Uhm...We Might Have Had a Few Changes...

Since my last post (ok--it was ancient)...we have had a few changes.  Weddings, grandbabies, missionaries, moving, new children joining our family, new businesses...I would catch everyone up, but I think we just start here.  Where we are.  In Canyon Lake, Texas in our new home.  Life is never so permanent as when it changes...I think I'm going to have that embroidered on a pillow somewhere.  This beautiful place is where we landed....

And I thought I'd invite you in...

To see what we have been blessed with...the view from the front door.  I REALLY need to get the bottom of that green chair fixed since you can see it from the front door.  And maybe find somewhere after all this time who can clean that antique quilt hanging on the railing.  You know that quote from Steel Magnolias "An ounce of pretension is worth of pound of manure?" I think of that every time I see this staircase--though I love it and its beautiful.

Then there's this beautiful piano room...a bare, blank canvas.  I have ideas for this room!

Here's the family room...complete with wedding mantle.  Still.  I loved it so much I left it till Fall and when I will have those gorgeous oranges and reds up.  It's September.  Where is that Fall mantle you ask?  Still in my head, of course.  I'll get to it.  Next Tuesday.

Notice the really great heart artwork on the wall, courtesy of a dear friend.  Only now we have two more hearts to put in there and I have NO idea how she's going to fix that one!  

This is the most used room in the house.  It never looks clean.  It never has all the dishes done, and there are rarely fresh flowers in there.  

So there you have it!  The "new" digs from a year ago.  Next up...master bedroom.  Talk about a clean slate!  We are working on that one, though.  It's going to be great.  Just as soon as its done.  After next Tuesday when the Fall mantle is done....

New Digs!

Here's a few pics of the house and the yard...we'll send more later, but at least you can see our favorite hang outs! I took these with my cell phone, so they may not be great. But its what you get. We moved and its quite possible my camera didn't. Or at least it hid when it moved with us.

Here's the front room - complete with Taylor trying to look like he was doing his job, and that is an optical illusion...I'm going to have to find out from Sherri how she shined up the stone in her fireplace, but not till I have a beach vaca planned...I understand it is very stinky.

This is the back yard view from the master deck upstairs. You can kind of see the pool back there--really the whole reason for the house "being" as far as the little kids are concerned. This tree is over 350 years old! The things it has seen! It gives me a new appreciation for the settlers, though. They slept out in the elements. There are a lot of creepie crawlies around here and I have great respect for anyone sleeping out on the ground. There is a swing in the tree that reminds me of the one we had in Darby. I am looking forward to the grass being destroyed under the swing....

This is the view from the master deck. It is much prettier than my phone took. Notice how brown the grass is, though...ten year drought in Texas. As bad as the dust bowls in the 30's. Still lots of green trees. I can see the sunrise from my bedroom window in the morning. I love that! Also notice the spiral stairs laying on the ground. They used to go to my deck. We have kids. I don't think so! Stairs are going bye-bye.

This screen porch is off of the kitchen. It's kind of a dark picture, but we spent all morning scrubbing the floor so it can be stained. We'll need to do quite a bit of work in there, but we are turning it into another family space--ceiling fans, tv, game tables, the works. We spend a lot of time out here in the evening and its one of our favorite places. The poor puppy will be quiet disappointed in a few days. The screen that is ripped is being replaced and his "doggy door" will be no more.

Part of the kitchen...love the skylight...window looks into the screen porch. To the left is another window over the sink that has a bird feeder and so far, we have seen about 15-20 different types of birds. Some really great ones! We can hardly wait to get my Dad's bird feeder up! We waited to put it up here where it will stay. Poor Mike. He's trying to clean up garbage and I want him to put up my bird feeder....it's really such a shame that he didn't marry someone more practical. I'll have to give him a heads up for the next time.

Garbage out front...we included this one so that in a few months everyone will say "Wow! You've done a lot with the place!"

Please note the construction debris everywhere...that's not ours...just wanted to make sure that everyone knew my kids had not trashed the place already. The poor people that lived here before had to rebuild two porches at almost the last minute due to dry rot....I could have saved them the trouble since I am moving in and dry rot is my official medical diagnosis.

Rain!

We've had lots of rain this week--big rain drops, warm rain drops and the kids were out enjoying it. Since that's WAY more interesting than school being canceled for two weeks due to swine flu concerns, we're posting pictures of rain instead. You already know what swine look like. I'm just glad that "swine" flu refers to the actual flu itself and not to the possibility that my kids may or may not be clean or may or may not have cleaned their rooms this week.

More Random Kid Shots....

This is in the hotel room when Kayden thought we were sleeping....he got into my iPod, turned it on, and hooked it up to his ears. Smart boy!

I have this really great phone that has a GPS, Internet, and TV on it, among other things. Zachary was supposed to be sleeping and I found the little guy asleep in my bed while watching Sesame Street.

Here she is! Miss Professional herself!! This is Patriece's first Oral Interpretation competition. She was recruited to the team on Thursday, practiced on Friday, and competed on Saturday. She took 5th in her room--not bad for a 48 hour prep blitz!

Chase's Boot Camp Gradution!

Graduation was divided into two days. The first day was family day and they had their dress uniforms on for the short ceremony. Chase is right behind the guy in the BCG's (Army speak for birth control glasses!). It was something to see them all march in after the Colors. I got a little teary but the flag always does that to me.


We spent the rest of the day doing really important things--nothing! Chase slept a few times, we ate, and just hung out. I felt it was going to be too boring, but he said it was great to just not have to do anything and spend time with his family. The next day, was the graduation. As I understand it, because our country is at war, the graduates wore their combat uniforms. It was really cool. There were two tanks that rolled in shooting off blanks and smoke, then the tanks opened up and a select few ran out of it, then came forward during some pretty great music while they talked about their accomplishments, their individual weapons, and so on. Chase was one of the few chosen. You can see the tank in the background. This picture doesn't do it justice, but Chase was only a few feet from us. Kayden loved it!!

This picture was taken just after the graduation, Kayden kept looking and looking at him. He wouldn't look at me for the picture, but I decided that maybe that was best as he was so enthralled with his Daddy.

After graduation, those who were in the tanks were to display their weapons for the attendees to see. Here is Chase displaying his weapon.

And this is Kayden on the way to the airport--displaying his t-shirt. He was so proud of his Daddy!! Read the shirt--it says it all. We're proud of you, too, Chase! And just to make sure everyone knows--we're so proud of Tori, too. This wasn't just Chase's accomplishment. This is Tori's too. We love you!

Chase's Graduation from Boot Camp - Part 1

This is a quick picture of Chase from his boot camp graduation. I have more pics and some video, but I'll post that later.

Random Pictures, Random Kids

Cutest Dang Kids Around! Just a smattering of pictures found on the camera and only a few of them taken by Mom. Amazing what you can find in there!

Austin and Buff

Zachary figures he's dressed if he's wearing underwear. Notice Shoshi completely ignoring her birthday cake. Are we excited yet?
















If you pay attention to Taylor's form, you may understand why he plays football...

Josh was purchasing take-home presents for his family. This shop was the pinnacle of good taste. At least it was Patriotic!

Lauren and Josh at the Alamo.

Lauren and Josh taking a break with Emma.

One of Patriece's more lovely looks. This actually takes some talent!

Malika commenting on the smell wafting in from her brother's bedroom after a day at the basketball courts. What is it about boys?!

What I Did for Christmas!

The kids chipped in and sent Mike and me overnight for Christmas. We went to Padre Island, down by Corpus Christi--important part of that is it was the beach! In order to get there, you need to take a ferry...so here's a picture of the ferry where our trip was made memorable....

...when our call stalled for no reason. We had to ride the ferry back to the beginning, get a tow off the ferry, wander around downtown till we found someone with jumper cables, get a jump, then try the crossing again. Meanwhile, this particular car has never had that problem before or since. Go figure. Now the suburban on the other hand....

The beach the morning we got there. It was 85 degrees. These beaches reminded me of the ones in North Carolina when I was a child. OK--when I was littler. Haven't figured out if I am grown up yet or not!

Kids playing on the beach were from Minnesota. All the native Texans were freezing--at 85.

And Mike. Lovely day for a stroll.

Christmas 2008!

OK--Backtracking just a bit...I just found the camera cord so I could download pictures. Now you get to see all the wonderful things we did. Or maybe not that wonderful. Maybe just wonderful because we did them as a family!

Emma gets her first presents thus setting the trend for the rest of her life....








My Dad always wore a Santa Hat so therefore, must Mike. My traditions, my way. 'Course now the kids can't imagine Christmas without the dumb hat that has long ago lost its fuzzy ball. Which goes with the man who has long ago lost his dignity....

Twas the night before Christmas....our tradition of sleeping all together while waiting for Santa continues. What has changed is that the kids are older--so they no longer get up at 5 or 6 am, they no longer sleep on the floor but drag mattresses into the family room, and they no longer try to stay up all night waiting to hear Santa. This was taken at....drum roll....10:30 pm. However, we must say that doesn't mean they don't believe in Santa.

Jaimie, Iesha and Patriece on the Riverwalk the night Jaimie and Iesha arrived. It truly was beautiful. They wanted pictures to prove that they were outside, in December, in shirt sleeves.

And finally, skipping all the "look of surprise" pictures of people opening gifts, we get to the star of the show--who likes the paper things came in better than the actual gifts.

Emma--The Rocker!

Emma's favorite is the Disney movie "Cars" and she just can't sit still when it's playing. She's on the beat and everything!

GRADUATION!!

I'm so proud of my daughter! It's been a tough road, but she graduated today from Cosmetology School. Now get out there and let's bang some hair!! Preferrably mine first.

More Kayden Christmas!

First of all--can you believe how big Kayden's eyes are? Those are definitely Tori's! Kayden is so cute sledding and what a good-looking pair he and his Daddy make. I'm really proud of both of them, but the picture of Chase in his army duds really took me back. It make me kind of emotional, actually. What a great little family they are! Merry Christmas!

Kayden's Christmas!

I LOVE technology!! We weren't able to be with Kayden, but we got this little video from Tori's cell phone and we got such a kick out of it, that we wanted to put it up. We'll post more Christmas later, but here's Kayden! The clarity's not great, but who cares?! Notice the outfit, too....

Kitchen Cupboards & Christmas Vacas!

Now for the quiz....what does this picture of my cupboards have to do with Christmas?! All you Grandmas out there will know! I'm SO EXCITED!!

Princess Pat Birthday!!

It's her 15th....yes, in case you didn't get that right, her FIFTEENTH! I can't believe she is the same little 3 year old I brought home so many years ago. Most of her personality is much the same--she's still a girly girl, still likes to sing and laugh and giggle, still gets into situations and isn't sure how it happens. The venues change, the the girl doesn't...except in so many ways. She is such a happy, light filled girl that just brings me so much joy--a real testament to hard work, sweat and tears, and a few miracles along the way. OK--a lot of miracles! Starting with the one that brought her into my home and care.

Regarding the fashion displayed here--notice that Zeke is wearing shorts over his underwear. That is why we had to move to Texas. He considers himself in formal wear with that little addition. Now for Patriece, I'm not sure about the head gear here--she said her hair was messy and she didn't want it in the pictures...somehow I think she will regret this particular fashion choice and wish the scary hairy one was there instead!

Here's my favorite Patriece Story. The kids were all in the car playing the license plate game. "There goes Ohio!" "I see Idaho!" when one of them piped up and said "There's Washington!" Patriece was a little put out since she was losing and responded "Yeah, right! Washington's dead!" There was silence for a second when she said "Well, he is, isn't he?" The STATE, Patriece, the state!

Christmas Video

This is really beautiful! I'm not sure if I know how to embed in a blog, so if you can't just click, go to the website...

http://www.joytoeveryone.com/

Shoshi made a gingerbread house at school. She was so proud, but not proud enough to save it. Within ten minutes she had picked it clean. That would have been great except she ate even the crackers which were hot glued to the milk carton. I'm not sure what that will do to her digestive system, but fortunately, its not the worst thing she's eaten over the years!

Zachary Baptism!

Zachary had a wonderful baptism. All the kids took care of it and how great is that?! Ryan conducted, McKenna was the pianist, Patriece led the music, Taylor and Malika gave talks and Austin gave the prayer. We adults just sat back and enjoyed the show. Zachary was so excited and didn't want to get out of the font. He had a grin a mile wide and said "I'm a member of Jesus' Church!" Mike was feeling just a little sentimental--you could hardly tell except he said "This is our last baptism." I'm sure that comment brings a tear to your eye, too! Personally, I never thought we'd get there...part of me can't believe he's our last (how sad) and part of me can't believe he's our last (WAHOO!). Meanwhile, here's the pics...

Dad and Zachary ready to leave! (Notice the trees, which have nothing whatsoever to do with the subject at hand...but TREES!)


At the church, dressed in white...



The kids...what a bunch of good looking, talented teenagers!

The boys...

The crew...

Mom & Dad