All dressed up and having such fun!

We (David, Ashley, Zach, Meg, Larry and myself) did something last night that is rare...really rare. We all got dressed up and went out! We went to a wedding, in Lubbock for Taylor Potts. The Potts family are very very dear to us and we were so excited to celebrate with them as Taylor and Erin became man and wife! What a sweet couple! What a beautiful service and reception. The six adults in our family have not had a chance to do something with only the adults since Owen was born. Don't get me wrong, I LOVE having our grands in tow but this was a fun time to get all dressed up and do something together! A HUGE thanks goes out to Meg's parents who kept not only their three grandsons but also kept Emma too! They had so much fun and in turn we were able to have a very fun grown up night! We don't have many occasions to dress up...so it was really fun for the girls and the boys were very sweet and tolerated the ties! :) Thank you boys and thank you girls! We had so much fun sharing our dress up stuff, jewelry, etc.  Here are a few of my favorite pictures of the family!!!

Zach and Meg...looking good!

Larry and I

Ashley and David

Zach and Meg...waiting for meal time!

David (I think he was tired of me taking pxs) and Ashley

Me and my girls...Ashley and Meg

My beautiful girl!

Meg insisted...I really hate having my px taken!

Meg and her fascinator

My adorable daughter-in-law Meg

Ha. I had to include this. Notice my two kids. They crack me. I was trying to get a picture of us on the pew before the wedding, and when I looked at this later...who are the two clowns! Yep, and they didn't even know each other was acting crazy! I love these four!!!

Fun times with Miss Emma Grace

Ashley and Emma came to spend the better part of the week with us last week, before the rest of the family came in for the July 4th Celebration. It was WONDERFUL to have her here and I am not sure we could have packed more into the week! We swam, decorated for the 4th, visited friends, visited family, cooked, ate and played played played with Miss Emma. Oh how she makes me laugh! She is such good medicine. I was not on my A-game when Ashley and Emma arrived, been having a few issues with my back so I was so thankful for Ashley's help and Ashley and Emma to cheer me up! :)

I just had to share a few pictures of some things that made us laugh this week.

#1 The girl loves monkeys, and loves Curious George or as she says, "George". I just LOVE the way she gets so engrossed in the movie...like I am pretty sure the house could fall down around her and she would never know! She doesn't get to watch a lot of TV, which I really appreciate but when she does, the girl takes it in. She would sit on the couch and not move a muscle! So sweet.

#2 I bought a baby at Target, nothing special, but just a baby for Emma to play with when she is here. Seemed like to me, we are a little heavy on "boy-toys" and so I felt it only fair!  This baby just so happens to be one that you can take a bath with. She really hadn't given this baby a lot of her attention the last few trips, but oh my, that changed this time! I asked her if she would like to take a bath with her baby and the mothering skills came alive! She had so much fun bathing her, putting her clothes on, putting her to bed, etc. She carried that baby around most of the week. When we would get the baby and Emma out of the tub, she wanted to make sure baby did everything she did...get wrapped up in a towel, lotion on, diaper, etc. We even showed her how the baby knew how to pee pee in the potty and Emma wanted to do the same thing! This picture cracks me up! She would want baby right beside her each time she was getting dressed, etc. I think Emma for sure is going to be one of those little girls that loves to play with babies and is already showing amazing mothering skills! So sweet. But let me just say, she just as easily will sit in a pile of dirt and pour it over her head! :)

#3 Okay, as you notice in the above picture, Emma has goggles on, or as she calls them "Doggles". I need to back up a little on this story. The first day we met Meg and the boys at the pool (which by the way, thank you so much Meg for letting us come swimming!!!) Emma noticed the boys "doggles" right off the bat and could not quit talking about them. She wanted them badly. So, the next day when we headed to the pool, we made a quick stop at the store for Emma a pair of goggles. I cannot describe and sadly I wish I had taken a video of her walking through the store holding those "doggles". She said "Doggles" OVER AND OVER AGAIN and was so excited! It took a lot for her to hand them over at the check out so they could scan them and she never took her eyes off them! All the way to the pool, the little voice from the backseat was "Doggles, Doggles, Emma's Doggles"over and over again. She was so proud...but we had no idea how attached she would become. For the rest of the week, she held on to those goggles...sometimes wearing them on her face, on her head or had a death grip on them in her hand. It was priceless. Mom and Dad have had to pry them out of her hand before bedtime on several occasions. The funniest was when we first put them on her, they made her eyes kind of pull like when you have a really tight ponytail! She would look around with those squinted eyes and you could just tell she was trying to figure out what everything was...so funny...but she kept them on!!! So, I am pretty sure we will all refer to goggles as "doggles" from now on out and remember this precious little girl who could not have been more pleased with any gift than she was these cheap little "doggles"!

It was a GRAND ole' time in Abilene, Town!

We are so blessed. Our sweet neighborhood hosted their 15th July 4th parade this year. It is such a fun event for our grand children. They love decorating their bikes and wagons and it is such a big deal to them! You would think it was the Macy's parade...and yet better! We decided this year to see if David's parents, Patti and Joe could join us for the holiday weekend. It was so delightful to have Patti, Joe, David, Ashley and Emma for the whole weekend! Zach and Meg and the boys were able to hang out with us too...so it was a perfect holiday weekend! :) We did LOTS of eating, sitting around watching the kids on the water slide that we set up in the backyard, eating, visiting, eating at Perini's, loving and playing with the kids and sadly, eating some more! :) Ashley came in earlier in the week and was a huge help to me! Thank you sweetie!!! So, I will stop typing and let the pictures tell about ALL the fun we had!

Ashley made these fun labels for all the food items...such a cute touch!

We made Pioneer Woman's Pulled Pork with this yummy slaw on top...Big Hit!!!

Will

Owen

Clay

Darrell, Larry's dad watching the kids on the slide. We love you PawPaw!

Zach and Larry just hanging out

Larry and Joe Snow sharing stories!

Marie, Larry's mom talking with the girls!

Ashley and Emma before the parade

Emma girl, styling in her shades and decorated wagon!

Owen

Clay is ready to go!

Will is ready to ride his bike in the parade! Big Boy!

Ashley, Emma and David before the parade

Check out sweet Will, his hand over his heart for the pledge! Adorable!!!

Three little boys...ready to ride!

Will, Emma, Clay and Owen

Owen, Clay and Will

Happy Father's Day

First I want to say thank you to my sweet husband for being such an amazing Dad to our two children. He gave them so much love and taught them so many life lessons through the years and continues to watch over them and support them...He is good Daddy! I am so blessed to be his wife and to have enjoyed that journey of parenthood along beside him. He is also a wonderful granddad...his grands love him!!!

I also want to thank two young fathers, Zach and David. Thank you for the way you love your wives, which is a HUGE example to your young children. Thank you for supporting your family...in all sorts of ways...financially, physically and most importantly, spiritually.  Thank you not only being involved in a church yourself, but showing them how important that is for them as well. Thank you for being a spiritual leader in your home. Thank you for allowing your wives to be stay at home wives, not always an easy job, but one of the most important things you can give your kids, your wife, yourself!

Thank you for loving on those precious kids, playing with them, being there for them and for also teaching them life lessons all along the way. We love you, pray for you daily and want you to know how much we appreciate you!!!!

Zach showing off Will to Owen, Clay and Larry

David holding Emma

A little getaway...

Larry and I escaped from Abilene last week. The good thing is we got away, the bad thing is we weren't able to find cooler weather. I am so very thankful for the a/c in the pop up camper. If you know us very well, you know we are neither big fans of the heat. Why do we live in Texas? Hmm...good question! Normally we will escape to cooler country, but this week off came up very quickly and we made a quick and maybe not so smart decision to go to Broken Bow, OK to Beaver Bend State Park. Larry had been to this area when he and Zach took a fly-fishing trip there once...when Zach turned 16. So, a few years ago! Also, they went in November. November would be a better choice. Actually, I think September or October would be a good choice...there are lots and lots of trees...and thus I am sure the changing of colors would be incredible. Plus, fewer campers. This probably sounds like we are camping snobs. We don't mean to be, we just don't like a campground that is crawling with people. We go to get away...to enjoy nature noises...not people noises. Are we snobs? If so, I apologize. Camping to us is all about cool weather, quietness, enjoying God's country, hiking and fishing. You can do all of that at Beaver Bend, but in the summer it is HOT, HUMID, LOUD and they don't practice "Leave No Trace" there. They may try, but they aren't winning the battle. Larry and I were both so discouraged with the amount of trash that was left by the streams and rivers. Come on people, if you haul in a six-pack to keep you company while you fish, that is your business, but really...it was a lot heavier to hike in with it then it would have been to hike out with your 6 or 12 empty beer cans. OKAY, I am now stepping off my soap box. Sorry...I was really just going to post some pictures of our trip. This is a beautiful area---tall trees, lots of variety of trees and some pretty rivers (minus the trash!). We did not have good luck fishing but I did get THREE books read while we were there. That is more books than I have read all year. I love to read and was reminded on this trip of just how much I love to read. I wish I could be a disciplined reader...like have a book around my house that I pick up and read a chapter or two a day. But bottom line is, if it is good...I am worthless. I just want to read. :) I will post the book titles on another entry...just in case anyone is looking for some good reads.  Now, on to some of the fun "snaps" I took last week.

My sweet fly-fishing buddy

A red headed woodpecker-that was CRAZY loud and we laughed so hard at the amount of wood that fell on our campsite by this little guy...he was busy!!!

Hiking buddies

Can't you just imagine this with all the trees in blazing fall colors...ahhh.

 Pretty little water falls

 TALL trees-don't you like how I tried to give you a visual of really how tall the trees were!

I was intrigued by all the rock formations...layers upon layers of rock. Pretty cool!

Still needing our prayers...

I texted back and forth with Pam, Emily's mom last night. Emily had a doctors appt with her surgeon yesterday and he said she had a "serious surgical infection". I won't go into details but once again I ask for you to keep them in your prayers. Emily is home, but weak and having to be extra careful! Her incision has been opened in order to let things "drain and heal" so they will be giving it special attention for the next several weeks. I just ask you to continue to pray to our Heavenly Father for him to shower down on Emily an extra dose of healing from this surgery and to take Crohn's away from her body!! I know Emily and her family are so thankful to each and every one who is lifting her name up! I also ask for a God to give Gordon, Pam and Dave a huge dose of energy and endurance!!

We love you Trices and Machts!!!

Easter 2011

Like I said earlier, my posting has fallen quite behind. But for memory sake, and since this is "my diary-journal" of sorts...I will try to do some catching up.

Easter 2011-A blessed time indeed!

We had the great joy of having all our kids home for the holiday. It just gets better and better. Now that Emma is old enough to "romp" around with the boys and they have realized she wasn't always going to be the "baby on the blanket", they are just having so much fun playing together! She loves her cousins and since they are the only cousins she has...they are pretty special to her!

David, Ashley and Emma arrived on Friday evening and so enjoyed a little Emma time before she was put to bed for the night.

Saturday morning, David and Larry went hunting while Zach, Meg, Ashley and I took the cousins for a little photo shoot! It cracks me up to look at ALL the pictures (which trust me I want post all since there were over 500!) because it would make a great flip book! Each picture shows a slightly different facial expression on one of the kids! So funny and yet so challenging to really get one good one of all of them! Here are just a few of my favorites:

 Will, Clay, Emma and Owen

 Owen, Clay, Will and Emma

Will taking his job serious in holding Emma's hand!

This one cracks me up...well there were LOTS like this...the kids just weren't as in to having the pictures made as the adults! Ha. 

So sweet! Though not all look at the camera!

After we finished with the group pictures, the parents took some of their own kids. Problem is, I don't have Zach and Meg's pictures yet. One of these days! 

Here are a few favorites of Emma:

After pictures, we all met at Lucy's for a burger! (Yum. Abilene folks, if you haven't checked our Lucy's burgers on North Treadaway, you must go!!). Then it was time for naps...for the little kids.

The evening was filled with play time, making an Easter Gingerbread House and just hanging out as a family with a little dinner mixed in there too!

Easter Sunday

We decided to try for a few family pictures before hunting eggs...but we made it quick because we had some very excited little kids!

Okay, now FINALLY we had taken enough pictures and believe me, I am sparing you the agony of all of them...though of course if you want to see them all...I am HAPPY to show you! :)

It was Easter Basket Time!!

This year, the kids baskets were "colored themed" with all sorts of fun little trinkets in their basket color!

Then while we were having "basket time" something crazy happened...

THE EASTER BUNNY CAME!!!! Sneaky, huh!!!

So, it was time to gather eggs...and yes...you could only look for your color! Made it a little more challenging for the big guys and gave Emma a little help too!

 Okay, once again, I apologize for the lack of pictures. I didn't even take my camera out this year, because Ashley, Zach and Meg all had one in their hands. So...as soon as I have more of the boys, I will have to post. Ashley had her cord with her so we downloaded them right on to the computer that day, which made it so easy and I had instant pictures to look at! 

We are so blessed by these two families. They are raising good kids! I love to watch my kids being parents. It is another joy in life! It is pure blessings for Larry and I to watch them in action. We are so proud of the way they are living their life and being an example to their own kids.

Easter 2011 was a very SWEET holiday!