Builder Bob and Builder Bud

Watching our little grandsons...is kind of like looking back at old family movies. Owen and Clay not only look like their Dad did at this age but they have lots of the same interests. Zach always loved hanging out with his Daddy! If it involved tools...he was a happy camper. At a very young age, he could tell you the correct name for just about every tool in his Dad's toolbox. Owen has the same love for tools and Bud's shop! Recently when he was helping Bud with a little project, he looked up and said "Bud, I am Builder Bob and you are Builder Bud!" Clay and Owen along with their parents, recently gave us a little kid-size picnic table for our backyard. So, Builder Bob and Builder Bud had lots of fun putting it together. Owen loves working with REAL tools!

As you can see by the pictures, Builder Bob and Builder Bud do good work! There is nothing much more fun than seeing a grandson follow in his Dad and Bud's footsteps!

Sweet summertime fun!

Swim time! This summer has been different...in a beautiful way! We have been so blessed with lots of rain and cooler weather! I can't remember a summer I have enjoyed as much as this one...weather wise at least! But the one thing it hasn't allowed much of is swimming...which I personally have given up on...because it would involve putting on a swimsuit and well...I am just not going there! But, I LOVE seeing two little guys in their swimming suits! So, last week, I invited Owen and Clay over for a Swim Party! No, we haven't built a pool in our backyard but thankfully David (Ashley's husband) bought a couple of wading pools for our house because Honey waited too late in the season then couldn't find one in Abilene!

So, I was so anxious to have them over to swim...yes, I realize I don't have many years that these small pools will do the trick so I have to make the most of it! We had such fun! Really, you just can't go wrong when you combine water and being outside with those two little guys! Though Owen was way to busy to spend much time actually in the pool, he sure had fun "watering" everything with the water hose! Clay, on the other hand was content to stand in the pool and pour water from one cup to another. Simple pleasures! Both boys are such complete joys! What better way to top off a perfect swim... but with a flavor-ice!


Clay is hysterical...he latches on to it and hardly comes up for air! I have never seen anyone go after one with such gusto! Boys being boys...they wandered from the fresh clean water to the sandbox and back several times...which lead to a nice shade of brown water before it was over.
In between the sandbox and the pools, they would stop to play on the tractor! Owen informed Clay he was to be "Paw Paw" (Larry's dad) and Owen deemed himself as the "Worker Man" who would fill Clay's trailer up with a mixture of sand and water.
It was another precious memory to store in my heart...time with these little boys reminds me of how good and gracious our God is! I love watching them play together and see their imaginations at work. It was a very special summer treat for this Honey!

Weekend projects

Larry and I had the pleasure of visiting David and Ashley this weekend at their lovely home. We went with full intentions of it being a "home project weekend" which is so much fun for Larry and I to be apart of! We love home projects, so to get to help David and Ashley was such a treat! (I know...we are weird!)

The guys, with some help from the girls, built a new metal building in their backyard to store all those lovely items we usually stuff in our garages...except for the fact that David and Ashley don't have a garage! It was a hot and tedious project...but the result was a fine looking shed in their backyard! What an improvement!

When Larry and I were married, Larry's brother gave us a hutch as a wedding gift. It has served us well but when we built our new kitchen a few years back, we just didn't have a place for the hutch any longer. We stored it in the garage for awhile in hopes that one of the kids could use it someday. Ashley and David gladly took it after they married and though it has served the purpose in their rent house...a place to hold kitchen overflow...it just needed some sprucing up! Ashley do all the sanding and getting it ready for paint and brought it to our house for her Dad to do his magic! So, a fresh coat of paint, distressing and varnishing it...we delivered it to Mansfield this weekend! (You can see pictures on Ashley's blog)

Ashley and I had fun making it even more lovely. Ashley purchased some great paisley fabric and we covered the back of the hutch with fabric to make her china stand out. It looks fabulous! We also covered all the seat cushions to their dining room chairs with the same fabric. It was fun to unpack all the lovely wedding gifts...china, glass and silver pieces and display them in the new improved hutch!

It really is so fun to take something old and give it a fresh and fun look, and even more fun to get to do it with our kids. Ashley and I decided it is much more rewarding than going out and buying something new! Was it a full weekend of work...yes...but it was so much fun to work beside them as they "feather their nest!".

Being a parent, just get more and more fun! We loved when our kids were at home and thought life just couldn't get any better than that. But now, we love helping Zach,Meg, David, Ashley AND playing with grandkids...it just gets better and better! Watching your children grow up and become adults who love making their house a home...that is like icing on the cake!

Boy number three!

Last week we had the pleasure of providing a place for the Pink and Blue Party that Zach and Meg held to reveal to a group of anxious family and friends...what the latest addition to our family would be! In late November, Zach and Meg will welcome their 3rd son! Yippee!! I really just wanted healthy...how can we ask for more! We have been so blessed with two adorable,loving little boys and we look forward to adding to our family another bundle of joy! Can you imagine the fun we will have with these 3 little boys! Speaking of having fun...this year was our first year for Knight Camp, grandparent camp with the "grands". The age limit to attend is two years old. So, this year Owen was the only "camper" but we had so much fun! As usual, the planning was a blast! We designed t-shirts, invitations then moved on to planning the overnight camp-out!
This year we ventured to Abilene State Park, because we knew it would be a blast no matter where we went and for Owen's sake the real treat was it was close...not much car time! We took our pop-up camper but we spent very little time in it other than to sleep because we had so many activities! We fished, hiked, cooked camp food favorites, fished, had craft time, caught bugs and fished. Owen caught his first fish which was great fun and we took a ton of pictures!

We had 2 fun filled days of exploring the campground with Owen.

It is amazing how many rocks and sticks those two little fists can hold! Treasures...that is what Owen calls all of his "neat finds". Speaking of treasures, Larry and I will treasure the time we had with Owen on our first "Knight-Camp". We are already thinking about next year!

To the surprise of many....I am hooked!

Larry and I just returned from a glorious 9 days in cool, beautiful Colorado. We took the pop-up trailer and camped in a perfect little spot, surrounded with tall pines and aspens, overlooking the Conejos River all while enjoying weather in the 70's during the day and 40's at night...life was REAL good!

One of our activities was fly-fishing...and yes...I am hooked! I am certain the funniest part was sharing an activity that Larry dearly loves with him...and now I understand why! I have a MUCH better understanding of how much WORK it is to fish! We did a lot of hiking to reach the perfect spots and so even if the fishing didn't turn out the best, how can you complain when you are surrounded by God's mighty wonders! It was hard for me at times to concentrate on the fishing...being right in the middle of those crystal clear streams, surrounded by mountains, waterfalls and the trees...all those amazing trees! But I am happy to say that I DID catch fish and it was a blast! We did a lot of hiking, reading, relaxing, eating (we made a mean Chicken Pot Pie in the Dutch oven followed up by a delicious Peach Cobbler!) and just enjoyed our time together!

I have decided that Meg, Ashley and I need to strap on our waders and have some fishing stories of our own! Boys...watch out!

I have already caught Larry looking in catalogs...searching for me some "cute" waders! Ha!

"Our" little guys

I always heard that grandkids were more fun than your own kids. I hate to admit it but each time I heard that comment, I thought to myself, "You don't know my kids, I can't IMAGINE it being more fun than being a parent". I guess my whole life I wanted to be a Mom, I really felt like I was in my element. But, now I have to admit that "they" were right. Having grandkids is so much fun! I keep trying to figure out how it is different. Bottom line...there is no pressure...just fun. You just get to love on them and you aren't concerned about the house, meals, laundry, bills, etc. You are just enjoying and relishing in every single moment. To hear Owen call out "Honey, you wanta play ball wif me?" Ahh...music to my ears. Or Clay with those precious chubby little hands and big blue eyes to reach out for me...yeah...life just can't get much better. So, to all those "grandmothers" I doubted, forgive me! I am trying my best to pass the word on to those who haven't experienced grandparenting yet...but then again...it is just one of those moments you have to experience it to believe it!

In the beginning...

Hello! Well, it seems I have been drawn into the blogger world. I love reading others blogs and so I decided to start my own. With Ashley's help, we set up my blog and now it has hit me...what will I say???

Maybe I too shall start at the beginning of "my" story, though I think I will need to make it somewhat short and sweet...because I fear it will be quite boring!

My life begin October 16th, in San Angelo, Texas at Shannon Memorial Hospital. From what I have been told, I was fortunate to be born in the hospital. It seems my sweet Mom had gone to the hospital on several occasions only to be sent home...false labor. So, she resolved she wouldn't go back until it was the "real thing". She was having pretty solid labor pains but decided instead of going to the hospital, she would instead go have her hair done...I mean after all...she wanted to look good! Well, I believe she had everyone in the salon in a panic before they got her hair fixed and delivered her to the hospital! Good to know she had her priorities in place! Ha! No fear...she had it under control! She had a good looking hair style and then had a BIG baby girl with quite a unruly hair style of her own!

Though I lived in San Angelo and Odessa as a baby girl, my first memories take place in the same town as I live in now...Abilene. My growing up years were fun and carefree for the most part. I was blessed to have two loving parents, a great older brother and lots of precious family and friends. We attended Woodlawn Church of Christ and it was there I made life-long friends and wonderful memories...and it was there I met my sweet husband, Larry. His family also attended Woodlawn, so though I knew him from a young age, it was my sophomore year in high school when I "really" noticed him. We dated through high school and were married a year after I graduated.

We bought our first home, a few months before we married on a "sweat equity" loan...and boy did we sweat! That house went from a slum to a very cute starter home. We lived there for a little over a year, sold it and built a house in the big town of Hawley! Two years later, God blessed us with our first child, Zachary Austin and though we both wanted children...I truly don't think either of us realized how much fun being parents would be nor the blessings God had in store for us! Three years later, we again were showered with God's love as we welcome our second child, Ashley Jo. Our little family was complete! We lived in Hawley, until the summer before Zach was to begin kindergarten at which time we desired for our children to attend schools in Abilene. We sold the house and moved into a duplex days before school started. A year later we bought the house that we still lovingly refer to as home! It has been a house filled with love, laughter and many coats of paint! I quickly realized how much fun it was to fix up and change things and luckily I have a husband who is not only a very talented carpenter but sweetly goes along with my decorating whims!

I remember so many older women telling me "enjoy your kids...they grow up way to quickly" and I am here today to say...they weren't lying! It seems like we blinked our eyes and they were graduating from high school and headed out to make their own path in life! We prayed from the time we held them in our arms, that God would raise up spouses for them that would love them, help them in their walk with God and that "fit" into our family...and He answered that prayer twice...in much larger ways than either Larry or I could even imagine. Zach's wife Meg and Ashley's husband David are not only an answer to prayers but just go to show us that God had it planned out and set things into motion in His own perfect timing for both Zach and Ashley. We could not be more blessed!

Then came another huge blessing! GRANDKIDS! Well, once again we have been blown away by God and the way He lavishes blessings on this family. We currently have two precious grandsons, Owen and Clay and Meg and Zach have another child in the oven! "Sweet Bun" will join our family later in the year. The little guys have not only stolen our hearts but bring an incredible joy to our day to day life! We are so very blessed to have our "grands" only minutes away from us!

Well, there is a quick (though probably not quickly enough!)glimpse of my life! Now, I can either add blogs of current news or recall sweet memories and get them in print. Both will be recorded here...hopefully it will be a good place for me to write down memories I want to pass down to my family. I have wanted to write a book for a very long time...so maybe this is the first attempt at a chapter! Until later.