Bullseye and other Funnies

I should have posted this before Bullseye Rides Again. This is another email I sent family and friends, dated April 25, 2005.

Hey everybody,

I thought I'd send a mass email to update you all on our family. This past week has been especially entertaining for us, hopefully you'll enjoy it too!

First of all, our son, Travis, is almost 3. He has a new horse, it is brownish and it's name is Bullseye. It's make believe of course. Anyway, he holds onto the reins with his fists clinched tightly and gallops around the house on a regular basis. Sometimes he tells us to be quiet because his horse is asleep or he opens the front door to let Bullseye out to go eat. He's informed us that he now has 4 horses. Whenever we find him playing with other toys we ask, "Where's your horse?" He'll say, "Oh, he's tied up in his trailer." We like to encourage his imagination. So, this past Thursday, we had gone out with Johnny to one of his appointments (AFLAC at the time). Travis brought two horses with him, and left the other two at home. After the appointment, we stopped by Wal-Mart and, of course, Travis galloped through the store. On a side note- we found black felt cowboy hats clearanced for $3. They're real cowboy hats, not the toy kind. So Katherine and Travis are now a cowboy and cowgirl. Anyway, we got home and Travis had gotten a birthday invitation that he was so excited about. He carried it around, even when Johnny took him to the bathroom. I was busy putting things away when I had a funny idea. I said, "Travis!" (He's finishing up in the bathroom) "While we were gone, you're horse pooped on the floor in my room!" "Can you believe that?!" Johnny started laughing, but Travis just got frustrated with his horse. He walks to our room with a frown on his face saying, "Ughhh!" He reaches down to the floor with his birthday card and sweeps it. Katherine is catching on to all of this and says, with a gasp, "Ohhh! Travis's card has poop on it!" Now Travis is really frustrated and heads back to the bathroom to wash off his card. This whole time Johnny is cracking up. I help Travis wipe his card off with a dry washcloth and just say, "Man! Travis, can you believe that?!" He quickly took his horse outside! Everyday, he rides his imaginary horses and takes them "out to pasture" and helps them take naps. Too cute!

Now for Katherine. I was sitting here at the computer typing something and Katherine was on a beanbag next to me. I looked over at her staring at the floor and asked what was wrong. She replied, "I'm just thinking." "About what?" I asked. "My life." "Really, tell me about it." "I'm just thinking about my life and the Spirit." "The Spirit? The Holy Ghost?" "Yeah." "What do you mean?" "I'm just thinking about stuff." She didn't really want to talk about it. So later I told Johnny about it and when he got a chance he asked her about it. He said, "Mommy tells me you were thinking about the Holy Ghost, do you want to tell me about it?" She said, "Yeah, I was thinking about the Holy Ghost and he wants us to be nice to people, and love them." We were so proud of her and grateful that she's actually getting it, already!

Then, on Saturday, I went for a walk with the kids, Olivia was in the stroller, Katherine was beside me helping push and Travis was galloping ahead of us on his trusty steed, Bullseye. He was motioning with one hand and holding the reins with the other, saying, "Come on! Follow me!" Katherine quickly replied, "No Travis! We're not going to follow you! We follow Jesus!" He was a little confused and said it again, "Follow me!" She was frustrated and said, "No Travis! We will follow Jesus, not you!" I explained to her that Travis means, Come on, this way!, not for us to actually follow him. She said, "Oh."

Ok, now for Olivia. I fixed her hair in a whale spout two days in a row. When Sunday came, yesterday, I decided to put pigtails on top of her head. That's really the only hair long enough to fix. So, she either had horns or antennas- however you want to look at it. It was cute, nonetheless. Yesterday night we were taking pictures of her cute hair. Lately she's been pulling up to things and letting go. So last night she took her first 2 steps!! Very exciting! She is quickly catching up to her very funny siblings!

(Just now, Travis was running through the house with a toy screwdriver, pretending it's a sword, yelling, "It's payback time!" I love to watch him!)

All our love,

Johnny, Jill, Katherine, Travis, and Olivia


Such fun memories! The story of Samuel cleaning up his mess of yucky candy is what prompted this post- it's a lot like Travis wiping the floor with his birthday invitation. Haha!

Bullseye Rides Again

I was thinking about this story and realized I hadn't included it on our blog.

This is an email I sent to family and friends April 30, 2005, when Katherine was 4 1/2, Olivia was 10 months and Travis was almost 3.

Travis finished his supper before everyone else tonight. He jumped down from the table and started playing with a magnet on the refrigerator. Katherine wanted to join in on the fun and tried to take the magnet from him. He ran off teasing, "I've got the magnet! I've got the magnet!" Johnny tried to help the situation by suggesting Katherine find something Travis wants to trade. "Like what?" she asked. Johnny said, "Maybe a Rescue Hero or his toy hatchet he was just playing with." She politely declined.

Just about that time Bullseye wandered into the kitchen, almost unnoticed. He was fully saddled and ready to ride. Since I notice everything, I said, "Hey Katherine, why don't you ride his horse?!" She thought that was a great idea so she jumped on and galloped around the house.

Travis started chasing her, whining, "Give me back my horse!" He noticed how much Katherine's pace had quickened once she mounted his trusty steed; she was going much faster than she ever could have on her own two feet. He didn't give up. He ran after them for a few laps and suddenly remembered what started this whole mess. He was still holding the little orange magnet.

There was only one way to settle this... He called out, "Hey Katherine! Want a magnet?" Katherine smiled, taking the magnet and handed Travis the reins.

It was a good trade. The proud little cowboy rode off into the sunset, or, at least, west into the living room.

"Why are you smiling like that?"

"I just like smiling. Smiling's my favorite!" 

By far, one of the best movie lines- and a great mantra. 

Today I'm smiling because of these people:

Quick update: Johnny supposedly has lupus. "Early, mild" to be exact. I say supposedly because he has been working the night-shift for so long that his circadian rhythm is practically non-existent. That messes you up big time. Good news: He's switched jobs and now works in the ICU at Medical Center (same town, different hospital) on the DAY SHIFT! Our lives have changed dramatically. He loves his job. He loves his coworkers. He even loves his boss! Yeah- that's pretty amazing. And now that he has switched, he is becoming a normal person. He's getting used to sleeping through the night (that is, if Samuel does- no I do not make Johnny get up with the baby, but if the baby gets up, it's inevitable that he'll hear him.). He doesn't have the aches/pains anymore and his entire attitude/temperament is positive. He can't wait to start online classes later this month for his RN-BSN. In 2 years, we'll be moving away for CRNA school.- Johnny's ultimate dream job. We hope to come back here after it's all said and done. 

Anyway- back to the health concern. Since switching jobs we are without insurance for 30 days. Our hope/plan is for Johnny to live a normal life- sleep 8 hours each night, eat healthy, exercise for a month or so, then go back and have lab work done to check his ANA level. His Dr. told him this morning, in passing, that he thinks Johnny should go back in 6 mos and that stress/sleep deprivation could be what raised his ANA levels to start with. Nice!

It's amazing what a difference it's made in him switching jobs. We have discussed why the timing has been what it's been- remember when we prayed and were told not to switch jobs? For whatever reason, the timing has been good for us now and we feel that it has a lot to do with him starting school. Before, when we prayed about it, it was a job change for money and school wasn't a priority. Now it is and we're making it happen. 

It feels good to know that we are where we should be, doing what we should be doing with the people we should be with. That's enough to make anyone smile.

Say cheese!

 I love Samuel's smile in this picture.
Did you know he has 6 teeth? 

Four on top and two on bottom.

And did you know he just turned 10 months old?

For the longest time he was "army crawling" and dragging his big little belly across the tile floor.

In the last week and a half, he is crawling on all fours! I don't have a picture or video yet- I really ought to learn how to take moving pictures that don't blur. Hmmm...

I love this picture of Johnny with Samuel. Oh- did you notice Johnny shaves his head now? He got tired of my joke. Oh! I didn't tell you yet? Well, here goes... "Do you want to know the 'real' reason Johnny doesn't have any hair? It's because I'm too vain to pull my own hair out!" Yeah, I thought it was pretty funny too. I guess he heard it too many times and decided to shave it all off- maybe he thought it would help me manage stress better. We'll see.

 Sweet Travis! He has glasses now. I think he looks so smart- like a little genius. Travis is always so helpful and gives the best hugs and tells me he loves me, several times throughout the day...makes my heart swell. Out of all the kids, he is the most vocal about how he feels about homeschooling this year. He wants it to start yesterday! Maybe he is a genius?

 Olivia is growing up so much. She's so helpful with Samuel and is becoming more and more responsible. She's 7 already! That means next year she will be baptized! Yikes. She's super excited to start homeschooling next month. I love her eagerness and excitement about life. She is a good example for me because she is more easy going- a trait I've always admired and tried to emulate.

 My Bryn. Look at those beautiful brown eyes! She has so much energy and the cutest little voice. I love the way she communicates and explains things to me. Since she got to be the baby for the longest, she and I have our own way to communicate. For example, I sometimes kiss her cheeks over and over and she'll kiss mine and I'll say, "Hey! Give me back my sugars!" and she'll have to kiss me again. Or I'll say, "Bryn, I need sugars so I can be sweet." and she'll give me kisses.
She is adorable!

Katherine doesn't normally wear makeup. This picture is from our last visit to Vidor. My sister, Rachel, dolled her up- doesn't she look beautiful? She's always beautiful. Being the oldest, Katherine is always willing to do whatever needs to be done and works very hard at getting along with her siblings. I appreciate her so much for being her. She's going into the 5th grade. She is excited about homeschool starting too. She is interested in so many things and can't wait to learn about it all- like all things Australia, crocheting, sewing, music, art, having a book published... amazing things! She's becoming very task-oriented like her mom.

Ella has the best laugh! Her sense of humor is so surprising sometimes. She's also very inquisitive. Some of the questions she asks are surprising. Lately, the questions have had a lot to do with following Jesus Christ or following Satan and the differences between our Church and other churches. For example, she asked me, "Mom, what are people called if they're not called Mormons?" See what I mean? She'll be starting kindergarten this year, which means she may never go to public school. Our first child to do that! I love that Ella is a good friend. She plays well with all of her siblings and is usually willing to share. When we were in Vidor, she was jumping off the diving board more than anyone-wearing floaties of course. Such a brave girl!

Motivate Me Monday: Losing Weight without the Workout!

Since I last posted, I have worked out maybe twice. But I'm not apologizing or even asking for more encouragement, because I have lost, like 3-4 lbs!

That's pretty amazing, right?! Last Tuesday morning I had a great workout! I did Turbo Sculpt and was able to push myself more than I had in a long time.

That afternoon I felt sore. I love feeling sore after a workout! But I did think it was odd that I would feel sore so soon.

The next day I knew I had a sinus infection and maybe a virus. My legs and joints ached and my sinuses burned, but no fever. Shoulda known the soreness wasn't from the workout.

*sigh*

On top of that, all week I was running errands and didn't get to nurse Samuel as often as usual. Ella had dental surgery on Friday, so I was away for several hours. (She had some cavities worked on. I'll blog about it soon.)

By Saturday night I had full blown mastitis. 102.3° fever, aches, chills, miserable. My aches and pains from earlier in the week were still there, only worse. So I'm still not sure if I had 1 or 2 sicknesses. ??

Today I still feel weak and sick, but no fever. I've been nursing exclusively. Poor Samuel. He was really liking his baby food. Also, I'm about to start an antibiotic (once I pick it up)- or should I if I'm not running a fever anymore?

Once I'm able to workout again, I'm really going to hit the weights hard! I don't want to lose muscle from being sick. Plus it's my favorite way to workout ;)

I have to say, my kids have been amazing! Not only was I sick, but Johnny has been sick since last Tuesday (or maybe before that) with a low-grade fever, and Travis has had a fever since Sunday. Katherine has been an angel babysitting for me and helping around the house. Olivia and Bryn have been super helpful and Ella too, when she could. Samuel is all smiles all the time. He had a fever last night, but seems okay today.

I couldn't ask for more.

♥

he's gr8!

Travis was born Friday, May 17th, 2002 at 2:10 p.m. 

He weighed 8 lbs 2 oz and was 20 3/4" long. 

It's hard to believe it's been 8 years...

For his birthday supper, Johnny grilled chicken shish-kabobs...

Unfortunately, one side got burned,

but we still enjoyed it!

We got him this picture for his bedroom- for the "boys' bedroom" ;).

He wanted a cookie cake, so we made our favorite recipe

from a favorite cookbook:

He LOVES Star Wars and Legos. Apparently, Darth Vader's clothes were lost,

and he had to borrow from one of his Stormtroopers. Oops!

I love how Katherine is helping blow out the candles! So cute!

It's good!

Monica, Lia, Nate and Marcus came and spent Friday night with us.

Saturday morning, the day of his baptism, we had THIS for breakfast ~

His baptism was on Saturday, May 22nd at 11 o'clock.

It was at the Jasper Branch building. We were so thankful for 

so many of our family and friends being there!

We had a birthday party for him afterwards, with chili dogs and,  his favorite cookie cakes.

We had to have two for all those people, plus it made a cool "#8" ;)

Thanks to everyone that came! We are so proud of Travis and happy 

to have him in our family! 

Here are 8 things we LOVE about Travis ~

1. He's funny!

2. Travis cares about everyone.

3. He has a vivid imagination.

4. He likes to read.

5. He loves his sisters (and can't wait to have a brother!).

6. He's obedient and helpful.

7. Travis has a testimony.

and last but not least...

8. Travis is gr8!!!

We love you Travis!

Our Variety Show commercial!!

For our annual Sellers Family Variety Show this year,

we made a commercial... enjoy!

{The video quality is terrible. We're working on remedying that for next year. ;) }

Which is the REAL Travis?

Send your own ElfYourself eCards

School's Out!

Summer's been a blast so far! Where do I begin? Hmmm... let's see. I left off with Travis's birthday and Johnny's graduation. What came next? Oh! Field Day!

At the end of every school year, the kids have a Field Day. They get to play on a moonwalk and slide down a water slide and just have fun. Since Johnny hadn't started work yet, he was available to go with us. Travis's was first and Katherine's was the next day. Olivia, Ella and Bryn loved it and so did I! The girls slid down the slides and Bryn and I played on the swings.








After his class played on the slide and in the moonwalk, they went into the gym for games. They had a scooter race (remember those little scooters we had in p.e. in elementary school?). Travis won 4th place and got a ribbon :)

That night, I decided to cut everyone's hair. Katherine got bangs, Olivia and Ella just got trims and Travis got the usual. But poor Bryn was growing a bit of a mullet. I know, sad. She got a pretty cute bob, if I do say so myself. ;)

Bryn's first haircut :)

The next morning was the Elementary Awards Ceremony. But before we went, we had to say goodbye to one of our missionaries. Elder Durrant was getting emergency transferred to Plano. He had been having some health problems and he needed to be closer to good medical care.

Elder Durrant (center) and Elder Hagge (far right)

Travis's awards were first. He participated in the Book It! program, so he received a medal and certificate. He also received an All A's certificate. We're so proud of him. He did very well in First grade and we look forward to 2nd grade. He's learning so much so quickly!


Katherine's awards were next. She also participated in Book It! and received an award and certificate. She was on the A's and B's honor roll. Earlier in the year she drew a picture and it was entered in the Smokey Bear/Woodsey Owl Poster contest. We were all surprised when she got an award! We knew she was an excellent artist, but we didn't know anything about the contest. She received an Honorable Mention award, as well as an envelope with a dollar bill inside. I've always made fun of myself for getting "Honorable Mention" in track and field. For Katherine to be "mentioned" is a big deal because there were hundreds of kids competing and most didn't receive any recognition. I think one other kid in the school got an award. There were several schools competing. She was pretty surprised and excited!


Pretty soon it was time for Field Day. We had such a great time!

Olivia loves the slide!

Ella

I love how this picture turned out. Ella's hair gives her away :)

Bryn (with a new haircut).

Katherine with her friend Abby.

What a good daddy!

Can you tell he's so relaxed now that he's graduated? He's like a kid again! ;)

Katherine's friend Callie adopted Bryn.

Katherine's having a blast!

The boy in the middle is a doll! One day when I picked Katherine up from school, he was there in the hallway. I had the girls with me and Katherine was getting her things together. He said, "Are you Katherine's mom?" I said, "Yes." He said, "Oh. I don't think I've met your family yet." So I asked his name and introduced him to the girls. His name is Coltin. I couldn't believe how personable and adorable he was. I told Johnny about it and how impressed I was. Such a gentleman!


Katherine loved the slide!

I wish I would have gotten more pictures. If you look in the last picture of Katherine sliding, on the left side is her teacher, Mrs. Smith. Mrs. Smith is carrying Katherine's friend, Abby, who is paraplegic. After I took this picture, Johnny took her place and helped Abby onto the slide. He was soaking wet by the end of it, but had so much fun! Abby is a sweetheart and is such a good friend to Katherine.