The Worley Trucking Company

Ava loves Cars the movie. She has "CARS" books to read. She has Lightning McQueen and Doc that she carries in her Pink Pack when she is out. She went shopping with me once to buy a baby shower gift, and she pointed out everything that had CARS on it!

So, we decided the other night that we needed a new toy for her. We haven't added anything to our toy collection in quite a while. She happened to be with us for the evening, so shopping was actually more fun! While we were in the toy dept of Walmart, she would pick up a toy, look at Pop and say "Thank you Pop." She was so cute! She was quite happy with what we chose.
This is how The Worley Trucking Company came to be. We were playing with the cars, trying to load them on the big purple truck, taking the purple truck apart, putting it back together, rolling the cars, etc. I asked Ava what she wanted to name her cars. This might be a new concept for her. So, above you have Ava Truck, Daddy Truck and Mommy Truck. We picked Mommy Truck because of her lipstick.
Starting with the small purple truck, you have Jenni Truck, Rod Truck, Great Truck, and Pop Truck. (Remember, she calls me "Great" right now.) We had a lot of fun naming the trucks. And Ava recited all their names and pointed to them over and over. When Jenni came home from work, she showed her the trucks and named them all perfectly.

The trucks get to stay at our house. They are so cute I have not put them in with the rest of the toys yet. They make a Kid-friendly centerpiece!

"How happy I was to meet some of your children
and find them living in the truth,
just as we have been commanded by the Father."
2 John 1:4

Ava is Two!

Ava turned 2 on September 30. She had an Elmo cake, as you can see. Elmo is still her favorite, although Cars is coming in close now. The candles are lit. I did not get a picture of her blowing them out, but we were so proud -- She blew them out all by herself! I should have known she could, because she had been pretending to blow out candles around my house. I just thought it was cute, but she was apparently practicing for her big day!
This year Ava was much more interested in her presents. Last year she liked ripping the paper and looking at the cards. She is sitting on one of her favorite presents -- an Elmo chair that folds out into a bed.
And Ava can now eat her cake with a fork. Last year she used her hands and made such a cute mess. Very little mess this year.

Just cake frosting all over her face!
Happy Girl playing after all her presents were opened!

I put this picture in because she makes me smile! We were out to dinner with her. I cannot remember what we were doing, but she sure was having fun!
Ava and I spent the day together while we sent the rest of the family to the OU game. She came over in her pj's. Isn't she cute? She surprised me by saying "cheese" when I took the picture! Another first! We started out with breakfast and playing. We shared some toast and Chilean jam. Yum!
We worked on the loading the washer next. Or at least I did! I did not see her grab my lip gloss as I was heading to the washer. When I finished (it didn't take THAT long), I see Ava on the sofa, painting her face! I laughed and took her picture. Too cute! I tried hard, but I could not get all of it off, so she looked like she had glitter on the rest of the day!
The game started at 11 a.m. So, time to change into her Cheerleader dress. You can't tell, but she has bloomers on that say "TEXAS". Those are my slippers she is wearing, but you guessed that, didn't you? She is holding my socks in her hand. She had just finished loading all my spare change from the dresser top into the socks before putting on the shoes! She had a lot of fun clomping around in them, and shaking her coins.

We had fun watching the game together. When I got really excited 'cause UT was running with the ball, I would yell "Go, Go, Go, GOOOO! Ava and I would jump up and down and clap. And yell YAY! Then I would get her to say "Hook 'em". She is pretty good at it, too!

She eventually took a nap, and I enjoyed the game alone. She was so sweet when she got up. She was in Aunt Jenni's bed (no more cribs!) so she got up, and walked in to find me loading the dryer. She sweetly said "Hi Great" and then smiled. She just melts your heart!

"So I concluded there is nothing better
than to be happy
and enjoy ourselves as long as we can."
Ecclesiastes 3:12

Has It Been That Long?

A lot has happened since my last post! Now that I am ready to start blogging again, I do not know where to start!

We have been to Minnesota, we have been to Paris, Ava has turned Two, UT Football is going strong, and Jenni is waiting to hear from all the PA Schools she applied to.

So, I will start by changing my blog template for now! Then decide what to talk about first!

"You will show me the way of life,
granting me the joy of your presence
and the pleasures of living with you forever."
Psalm 16:11

Games with Isabella

Jenni emailed today. Sounds like they are having a good mission trip in Guatemala! I know they are working hard! They have a very nice hotel. Hope they get to do something fun, too, besides translating! Although I am sure that is very rewarding.

The cat is still here. We have not lost her yet, at least not completely! It is amazing how fast Isabella can run! And how deeply she can put her claws into the carpet!

She likes to sit in our lap or on our shoulder. But that does not last long. Then she disappears, like, in a flash! So, we spend a lot of time looking for her. Tonight, she was under the bed again, no, she's disappeared! Mike called for help.

So our first game, look under the couch. Next game, look under the bed. Like magic, she has re-appeared under the bed! No, wait -- where has she gone?

Please picture Mike and I on our bellies trying to catch this cat! Mike is still in his suit pants, I have not changed out of my uniform. We both have our arms stretched out like blind men without a cane! We definitely have the room covered! And all this to catch the cat so we can feed her!

She is now happily eating her dinner. She always eats a lot! And I am thinking -- why didn't we just wave her food in the room and put it down? She surely would have surfaced without as much work!

I am sure she feels abandoned by Jenni and Rod. She is surrounded by strangers and two big dogs! No wonder she hides!

"Never abandon a friend--either yours or your father's.
Then in your time of need,
you won't have to ask your relatives for assistance.
It is better to go to a neighbor
than to a relative who lives far away."

Proverbs 27:10

The Adventures of Isabella the Cat

Here are Jenni and Rod at the airport as they prepare to head for Guatemala! They are going on a Medical Mission trip with the Prestoncrest Church of Christ. Jenni is translating, and Rod is translating pharmacy prescriptions to the folks. At least that is what I understood! They are going to be gone a week. So....we get the cat!

Meet Isabella! Jenni and Rod found her running scared in the church parking lot a while back, and adopted her. She really is very pretty. However, we have 2 huge dogs, and she does not like them! She spends her time in the guest bathroom. Her food, litter box, and bed are all in there.

Mike wondered why we were deemed trustworthy. It must be because Rod doesn't know about the first time we met Jenni's puppy Belle (who now has become ours). She got Belle at A&M, and brought her home for spring break (I think). She left Belle in our care and went out with her friends. Silly Jenni! Belle absolutely loved Sadie from the first, but Sadie did not appreciate the little puppy yapping at her. She snapped at Belle, and Belle caught her own tooth in her lip, and we couldn't get it out. So, that meant a trip to the emergency vet -- never cheap! But the vet couldn't get it out either, so she had to be sedated! And we had to tell Jenni!

Right after he said that, I went to get Isabella. I had left her door open while I filled up her water bowl and her food bowl. Mike had cleaned the litter and shut the door. When I went in, no Isabella!

We looked everywhere and looked everywhere again. Finally, I decided to pull out the trundle. We had not looked there, since it only has about 2 inches of headroom. Well, there she was, perched on the trundle bed. She then ran backwards to the floor behind the trundle, now that there was space. We ended up pulling the trundle bed completely out, with Mike squeezing under the bed ( and I do mean squeezing! I should have taken a picture) to reach her. Good times! We were saved!

Isabella still doesn't like the dogs, but she does venture from the couch back to the trundle. At least now we know the secret! Looking forward to an interesting week getting to know Isabella!

"For he will conceal me there when troubles come;
he will hide me in his sanctuary.
He will place me out of reach on a high rock."
Psalm 27:5

Good Times with My Favorite Worley Girls

Ava just keeps getting cuter! We met Terri and Mike and their family at Fuddrucker's to go over plans for our trip to Paris. We had a lot of fun visiting. Stayed pretty late. Ava loved Jake and Alex! She was so well behaved! And this is the only picture taken the whole evening! At one point Ava met a little girl about her age, and surprisingly about her size, named Ella. She surprised us all by going up to Ella and giving her a hug and a kiss! I think Ella was the most surprised -- she backed off quickly. I have never seen Ava do that before!

We all had lunch together on July 3rd, since Jenni and Rod were leaving on the 4th for Guatemala. Ava and Jenni were looking at a picture of Jenni and Rod's cat, Isabella. Don't they look cute together?

Ava and her Mommy. They always look like they are having fun together! When Ava starts pre-school this fall, it will be very quiet at their house!

Ava and I were playing a game. She would try to sneak around the chair and come get me. If I caught her, I would tickle her. She would laugh, and go running back to her mom. She would peak around to see if she could surprise me. We did this many times. This shot was when I saw her running and managed a picture just as she got to me. Probably one of the cuter pictures of her, don't you think?

I grabbed my camera to catch a picture of Ava reading with her book perched on her toes. She was very involved with the pictures. Just as I snap, she puts her hands to her head and this is what I got! But you can still see the book perched on her toes!

Looking forward to lots more time with my favorite Worley girls!

"Tell those who are rich in this world

not to be proud and not to trust in their money,
which will soon be gone.
But their trust should be in the living God,
who richly gives us all we need for our enjoyment."
I Timothy 6:17

Date Nights with Ava

We are so blessed to be able to take Ava out to dinner with us almost every week! Here we are at Joe's pizza in Euless. Ava and Elmo entertained us all! Here we are playing "where's Ava." This is the point where she says "Here I am!."

Ava surely loves her Elmo. And she loves to hug Elmo !
Don't you love this picture?! What hams they both are! Jenni and Ava have lots of fun together!
This was breakfast one Saturday at the Raven. She came in wearing sunglasses. Love those hair ribbons, too. She is quite the movie star!

Here she is hamming it up at Spring Creek. One of the few times I remembered a bib for her! She loves to wipe her hands on her shirt, and apparently on mine if I get too close!
Ava seems to have the hang of balancing a spoon on her nose. I think Sarah can actually do this. I can't. The spoon falls off every time!

Hard to believe Ava is 21 months old this week! She is growing up so fast! She talks up a storm. She is a bundle of energy! She knows exactly where her toys are at our house. Jenni had a game called "Critter in the Candy." It is in the den. Ava and I played it (sort of) once. The next time she came over, she went right to the den and got out the game.

She loves our dogs. She calls Sadie, "See" and Belle is more like "Ball". She says Pop very well, and talks to him all the time at her house on her play phone. She says Rod very well, but very drawn out "Raud". She won't even try to say Jenni or Grammy. She loves to walk in the grass in the front yard. And even better, she can get in her carseat all by herself! Of course, we have to buckle her in!

We usually get Ava a biscuit or Sarah sends a snack with us to hold Ava over until food arrives. This kid can really eat! I just love the fact that every time the food arrives, Ava says "Food!" and is really excited to see it!

Ava is amazingly easy to put to bed. She and Pop read a bedtime story, we all get kisses, and then she goes to bed. Mike put her on our trundle bed for the first time last night. We could hardly believe it, but she just snuggled her Elmo and went right to sleep! And stayed on the bed! (It was our first time without the pack and play.) She's growing up!

Pop and Ava reading her new Elmo and His Blanket book.

I pray that your love for each other
will overflow more and more,
and that you will keep on growing
in your knowledge and understanding.

Phillipians 1:9

Advertures in Dining with Ava

Isn't she cute?!! Here we are, at breakfast again! With Ava and Elmo. She loves Elmo! She has more than one. She has Elmo bibs that she likes to put on, too. She has Elmos socks, Elmo jammies, Elmo shoes, and an Elmo blankie, among other things too numerous to mention. She gets excited about Elmo and Abbe in books, too.Did I mention she likes to feed Elmo? Here he is, enjoying a big bite of Biscuit!
So, Elmo asked us to give Ava a lemon!



We do get together a lot to eat, so most of our pictures are going to include food. Ava was finished eating, so she decided to climb on her high chair. And we let her. Anything to keep her entertained.
Then she found Grammy's finally very organized purse. I bought a purse organizer 'cause everything kept getting jumbled up. So, it was very easy for Ava to find things to play with!
Moving along to our next meal with Ava. Jay and Sarah were going to the Stars game, so we got Ava early. She joined us for dinner. Doesn't she look cute in her make shift seat! We put her in a armchair and sat her on telephone books (can you believe we still have some!), and put a pillow behind her. Jay was amazed we gave her a real plate, too. We really enjoyed the meal!
A close up of Ava using her fork! She managed to stab some black-eyed peas and green beans and make it to her mouth. She is not so good with spoons. She turns them over and dumps the food out on her way to her mouth!
This is Ava telling me dinner is over, can I please get down and play? Love those eyes!
She went in to Jenni's room and rummaged around. Found some beads and had a great time playing with them.

Lastly, a little video. Ava is so lucky to have Aunt Jenni! Aunt Jenni makes Elmo dance and laugh. Aunt Jenni knows where the cookies are. Aunt Jenni let Ava help her make cookies - did not get a picture of that! And Aunt Jenni knows how to have fun! I had a big empty rubbermaid type container in my room. It became a car. Jenni and Ava road all over the house. This is only a short clip. The funny part I did not capture -- when Jenni would lift Ava up, she would not let go of the box! She would hang on, and teh box just came up in the air with her. Of course, we laughed alot and encouraged her. But by the time I tried to capture that on film, she was ready to quit.

"So I decided there is nothing better than to enjoy food and drink
and to find satisfaction in work.
Then I realized that this pleasure
is from the hand of God."
Ecclesiastes 2:24