The 3 Amigos!!!

Wherever there is injustice, you will find us.

Wherever there is suffering, we’ll be there.

Wherever liberty is threatened, you will find…

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THE THREE AMIGOS!!!

(Ben, Drew, & Ethan)

 

 

 

 

Quotes from the 1986 movie classic: “The Three Amigos”

Steece Quads Halloween Preview

 

 

Need A Good Laugh? I Do…

So, last week, we met some buddies at Chuck-E-Cheese’s to play and celebrate sweet Maddie. (Please continue to keep her in your prayers- as her surgery is tomorrow morning. Here is her CaringBridge site).

 

It was a Thursday night, and we were practically the only ones in there. I was able to sit and have some good conversation with my fellow “adults”, while the Steece 4 would be off playing on the various rides & games. (such big kids now!) They would frequently mosey on back to Mama to ask for more tokens and then disappear for a while…

 

As I was in the middle of some serious medical conversation, Ethan brought this picture up to me…

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BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!

 

He was so proud of himself and said, “Look Mom! Its my MEAN face…”

We all got a much needed laugh out of that!

 

Where in the world do they get this stuff?!! I’ve been realizing a LOT lately, that my kids are growing up so fast. Their conversational skills are incredible- cracks me up every day. I guess in my head, I still think of them as teenie tiny babies---so they are constantly surprising me.

 

Little adults. {sigh…}

 

Fight Maddie, Fight.

Okay guys, we need some serious prayers and positive energy for this precious little darling, Madison Williams.

 

 

Maddie (2 yrs) is an adorable identical twin girl…here with her sis and BFF, Abbie.

 

 

Her mom, Stephanie (far left) is one of my friends in my “local area Texas Multi Mamas group” that I am a part of.

 

This past Monday, Steph took the girls to have their flu shots at their pediatrician's office. Maddie had some diarrhea (nothing crazy, no temperature) and told her Mommy that her tummy hurt. When Stephanie began to feel around Maddie's belly, she felt a knot to the right of her belly button and thought that she might have some type of obstruction. So, when the girls went for their flu shots... Steph brought this up to the Pedi.

 
The Pedi palpated Maddie's stomach, felt the 4 cm mass (the size of a walnut) and immediately transported them to Dallas Children's Hospital.

 
Tuesday, sweet little Maddie had a CT scan which revealed the tumor, close to her spine.

 

Wednesday, Maddie had an MRI which confirmed the Neuroblastoma. Good news is that they caught it extremely early!

 

She will be having surgery next Tuesday morning- October 25, to remove the mass. They will not know the stage of the cancer (if it has spread to the lymph nodes or other organs), until after her surgery next week.

 

PLEASE BE PRAYING!

and go send them your love at their Caring Bridge Site:

http://www.caringbridge.org/visit/madisonwilliams1

 

Stephanie believes that it is nothing short of a miracle that Madison had become somewhat dehydrated from the diarrhea and had lost some weight----making it possible for her to feel the mass in her baby girl’s abdomen so early in this process. (divine intervention)
 
 
These past couple of days have been an absolute nightmare and whirlwind of emotions. Steph has lots of family and friends surrounding her and supporting her right now. I just cannot imagine and have not been able to stop thinking about Steph (as a Mommy) and what she is going through.

 

We joined them last night at Chuck-E-Cheese to have some fun and to show our support for the little princess! At one point, Steph and I were standing together, staring at our identicals (who were never more than 2 inches away from each other the entire evening), talking about how strong the bond is between two kids who share the exact same DNA……………

 

 

 

and I just cannot even begin to imagine…………….

 

 

FIGHT-MADDIE-FIGHT!!!

 

It’s the Texas State Fair, Y’all!

The kids were SOOOO excited to experience the Texas State Fair last weekend!

(E, Sav, Drew, B)

 

We had been prepping them all week: “Okay guys, the fair is a lot of fun, but it is going to involve lots and lots of walking. If you start whining, we go home. Everyone will get to ride TWO rides…how many rides will you get to ride?…TWO! Yes! Good.”

(Umm, yah- for all 4 kids to ride ONE ride- it costs $16! OUCH)

 

But the kids did GREAT!!! We had a fantastic day and no one complained or threw a fit! (That is like world record breaking for the Steece quads! )

 

BIG TEX! The creepy, giant cowboy who sounds like the voice of the Whataburger commercials. (B, A, S, E)

 

 

So proud of my little 42” kids!!! Their very first big kid roller coaster- and without parental accompaniment.

 

Watching them grin from ear to ear on this ride, was my absolute favorite part of the day!

 

 

Took a break for a little storytime in the shade…

 

 

Watched the amazing Dog Show…

 

 

Dad and Ebud

 

 

Mama and her litter…yes, we are all in red. I don’t play around with huge crowds. WE WILL BE THAT FAMILY WHO ALL MATCH! as dorky as it looks. ;) (B, A, E, S)

 

 

Tweedle love. Ethan and Andrew goofin’ around.

 

 

Checking out the barnyard babies…oh, the similarities!

 

 

Ben screamed: “Mom! Its my snot rod! Can I take a picture by my snot rod?!”

 

 

One of Savannah’s favorite parts of the day---watching all of the dancers. She was taking notes for Halloween (hint, hint) as she watched this ensemble of precious kiddos.

 

 

And to top the day off, the quads begged to ride the tallest ferris wheel in North America- The Texas Star. You can see Dad’s excitement as we waited to board our “cage-o-doom”. (Joe is terrified of heights and roller coasters. TERRRRIFIED.)

 

 

But he was a GREAT sport! (even if he was seconds away from passing out) Dad put on a “good face” for the chitlins. Tee hee hee. I’m pretty sure the only time he looked up was for this picture. I love you, babe. SO much. (He’s gonna kill me for this)

 

 

I think we have 4 out of 4 Steece Quads who will thoroughly enjoy riding roller coasters with Mama! Yaaay! My little thrill seekers. Makes me SO happy!!!

Ethan (left), Andrew (right)

 

 

So kids, what was your favorite part of the day?

- Sav: “My favorite part was the dancers, and my favorite part was the ferris wheel…everything.”

 

- Ethan: “My favorite part was getting bigger to play the cars.”

(he took quite an interest in the fair games & prizes in the Midway)

 

- Andrew: “I watched the dog show and I ate cotton candy.”

 

- Ben: “The ferris wheel!”

(then they all chimed in and said: “I loooooved the ferris wheel!”)

 

 

- Suz: watching my babies beam with excitement as they rode the rides; NO tantrums!; and fried Autumn Pie (holy YUMMO)…

 

 

- Joe:  ”I got a kick out of watching the kids enjoy the whole day, the whole experience…oh, and not dying on the ferris wheel”

 

My BFF & His NEW BOOK SERIES!

I’m SOOOOO proud of one of my best friends in the whole entire world: Jonathan Hal Reynolds!

 

Within the first twelve hours of his brand new book series ("Octobers") being released on Monday, all four books rose to the top 10 in the Fantasy-General genre on Amazon.com, even ahead of Stephen King! Holy COW!!!

 

I’ll tell you all about the books, but first we are going to take a trip down memory lane…

When I was a junior in high school (& Reynolds- a sophomore), we became the best of friends.

 

Reynolds is an energetic dreamer with a magnetic personality. You can’t help but be drawn to his bright light.

I quickly came to love him deeply, as if he were my very own brother. He was SO goofy and would constantly make me laugh until I had tears streaming down my face.

 

 

We went our separate ways during the college years- but we always remained very close…catching up at holidays and such.

 

 

Reynolds is probably the most passionate, creative person I have ever met and has an intense love for life. He cherishes his time spent on this Earth and makes the most of every single day.

 

 

He loves to experience the world first hand and has traveled to more countries than I could ever imagine. I am so structured and predictable---while Reynolds has always been carefree and spontaneous. A trait that I absolutely love about him.

 

 

Through the years, we have been a part of each others special life moments:

My wedding (scanner wasn’t working, so I had my Dad take a picture of this picture and send it to me…didn’t work out so well, eh? Ha)

 

 

and Reynolds loving on my quad babies for the first time…

 

 

and now, here we are---grown ups?!?!  (gasp) And we thought we would never get old! Ha.

I always knew you would do amazing things…

 

Octobers

 

 

Such a cool idea!

These magical books, by J.H. Reynolds & Craig Cunningham, are set in a world that is always October.

(All concept illustrations by J.R. Fleming)

 

 

When Halloween night ends, the calendars turn back to October 1st, and the enchanted wonders begin again.

 

 

These first four books go through the same October four different times, but through four different perspectives until the reader solves all the mysteries. The books are geared toward 9-12 year olds, but are enjoyed by older readers who love the fantastical--i.e., Halloween, time travel, romance, monsters, underdog heroes… you get the picture.

Anyone who likes GOONIES, SUPER 8, BACK TO THE FUTURE, TOM SAWYER AND HUCK FINN, GOOSEBUMPS,  SLEEPY HOLLOW, TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD, HARRY POTTER, RAY BRADBURY, or STEPHEN KING will love these books!!!

The paperbacks are $5.99 each, and the ebooks are $2.99. I highly advise you guys to buy all four books since they are all part of the same story, and the reader won't solve all the mysteries until the end of the fourth book.

 

 

Amazon.com is currently running a promotional deal for the books. If the buyer puts all four paperback books into their shopping cart together and checks out, then Amazon.com will give them the fourth book for FREE! Awesome deal, right?! You end up getting four books for $18. (*psssst* Excellent Christmas gifts!)

 

To receive the special promotion- you must go to: www.theoctobers.com and follow the links to the Amazon.com sales pages (or Barnes and Noble if you are buying an ebook for your Nook).

FYI: I just ordered all four books for $17.97. The discount does not appear until the very end of the checkout process under: “review order summary”.

 

I cannot wait to curl up with a soft, comfy blanket, sip on a warm cup of coffee, and get lost in a magical world of mystery & adventure.

 

Dear Reynolds, Little Boy Wonder, Peter Pan…I am so proud of you. I admire you more than you will ever know. You truly are an inspiration to me and I love you to pieces. Don’t ever “grow up”. Don’t ever stop dreaming…

 

Can’t wait to see what you have in store next! http://www.moonsungbooks.com/

 

…or “Suzy”

 

I will keep a link to these books in my sidebar, if you would like to come back and check them out. You will not be disappointed.