Away We Go!

Surprise! Surprise!

We're hitting the road for a Family Summer Beach Trip!

......AND we're going to Disney World!!!!


After much secret planning, saving and preparing we revealed our BIG SECRET SUMMER PLANS to Carley, Zoe and Grandma and their jaws dropped and they were momentarily speechless before the squeals began to ring out.

Now, after weeks of getting ready we are loading up to finally be on our way (despite all the crazy hurdles that have been flung our way....we are thankful and praising God that we get to actually have this special vacation opportunity! Yay!)

Making our way back home July 3rd & 4th.

We're more than ready to write some of our own this summer!

A very huge and heartfelt thank you to Brenda and Monte! You guys have done so much to help make this trip a reality for us and we cannot express enough how grateful we are! We're super excited about the time share resorts we get to stay at, wahoo!!! Wish you could be with us. Love you to pieces! We will take lots of pictures to share. xo  

P.S.

Can't wait to see the girls faces at Disney World....especially since none of us have ever been and when we told them, Zoe asked if it was going to be like a park that had a "princess puppet show". 

Oh sweet darlin' it's gonna be so much more than a puppet show!

She has arrived!

.......and now they are a family of five! Yay! 

Don't know what we're going to do with all these precious little girls. 

Praise the Lord for His Miraculous Works and Abundant Blessings!

Let's Go Camping!

I love seeing Jeremy get so excited about writing out and checking off lists, organizing supplies, shopping for new "essentials", and making plans.

When does he do such things, you ask?

When he gets to plan a camping trip for us, that's when. And it's so fun to watch. I just step out of the way and let him do his thing. All I have to do is pack for me and the girls and go along for the adventure.

Thanks babe. We wouldn't love camping trips near so much without you and all you do.

We set off on our Summer Camping Weekend a week or so before school was actually out because we had a long weekend and because we wanted to go before it got too stinkin' hot.

So of course, it rained.

Ah well, we went anyway.

All the campsites at Beavers Bend in Broken Bow, Oklahoma were taken but that was ok with us because they were all muddy. So we drove an hour further up the road to another lake where there were still campsites available and it was completely dry. yipee!

We still went to Beavers Bend to do all of our hiking and exploring along the river and it was gorgeous!

Here are the pics:

Summing up the end of our Spring Semester

Guess I've got some catching up to do.

Time has been flying by and we have certainly been busy this spring and start of summer.
A good deal of trials and strenuous times but also a great number of blessings.
We have been reminded over and over how good and constant God is through the ebb and flow of life's unpredictable days.
If there is one word I could use to describe how we've felt through these recent months it would be: thankful.


Let me attempt to give a "photo re-cap" of some of our more enjoyable moments...

I sure do wish flowers could last longer, don't you. They are just so enchanting. I suppose there is probably a lesson there from our Creator about appreciating the beauty of what we have in life while we have it because life passes by so quickly. What a joy to know Heaven is waiting for us! And the beauty we know in our hearts and lives now is nothing in comparison to being in His presence.



Highlights from the end of the Spring Semester of school.....

Carley finished 2nd Grade. It was a bittersweet day of celebrating and saying goodbye to some of her classmates who are moving away. Can't believe she will be in 3rd grade next year. 

Words to describe Carley at Age 8: 

smart, loving, adventurous, creative, energetic, detective, explorer, athletic, swimmer, happy, curious, fun, loves Jesus, great big sister, awesome helper, reader, inventor, leader, big hearted, joyful

Zoe turned 4 this Spring. Next year will be her last year at home with me which is also a bittersweet thought. I am looking forward to using the amazing Sonlight curriculum I got from Jodi to home school her for preschool next year and I will be sad when my baby goes off to Kindergarten. She is so ready though....she loves school just like her big sister and I know she will do great. 

Words to describe Zoe at Age 4:

talkative, silly, entertaining, great big personality, fun, loving, cuddly, precious, curious, smart, picky eater....but trying, observant, determined, playful, homebody, honest, hilarious, happy, great at making up words, songs and pretty much her own little language, lol

And to share with you a few things that don't have "photo re-caps"

• Our church family has been through a difficult season of change. As we begin anew we are trusting and following the Lord and praying that in all things we stay true to His word and give Him the glory and praise. 
• We are thankful that in all circumstances we have seen the Lord working around us in in us. He is our steady rock. We cannot rely on our own thoughts, emotions, experiences, or feelings to lead us faithfully....but we can rely on God an His Word to do so without fail.
• Our finances have taken a few beatings with unexpected home and auto emergency repairs and extra bills but somehow, thank the Lord, it has all worked out and we feel so very grateful. 
• A dear and very close friend experienced a traumatic and extremely dangerous illness which almost took her life but she is home from the hospital and slowly recovering now and we continue to thank God and pray for her and her family through it all. 
• Nana and Papa sold their home in Tulia. It was a mix of emotions for us all since that was Jeremy's childhood home and the place we went for family gatherings, holidays and vacations throughout our marriage, but we are also very happy for the new beginnings this brings for Brenda and Monte. We are excited for them and for all that the future holds wherever they may settle next.