Goodbye Tonsils

I never knew that having your tonsils out was such a party. Conner had his tonsils out on Thursday morning bright and early. The night before his surgery we worked really hard to prepare him for the morning ahead, so we read him the book - Goodbye Tonsils and then made his favorite meal - salmon, broccoli and garlic bread. He was so excited for many reasons #1 Grammy was at our house #2 he was given a new shirt and pair of athletic pants to wear the next morning (because pajamas just wouldn't have been cool) and then he got the best chocolate cake ever made by a Kroger bakery - he was so excited! It was so sweet and I think it made a big difference in him not being so scared.



Well the party had to end on sometime - and sometime was 5:30 Thursday morning but he was a trouper he got up and packed up his Nintendo DS, and his Hank the Cow Dog book and we were at the hospital at 6:30.



It all went pretty quick he changed got in bed and then they came in and gave him some medicine to make him sleepy and moments later they wheeled him out. Mom just cried for a few minutes and the next thing you know they were wheeling him back in and that was where the hard part started. He was hurting pretty bad -but 6 days later he is doing great- he still sounds a little funny when he talkes but we hope that this will be his last antiobiotics for a long time. Thanks for all the prayers our big guy is doing great!

Back to School

Well the first day of school went off with out a hitch. This was a big year for us because Ben went to kindergarten this year. Ben's teacher is Mrs. Donald the same teacher that Conner had and he was so excited! He is in the same class as quite a few friends and but the one he was very excited to see Asher who I refer to as his partner in crime. Not sure yet how this kindergarten thing is gana go for Ben but we can hope he will get the hang of it if not were gana color jump all year!

Conner and Audrey started the second grade this year! Conner's teacher is Mrs. Blackwell he says that so far his favorite thing is writing in his journal. Audrey is in Mrs. Bessent's class she is so sweet and Audrey loves her. There are two Audreys in Mrs. Bessent class, so now our Audrey is once again known as Audrey Claire!

So we are back in the swing of things soccer and gymnastics have started and we are back to doing homework and bedtimes and all the fun arguments that come along with them. We are only one week into school and Conner is already home sick and today I got a call from the nurse and Audrey has a rash from head to toe. So it takes me having kids home sick from school for me to sit down and blog. So we are back to the books back to the grind trying to stay well and happy. Were blessed with a healthy family, a roof over our head and more love than lots of people could wish for. Blessings to all our friends and family as you also start your busy fall schedules.

Kansas Vacation

Our Family finally got a much needed vacation. We went to Derby, Kansas why Kansas you ask - well I'll tell you Sean's mom moved to Derby last summer when she married Ken Keen. We spent five days there with Gail and Ken where we had a great time. It started with a very warm welcome when we came around the corner to see a great sign that made us understand how excited they were to see us.
While we were there we went to the Derby water park, the zoo, a learning museum called Exploration Station where the kids got to do a lot of hands on learning- along with Sean. One night we even went on a double date to dinner and a movie. We had a great time and it was good to be with family.
We got to see Grandad and visit the place where his father was buried, he fought in the Civil War and Grandad loves to tell stories about it, of course we never knew him but it was good to see a piece of history. Conner and Audrey and Sean went one afternoon the the community where he lives and all played BINGO the kids had fun. We got to see downtown Wichita and visit the wonderful statues they have. We also went to the Colman outlet, Sean was pumped.
Gail and Ken showed us all the sights to see and the places to eat when you were in Wichita, we had a great time on our trip.

CBH 2008

The first week in June is always one of our most favorite times of the year, we love it because it is when we take our 45 kids to New Mexico and the most beautiful place you'll ever see- Camp Blue Haven. You know how people say Disney World is the happiest place on earth well I say that those people have never been to Camp Blue Haven. We love this week- is is a blessing to our family because we get to spend a whole week with others that love the Lord and have a passion for sharing Him with teenagers. Camp is so fun for Conner, Audrey and Ben- This year we barley even saw Conner and the few moments we did he was showing us the lizards that he and his friends found.



This year Conner and Sean along with some others hiked Hermits Peek its a 10 mile hike and they did it all, I was so proud of them.



Audrey spent most of her week in the nurses cabin not because she was hurt but because thats where her sweet friend Grace Bird lived. They played games and practiced their school work they were also cute little twins on twin day. Ben spent his time playing with his friend Ben their good buddies who spent their time talking on the walkie talkies and playing on the porch.

Duke

A few weeks ago we added a new member to our family, he is the most precious dog you have ever met. Duke is an eighty five pound Weimaraner - and we have fallen in love with him. He came from a wonderful family that just did not have quite enough room for him and that is one thing we were able to give him. Now Rinker has to share his backyard but, somehow I don't think he minds. He loves to be inside with us and then when its time to go back out he plants his feet and trying to move him out is almost impossible. The kids love him and it is a great friend for Rinker.

Deuteronomy 6:4-9

Recently the Austin Avenue Church of Christ has decided that there is a strong need for our teenagers to have a place all their own that they can come almost any time they want -a place for them to hang out do homework and just be with their Christian brothers and sisters. In a nutshell we are trying to give them a safe fun place to go where satan is not wanted or invited. There are so many places and ways satan attacks us, especially our teenagers and if we can do something to help them to resist satan and his schemes - bring it on. Building this room has been a long process but it is finally coming to a close. On New Years Eve we all met in the new room and we did something really special(we did this at Southside C of C shortly after we moved to Ft. Worth) We wanted the kids to know that this room was a place where God was present and a small way to show that was to write His Word on the foundation of the room. So we passed out markers and told them to write their favorite passage from God's word. It was amazing to see each of them and what they wrote you could see where they were in their relationship with God. It was a huge success -the floor is covered with God's Word the kids know where they wrote their verse and what that verse means to them. They are surrounded by Gods word and its important for them to know it's not just some place to watch T.V. and play video games and hang out with their friends but it's a place for them to be where every nook and cranny God has a place- He is not hidden. His word is our foundation His words are written on our hearts and we will impress them on our children we will talk about them when we sit at home or walk along the road when we lie down and when we get up. We will tie them as symbols on our hands and bind them on our foreheads. We will write them on our door frames of our houses and on our gates.

Webkins

I am amazed at my kids newest thing -they all love these cute, lovable things they call webkins. It has been amazing to see how much they play with these things. For those of you who have never seen these they are pretty cute but the cool thing about them is that there not just a stuffed animal, but with them comes this number so that you can register them online. You get to name them, and you must take care of your webkin- you must feed them, put them to sleep, take them to the doctor and so on. Once you have registered them you can play games that earn you "money " so you can buy your cute little thing a car or toys or furniture for their own webkin home. So we have added to our family - Flash, Superman, Scruffles, Rosie, Boxer and Rocky. My kids love them so much that they argue over who gets the computer so now Sean and I have been kicked off our own computer. As much as we complain we love that they are learning new things. Is it a stretch to think that it is teaching them a little responsibility??????????? Yea that's probably a stretch!

Audrey Claire our Little Gymnast

As most of you know Audrey has found "her thing" she loves gymnastics. She loves to flip and do cart wheels all the time- and while most of the time this drives me crazy I love it when I get to watch her once a week at gymnastics. My friend Candy Clinton described it best when she said Audrey is just a rubber band, and thats the truth. Her coach at Seal has told us what a great job she has done - He said she has a lot of natural ability and that she tries very hard. Tuesdays from 4 to 5 o'clock are the highlight of our week. Last week Coach Robert asked if she would be able to come to Citizens Bank to perform for the employees and a few people in the community so she and a few other kids tumbled and put on a short show - she was so excited and she did great. We are so proud of her and are so happy she has found something she loves.

Ben wise man or wise guy?

Ben had his Christmas play this week and may I say he is just the cutest and sweetest wise man you have ever seen. He is so fun and I have really enjoyed him lately - now don't get me wrong he is a hand full but he is so sweet. He is counting down the days until Christmas and asks every day if we can open presents yet. My Granny would tell me I deserve that since I was the one who constantly asked her that. This sweet little boy has a little of me in him but he is his daddy made over - mild tempered, sweet, inquisitive and stubborn, and I love him for all the same reasons I love Sean.

Friday Night Lights

One of our favorite things about our move to Brownwood is Friday night football. We have enjoyed being here and our kids love these games. Ben is our biggest Brownwood Lion fan he loves football and the Brownwood Lions. But even though he is a big fan he is only 4 years old and even 4 year olds have limits! Now Audrey loves the games but for a different reason you see the whole town comes out for these games and we all know Audrey Claire is our people person. She loves to see her friends and play in the stands. We have a blast at these games - even Mom is getting into this football thing!

SOCCER

Well soccer is in full swing! Conner is starting his third season on the Sharks and Ben is on a brand new team called the Strikers. Conner has a great coach who loves the game and is wonderful with the boys. The Sharks just moved to the U8 division - which means a bigger field and a goalie - big stuff! Ben's team is coached by Sean and he is doing a great job - I have always said he has the patients of Job and he has proved it! The whole team is new and we have had to overcome a few challenges - crying and realizing that when someone takes the ball away it is ok because that is how the game is played! Its been a lot of fun to watch them and actually see a little improvement. Conner and Ben both love the game I think we should get used to this.

Audrey has been such a good sport- going to practices twice a week and two games every Saturday -she just packs up her bag of tricks and USUALLY does not complain.

Let the Punishment Fit the Crime

We had a funny thing happen in our house about a week ago that I thought most of you would get a kick out of. I'm sure that our house is the only house where children argue with their siblings, so for those of you whose children don't fight with each other let me tell you how this works. Usually the older one picks on the younger one until the younger one just cant take it anymore and then that spunky younger child decides he or she has had enough and either hits kicks or just plane body slams the older one. This then causes the older child to scream at the top of his or her lungs at the parental subjects of the family and usually at that exact moment the younger child starts crying - now this crying could be for many reasons #1 they hurt their brother or sister #2 they hurt themselves in the process of hurting their brother or sister or #3 their just so mad that is the only emotion that seems to come out of their sweet little body. But no matter the reason this usually results in one or more parental subjects running into the room where this situation is taking place. Usually at this point there is much yelling and trying to get to the source of the problem from the parental subjects. Most of the time there is conflicting stories and so it is difficult for the parental subjects to punish these children because by this time all involved in this minor scuffle can't remember when or why the argument even started. I am sure this never happens in any home but ours. Since this happens so often we haven gotten quite good at punishing these small people who seem to cause such trouble. So when this situation came up the other day and their dad yelled and then proceeded to remove his belt they both thought they knew what was coming and I think they were both surprised when they actually received their punishment. The belt was not used on their little bottoms instead Sean belted them together to work out their problems. By the end they were laughing and treating each other the way brothers should treat each other. The joys of parenting!

Thursday Night Lights

What a very long but very precious Thursday night foot ball game. This idea all started from an already planed trip to San Angelo. We knew we had to make a quick dash to San Angelo a few weeks ago and imagine our delight when we found out our own Brownwood Lions were playing the Lakeview Chiefs - well we had to go we can't pass up an opportunity to see a game. So we make a plan to take the kids out a little early from school and make a fun family event out of this little dash. The kids were excited about seing the Lions play out of town we have never done that before, so imagine how excited they were when I mentioned that the Bowdens were gana be there. For those of you who do not know the Bowdens are only some of our favorite people in the world. Now we love this whole sweet family but the best part of this wonderful family is Nicole, Tommy, Major and Lindsey. The Bowdens used to live in Brownwood and recently moved to Grape Creek, and we miss them terribly so it was wonderful news when we found out they were gana be there. So we called another sweet friend Miss Rylee Hubbard and asked if she would also like to visit this sweet family. So we all piled in the car and headed West. We had to run a few errands and for a car full of children that was not the fun part of this trip - just when I was about to pull my hair out and change my name because of the constant need to know what time it was and how much longer till we got to see Tommy and Nicole it was game time and we got to watch them reunite some sweet friendships and play their hearts out! They all had a blast and it made the 12:45 arrival in Brownwood totally worth it! We love and miss you Bowdens come visit when you can!

The Fitzgerald Crew

I found the cutes pictures today of the Fitzgerald side of our family they were taken a couple of weeks ago and I just wanted to share them. This family includes The Sosa Family - Uncle Mark, Aunt Alison, McKenzie, Lauren (better known as Sita) and Jack. Then there is Uncle Kevin the one who always gives the boys dollars for making soccer goals. Uncle Kerry and Aunt Jennifer, they are missing there babies Sophie and Maggie in this picture but the restaurant just would not let them bring those sweet dogs in - even though their part of the family. Then there are the Fitzgerald Five - Sean, Melissa, Conner, Audrey and Ben. We love this wild fun bunch and can't wait to make more memories with them - love y'all!

These cousins love each other - crazy sweet girls

School Starts Again!!!

Well things have gotten back into the swing of things at the Fitzgerald house! Conner and Audrey started first grade and Ben has started his last year at preschool. Both boys have started soccer and are having a blast. We are back to reading AR books and this year we have even had a little homework. Conner and Audrey both have great teachers - Conner has Mrs. Lowry she has been teaching for 35 years and is great. Audrey's teacher is Mrs. McNabb and is also great not only is she a great teacher but in the words of Audrey "Mrs. McNabb is beautiful". We are blessed to be at a wonderful school.

Lemonade Stand

We were driving home yesterday Conner, Audrey, Ben and Austin and Emily Haynes(some of our sweetest friends) and on the drive home they all decided they wanted to have a lemonade stand. So they asked if I could make some lemonade so that they could "have a lemonade stand and get some customers" so I agreed and asked them if they also wanted me to make some brownies for their stand of course they thought that was a great idea. I told them they needed to get a table and some paper to make some signs for their products I asked at this point how much they were gana sell their lemonade for Conner seemed to think we should charge a dollar a glass after much convincing that is was just normal lemonade and not the gourmet kind we decided on 25 cents per glass. I asked them what they were gana do with the money and they said "let's give it to the church so they could help more people" a very sweet moment to have with your children and those you love so much so we talked about what a great idea that was and how proud I was of them so they got things set up and all five of them stayed out there for almost 2 hours and raised $9.00 they were proud and even talked about doing it again.

The Fitzgerald Family

We are the Fitzgerald Five-Sean, Melissa, Conner, Audrey and Ben!