Respite

Respite- a period of temporary delay; an interval of rest or relief.

The boys and I are about to leave for a much needed respite. The only downside is that Wade has to stay and work. We are going to the lake with our friends Trisha, Alex, Katy, Elijah and Olivia. (Mr. Ben has to work, too.) The change of scenery will be refreshing for all of us.
I am loving the thought of sitting on the patio with a Diet Coke, overlooking the beautiful lake, visiting with my sweet friend. I am also excited because a friend of Trisha's is going to meet us there. What is so exciting is that Jana is also one of my sister's dearest friends. I have heard so much about her, but have never been able to spend time with her.
Cheryl, your ears will be burning! We will be making many plans for your arrival in the Lone Star State. That will be in 18 days!!! Not that we're counting or anything. :)
Happy week-end, my friends!

Update

Wow, it has been a while since I have posted. We have had a busy start to a fun and full summer. School was out on May 23rd. We were in the pool for our first swim of the summer on May 24th. We have been in the water just about every day since then.
Cason started T-Ball. That has been quite an adventure. The games are too fun. Cason seems to be enjoying himself and is quite entertaining. :)
We are full steam ahead on planning our summer kid's program at church. "Backyard Buddies" will begin this Thursday. This is our version of VBS. We will meet every Thursday for the next 8 weeks. After each meeting, which is from 10am-12pm, we will have family swim time from 12-2. God has blessed our church with a beautiful and BIG backyard...and a pool. It is these little treasures that make children's ministry so fun!
Here are a few pictures of the end of school and our summer so far.
Happy Summer, friends!

Make a Smilebox scrapbook

How Do I Love Thee...

...I could count alot of ways! On May 4th, Wade and I celebrated 12 years of marriage. I have been composing this post in my head for a while now, but due to a hectic end of school year, am just now getting it posted. Since we have been married for 12 years, I will list 12 reasons I love and appreciate my husband:

1. He takes care of me. When I am sick (or the boys are sick) he will go to the store at all hours of the night for medicine, 7-up, soup, crackers, you name it.

2. He always gets up for church on Sunday, even when he has worked all night and will only get 3 hours of sleep before he goes back to work.

3. He protects our family. One of Wade's friends in college once said that Wade is the type of guy who would never lose a fight. I feel safe when he is around.

4. He loved me when I was fat. He loves me now that I am "thin". The way he treats me has never changed.

5. He loves and gets along well with my family.

6. He loves and gets along well with his family.

7. He is a romantic. He wins in this area. He is much better at this than me.

8. He never complains if the house is dirty or if dinner is not ready. He has never placed demands on me.

9. He does the laundry.

10. He is an awesome daddy. He loves children, but none more than his own. He was made to be a daddy.

11. He loves the Lord and is teaching our children to love the Lord.

12. Nothing but God will ever come before his family. I am sure of this!

I thank God everyday for you, Wade. Happy Anniversary, honey. I love you!

Perfect and Not So Perfect

I was dreading today.
Today was our Grandparents/Special Friends Day at school. What that actually translates to is this: a day with a special musical program that involves costumes and lots of preschoolers; and 700 "special" guest at school and a huge feeding of the people; and a day where the kids are totally out of routine; and moms and dads and aunts and uncles and grandparents are all on the premises; and lots of staff and faculty in a bad mood because it is not only 2 weeks till school is out but it is a "special" day...You get my drift.
Well, I was really dreading today.
But then I woke up. I walked into Bryson's room. I turned on the light and said "good morning, sunshine." He sat up in bed, gave me a sleepy grin and said, "good morning, beautiful."
A perfect start to a not so perfect day.

Random Saturday Thoughts

I so dislike having our blog lay dormant for so long, but it has been so hard to find time to post. There is alot going with the end of school and the move upon us. Yes, I said move. Not out of MOJO land, mind you. Just down the street a few blocks. A few weeks ago, we decided to take the plunge and buy my Grandaddy's house. That is all I have the energy to say about that right now. I am very excited, however, very overwhelmed. I promise to post more of the details soon. (I'm sure you are all sitting on the edge of your seats...:)

When I got up at 6:00 this morning to let the dogs out, my mind started racing with all that is going on right now. Nothing too major, just alot of "stuff". So in my typical fashion, I started making a mental list. So here goes...my random list of thoughts for the day:

-I sure hope that this lady wants to buy our house so we don't have to put it on the market.

-I wonder how long our freshly cleaned carpet will stay clean.

-I sure hope the lady makes it over to see the house while the floors are still polished and cleaned.

-I wonder how much the renovations on Grandaddy's house are going to cost.

-I really wish that it was possible for me to fly to Houston next week to see my sister.

-July still seems like a long time to wait to see my sister.

-July will be here before I know it.

-I'm ready for school to be out.

-I hope we have made the right decision about waiting another year for Cason to go to kindergarten.

-I love this house.

-I think I love Grandaddy's house more.

-I want Robbi and Sherman (our neighbors) to move with us.

-I hope Bryson deals with this change well.

-Wade and I have been married for 12 years...I wonder if we are buying presents for each other this year or will just go out and celebrate.

-I will suggest we just go out to celebrate. I have been trying too hard to de-clutter. I don't want to add anything new at this point.

-I need to get with Trisha this week and figure out exactly what needs to be done for our summer kid's program at church.

-I am excited about our summer activities at church.

-I am ready for school to be out so that I can focus on children's ministry.

-I really, really can't wait to see my sister.

Well, there you have it. Random thoughts for the moment. I'm sure there will be more added to the list as the day progresses.

Happy Saturday, friends!

Cason's Birthday!

Our baby just turned 5! We had Cason's party at Astro Golf & Games.(neon glowing golf, where everything is lit by black lights.) We used lots of glow sticks and glow-in-the-dark paint. It turned out really cool! In fact, the owner was impressed with our efforts. She asked if she could borrow some of our ideas. The kids just loved that everthing glowed! One little boy told his parents Cason had the coolest house, because everthing in it glows. Of coarse, we had a Power Rangers theme as well...by request from the birthday boy!

Make a scrapbook - it's easy!

NASCAR

I have been sitting here for a while trying to think of something to say about our week-end. The fact of the matter is, there are just no words. It was unbelievable. I hope that you enjoy the pictures. The video clip at the bottom is of the first full throttle to start the race. The sound and force of that moment is indescribable. It literally took my breath away. One funny story. On the video you see the back of this guy who was sitting next to us. I'm not sure how many beers he consumed before sitting down, but you will see a picture of how many he consumed during the race. He liked us. He wanted to be our friend. At one point he handed Wade is IPhone and asked him to type in our name and number so he could keep in touch. Then he took a picture of us to put with our number. The kicker was when he handed Wade his IPhone again and left. He was gone for 45 minutes. I'm not sure what all Wade typed into the guys phone, but he was having fun. That poor guy is going to sober up and wonder who in the world those people are and why he has our number:-)

Make a photobook - it's easy!

It was my first NASCAR race. It was certainly not my last.