Father's Day

We had a great Father's day with our family. We saw both sides in one day and had steak at both houses. Greg was in heaven! Here's some photo's at Grammy and Paw-Paw's house.
Time for a big squeeze

Greg got some money to play golf from his parents and some Dove chocolates. SCORE!

Ed (Greg's dad) reading his Father's day card. It was a sweet one!

Greg got a sweet card from me. I am so blessed to have a husband that loves the Lord and loves his family. He is truly awesome!

Carlee picked an eggplant from her Grammy's garden that was huge. We gave it to my dad since he loves eggplant. I don't think Carlee's mouth could get any bigger.

Carlee and Daddy had fun doing some puzzles at Nana and Grandpa's house. I think Nana helped some too.

She was so proud of herself for completing it. Her smile tells it all!

All the boys playing on the floor with Josiah's toys. Well, mainly Zachary playing with Josiah's toys and everyone else watching. This was so cute to watch. Josiah was fascinated by Zachary.

Me and my dad.... I love him so much! Couldn't have asked for a better father.

Carlee loved making Lego people. She made one for everyone in the family.

Zachary loved making a big tower of Lego's.

Carlee and grandpa.... her poses crack me up

What an enjoyable day! We loved being together with the people we love most.

My Paw-Paw

I think it is funny how Zachary is awake and Paw-Paw is asleep in this picture.

Paw-Paw with Carlee when she was a baby. This is how he put all the grandkids to sleep (right on his chest).

My Paw-Paw went to be with the Lord June 11, 2010. He was 82 year old. My Paw-Paw was a strong man inside and out. He worked hard and spent his time fixing things, serving others, holding babies and giving gifts. My Paw-Paw could not stay still for very long. He lived his life by doing things and his actions spoke louder than his words.

My Paw-Paw gave me my first car (a 1978 Impala). It was like a big boat. He wanted me to be protected and safe. It was humbling to drive such a mammoth of a car, but learning humility at 18 years of age was a good lesson to learn. He gave me independence as well by giving me that car. I traveled to and from school and was never hurt. That car did have a few stoles, a few scratches and bumps, but nothing my PawPaw couldn't fix. He made sure that car was always clean and filled with gas and even got it painted for me. Every time I saw PawPaw, he was giving me another $20 to fill my tank.

When I was younger and would spend the night at their house, Paw-Paw always made sure Rachel and I had a good time by letting us go shopping with Miemaw, filling up the turtle swimming pool to let us swim, or swinging me on the tree swing in their front yard and letting me ride until "the cat died."

When I graduated from high school, Paw-Paw paid for me to go to Hawaii with my Miemaw and cousin Craig (who also graduated). Paw-paw was not a big fan of flying.

I'll never forget the day my Paw-paw called me one morning a year or so after I had been married and he told me how much he liked my husband. I had never talked to my Paw-paw on the phone before and he just went on and on about how much he admired Greg. It was such a blessing to have his approval. Now I realize how much my husband is like my Paw-Paw: slow to speak, slow to become angry, his actions speak louder than his words, he makes sure I am always protected and having a good time..... I have been blessed.

My PawPaw's passing has reminded me of the rich Godly heritage I have been blessed with. I am thankful be live in a line of generations that love God and serve others. May my Paw-Paw's life be carried forth in mine, my children, my children's children and on. May the simple pleasure in life be just that and may the true richness in life be that of our faith in God. Thank you Paw-Paw for never compromising and holding the standard high. You were "A good and faithful servant." I love you and will miss you, but I know you are in a better place- I hope you are riding your sports car on streets of gold and beholding the face of Jesus.

I'll end with the song God gave me to sing at my Paw-Paw's memorial service.

"These words are from my heart. They are spoken out of love.

They reveal the special times hidden in our minds.

They will remind us of our faith and devotion.

These words are the countless gifts passed down to you and me.

These words are the beautiful stories of our lives that give us hope and meaning.

These words our a picture of our years and they can bring us healing."

Blueberry Picking

Rain or shine..... we decided to go blueberry picking after an emotionally challenging day at my Pap-Paw's memorial service. Blueberry picking was eventful and adventurous. It was fun and beautiful. I'm so glad we got to create some great memories. I think my PawPaw would have wanted me to do the same thing. Carlee and Zachary were pretty sweet sharing an umbrella. I loved that she could reach the ones at her level and I could reach the blueberries at my level. No backaches!

My bebe enjoying his blueberries

Zachary loved it when someone shared blueberries with him. He preferred to eat the ones that came from others. He tried to save the ones he picked as much as possible. haha

Carlee helped pick them, but did not like the taste of them at all.

After an hour of picking, we decided to leave since it was getting close to bedtime. The kids were done standing and were beginning to get a little fussy. All together we collected 4 and half pounds of blueberries. You would think with four sets of hands we would have been able to get more, but I think we were all hungry and ate a fair share. We will probably go back again since the farm is pretty close. Here's to yummy blueberry pancakes, blueberry muffins and more. Happy baking!

Dance Production "Awaken"

Last Friday was Carlee's dance production. This years performance was called, "Awaken." It had to do with awakening people's hearts to the coming of Jesus and how all nations tribes and tongues will gather one day to worship the King of Kings. It was truly awesome! It was exactly what I needed to hear and see after hearing about my PawPaw's passing the same day. The very first song was "Revelation Song" by Kari Jobe and I cried all the way through it. It was like being in the throneroom of heaven. What a blessing to know He is with Jesus! I loved the whole show especially when Carlee danced. She did a great job! She did all the right moves and exerted her enthusiasm here and there by jumping throughout the dance. It was priceless! I love my girl!
Here is a picture of Carlee and Emma (one of her dance friends), who is 7 years old.
Carlee loved taking pictures with all the older dancers at the end of the show.

Carlee with Ms. Rebecca

A very happy girl

Carlee's costume was little baby doll dress. They danced to a portion of "Jesus Loves Me," that melted my heart. Her dance had some older girls in it and it was sweet. The beginner dancers tried to copy the older girls in their own unique way. So cute!

Backstage all excited and ready

Hope and Carlee (these girls know how to have fun together)

Holly, Mary and Carlee

Getting ready backstage....Time to get dressed

This was at the rehearsal during the week. These girls were wound up and very excited to get back on stage.

Carlee hugging Emma- they are always hugging and smiling when they are together

Carlee on stage doing her own thing.

This was the end of their dance when they danced to "Jesus loves me." Just precious!

I love that Carlee loves to dance and shine Jesus through her talent. What a blessing to be at a Christian dance studio where those values are implemented.

VBS High Seas Expedition

I had the special privilege in helping New Haven House of Prayer lead the kids worship for their VBS last week. We were up and out of the house early every day from 8:30am to 12pm. Carlee was old enough to participate and she loved every bit of it. She loved her crew leader, Mrs. Mary. Carlee helped me lead most of the songs on stage since she had memorized all the songs and motions prior to VBS starting. She and I dressed alike a few days in a row and looked like sailors. It was a blast teaching kids about Jesus and getting them all excited about God's mighty love. It really was a great way to wake up every morning. I am missing it. Here is a picture of the set up on stage. I wish it was a better picture. This one does not do justice to the awesome design of the ships interior.

Zachary enjoyed his time in his class too eating blue jello and other yummy snacks, making crafts, doing skits, singing songs and being with his friends. However, he got sick on the last two days with a bad stomach bug and fever. Fortunately, my mom and mother-in-law stayed with him those days so I could lead the worship. (The bug lasted for 6 days, but he is all healed and doing better.)

Here Carlee is with her new friend, Kennedy and her crew leader, Mrs. Mary (who happened to get sick the same day Zachary did).

It was a fun and busy week. Carlee had her dance rehearsals and dance production during this week as well in the afternoons, but we were able to do it all through God's strength. I was pretty stressed because of all the business, but now I realize that stress did not accomplish anything. I think I am just not quite used to the non-stop routine schedule since we home-school and stay at home a lot. The older my kids get the more active our lives seem to be. It is my desire to be able to go and still stay focused on God helping me along the way. This is a process!

Galveston Trip

Greg and I took the kids to the beach last Wednesday on Zachary's birthday. They had never been so it was very exciting watching their reactions when we arrived. They had a blast and got very sandy as seen below.
Zachary liked making sand castles with daddy and looking for shells. He was not a big fan of the ocean and the waves splashing in his face. Once the water got in his mouth he was done going in the water. Here he is with his sand castles... getting ready to destroy them all.

Sand castles are now demolished. I love this action shot!

Carlee played in the sand a little, but mainly stayed in the ocean splashing in the water. Her and I went out in the water a lot and rode in the waves on our tummies. Later on, she found a little girlfriend to play with and they had lots of fun running and splashing in the water together. It was so great watching them have so much fun.

One of my favorite shots of our girl!

Here Carlee is imitating her mommy and doing some "Wholy fit" poses on the beach. (this is what I did on our Florida vacation last year and she remembers the pictures) This girl cracks me up!

Daddy and Zachary are returning from their sea shell collecting walk. They got some great shells!

Family shot

Here Zachary is thinking about taking a nap in the car while we were at the beach. He just got a little too excited to settle down to rest. Would you believe? haha

We drove our car onto the beach. It worked great when we were there because everything was close by and we didn't have to unload the whole car. We brought a gallon jug of water to rinse our feet off and it helped out a lot. Thankfully our car in very functional and can be washed out if needed.

The rest of the day was spent souvenir shopping, walking along the strand, eating sushi at Sky Bar (the place we went on our Anniversary trip, but this time we ate outside), and going to the chocolate factory. We did all of this without taking showers after being at the beach. We were definitely ready to get home to wash off.

It really was a fun day! I look forward to going back again sometime soon!