Happy Birthday Granny

Robert's Granny celebrated her 90th birthday last week and we were proud to go celebrate with her.

 I love this picture of Granny talking to Brynn.

There was a large group of her family there to celebrate with her.

 We are thankful for getting to celebrate 90 years of life!

The Art of Marriage

Robert and I attended a life changing event called, The Art of Marriage.  It was held on a Friday evening and all day Saturday.

It was wonderful to be focused on each other, while immersing ourselves in what God's Word says and what His design is for our marriage.  We could not have asked for a better weekend! 

 I am now working my way back through our workbook and will continue to do so over and over again so that I can always stay focused on what God desires for our marriage.

If you have never attended this event, I encourage you to do so.  You won't regret it!

TheArtofMarriage.com

As Close As We'll Ever Get

This is as close as we'll ever get to the Olympics.

It was a couple of years after The Games, but still so fun to see.  As we have been watching the Olympics this year and hearing the references to Beijing '08, it is fun to know that we got to see it. 

 What do we recall about this experience?

It was bitter cold.  When I say bitter, I mean we didn't think we would make the walk from the bus to the Nest without turning into blocks of ice.  Cold.

 It was a very cold neat place to add to our list of "places we've been".

Summer Fun

Brynn and Zoey had their first girls' sleepover at Gram and Papa's house.  Brynn was so excited about this night!

 After we dropped Brynn off, the boys and I stopped to enjoy a cold snow cone.

We were sitting out watching the cars pass by.

Blake made up a game for us to play.  We had to be the first to call out the make and model of each passing car.

 We played for a little while until it was only Blake's voice left calling them out. 

When daddy got home from work, we ate dinner and then headed outside for a good friendly competition.

 In case you haven't filled up water balloons lately, it is not fun!

 It was Mommy and Daddy VS. Blake and Barrett

There were only two rules:

1. no throwing at faces

2. no crossing the mid-line 

 Ready, set, go!

 I would like to say that we took it easy on our boys,

 But we didn't.

 Mommy and Daddy were the champions of round 1!

 Since Brynn and Zoey were having girl time, Auntie and I took the boys to the local water park for some boy cousin time the next day. 

 Caleb and Cade played and took such good care of my boys while they played and played.

 It was a very hot day, but luckily the water cooled us off.

 My boys had a blast getting to spend the day with Caleb and Cade!

All Healed

After several weeks in a hand splint and restricted activity, we finally had our follow up appointment for Blake's fractured thumb.

 They took new x-rays, and thankfully it was all healed up!

 So he is back to bike riding and baseball practice now!

Zoey

Brynn has a great obsession love for her baby cousin Zoey.  She asks me nearly everyday if I will take her to visit Zoey.  One evening while our boys were mowing the yard, Brynn and I went to visit Zoey and Samantha.  

 Zoey has just started rolling over, so we made her do her new trick for us.

 It took her a while and it wasn't very graceful, but she finally made it over!

 Brynn could have sat here forever.

 We had a wonderful visit!

And when we got back home, the mowed yard looked beautiful!

phone dump

Too Hot

It's been too hot to play outside in the afternoons, so we spent some time playing here one afternoon.

 The kids could have stayed much longer!

 It was a fun little excursion that wasn't too hot, but got the kids up and moving.

 We tried a new place for dinner on our way home.

 The food was delicious!

 It was a fun afternoon out of the heat!

Remembering a Classmate

One of the victims in the Colorado shooting was a former high school classmate of mine.  Although we weren't close friends, we had a few classes together and graduated together.  I still remember her smile, big personality, and ambition.  Today her family and friends will be laying her to rest in Colorado.  My heart breaks for her 2 children, her family, friends and all they have lost.

One of the 12 victims shot and killed in an early morning shooting at a movie theater in Aurora, Colorado, is from North Texas. 32 year old Rebecca Wingo was from Quinlan, in Hunt County. Rebecca Hernandez Wingo graduated from Ford High School in Quinlan in 1997 before joining the Air Force.  Wingo was stationed in Aurora before leaving the Air Force and enrolling in Aurora Community College. She has two children.

Those who knew Wingo remember her as Beckie Hernandez from Ford High School. She graduated in 1997 and immediately joined the Air Force. For her best friend, Wingo will always be a bright light, one who's life was taken too soon.

It was an unspeakable tragedy that has left a nation in mourning. But perhaps those impacted most in the wake of the devastating movie theater massacre in Aurora, are those left only with their memories of a loved one.

Read more: http://www.myfoxdfw.com/story/19084917/colorado-shooting-victim-with-north-texas-ties#ixzz21bZH6PxM

Goodbye Costa Rica

We met with suitcases in hand in the living room of the villa at 2:30 a.m.  Yes, you read that correct, 2:30 a.m.  We had a 3 hour drive back to the airport and a flight departure of 7 a.m.

 Thank goodness for Josh getting us there safely in the wee hours of the morning on those crazy roads!  We got to see the beautiful sunrise.  It never gets old seeing the beauty of God's creation.

 We gave Josh hugs and told him we would see him in a couple of months.

 We gave Shan hugs and told her we would see her in a couple of weeks.

 And we boarded our plane home.

Our flight was actually early landing in Houston, and to our surprise the computer system was down at the Houston airport and it took us well over an hour to get through immigration, customs, and security.  And that meant we missed our last flight home.  Luckily we got on the next flight and got home a few hours later than planned. It was so good to be back home to my family!

Thank you Josh and Shan for hosting this most memorable trip!  Thank you Ma for packing up and heading to another country with me!  I had the best time and will never forget it!