyd around like they are rock stars. He doesn't want to miss a single moment of the excitement. One such activity Xavier has decided he is old enough to participate in is playing board games. The other morning Loyd was very nice and let Xavier play "Connect 4" with him - after some persistence on Xavier's part. It was so much fun to see my two boys playing so nicely together and being occupied in such a nice, non-destructive, quiet, contained, motor skill building way. Oh, if only all activities could be like this one. :) In our ever present quest to find fun activities to keep the kids busy an

After her first day of preschool Bekah excitedly climbed into the van and asked, "Mom, am I a real student now!?" She could hardly believe her luck at going to school and learning so many wonderful and important things. Now, a year later, she has completed another important milestone, she graduated from Trooper School Preschool! She was a model student all year long and adored her time at school. She is so bright and has such a kind disposition that she had fun with all of her friends and teachers. They had a very nice graduation program on Thursday where the kids received their preschool diplomas and an award of achievement. Bekah received the award for "Most Academic." That made her mom smile really big. :>D It was hard to say good-bye to all of the wonderful teachers and the friends she has made, but Bekah is ready to begin her exciting new adventure into Kindergarten in the Fall. We are so proud of our little student! :) This is what we have to re

(Cheerfully wet after a spring shower) To start our newscast I'll tell you a little about our weather. Texas has been in the middle of an extreme drought for the past several months. Starting from October we are currently about 17 inches behind our normal precipitation levels for the year. Every weather forecast is dominated with the question of, "When will we get rain again?" This past week we had cause to celebrate. We had actual rain! It was so exciting. The kids played in the rain until they were soaked and the plants and grass were very happy to have a long overdue drink. I was happy that I didn't have to water the lawn this week. Pray for more rain to come our way again soon! (S'more covered smiles) In other news, Dustin thought it would be fun to set the tent up in the backyard this weekend and have a mini "camp out" with the kids. They set the tent up under our oak trees, then came in and roasted marshmallows over the gas range with ou

It has been a bit of a birthday bonanza around here. We were able to celebrate the birth of our cute little girl by throwing her a Candy Land themed party. She LOVED it. What could be better than giant board games, tons of candy, bright colors, and the love and support of your friends and family?! Happy Birthday Baby! We love you and are so very thankful that we can be your parents. You are one of my biggest blessings! Some Pictures of the Festivities: Bekah , Loyd and Xavier helped me to design, color and decorate Grandma Peanut Brittle's Cottage, the Mud Swamp and the ever important Candy Castle. I think they did a fabulous job. Perhaps we should go into business? Everyone was excited to go hunting for candy. Here they are all lined up and ready to begin our life sized version of Candy Land. Everyone had a partner to play with so we could keep waiting time for your turn from getting to long.... But when candy and bean bags are involved waiting for your turn can seem lik

It has been a whirlwind of a couple of weeks. We have been happily busy with Easter festivities and fun activities with friends. We enjoyed a nice Easter Sunday with a few friends and a very yummy ham dinner. The kids got new Sunday outfits from the generous Easter Bunny. I think Bekah looks like a little ballerina in her pretty pink dress and the boys are quite handsome too in their their new shirts. The Easter Bunny also brought some candy and a new toy for each of their baskets. The kids were very thrilled by their morning surprise. :>D The kids were able to enjoy three egg hunts this year. We had a great time at the neighborhood egg hunt and then Bekah's preschool hosted an egg hunt for the students. We came to watch her have fun and the teacher graciously invited Loyd to participate too. He and Bekah couldn't wait to compare their loot at the end of the hunt! The last hunt was in our backyard on Easter day. Xavier was all about eating the candy inside the e