Visit with Gigi

We went over to my mom, GiGi's house, last Monday to celebrate Mother's Day with her. GiGi had planned a suprise for Caleb for his upcoming birthday, a trip to the fire station!! GiGi was so excited to introduce him to the fire truck. He was not so sure about it, but really liked it when they turned on the lights. We had a lot of fun planting flowers, making crafts, and baking cookies with GiGi. This Mother's Day time with her was extra special considering the rollercoaster of events over the past six weeks!! We love her so much and continue to feel God drawing us closer as a family and appreciating each and every moment!!

 

 

 

 

Take me out to the Ballgame

We took the kiddos to their first Travs game of the season. It was beautiful afternoon at Dickey Stephens Park. Fans were allowed to bring their dogs along to the game for an event called Bark @ the Park, which made for an interesting and fun time for the kids. I'm not a huge baseball fan, but do love being outside in this great weather with my sweet fam!! The kids loved sitting right behind the bullpen and Caleb even threw his sippy cup down for the guys, I guess he thought they needed some milk!! The pitcher that night must of had his sippy of milk and wheaties, he pitched his first ever no-hitter, Go Travs!!! We left after the seventh inning stretch around 9pm, which is way past bedtime as you can tell from Kennedy sacked out on the car ride home minutes after stating she was not tired at all :)

 

 

 

 

God's Sovereignty

Many of you know the very unexpected diagnosis my mother received last Tuesday and for those of you who do not, she was diagnosed with a tumor on her pituitary gland which sits right under the brain, so basically a brain tumor. Brain tumor is a scary word in itself and it was not the news I expected when I called my mom to check on her that beautiful afternoon. She had been feeling bad for about 6 months, but I had no clue the enormity of what I was about to hear and can only imagine how see felt when the doctor called her in with the CAT scan results and said "is there anyone with you here today?" Mom knew it was serious at that moment!!! She was admitted into the hospital that night and the next week was frustrating and long with few answers to what to expect. The only thing we know for sure is surgery is coming in the next few weeks and God is Sovereign!!! He is in total control of this entire situation and I see His hand all over it. He is working here in so many ways that I can't even begin to express in words all that I see Him doing. He is repairing a broken relationship between my mother and I (many people know the long struggle I've had with this relationship), He is bringing my mom closer to Him, He is showing me things I need to change in myself, He is showing me patience, He is teaching me to fully trust, He is teaching me I can't control a lot of things as hard as I try, He is teaching me to appreciate each and every moment with my babies, He is teaching me not to get bent out of shape about the little stuff like staying on schedule or messes my kids make, He is bringing me closer to my little brother, He is shining His light to many of my mom's non-believing friends through the strength and peace she is showing in this trial, He is, He is, He is!!!! God has been at work orchestrating the good that can come out of this brain mass because He works all things to good and I'm resting in this promise!!!! Of course, this is not the way I would have chosen, but if we can grower closer to Him and gloirfy Him by walking through this valley, His will be done!!!

Petit Jean

So we had so much fun camping last weekend, we decided to do it again this week. Kennedy was a little diappointed we didn't stay in a tent last time, so we needed to get her that "tent" experience she was so eager for!!! Dave had Good Friday off, so we packed up the car and headed up to Petit Jean for an overnight camping trip last night. We got there just in time to set up camp, go to the playground, roast hot dogs and smores!!! My kids love the outdoors and so do we, we enjoyed this time together so much taking in the beauty of God's creation on Good Friday!!! We woke up and went hiking and exploring most of the day on various trails in the park. We used this time to talk about Jesus and what He did for us on the glorious scandalous day, it was the perfect setting for our time together and I think maybe we should make this our families new tradtion!!! We made it home in time for the kids school egg hunt and went to chruch afterward for Good Friday service. It was self-guided and we were able to bring the kids with us and reinterate much of what we had talked about on our hike, there was a video that helped give Kennedy a visual of what we had been talking about and I can see how much she is learning, it is so exciting to see her so eager to learn about Christ and all He has done for us. When we were leaving church, she said "Daddy, I'm sad Jesus had to die" and so are we, but were so glad that He died so that we may live.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Camping

We took the kids over to meet my dad's family for an overnight camping trip. My grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins, dad, brother, and even some great-aunts and uncles were there for the week. My grandparents usually stay at the lake for a month or even longer sometimes. This trip brought back great memories for me. As a kid, we always went with my dad's family on camping trips and it was exactly like I remembered them!! Lots of family, lots of fishing, lots of laughter, and lots of fun. All my dad's family are huge outdoorsman, one of my uncles caught forty fish in one afternoon and the fish were not "biting" this week due to the windy weather. Kennedy had a great time playing with cousins that she doesn't see near enough and Caleb loved the dirt, throwing rocks, and watching the boats. Boat is his new favorite word and my uncle is convinced he will be a hunter/fisherman :) Below are pics. of Kennedy and her third cousin; Abie, having girl talk and fishin and Caleb and third cousin; Dustin, teaching him to skip rocks.

 

 

 

 

Wye Mountain

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Garvin Gardens

The kiddos, GiGi, Uncle Chase and I made a trip to Garvin Gardens today. I'm always amazed by the thousands of beautiful tulips. The kids had a blast, Kennedy posing and Caleb running full speed ahead!!! He only picked one tulip which wasn't bad for all the temptation. We enjoyed a picnic lunch, fed the coy, and chased the model train around the track. We could not have asked for better weather.