Mother's Day Family Camp

Wow! I am so blessed. I have such wonderful friends with absolutely fabulous children. We just got back today from our second anual weekend away with just moms and our kiddos. Back to Crier Creek. It was another perfect weekend. My kids and I have so much fun going every year, I can't imagine not doing it now. Here are some great pics I wanted to share.

Spring Break

What a great time we've been having this Spring Break! On Monday it was kind of yuck so Kaylee went to play at Hillary's while the boys, Coby and I all went to see Horton Hears a Who.

On Tuesday we just hung out because it was another yucky day.

Wednesday daddy was off and we went to the rodeo. What a great time. We had fun looking at and petting all the animals inside. Then we went outside to ride some rides. I was so excited about the boat ride. Kaylee and I were so looking forward to it. James felt the excitement and really wanted to ride it with us. I decided he should be in front so I could hold him in between my legs and Kaylee wanted to be in back. Then we started to move and I felt the clicks and looked up...we were being brought up a huge hill. This is the point I remembered the ENTIRE ride..we get brought up this huge hill and then go flying down with water spraying all over us! I was thinking cute little boat ride and I was obviously not watching the people that went on before us or I would have talked my kids out of it! Needless to say, it was scary but sooo fun. Kaylee and I felt such a rush! James was so mad that he got wet that he couldn't see how fun the ride really was??!! hahaha...my poor OCD boy! He talks about it now like it was great fun though..I guess hindsight really is 20/20.

Thursday we went to the Battleship and San Jacinto Monument.

What a great time. Jimmy mentioned going that morning and I said yes. He looked at me like yes, really?? I said sure, let's make this a yes day. Well, he ran with it. I have to say that I did enjoy it much more than I thought I would. I loved the living quarters on the ship. It was really neat to see all of the old stuff and imagining the men living on these ships for months at a time. The kids had a good time exploring too.

On the way home Jimmy decided we should take the ferry. Now I have a fear of driving into a tight space on the ferry. But it was a yes day so I went. And I did fine. 31 years old and I drove onto a ferry for my first time! Go me! Anyways, the funny part...we get on the ferry and realize our kids have probably not been on one before (maybe Kaylee but she would have been a baby). Jimmy gets out and opens the door to see if Kaylee wants to get out with him. She just stares at him awestruck. I wasn't sure what was going on. Until I realized that Jim got out exactly when the ferry started moving. I had to explain to Kaylee that our car was not moving, it was the ferry moving. That was some amazing feat she thought her daddy was performing! The boys got out first and once Kaylee saw that they were surviving, she got out for the last 30 seconds. Now that's something I should have gotten a picture of!

Today is Friday and we just went to the park to have a picnic. Jimmy is gone back on nights tonight and I needed to keep the kids quiet so he could sleep...and we all know that isn't happening so I took them out instead. We had a lovely time at the park and the kiddos got lots of energy out.

Tomorrow we are having a garage sale to raise money for our church's new building. Sunday is Easter so we will go to church and then to our friend's, Joy and Kent, for a BBQ lunch. Then school starts back on Monday.

And all the moms say AMEN!!

Lots to Say

The first thing I have to do after my last post is tell you about the new book I'm reading. Without a doubt, my most favorite book in the world. It's called The Year of Living Biblically written by A.J. Jacobs. A.J. is an agnostic who decides to live as close to bible laws as possible for one year. Now this is a guy who has read through the Britannica and then for research read through 27 bibles and countless other books. He spends the first 9 months living in the Old Testament and the last three in the New Testament. He consults rabbis, priests, creationists and others on the wide spectrum of religious scholars. Throughout the book A.J. explores all of the questions I have, including the one about wearing clothes made of two different fabrics! It's great and I recommend it to everyone!!

Okay, that said. Big news since the last post. My sister Jennifer and I are right back on track. We had fallen off for a while and I missed her terribly. Well, not at first, because we were both angry at each other. But then I missed her a whole lot and I sent her funny jokes and stories and made a list of five reasons she should love me...basically I hounded her and she finally wrote back. And I cried. And apologized. And now she loves me again!! God is sooo good!

Oh, and I got braces. Yeah, that first week was awful. It was like I had a mouth full of marbles. I couldn't even eat. I would have to do some chewing with my tongue, my mouth wouldn't close and I was dropping food all over the place. Quite gross. I have gotten used to them now though and no longer need to wear a bib or hold my hand in front of my face to shield others from the onslaught of food! I will wear them for 12-15 months..so they should be off by Mother's Day next year.

AAANNNDD...Jimmy and I have been married for 10 years! As of last Friday. Double digits! I can't even tell you how exciting that was. We just hung out with friends and played guitar hero all night (our new favorite game). It was a perfect night. It hasn't all been roses this whole marriage thing, but for the most part, it's been fabulous. And there is no one else in this entire world that I would have wanted by my side to go through it all with. Jimmy is my everything!

So cute..the other day Danielle Williams stayed overnight with us because she had a golf tournament in Mont Belvieu. Well, after she left Kaylee asked me how old she is. I told her 17. She was like "yeahhh, she only has one more year until she finds out if the Easter Bunny and Santa Claus are real." (I told her once that when she turns 18 that mommy and daddy will tell her all of the mommy and daddy secrets!!) So funny, I'll have to make it a point to do that when she is 18. If for nothing else, the eye roll that I'll get will probably be the most dramatic one ever! hahaha

Jimmy got me a new car last night. Mine was in the shop all the time and the warranty was about to go out on it. So, I got a Mazda M5 which is a crossover and soooo cute. It's a car, it gets 28 mpg on the highway and the best part is that the back doors slide back like a minivan. So cute! It is "galaxy grey" and in honor of the name of the color, I have named the car Orb (short for Orbit). And yes, we will travel to infinity and beyond......

That's all for now. And yes, I'm still reading my bible everyday. I'm up to Judges now. It's been a great experience. Especially now with my questions being answered....

The Bible

So, I really have been reading my bible everyday! Well, except the day that I unknowingly took night-time tylenol all day and couldn't really focus enough to read..but I caught back up the next day. I have to say, it's been an awkward experience so far. I feel like I have more head knowledge but I feel like my relationship with Christ is not growing.

I'm enjoying the reading. Some parts are quite dull (like all the sacrifices in Leviticus) but for the most part, it's really interesting. I remember Mark, our associate pastor, was speaking about what happened during the 40 years that Moses and the Israelites wandered in the desert and I was like...shhhhhhhh, I'm not there yet!! And last Sunday, Tommy, our pastor, was preaching on staying true to your word and he used an illustration from a part of the bible that I've already read and this time I was like..oh yeah, I know that already! It felt cool to know what they were talking about.

On the other hand, if I was not a Christian and had just picked up the bible and started reading from the beginning, like I have, then I would have a very different view of God. He seems so harsh! And the rituals that had to be performed! I mean, you did not want to mess up during those years! I understand, having been in the church for years, that Jesus is sent down to carry all of that weight for us who live now, but what about the people that don't know that and start from the beginning with nothing?.

And then there are the questions. In Leviticus it says that we should not mate two animals of different kinds, we should not wear clothes made from two different types of animals, men should not lie with other men as they would lie with women...okay so why are some of those okay now and not others? Why can I wear a sweater worn of wool and silk but homosexuality is still despicable? Does Jesus address these issues when he comes? Of course this just makes me more curious to keep reading. I do wish however, that there was a person that I could just call when these questions come up....

And back to my relationship with Christ...I am glad to know the Bible. To be reading the Truth. But I am not sure how this is applicable to my life. I can see how it could be in the future. I find though that I read the required night's reading and then go to sleep. Sometimes I don't even pray. And so I am losing the intimacy that I had with Christ. I am thinking about going back to a prayer journal. Read the bible and then write in the journal. Or maybe also do a daily devotional with the reading. I like the reading but I still want my conversation with God.

This has been much different than I expected but I know is well worth the time. I know God is using this and I look forward to seeing how.

A Normal Softball Practice

So, I've entered the world of softball. I put sports off as long as I could (so I wouldn't have to tote three kids around everywhere, of course) and it's finally reared it's ugly head!!

(The picture above is of Kaylee at tryouts on Saturday)

Well, we all know that nothing normal ever happens to me! I get to the field and have to find field number 4. Everyone else seems to know where they are going so I just pretend. (Oh, side note here..I also hate sports because I believe in sleep! This is her first practice and it's on a Tuesday night at 7pm...do they not know my kids are having a bath at that time so they can go to bed at 7:30??!!) Okay, so I find the field and we're a few minutes early so we hang out and our next door neighbor is there so she comes and chats for a while. All the girls are going onto the field so we send Kaylee on. So brave! Then Lori and I are chatting for a while and then she starts telling me stories about Kaylee's coach and how great he is. Then she says his name. And I was like, I thought his name was Minh. She says well maybe she's not at the right place. She calls him over and we discover that yes, she has been practicing with the wrong team. So we send Kaylee over to where her actual team is practicing, Lori grabs her bag for her (my arms are bogged down with my sleeping 2 year old!) and James and all of us go down to THE BACK END OF FIELD 4. Duh!

So, things are going well. Lori has helped me out. Jagger has woken up and the boys are running around. Kaylee is being so brave and doing everything she is supposed to be doing. Life is great. Then Jagger starts to scream. I run over and he is taking his shoes off and yelling that he has ants. I'm attacking the ones on his feet and realize they've gone up his legs. I hold Jagger up and tell Lori to pull off his pants. She yanks his pants off and starts flinging them around and getting the ants gone while I swat Jagger's legs and check his underwear to make sure they haven't claimed the family jewels! While this is going on, Lori's 11 year old daughter is standing back and says Now that's what I call ants in your pants! I couldn't help but laugh!! So we got Jagger ant-free and then he asks Ms. Lori if he could have his pants back on please and we do so. Then I thank Lori for rescuing me again. She says she is leaving but wants to make sure I'm going to be okay. I say just go...really, this is my life!!

This is my normal!

By the way, Kaylee did great at softball. I am so proud of her!

Soooooo sick!!!!!!

I have the worst throat infection and an ear infection and I'm running fever. By the way, who gets ear infections at 31 years old??!!

Okay so funny thing is, I took my tylenol cold and sore throat every four hours yesterday (on top of the antibiotics I'm on of course). I laid on the couch the whole day. I was soooooo groggy. I had to take my car in to be fixed and I had to ask Jimmy to do it because I just didn't think I was capable of driving. Yeah, they were nightime....

I'm a loser!!

It's A Boy!!

Look at my gorgeous sister-in-law at 20 weeks pregnant! And she just found out that they are having a baby boy. We are so thrilled for them and cannot wait to meet our little nephew. We love him so much already and are so looking forward to having a new baby in the family!! Congratulations Liz and Jon!! We love you guys so much and are praying for you constantly!!