Christmas Party

Andrew's class Christmas party was Friday so Jay and I went to celebrate with him. It was so neat to see him participate in classroom things and sit at his little table. Of course he didn't eat any of the wonderful, fat-filled treats that they gave him, so Jay and I got to partake. :) Here are some pictures for you to enjoy.




This is Ms. Brown, Andrew's aide...he loves her!
And this last picture is of Andrew and I making cookies for his teachers. It was great fun...for the 10 minutes Andrew helped me. :)

Andrew announces big news!

Per Your Request:

For all of you sick people who have been asking to see a belly shot, here it is:

This really isn't the greatest picture for many reasons but mainly because I don't think it shows the size of that tummy very well, but it gives you an idea. I'm about 20 weeks but feel more like 35! Our sonogram to find out the sex is next week so I'll post something as soon as we know....assuming baby Beerley cooperates. :)

Grandma & Grandad Visit!

Jay's grandparents from Pennsylvania came for a visit this past weekend and we had so much fun with them! We don't get to see them nearly enough. They got to be here for Jay's 31st birthday so that was neat to celebrate with them. Andrew absolutely loved having them here also. He would wake up and immediately go and find them. They left Monday morning after I dropped him off at school and when he got home he went looking for them and was quite upset to find they weren't here.

This would have been a great picture if Andrew had cooperated, but as you can tell he was having none of it! He was pretty bratty this day, so Grandma and Grandad got to see the many moods of Andrew. :)

The Sick Pirate

Andrew's fall festival at his school was last Saturday and this little pirate had so much fun!

He did get scared by a little boy dressed up as a skeleton, who deliberately tried to scare him. Why do kids have to be so mean?? Anyway, he coughed a couple of times that day but nothing to make us worry. He coughed a little more on Sunday and then Sunday night/Monday morning he woke up with a fever of 103.5 so off to the emergency room we went. Andrew was such a trooper. When we got there his fever was 104.4, which is the highest it's ever been. They took x-rays and we were stunned to find out he had pneumonia. So they got us back to a room where they took some blood and put in an IV....Andrew was amazing during this, which is more than I can say for Jay who had to leave the room. :)
They didn't admit him thankfully, but the week was pretty rough. I'll spare you the details but I will say that for 3 days he literally layed on the couch and didn't move unless we made him. Thankfully he's all better and back to his old self!

Fall is in the Air

Ahhh, it seems fall is starting to arrive. This morning when I took Andrew to school it was like 50 something degrees outside! I love it! Everything is going pretty well here. Andrew is getting better and better in school....or at least he's getting smiley faces on his report everyday. I'm going to think that it's because he's being good and not because the teacher doesn't want me to cry in front of her anymore. :)
We started Awana at our church a few weeks ago and he's doing absolutely great in that. He's already memorized 3 verses!!!
Baby Beerley #2 seems to be doing well also. I look like I'm about six months pregnant already and I'm not quite four months. It's crazy how quickly you start to show with the second one. Hopefully we'll get to find out what the sex is at the beginning of November. We haven't decided on a boy name yet, but our girl name is Anna Grace. At least today it is....there are so many names I like!
Oh and I also started playing in the community band! (So the flute is going to good use, Lyndel!) I really like it. The music is a lot harder than I thought it would be, but it makes me use my brain and that's something that doesn't happen too often these days. :)

Andrew's Prayer

Every night before bedtime we pray with Andrew. He always prays for mama, daddy, nana and sometimes he throws some other things and people in there. He's been leaving some stuff out lately so I thought I'd remind him.

Mama: Andrew, don't forget to pray for all your stuff.
Andrew: Ok. Pray for stuff. We love you Jesus, Amen

Jay and I proceeded to laugh hysterically and then thanked God for the blessing our little boy is. Lately he is so much fun to talk to. The better his language gets, the more creative the conversations get. Tonight we were watching football on tv and there was some commercial that had fire in it. Andrew asked Jay where the fire came from and Jay then asked him in return where it came from. Andrew said it came from a dragon. You just have to love the imagination of a four year old.
Life has been crazy lately. We've had evacuees at our church for 10 days now. That means that we don't hardly get to see Jay, since he's been heading up all of that stuff. They get to go home tomorrow. It has been a blessing to be able to minister to them, and have them minister to us in return. These people are pretty poor and yet we had a lady give our church $350 to thank us for everything. I can imagine that's probably pretty much all she had. What a testament to what Jesus calls us to do.
School is getting better for Andrew. He struggled a lot a first but now has an aid specifically for him and he seems to be adjusting better. I took him to Children's in Dallas last week and had him tested for autism again. The tests came back that he's not autistic. They labelled him PDD-NOS which means he has some characteristics of autism but is not. The lady told me that she felt his characteristics stemmed solely from his speech delay and that the better his speech got the less we'd see the autistic tendancies. So we're trying to get him as much speech therapy as possible.
Me and baby are doing pretty well. I have another doctor's appt. next week, but it's just a routine check up. We won't find out the sex of the baby until the end of October.
(Ok LeAnn, now you're updated) :)

Baby Beerley

Baby Beerley - due March 19th!

First Day of School

Today was Andrew's first day of school and I promised Nana I would post some pictures. We didn't get but a couple because we were running kind of late.


We've been praying about this day for a long time now and Andrew did pretty well. His teacher said there were a few times he didn't want to do what she said, but as the day progressed he got better. I dropped him off in the cafeteria and watched him line up and put his hands behind his back like they were told to do. Then he marched off to his class like he had been doing it forever. I cried. But I'm pregnant so I'm using that as my excuse. It was a very long day and when I picked him up at 3 (after much waiting due to the craziness of elementary school traffic) he was worn out! But we had promised we would take him to Chuck E. Cheese's if he was good so that's exactly what we did. When we put him to bed at 8 I think he fell right to sleep. Poor guy....now he has to wake up and do it all over tomorrow.

30

I've been dreading my birthday all year. Unfortunately it still happened and I turned 30 yesterday against my will. I've never felt different or older on any other birthday except this one. It might be that I'm pregnant and tired all the time anyway, but I feel different.
Oh and I feel huge. If I'm only about two months pregnant, I'm on the road to being 600 lbs. by the time this baby arrives. I really do think I'm further along than that, but I just don't remember my belly getting this big this quick with Andrew. People have mentioned twins more than once....LeAnn, you were the last one to mention it and I about had a heart attack because I had just learned that twins run in my distant family! I guess I'll find out on the 27th, but in the mean time I will be praying that there's only one baby in there.
Andrew starts school on the 25th. He'll be in a regular mainstream pre-k classroom all day!! I'm really anxious about this, but I think once he gets the routine down it will be really good for him. I'm anticipating several bad days though. Hopefully he'll prove me wrong.
Well, I suppose I should go be productive....not something I've been lately. :)

Another Update

Well, I promised this picture of Andrew showing his muscles so here it is:
Isn't he adorable?! This summer has been a busy one, and this last week was no different. Kendall and Mallory came to visit us and we had a wonderful time with them....way too short though.

Then we went to a Ranger's game with our pastor and his wife and then came home for more visitors. Jay's uncle Jim and his family were travelling through town so they stopped and spent the night with us. We were thrilled to get to spend some time with them! They are missionaries in Monaco so we hardly ever get to see them. Their visit was also too short.

And now for the update of the century.....drumroll please.....we're pregnant!!!
This truly must have been God's will since Jay has been gone 4 weeks out of this summer! :) We are really excited though and Andrew is too. When I told him about the baby, he started talking to my tummy and said "baby...baby...baby, come out of there." Too cute! He's saying it's a baby sister so we're hoping he's right. I don't go to the dr. until August 27th so I won't know when I'm due until then. I hate that I have to wait so long but that was the first they could fit me in. I do have a sonogram on that day so I'll post the picture of the new little Beerley as soon as we have it.

Update just for you Cheryl

Well I promised my friend Cheryl that I would blog soon so here I am. We just moved houses and the internet isn't working so I'm at McAllister's doing this so there won't be any pictures, sorry. We just moved around the corner from the church, but boy was it tiring!! The house is sooo much bigger and we love it! BUT it seems to have a problem with waterbugs. For those of you who don't know what those are, they're these huge flying cockroaches. Yes, I said flying. And I have a major phobia of them and Jay is currently in San Fransico so he's of no help! Last night I was spraying one with bug spray and it looked like it was about to fly at me so I took off running only for the rug to come out from underneath my feet and I landed flat on my bottom! It was quite hilarious, and I would have laughed except that I was still in the same room with the monster bug, so I was too busy being terrified! Thankfully the bug man came yesterday and sprayed so maybe they'll start dying.
Jay took the kids to San Fran on a mission trip and he says all is going well. They're coming home on Sunday and it can't come quick enough. This the fourth week this summer that he's been gone and I'm ready to have him home. Our 9th anniversary was Thursday and of course he was gone so it was quite the bummer. Hopefully he'll make up for it with some amazing surprise when he gets home.
Well, that's it for now. When the internet gets back up I'll post this cute picture of Andrew showing me his muscles...it's quite cute!

The Wedding

Well, I didn't get very many pictures because my son decided to be AWFUL at the rehearsal and right before the wedding. But the good news is, he was pretty good during the actual service and for the pictures afterward. He walked down the isle wonderfully and then stood at the front for a few seconds before putting the pillow on the floor and standing on it. Then he started throwing the rose petals that were scattered on the floor up in the air, but it was that cute kind of misbehaving, so it was ok. I did have to get him down from the stage when he got right in front of the bride and groom and started throwing the rose petals at them, but he just came quietly with me and sat with me during the service. Overall he really did pretty well. Oh and Jay did too! :)

I guess tuxedos are out for the wedding party these days, but he was still cute!

My handsome boys! Andrew is saying "cheese"....too funny!

This is Kory, one of our youth who went to the wedding with us. Matt (the groom) was his disciple now leader this year.

Summer update

Our summer is off and running. It's a crazy time of year for youth ministers. Jay will be gone a total of 4 weeks in two months! I think this picture summarizes how Jay will feel when it's all said and done.

This next week is VBS and then this coming weekend Jay is doing a wedding for one of our Eastland kids. Oh and Andrew will be the ringbearer in this wedding...hopefully cute cute pictures will be forthcoming. I say hopefully because there is always the chance that he'll turn into the devil and not cooperate. I plan on having some great new toy as an incentive to not do this....great parenting, I know.

Uncle Jerrys' Wedding

My (Christi's) brother got married in May so Andrew and I headed to Carthage. (Jay had to go to a graduation). We got to see Andrew's favorite cousin, Alyson there.

They had cameras on the tables at the reception and Andrew thoroughly enjoyed taking pictures. It was sooo funny...Alyson would pose and Andrew would take her picture. Too cute!

Andrew's last day of school

Andrew did so great in school this year! So great, in fact, that he will be going all day and be in a regular preschool classroom starting next year! I'm fairly anxious about this, but I really believe that he's ready for it. He's speaking so much clearer and has really never really struggled socially...as you can see in the picture below with his friend Jayton.

We will miss Ms. Becky though. She has been so wonderful! Even after being out of school for a few weeks now, he still asks about her several times a week.

Andrew's 4!!!

He actually turned four on the 12th....I haven't posted until now because we didn't have our camera nor did we have a real party because we had just gotten back from SeaWorld. We got our camera back yesterday (Jay left it at a restaurant in Austin!!) so I thought I would post some pictures of our big boy. I took these today at the park.

Wrapping up vacation

Well, we had quite the vacation. Lots of driving. Summer temperatures. Today was traveling and getting to see our good friend Anna as well as my sister, Mindi. So those were nice opportunities. Tomorrow we leave for Wake Village. I love our times of refreshing but it's always nice to get back to serving where God has placed us. He does know best. Blessings to you if you happen to read this. Thank you for probably loving our family at some point or another. May you seek first the Kingdom of God and let him take care of the rest.

Family Vacation- Sea World Day 2 (or autism awareness day)

Ok, well, today we went back to Sea World, but not for too long before Andrew's autistic tendencies kicked in. He wanted to go swimming about 1 hr. 45 minutes in. And that's all she wrote. So, here are the pics and videos.



This was by far Andrew's favorite thing...



He didn't quite get the concept of what was proper behavior at the dolphin tank



So after we left (and went to the most horrible McDonalds parking lot visit ever) it was swimming time!




And we decided to end our day with something Andrew has been very much looking forward to since he found the toy in Wal-Mart...



Actually a pretty good movie. So far, that's 2 for 2 on summer movies (I enjoyed Iron Man also.)

Ok, phew, that's enough blogging for tonight. We leave San Antonio tomorrow for Dallas. We'll write later.

Family Vacation- Sea World Day 1

Wow. While overall the park is not that big and the stupid waterpark part was not open AND we didn't get to ride any roller coasters...wow. All of the animal exhibits and shows were quite worshipful. God is amazing. I love seeing the works of his hands everywhere. And they were everywhere.
And maybe most evident was in the reaction of our wonderful little boy. I feel like his awe is what we are like when we encounter even the smallest amounts of our savior. And now, some pictures and videos for your enjoyment (or your time waste).





















These last two are of Andrew after a long, hot day.

Family Vacation- Day 3

Mostly traveling today. Some rain. One really cool thing was we got to eat lunch with a former youth. I told Christi to remind me to take a picture. We didn't take a picture. Oh well. We love you, Amy!

So, we got to the hotel. Some pictures follow.















Hotel TV's have improved, no?















Ok, we're finally off to Sea World! Hopefully great pics and videos to follow.

Family Vacation- Day 2

Last day at Nana's for awhile. Tomorrow we leave for San Antonio and Sea World on Thursday. This evening we went to Chuck E. Cheese. I will say that it was probably the most pleasant experience we've had there maybe ever. Andrew enjoyed himself more than usual with the games. And for mommy and daddy they had a new Deal or No Deal game for tickets. Very addicting!!! I got the highest ticket amount for the day with 63 in one game! And to think that Christi is the one more addicted to the show.
Anyway, we forgot the camera for there, so we'll show you last night's fun times with cake and presents. Of course, Andrew didn't eat any cake. We'll get there soon, hopefully.











Mommy does a great job with the shark, no?

Family Vacation- Day 1

Well, hopefully there will be some pictures to go with our journey tomorrow. I always enjoy keeping people up to date on our journeys. In reflection, it seems like a pretty narcissistic thing to do, but oh well.
We traveled safely today and had a mini birthday party for Andrew with his Nana. She'll be working the rest of the time. It was nice. I'll share some pics tomorrow. We have a day of relaxation tomorrow and then we head to San Antonio on Wednesday. Fun times!

Life

So life around here has been fairly crazy lately. My dad (Christi) passed away last Tuesday and then his funeral was last Friday. It was fairly unexpected...he has had some heart problems, but was living on his own and seemingly doing fair. But he went to sleep one night in his chair and passed away in his sleep. My relationship with him was strained so I have all of these emotions that I didn't have with my mom's death. And most of them are fairly surprising to me given our relationship. I guess it's true what they say that death is never easy. It is quite strange to be only 29 and for both of my parents to be gone. But ultimately this world is not our home...our time here is short. So I have this new passion to make the most of the days I have. I am enjoying my family so much right now. Jay is such a wonderful support to me and Andrew becomes more of a blessing everyday. I guess essentially I'm just trying to love people more because you never know when your last encounter with them might be.
On a lighter note, Jay sold his XBox. For those of you who know him, you're probably going to have to re-read that last sentence. He just decided that it was taking up too much of his time, so he got rid of it. I never once asked him to, he just did it on his own. I am so proud of him...I know it was tough to actually go through with it. So with all of this free time now, he's decided to become mechanical and take on some projects with our brown car, that is on it's last leg. A few weeks ago he flushed and fixed a hole in the radiator and then today he replaced the spark plugs! What a great man I'm married to!