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Arkansas or BUST!

We're here...we made it will all our stuff! The kids and I were SO happy to see Troy on Father's Day. He drove up a week after us and we missed him like crazy! Our trip up took a long 11 hours, but it was actually the best trip we've made up. Although it was long, the kids were great! I had Duncan and Savannah in my car watching movies. Kendall was with Grammy, Aunt Kim and Joshua (my oldest nephew) and was sung to for about the entire 11 hours. She can now sing, "I gotta gal named Boney Maroney...She's as skinny as a sticka macaroni" like nobody's business!

I will tell you that even though we had "Arkansas or Bust" on the back of our car, thanks to Genelle!...there was no doubt about where we were going, cause we looked a bit "hillbilly-ish" with the bikes strapped to the top of my van. YOu may think, "we'll that's not that big of a deal." But that's cause you didn't see my entire set of SIX dining room chairs strapped to the top of my mama's van!!! It was QUITE the spectical!!! We it was QUITE halarious really. And no, I am so not kidding!

We've been in our house in AR for a week. The kids haven't really said much at all about how small it is compared to our house in TX. Goes to show how much they really don't care about that anyway. The kids have commented most on how they can just run and run in the backyard! They love it!! They have races, they time each other on how fast they run, they have a tree they can climb...it's so fun for them. However, Duncan has been slowed down due to an infection in his foot that started from a splinter. He has a staph infection and it's been quite the chore to keep socks and shoes on my little boy!!! We've already been to the pediatrician twice and go again tomorrow for another check. OK..so I'm now realizing how boring this is...I have no wit about me tonight. But here's some cute pics of the kids.

This is an "intermission" time for Kendall at the river/creek. My daddy and I packed the kids up to take them and on the way I let them load up on snacks and drinks...something I NEVER do. Here's little Kendall enjoying her doritos and grape Crush!

You can't REALLY see how clear the water is.. but it's just beautiful. This what we plan on doing a LOT of! They had a blast!

Adios Texas Amigos

Well, it's time. Time to move away from Texas. The place God brought me to when I graduated from NSU. That was 1995. I would say that I have spent the best years of my life here in TX. I have grown up here. I arrived here with a suitcase and credit card. And I'm so not kidding! Thank the Lord for my friends who literally sheltered and fed me until I found a job. Then I found Troy. That's an amazing story in itself. We got married, had kids and life was set. Great job for my man, comfy house for me and the kids. But God knew the desires of our hearts. Mine to live by my family and Troy's to be out in the country where he could easily take a fishing or hunting trip. My dear man has sacrificed ALL of that (unhealthily, I think) to work hard at his job and be with his kids and me during his "free" time. He's always said he'd have time for it later, when the kids were bigger. We've prayed about this move...a lot...for lots of years. I wasn't sure how it would all pan out, but God did. I would have never dreamed it, but God did. His dreams for me are so much better than my own. Why do I question that things wouldn't be even better in Arkansas? And EVEN if ....just EVEN if they aren't...that's still the very best plan He has for our family and I'll take it over my plan, any...single... day. I finally have enough faith to really really know that he is enough for me. That even if my worst fears happens, I will survive...because of Him. I know it and I've seen it happen in many of the people God has brought to me while here in TX. I have seen strength and found it in so many of these wonderful TX people I've met. SO what am I really afraid of? CHANGE! I don't like change although I DON'T really want to stay here forever! I like my comfortable life. I have a great life here, but something just isn't settled here in my soul. So Arkansas, here we come. Coming to swim in your clear cold rivers, float the Norfork, explore caverns and caves, watch my husband coach my son along during his first of many hunting trips, to have it be a really big deal to my girls' to make a trip to the city mall to shop ;), to meet my mom at El Charro's for some Mexican food ;), go shopping in Springfield with my sister...TO HAVE FREE BABYSITTERS!!!!...and provide one for my sister and her husband....but most of all to be with family, just hangin out...after church or during the kids activities. I JUST can't wait to be with my family!

Thank you Texas...but I'm outta here.....

Daddy Daughter Dance

I'm such a daddy's girl. I love my mama like no body's business too, don't get me wrong. But I am a daddy's girl for sure. One of my favorite things to do is sit next to him while watching TV and he always tucks his arm around me. He has the most callused hands I've ever seen and is the strongest person I know. I love to see him hold my kids' hands and he does, often. I have many great memories of us just talking, laughing, or most often him telling me some kind of advice. I remember dancing with my daddy a lot. He is a really good dancer too. I loved dancing with him at my wedding and our latest dance together was jitterbug style while in AL at the beach. Great precious memories. I guess that's why I love the Daddy Daughter dance Troy and Savannah go to.

Savannah starts planning what she's going to wear and how she's going to fix her hair around Christmas . Since Aunt Deanna rolled her hair @ Christmas, that's what she'd decided on. So I bought these "hot sticks" to roll her hair in. I was determined to use every stick in the thingy so it would be really curly. Well...CURLY it WAS! Duncan kept popping in to check the progress and was in there when I took them out for the "big reveal". He said, "Nina (that's what he's always called her), I don't really like your hair, Nina. You know who you look like, Nina? You look like one of those presidents." I about died and tried to change up the conversation a bit so he'd HUSH! She didn't seem to be paying attention, but then after it sunk in she was like, "Duncan, what do you mean...I mean, what ARE you talking about...A PRESIDENT...Uh!" Then in his calm, matter of fact voice he said, "You know like the one on the dollar, Nina. That president." I had to leave the room...cause HE WAS RIGHT!!!! She looked like George Washington.! It was so funny. Still.....Savannah was like, HUH? Thank goodness. It did calm down and looked so pretty, so don't worry :)

Anyway, she got completely ready and Troy didn't see her at all. She wanted to really surprise him. The first time she saw him was when he came to the door to ring the doorbell to pick her up. Isn't that sweet!!! The entire time she's waiting, sitting on the couch waiting for him to drive around from the garage to get to the front of the house. It's so cute. She looked beautiful and Troy looked pretty handsome too. They met her Indian Princess circle at Chili's to eat, then they all went to the dance. My source (Troy) tells me that they danced A LOT and we now have to give him tutorials on how to do the Cupid Shuffle. However, I can't believe he can't do it b/c we did it 1,000 times at the beach last summer!

So my girl was feeling like a princess when she got home. What every girl wants. She is so blessed and will one day love to sit by him on the couch, while he tucks his strong arm around her. What a great daddy she has. What a treasure.

Just Duncan

We went to Savannah's school carnival Saturday. It was a lot of fun. The highlight for Duncan was getting his WHOLE face painted. He even got stripes in his hair! These pictures where taken at the table after we got home. I was sitting across from him trying to get him to smile....just smile, not a goofy smile. Well, he just couldn't do it. And so I think I pretty much captured his personality fairly well in these pics. He is such a fun kid....so animated, so silly, and just plain cute. Oh I love this boy!

Fishing in the Freezing Cold-Trout Derby

Ending the day with a hot dog off the big grill.

Duncan doing the casting competition. Check out the stance. He had a few spectators that got a kick out of watching him cast. He did win a snickers bar for his efforts though!

Poor Kendall was FREEZING! It was miserably cold, but we still had such a great morning.

We went to the McKinney Trout Derby a few weekends ago. IT WAS SO COLD!!! The wind was miserable, but it was still a great time. The kids drank their weight in hot chocolate, had candy and ended the morning with a hot dog off the grill. Basically the way it works is they dump a bunch of trout in the lake and the kids try to fish'em out. No license necessary. Troy and Duncan went last year, but we all decided to give it a try this year. What a fun day we had!!!! We didn't get any fish but sure made some memories!

February Flashback Part 2

We went out on an unusually warm day and went exploring. Troy takes Duncan on these outings most of the time, but today while Savannah was in school Kendall, Duncan and I decided to go. We threw about 50 lbs. :) of rocks in the water and they climbed all kinds of "mts." But the exploration was not complete until Mr.D-Man ran from where we were playing to the playground. He really wanted to listen to my IPOD and run BY HIMSELF! So I let him and followed along on the street in the van, yelling and cheering him on like he was running the NY Marathon or something. Uhhh...well, I didn't think how strange what might look to see a lady yelling out her window to a child running away from the van! Here's a picture of my little one day marathon man. Kendall playing in the "creek." She loved it.

Duncan helped her up the "mountain!" He also loves basketball ever since Savannah cheered for UPWARD bball. This is his uniform and he has it on EVERY chance he gets.

A page from a book he wrote at Preschool. Check out that jump shot!

And finally....this is Kendall's FAVORITE baby. She picked her out after Christmas for saying goodbye to diapers. She HAD to have this baby. She is pretty cute. Makes me giggle though....

Here's our Mardi Gras pictures. We had king cake, made masks and listened to the Mardi Gras Mambo about a gazillion and one times. We also had muffelletta sandwiches...yumm.

Alright, after further review...I don't know where the rest of my pics are of Mardi Gras Conly style. And I do realize Savannah Banana isn't in these pics...but the girl's at school! Plus, she's had her spotlight blogs a lot lately. BTW, she's raised $500 for the CF foundation! Cool huh?

Hopefully I'll be caught up on the next blog.

Love to all....Kellye

February Flashback Part 1

What fun February is! We Valentined it up the first half of the month! Here's a Feb. Flashback...Part 1! I have more great pics and stories, but I'm starting with these.

We went to the LOVIE video release party at the skating rink on Valentine's Day. We love to skate and it was perfect for us to go skating at a new place AND support our LOVIE girls. Savannah had her picture made with all the band members through out the night. Here's Rebecca (our fave) and the bass player. FYI, Rebecca is mommy to Violet, Duncan's BFF, and she has another cutie too.
Duncan decided to be in choir again. This was his first time on the stage. He did such a great job!! His little hands were doing all the motions and he sang his little heart out. I was in tears. He was precious!!! He was especially cute because he had fixed his own hair. Well, he actually cut it b/c it was getting too long. He has two little curls that go nuts when he gets hot. Well, he's particular about his do, so he just took those little scissors, you know the kid kind...and WHACKED those cute curls to the scalp! Then the part that didn't get WHACKED, he just spiked it up like a mo hawk! Yes, my little guy likes his hair in a particular style!

Savannah sang with her choir too, but the pictures didn't come out so great. Let me tell you, that girl was singing like NO one was watching. Just praising the Lord, I tell ya. She told me she pretended like there wasn't an audience, just God there and she sang to Him. Ugh...why don't I do that? I hope she has that forever.

Kendall got to skate too. She was AdorAble! She had noodle legs, of course and Troy and I took turns helping her/dragging her around the rink. She had a huge smile and said, "I LOVE THIS"! And she did....

Duncan had a blast passing out his Valentine's at school and at his party. He came home and said that it was the BEST DAY EVER! He is still looking over his Valentine's.

Kendall took about 10 Valentines to story time and gave them out. She was so proud of herself. I had almost forgotten about this outfit. I made it for Savannah when she was three. Kendall looked so cute in it. She loved her "Balentimes" Day!

Hope you all know how loved you all are!

Kellye

Savannah & Violet on NBC news!

http://www.nbcdfw.com/news/local/Plano-Girl-Shows-Real-Spirit-of-Valentines-Day.html

I hope this will take you to the story NBC did on Valentines for Violet. Enjoy!

Valentines for Violet

This'll be short, but sweet...very sweet. Savannah's been making valentines to sell since this past weekend. All the money she makes will be donated to the Team UltraViolet for the Great Strides walk for Cystic Fibrosis. The are called "Valentine's for Violet," because Violet is our friend with CF. You can check her sites listed to read more about CF and Violet. I'm really proud of Savannah and this "Valentine's for Violet" has really taken off!! She can't make them fast enough! She makes them, goes out snd sells them, comes home to make more.. and then we had phone orders today! Very cool. And to top it off Savannah and Violet will be the feature story in the Plano Profile on Saturday! How cool is that? Just wanted to let you know. Here's a sample of her work....

And here's a few more pics from this week...

Here's how I found Kendall after cramming a stolen cookie into her mouth!

Here's Kendall standing on her stool VERY upset she can't steal another one!

Duncan just being a dude with Violet's brothers.

Teacher of The Year

My kids are totally clueless that I had a career before they were born. But they do know I was a teacher. They just don't get that I lived and breathed teaching before I had them. So when Savannah wanted to be a teacher for career day, I was so happy. Happy b/c teaching really does change lives and it truely is a wonderful career. So, we came up with the outfit you see in the picture. She carried my favorite mug from one very difficult student that I loved dearly, but nearly drove me nuts. I made her promise to take good care of it. She wore her "fashion glasses" and carried a clipboard. We spent a lot of time on what to come up with to write on the clip board. I tried to explain to her what it takes to have a prepared classroom...and that teachers work ALOT of hours to be prepared. It's like having a presentation going on for 8 hrs. a day with no time to prepare for the presentation except before and after school hours. SO her plan was funny. I don't know if you can see it well enough, but here's some of it:

Read 101 pages of Junie B. Jones

call parents if bad

cut out 100 squares

clean up my room

lunch duty

recess duty

she had a list of students who have to sit out recess
conference with Susan and Andy
take a trip to the Dallas Zoo

Troy told her to put..."change the bulletin board again this month, using supplies I bought with my own money." So true.

Her name tag was Future Mrs. Langford, Teacher of the Year, b/c her current teacher was teacher of the year last year. She is an amazing, wise, patient, wonderful teacher. I want to be like her when I teach again. For those of you from BTC that read this, she's alot like Val, my former teaching partner..awesome in every way! Mrs. L has also raised 3 daughters, so there ya go...a wealth of info just from that! I really want to pick this woman's brain someday to see how she does it.

The coolest part of the day was that Mrs. Langford had someone take her picture with Savannah and then she printed it and gave it to Savannah. On the picture she wrote.."From one teacher of the year to another....I believe you can fly." Seriously...is that awesome or what? I just about cried. I emailed her to thank her for encouraging my little fireball of a girl and she wrote back and simple said, "We all can fly, we just have to find our wings!" Ahhhh.... I love that woman. If you know a teacher thank them today. And if you don't like them, find something anyway...

Finding my wings DAILY!

Kellye

Winter Fun

The Anderson & Conly kids...lov'em, lov'em, lov'em!
Is this the greatest shirt ever? Troy SO is the man! Duncan wore this to the car race...so cute and he was so proud of his daddy.

The car Firewolf (Troy) and Ladybug (Savannah) made for the race. I love it!

Kendall in her tutu and rain boots, while eating a banana. So Kendall...so cute.

I say winter fun...but here in TX we get a few real wintry days that are spread out here and there. I hate it. I wish we could just stick all the wintry days in a row instead of having 70's one day and 30's the next. Then it might feel like winter for real. Today is one of the cold days and we have enjoyed it. Hot chocolate for all around. The kids were out of school for an "ice day" recently and I loved it. I love random days off with the kids. We get to be lazy, go no where and I don't feel guilty about it.

I know I have needed to update the blog for a while, but I just haven't made the time. We are working a lot on the house and just life with the 5 of us is pretty darn busy. But life is still very good and I am so thankful for the blessings we have been given.

Troy survived the TI layoffs, but lots and lots didn't. Please pray for their families. It doesn't matter if you know them or not, because God does and he hears our prayers. It was a bummer week for my man.

Can I just say how blessed I am to have two cars now running? For the last week and a half I had to pretty much be the "bus driver" b/c Troy found a great transmission place through a good recommendation at church. It was a pain to have it there, but we feel they didn't scam us and now his truck runs. He needs a new one, but the time isn't right. Anyway, I'm happy to not have to pick him up and take him to work anymore. Thank God he only works a little ways away.

Well here's a little about what you really read this blog for:

Savannah had her derby car race with Troy recently. They made a firetruck. We'll, used the firetruck they made from Home Depot Day. It was a good idea and they were both excited. It always tickles me how Troy gets so excited. He was really proud it ran straight and made it all the way to the finish. They had a great time together. Duncan went along and loved cheering them on. Savannah also has been cheering for UPWARD and her coach is teaching them a dance. She is really into it and looks so cute while trying to practice it. She will perform it at their banquet. Watching her cheer at the games is so funny. She will be TOTALLY into it...then she'll just be watching the game and totally zones out. She'll just be standing there totally zoned while the rest of the girls cheer their hearts out. I feel bad for her when she does come too though, she's usually a little embarrassed. Don't ask me where she might have inherited this behavior...I have NO idea ;) She continues to be too big and grow too fast and I love her spirit.

Duncan is really into motorcycles. He loved taking Troy to and from work so he could see the motorcycles parked there. He has been going on long bike rides, wearing his BMX racing helmet. He can go fast and loves to go "off road". I know he'll be a mt. biker someday. He heard someone yell out, "Hey! Look at him go!" and let me just tell ya, it made his day. He told me and Troy over and over about it. Duncan can also read now too! It just has really clicked lately and he is so good at it. He loves to read and loves to hear his big sister tell him what a good reader he is. It's really cute. I just can't believe he'll be in Kinder next year. I am SOOO glad I had an extra year with him, since his bday is in October. He likes to be home and likes to hang with me and I guess I kinda like it too :)

I just don't even know where to begin with Kendallina.. that's our nickname for her. My nephew Josh started calling her that last Spring and I love it. For one..she is no longer in diapers...HAPPY NEW YEAR TO ME! It makes going places so much easier. She is just such a fun kid. She loves to go to the library and we were on a looong break and it just recently started up again. When we went in the fall, she would never do any of the singing... but this semester, she is so into it. She now wants to bring her lunch box into the library. It's like she thinks she's going to school or something. I am doing a Bible study one morning a week and she loves going there too. I really enjoy our alone time. I know before I know it she'll be in school too.

OK, that should do it. Hope it didn't bore you to death. I have lots of other random things floating around, but I'll sav'em for later.

Kellye

Happy New Year!

The Cousins...take 5010

Face paint and Connect 4 with Pops... what fun!
The Cousins....take 60000!

I'm so excited, I can't stand to look!

The weather was great!

Dora scooter...watch out!

Aunt Deanna rolled her hair about every day!

After a make up session w/Aunt Deanna...we are in so much trouble!

Finally, a pet of her own!

His motorcycle helmet and football gear were a HIT!

OH he was SOOO excited!

Santa delivered THE skateboard!

We had a great Christmas, as I'm sure most of you did. The kids were so fun to watch opening their gifts on Christmas morning. Duncan DID get his skateboard and so far hasn't been too injured. He mostly likes to stand on it on the rug and try to flip it up and catch it. Kendall got her babies from Santa and is SO happy. Savannah got her gerbil. Her name is Honey and she is quite cute. I have actually grown to like the little thing. So, we now have an official pet. Now I don't have to hear about the sob stories of, "Mom, we were doing a graph in class about who had a pet and I was the ONLY one who didn't get to raise their hand!"

Troy's parents (Nona & Pops) also came in for a week, along with Troy's sister and her two cute kids. The cousins had A BALL playing together everyday. It was a week full of precious memories! The kids rode their scooters to Braum's everyday and played outside most of the time. That's always a winner.. outside and daily trips to the ice cream store! We also managed to go to Arbor Hills to hike, to Northpark to see the trains, to the skating rink (OH yeah!) and Savannah, Deanna and I made a trip to the American Girl store. We played twister, Connect 4 and charades, which was SO funny. Duncan would just spaz out and we were like, OK... you are a wild man on a motorcycle. Then he'd say, "NO! Guys, I was going in the store, jumped off my bike and ran up to the counter..." etc. So, if in doubt, don't pick him for your partner if it ever comes up. Hopefully he'll improve, but he was hilarious! They were all so cute. I think they'll be friends for life. It was just a great time with family...which we love.

That's all I really have today. I have been contemplating what to report, but quite honestly we are just trying to get back into the swing of our real life. But life is good, none the less. Really good, in fact. We are very excited for what 2009 will bring us this year! We have BIG plans in store and I can't wait to see what God's gonna surprise us with. His plans are way better than mine anyway! Happy New Year!!!