Christmas Light Parade

Thanksgiving

We had a very eventful Thanksgiving, as we have so much to be thankful for! Keith and I have been blessed with a wonderful little boy who never ceases to amaze me. He is totally my whole world.

We tried to get all the three little boys, Kory, David and Dylan all together for a picture, but as you can tell one was always moving. As always with my family things are never dull, especially with 3 little baby boys running around.








We also had a little celebration for the end of Kory's 2 year...you can barely see the 2 candle that Kory blew out as we thanked God for all the wonderful things he has blessed us with in Kory's 2 years of life.

My Dad let Kory pull the wishbone this year!


I know that Kory was all pooped out by the end of the day!

Kory Birthday Party

Hello Everyone! With the holidays quickly approaching my life has been very crazy. I have pictures from Thanksgiving and many more from Kory's birthday party that I am planning on posting VERY SOON! This is a start though, so I hope everyone enjoys these and I will post the others...hopefully early next week so check back! I hope that everyone is doing great and ready for Christmas. I do not know if we could cram any more activities into one weekend, as we have comming up! For all of those who do not know, Neally Boy is graduating on Sat. I think that we are going to go eat afterwards, so if anyone is interested in coming along...just give me a call!!! Everyone is invited!

OK...So more to come later!

Love you all!

Kory..."The Little Ham" Playing in the Cotton

My Little Baseball Player

This year WAY before Halloween Kory decided he wanted to be a baseball player. I looked and looked and finally decided that I was going to have to just purchase baseball pants from Academy and piece together an outfit! But, Susie found this one and ordered it for him! I think that he looks TOO cute! My sister got David a monkey costume…so when Kory saw it he was determined to also be a monkey! There was NO talking him out of it! Finally after a search, I found one at Pattis Party…that really leaves a lot to be desired! So, was Kory a baseball player or a monkey…that is the question- I had prepared for both. My mom says that I spoil him, but she is the one that purchased the monkey costume! I figure that he can at least play in it if he wants to! Anyways, I just did not want him waking up on Halloween and being upset because we did not have the costume that he wanted! That thought I just could not see happening since it was such an easy solution...have 2 costumes and so we did! But, he decided that he wanted to wear the baseball costume.



Kory just loved trick-or-treating! He thought that was the neatest thing. He ran around the house practicing…TRICK or TREAT he would scream and he was just soooo excited about his school party. I ended up taking off work on Halloween to help Anita and so, I got to go help with his party! He had so much fun! This picture is of his class…Aren’t they too cute!



We ended up going trick-or-treating with my mom and dad. Dad even came home early just to take Kory! Keith had a diesel tank fall on top of him that afternoon and so we spent the rest of the day in the ER-luckily everything was fine. He was just in a lot of pain. So, Kory and I went trick-or-treating with my parents. We went to Danielle’s church Trunk or Treat where Neally and Danielle were both dressed up and then we went to Grandmama’s! Kory really loves it over there. He kept telling people when they asked where he went trick or treating at...my Vicki’s, my Vicki’s-that is my Aunt Vicki! She loaded him up with candy and he ended up taking her little plastic pumpkin! Then over to my sister’s where they have to have the most trick-or treaters ever in the history of San Angelo! O My Goodness…so many kiddos! Kory really enjoyed handing out the candy, except each child only got one piece each. He was being stingy…I think he thought he was going to get to take it home with him!

By that time it was way past Kory’s bedtime and we went home! I don’t think Kory understands we only go trick-or-treating once a year! I keep telling him, but he wakes up all the time saying…I want to go trick-or-treating!!!

We hope everyone had a great & safe Halloween!

Dylan Gage Poynor

Born on Oct. 29, 2007
at 5:01 p.m.
7 pounds 2 ounces
21 inches long

Our New Baby

These pictures are not the best, but they will do for now! I am going to be posting more in a few days! Our lives have been pretty crazy this week! More info next time!

How Can 2 People Who Share the Same DNA Be So Different

Just 2 more weeks before Tooter Wayne’s world gets turned upside down with the birth of Dylan! Anita took these pictures this weekend and I think they turned out really good! I am actually pretty nervous for her…it seems she craves craziness as she said at lunch today she would like to have a little girl, also! Me…now I like to live a little more planned and organized life and seem to think about my decisions a little more than she does. In the last 4 years she has not not had a major life event happening…graduating college, moving away, getting married after a year of dating, 5 weeks into the marriage she is pregnant, moving, changing jobs, having a baby, buying a house, finding out she is pregnant again! Now...to me that equals stress, but not to Anita and Shawn. They are perfectly happy living in their craziness!

Kory, Abby & Riley Stole the Show-at least my show!

Kory is just getting bigger and bigger everyday! I can not believe how much he has grown. This last weekend we had Aunt Sam’s baby shower and Andrea and Jason’s wedding! Kory was in full force-as you can see from the pictures. These are from the wedding and man did Kory dance...he just kept going and going…like the energizer bunny! He really loves being around other little kids. I think that he has always enjoyed playing with them, but as he nears his 3rd birthday I can really tell a big difference in wanting to be around other kids and actually playing and engaging with other kids-he really loves Abby and man did he enjoy dancing with her! He is such a confident little thing and I don’t think he has a shy bone in him. I hope that as he gets older he does not lose that confidence. I really think that being confident and believing in yourself is a very important trait to have and I think that it will benefit him sooo much as he gets older! Thanks to Amy and Mike for letting Abby play with him…and for Abby putting up with Kory wanting to hold her hand and for Julie & Riley taking the pictures! Also, Davis was such a nice little boy sharing all his toys with Kory! Kory just wanted to say thank you and that he had a great time playing with you all!

For those of you who do not know Keith’s cousin, Dusitn, was deployed to Iraq a few weeks ago. Here is a picture that he sent Keith yesterday with a short message! He will be in our prayers for a safe and speedy return.

My precious baby and Me

Counting my blessings and realizing children are people too

As Kory grows more and more everyday, I realize the wonderful gift that God has blessed Keith and me with. Although sometimes Keith and I may disagree on the best path, we always have Kory’s best interest at heart. We realize the enormous task that God has put forth for us and that is to guide Kory to be a loving, productive and faithful person. I sometimes feel that our way of doing things, in particular in the area of discipline, is probably not the only way…however we both feel that it is the best way for our family. I do have very strong ideas on how I want to raise Kory, and sometimes I feel that these ideas are misconstrued and misunderstood. I encourage you all to open your minds and hearts and take a minute to see where we are coming from. The word discipline is actually derived from “disciple” which means to teach…I hope that is what we are doing; teaching Kory in a very loving and positive way. I feel that is what God wants us to do.

As a person who enjoys learning about people and psychological well-being of people, I have read and studied 100s of articles, opinions and book excerpts…some advocating corporal punishment, different definitions of spanking, and outlining step after step, all to reach the same conclusion….no matter when or how it is done, a spanking is the act of hitting your child. As a people, we all believe that hitting is wrong. When a bigger child hits a smaller one in the playground, to get his candy or his turn, we call him a bully... When a youth hits an old lady to get her purse, we call him a mugger... When a parent hits a child to make him or her obey, is it really any different? Maybe you will say it is different because that parent's motive is good. But, our society does not accept that “good motives” can make hitting people right. A policeman who hits a suspect behaves wrongly however focused he may be to solve a crime. The thing that really upsets me, a parent can hit a child as much as they want-without doing serious injury- however, if you hit anyone else it is considered assault.



If any spanking is wrong, all spanking must be wrong. Lots of parents agree that hitting children and causing real pain is wrong, but believe that what they do doesn't count because they only hit once, it is just a little tap or I did it for their own good. Now, there are different degrees of wrongness, of course, but as a parent how can I advocate or even agree with something that is causing intentional and real pain to a child when there are non-physical ways of implementing the same “teaching” lesson that a spanking is supposed to. Parents who use a quick spanking as part of their planned discipline, naturally don't like to think that their behavior has any connection with the behavior of cruel parents who actually abuse their children. But like it or not, we all have to face the truth which is that hurting a child on purpose is hurting a child on purpose, whether it's a little bit occasionally, or a lot, quite often. The difference between 'reasonable punishment' and 'cruel abuse' is only a matter of degree. It's a thin line and, wherever you choose to draw that line in your family, it is easily overstepped.

You know the thing that I found most interesting is that most of the time parents use spankings in order to “teach” their children something and no matter how well intentioned they are…research shows that spanking tends to decrease that goal! However carefully you tell a child why you are spanking, the reason often gets lost in the feelings the punishment produces. A baby or toddler is as amazed and horrified when a beloved parent spanks as you would be if the family dog suddenly turned around and took a chunk out of your leg. At that age a child will often turn to you to make the hurt better. This makes my stomach turn. I have the research. I will be happy to pass it along.



So, how can any well educated, well meaning and loving parents still be spanking-that is the question and I think I know the answer…the perception of other people and the fear that results from not knowing what else to do….raising children is not easy. Spanking is a world wide phenomenon-one that is slowing disappearing thank goodness, but it is one thing most all of us knows for sure. During times of frustration, which is many with a toddler, spanking is one thing we know that will stop the behavior quickly and is very simple. However, what else are we doing with that spanking? What else are we teaching our children? I do not think that most parents have bad intentions and I truly feel that our parents and others like Keith and I, do the best we can with what we know and the information and resources that are available at the time. Hindsight is 20/20! But, the good thing is it is 2007 and with all the forerunners in childhood development speaking against corporal punishment, how can anyone in good faith feel that this is the best for their family! I hope & encourage you to look beyond what you know and go beyond into the world of the unknown-that where corporal punishment is not welcome! I wish nothing but the best for your families and am hopeful that we can all help in creating hit free households with lots of loving discipline and guidance. Do it not only for yourself, but for your children and your family. Let's all come and work together to help make the world a less aggressive place.

This blog entry makes Keith feel a little nervous because friends and family from all over read and enjoy what is happening with our family. The feelings of nervousness come from feelings of anxiousness of what others might think of him. I feel that this is an important aspect of our family and I have felt for a long time the desire to explain my beliefs with others. I do think that there are often times more than one way to skin a cat and I do not feel inclined to PUSH my belief system on to anyone. I do hope that you can take some of the information that I have provided and at least think about it...that is the first step. I am also very proud of Keith. He has really stepped up and into the unknown world of disciplining a toddler and has been doing a really great job. He even was semi-supportive of me publishing this and for that I wanted to thank him. He is trying and that is the most important thing!

Kory & Tooter's Sleepover

O my goodness…only a few more weeks till the new baby comes! For those that don’t know his name is going to be Dylan Gage Poynor! I kept David Wayne this weekend so Anita and Shawn could get some last minute shopping done in San Antonio. He and Kory argued and fought all day on Saturday! I decided to buck up and take them both to the ASU homecoming parade all by myself and it went really well. I think that they both had lots of fun!!! Popos came and picked up David around 6:00 and Keith, Kory and I went to the FOOTBALL GAME!!!! Kory just loved the band and the cheerleaders! I even brought his little saxophone along so he could play with them! Thank you so much to Skipper and Carrie, who let us have their tickets since they were not going to use them! After half-time, that was about as much as Kory could take, even though he really enjoyed it, we met up with Mas, Popos, Uncle Neally, Danielle and Tooter at Texas Roadhouse! We then took Tooter home with us and he spent the night! The next morning…more fighting! Keith and I decided that we were not too sure about this second child business…Kory is just wonderful! Our Sunday mornings are loud enough with one crazy toddler…not really sure about 2 of them!

This last weekend was very BUSY!!! Friday night Kory went with Tiffany to the Watervalley Homecoming game...which he absolutely loved. There mascot is a Wildcat and Kory kept saying "Big Periwinkle, that's a Big Periwinkle!" He is so cute sometimes. Then on Saturday, he went to Miles and spent the day with Grandma's and Popos! They took him up to the feedlot to look at Popo's cows and he said, "Shew wee, that sure is a stinky playground!" On Sunday, we loaded up and went to St. Lawrence for the fall festival! Kory really did have a good time and no nap! He sat through several hours of the auction...with no nap. I was getting grumpier than he was! These pictures are from Kory riding the little train with Amber! You can tell that it is going pretty fast...he is really having fun!

Fun Filled Day at the Park