A Day to Remember Forever

Monday, September 10, 2007 will be one of those days Wes and I will remember forever, because it was a another big first in our daughter's life. Katherine began kindergarten at the Swink Public School.

She is ready to go!


Walking in line from the cafeteria



(not sure what she is doing with her arm)

Outside of her class


Ready to learn!

Deb's Birthday

Yes, today is my 35th birthday!

I have been blessed to have a wonderful husband and two precious kids. The first words out of my daughter's smiling mouth this morning were "Happy Birthday Mom!" I tell you having them sing to me all day will be the one of the best parts of having a birthday. It doesn't get any better!

My thanks to Wes for writing such beautiful things on his blog about me today. (click here) I don't deserve it all, but he was correct on a few points! :-)

It is going to be a very good day, and I am extremely blessed to share it with my loving family!

Katherine's Birthday Celebrations

As with Katherine's birthday tradition she enjoyed a week of birthday celebrations. My last post was about our celebration with Grandpa Roy & Grandma Faye, which took place the weekend before her birthday.

On Katherine's birthday (Thursday, August 9th) Wes, Katherine, Sebastian, and I drove to Texarkana to celebrate. The adventure began at Chuck E. Cheese's. Once the kids had tokens in their hands they were off to play games. We ate pizza and played more games. After a thrilling time of Wes playing ski ball, in which to rack up tickets for Katherine, it was time to go. Katherine gathered her tickets and used them to buy a couple prize items. It was then time to head over to Cinamark for the showing of Ratatouille.




Katherine received several phone calls from grandparents, aunts, and uncles through out the day wishing her a wonderful day.



The day after her birthday Katherine was out to spend her birthday money at Toys r us in Longview, Texas, which meant she would also see Grandpa Homer. And of course, grandpa had to buy her a birthday gift as well. It would only be three days later and she would be back in Longview at Toys r us with her Aunt Diane and Uncle Dean.

What a great way to turn five!

Let the Celebrations Begin!

Last Friday our family journeyed to Tulsa, Oklahoma. The purpose of our trip was to take Jaime and Maya Brown to the airport, and then enjoy family time before celebrating Katherine's birthday with grandparents, Roy & Faye Banks, on Saturday. After we said our goodbyes to Jaime and Maya we headed to Woodland Hills Mall where we would meet up with some friends before all going to dinner. That evening we checked into our hotel and then went swimming. After a really long day the kids and their mom were ready for bed. Wes stayed up and did a little blogging. What a surprise!

Saturday morning brought another special treat...Krispy Kreme doughnuts!


We enjoyed our breakfast, gathered our things, and checked out of the hotel.

When we arrived at grandma and grandpa's in Muskogee they were anxiously awaiting our arrival. Wes, the kids, and I changed into clothes for the lake and headed out once again. At the lake we celebrated Katherine's birthday on grandpa's pontoon boat. Grandma and grandpa had purchased blow up bumper boat for the kids. Katherine and Sebastian had a terrific time playing in these. The bumper boats squirted water which added to the fun! Katherine and Sebastian also took a ride on the huge lily pad with Wes and I on either side of them. Sebastian was enjoying the ride so much he had fallen asleep until grandpa splashed a wave of water on us. I don't know whether me pulling Sebastian up so the water didn't drown his face woke him up or the water splashing on top of him. Either way he was no longer sleepy and wanted off! Katherine wasn't detoured from riding at all. She rode with us for a while longer. We had a great time!


Katherine and 'The HAPPY BIRTHDAY Bear' (it sings).

"Cool, another bath toy!"



"This is good."

Katherine got squirted in the eye by Sebastian.

Sebastian is at it again! This time dad is the target.

"This is awesome! Who's next?"

Wes, Sebastian, Katherine, and Grandpa Roy

Growing & Changing

There have been some major changes in our house over the last couple weeks. The first and most important event has been teaching Sebastian to go to bathroom (i.e. potty training). On day one I wasn't sure whether Sebastian or I were ready for this adventure, and on day two I was certain we were not ready! Day one and two the washing machine got a work-out since Sebastian wore underwear all day. The next few days I gave in and used Huggies Pull-ups. I was tired of cleaning up messes plus our schedules kept us in and out of the house for several days. As week one was coming to an end Sebastian told me he wanted to wear his underwear instead of pull-up pants, so on Monday we began wearing the underwear again. Week two is progressing much better!!! We even journeyed out to the store in Valliant twice this week while Sebastian was wearing his underwear! This is a huge deal! Wes and I are beginning to see a day when we don't have to buy diapers or any other type of disposable pants! Hooray!
The other major changes have been in redecorating. As you may remember from last summer, Wes and I began turning our guest bedroom into a room fit for our precious princess Katherine Grace. Our little princess has been in her pink princess bedroom for a year now and loves it. We now affectionately call it 'the pink room'. This last week we added a couple new touches to her room: 1) a newly painted white chest of drawers, which Wes used as a kid; and 2) enclosed her canopy style bed with sheer white panels draped to the side and tied back with pink and purple tulle. It is truly a girlie girl room.

The princess Katherine getting her beauty sleep!

Now, Wes and I didn't want Sebastian to feel left out, so we decided it was time for his room to receive a makeover as well. (It is the least we could do since he's big enough to be wearing underwear, right?) Wes and I began working on Sebastian's 'big boy' room around 6:30 PM last Saturday and finished about 2 AM Sunday. We were incredibly tired, but the room looked great! Sebastian woke up about 6:30 AM Sunday and Wes and I couldn't wait to show him his room. The expression on his face made the late night and hard work worth every second! He loves his 'big boy' room!

For My Husband

Yesterday was my man's birthday. He woke up and was out of the house before the kids and I woke up, but once we were up we gave him a Happy Birthday phone call. Katherine and Sebastian sang 'Happy Birthday' with me singing along too! Later Katherine couldn't wait to give him his birthday card, which she had made. I think Katherine was more excited that it was her daddy's birthday than he was, but she had enough excitement for us all.

Wes' birthday didn't go as I had planned, and I feel very bad. I want to take the time on this blog to let him know how much I love him, and how glad I am that he came into this world some years ago. (A loving wife would never give away his age :-) Here's a hint: he is 13 months and 2 days older than I.) I am so thankful to have a husband who loves me as much as he does. Wes puts up with all my faults and rarely complains to me about them. I cannot say I do the same. He is much more of a romantic than I am. He thinks of little things like bringing me a Dr.Pepper back from the store just because he knows I like Dr. Pepper. He'll pop home on an afternoon and tell me to go to the store while he watches the kids. He'll help wash the laundry if I've gotten behind. (Then again, that could be because he needs clothes to wear!) He makes me laugh; holds me when I need to cry; encourages me; listens to me; and most of all still loves me when I mess up and don't make his favorite birthday cake! I am so blessed to have Wes Kenney as my husband!

As always, I am late, but HAPPY BIRTHDAY WES!!!!! I LOVE YOU!!!!! :-)

Extended Family Visit

Last week Katherine and Sebastian had the opportunity to play with their cousin, Maya Brown. Jaime (Wes' sister) and Maya were in Hugo visiting with Ruby Lee (Wes' grandmother) and Cynthia (Wes' mom). Sara Posthuma (Wes' aunt) had also come for a visit. We had everyone over last Monday evening for dinner and some family visiting time. We enjoyed watching the kids play together; grilled hamburgers with all the fixings; swam in the pool; and topped the night off with homemade peach ice cream. It was a very nice time.

Summer Time Fun

On the Rock Wall

On the Water Slide

In the Sandbox

Showing off

Working Hard

Pool Time

Watermelon Festival (Day Two)

Saturday began early with our church having a men's breakfast. Otis Cayton, a former pastor of Trinity and the association's current Director of Missions, gave a short devotion while the men enjoyed their breakfast.

Around 9 AM the Watermelon Festival parade got underway. The parade ended at the Valliant Park and people began pouring into the park for the festival. It was amazing the see that amount of people coming in and our church booth was near one of the entrances. We knew it wouldn't be a problem to give away all our fans. The fans were gone by 1 PM! More people would walk over to receive a fan and and then realized they could register to win a digital camera. At the end of the afternoon, approximately 200 people had registered for the digital camera and all the fans were gone! The camera giveaway was drawn during the gospel concert Saturday night, and a 10 year old girl from nearby Millerton, Oklahoma, won.

One of the goals for our church during this weekend was to show our community that we are here for them. I believe we accomplished that goal. We were also looking for new contacts. There were between 40-50 people who admitted on the registration form that they didn't attend a church regularly, so that gives our church a good starting point.

Wes, the kids, and I enjoyed the festival and the free watermelon!

Watermelon Festival (Day One)

When Wes and I were interviewed by the pastor search committee from our current church, Trinity Baptist Church, we were told great things about the Valliant Watermelon Festival. Today marked the beginning of the watermelon festival.

Several months ago, Wes begin thinking of what our church could do to minister to our community during the festival. We came up with an idea to give away bottles of water throughout the festival. We found last week that because there would be vendors selling water we could not give away free water as the Valliant Chamber of Commerce didn't think that would be fair to the vendors. We came up with a plan B. Plan B is to give away free fans. These fans have information about our church printed on both sides. Last Wednesday night several church members put together 250 fans. We are also giving away a free digital camera at the end of the festival. On the registration form is a question asking the person whether or not they attend a church. If the answer is "yes" then after the drawing those forms will be thrown out, but those marked "no" will be used as prospects for our church.

The kids and I dropped by the Valliant City Park where the Watermelon Festival is being held this afternoon and evening. The kids enjoyed playing on the playground with some of their friends. Katherine had a watermelon painted on her check. This festival is a good family event. I am proud our church is there to show the people who will come through the park over the next 24 hours we love and care for our community.

Beaver's Bend

These pictures were taken at Beaver's Bend State Park.

Sebastian on the only motorcycle his mom will let him ride!

Katherine with a look of panic.

Mom's favorite kiddo's.

What sweet children!

Grand Rapids Children's Museum

Grandma Linda, Katherine, Sebastian, and myself spent several hours on Thursday, June 14th at the Grand Rapids Children's Museum. We had a great time playing and learning together.

Playing in the sand

Grocery shopping


Grocery checkout with mom

Sebastian & Grandma

Katherine & Sebastian

Katherine

Katherine at Work

Sebastian at Work

Katherine gone fishin'