Better late then never!

Of course I had hoped to do this post a couple of weeks ago, but hadn't really found the time to sit down at the computer to put it all together. Memorial Day we spent at my parents' house. We had lunch with my parents and spent the afternoon watching the kids play in the kiddie pool and sprinkler. It was a beautiful sunny day! The kids had a fabulous time! They even had a water fight with their Paw Paw. If my memory serves me correctly, Jackson fell asleep on the way home around 5:30 p.m. I placed him on the couch in hope that he would just take a little short nap. After several attempts to wake him up we stopped trying. I changed him into a pull-up and carried him off to bed. He came in our room around 2:00 a.m. He went potty and crawled in our bed and slept til 8:00 a.m. the next morning! We have spent many days outside playing in the water and its the best remedy for getting kids completely exhausted and they sleep fabulously all night long!!!( B/c of this the parents' get great rest, too!!!)

Enjoy the pics!!!

Playing Catch up!

The last couple of weeks have been crazy busy! I think I have been gone from the house everyday for something. I totally love it! Of course, you would think the house would stay in order a little better b/c we aren't here, but when you are on the go so much things just get tossed around. Oh, well!

So this is my "catch up" post. We celebrated Jaycee's birthday on Saturday May 22nd. We had just a little family party. Jaycee's birthday theme this year was Tinkerbell. The family went in together and got Jaycee a John Deere power wheels Gator. We sent her on a scavenger hunt to find it. She loved doing the scavenger hunt and she was super excited when she found the Gator. Both kids love playing on the Gator.

On Sunday evening, Jaycee sang again at church with the pre-school choir. She so loves to sing and its so precious to watch all of those little pre-schoolers worshiping God. Their teachers do a fabulous job with them all. They will start up choir again in the Fall. Jackson will be joining Jaycee on stage. The 3 year old class will be on stage to sing one song with the 4 and 5 year old classes. I am sure in the Fall I will be really nervous b/c I am not quite sure how Jackson will do. He will either not go up on stage at all or he will be wild and crazy! Hopefully, by then he will be somewhere in the middle of those 2 extremes.

Jaycee also has a best friend that is so sweet and precious from church. Chloe is 2 days older then Jaycee. May 27th, Chloe, her mom Mandy, Jaycee, and I had a little girls' play date. We had so much fun. We went to a fun little store called Dear Friends in Duncan. The owner of the store is super sweet and loves little girls! Chloe and Jaycee got to make their own lip gloss and body lotion. The girls loved doing it. They started out a little shy, but by the end they were definitely into making the stuff. Its so darling seeing them interact with one another. After that we headed to the park. We had lots of fun, but by the end both girls were exhausted. It was a great fun day and we can't wait to do it again!


Happy 5th Birthday, Jaycee!

Our little birthday girl!

Good job, Sis!!!

Jackson trying out Jaycee's new chair from Amy, Kiley, and Keely!

Ma and Pa got this for Jaycee! I can't wait to start using it!

Finding her first clue in her closet!

Second clue in the hairbrush drawer in the bathroom!

Third clue under the mouse pad at the computer!

Fourth clue in Daddy's pockets!

She found it!!!

Taking it for a spin!

Loading the dump bed with rocks!

What a sweet big sis to let her brother ride along!

Jaycee, Chloe, and the sweet lady who helped them!

The girls stirring up their lip gloss!

Jaycee showing off her pink cotton candy lip gloss!

Chloe showing off her blue cotton candy lip gloss!

2 beautiful sweet and precious little girls!!!

Is it possible...

that our beautiful precious sweet adorable fun-loving baby girl is 5 years old today??? Wow, how time has flown by for our family. Its amazing that 5 short years ago (at this time as I am typing) Jaycee had been in my arms for only 7 minutes. At the first sight of her she had stolen our heart away!!! Jaycee and I watched our home video this morning of the moments shortly after she was delivered. Thinking back at that time I never could have imagined that we would already be celebrating her 5th birthday. What a precious joyous day that was to have her join our family and she is still as precious as she was the moment they laid her on my chest.

Jaycee Ann, how loved you are by so many people! Your smile melts anyone's heart. You are a hard worker and so intense at everything you do. You are a fighter to the end. I love that our house is filled with your laughter, hugs, kisses, and the beautiful sound of your voice. What would we ever do without our Jaycee Ann? Mommy would not be the same at all. You my baby girl makes momma's heart sing. You challenge me every day to be a better mom, to be a better wife, and to be a better follower of Jesus Christ. My heart's desire for you my sweet baby girl is to have a deep passionate relationship with Jesus Christ. I pray every day that you will have such a hunger to know your Heavenly Father. That you will pursue after Him all the days of your life. I am so thankful that God is already answering that prayer. You are always singing songs of praise to God. You love me reading Bible stories to you. Jackson would be totally lost without his big sister. He loves you so very much. I know that at times that isn't always evident, but remember he can't be mushy all the time. Your dad, well I don't think I really need to say much about that b/c the moment we found out you were you, you already had Dad wrapped around your little finger. I think with each passing year that grip gets tighter! Your daddy adores you!

Happy Birthday sweet sweet baby girl! As mommy always says no matter how big you are or how old you will get you will always be momma's baby girl! We love you to the moon and back! You are our pride and joy! God has truly blessed us with one of life's most precious gifts!!!





Jaycee's Favorites at age 5-

Favorite Cartoon- Maisy

Favorite Food-PB&J Sandwiches

Favorite Ice Cream- Mint Chocolate Chip

Favorite Bible Story- Samson

Favorite Song- Ho, Ho, Ho, Hosanna!

Favorite Color- Blue

Favorite Movie- TinkerBell and the Lost Treasure

Favorite NASCAR driver- Denny Hamlin

Favorite Animal- Puppies

Occupation as an adult- Nurse

My Heart Cries Out!

The more I seek you by Zach Neese
The more I seek You
The more I find You
The more I find You
The more I love You

Chorus:
I wanna sit at Your feet
Drink from the cup in Your hand
Lay back against You and breathe
Feel Your heartbeat

This love is so deep
it’s more than I can stand
I melt in Your peace
It’s overwhelming.

You are the One by Lincoln Brewster
You’re the One Who made the Heavens
You’re the One Who shaped the Earth
You’re the One Who formed my heart
Long before my birth
I believe You’ll always lead me
All my days have been ordained
All Your thoughts toward me are holy
Full of love and grace

CHORUS:
You are the One You are holy
You are the One You are worthy
You are the One
You are the One everlasting
You are the One I will worship
You are the One I will serve all my days
You are the One
You are the One everlasting
You are the One
Jesus You’re the One

Worthy, You are worthy by Matt Redman
Worthy, You are worthy
Much more worthy than I know
I cannot imagine
Just how glorious You are
And I cannot begin to tell
How deep a love You bring
O Lord my ears have heard of You
But now my eyes have seen

You're worthy
You're worthy
You're worthy
You're worthy to be praised
Forever and a day

Glory, I give glory
To the One who saved my soul
You found me and You freed me
From the shame that was my own
And I cannot begin to tell
How merciful You've been
O Lord, my ears had heard of You
But now my eyes have seen

We'll sing an anthem of the highest praise
We'll sound an anthem of Your glorious name


I don't think there is any possible way that I can express in words how God has been so good and faithful to me. The change in my heart that God has done over the past four months is indescribable. I have made the choice that water proof mascara will now be worn to every church service because I have yet to sit through one that hasn't brought tears to my eyes. These 3 songs were sung yesterday at church. As I looked for the lyrics this morning and just reading through them again my heart cries out in joy, love, and awe for my Heavenly Father. I have so longed for the deep passion I have now and I long for even more. As I have struggled many times in my walk with the Lord, His grace and mercy has always been there and now has opened the eyes of my heart to see JESUS!!! Here goes the best way of describing what God is doing in my life. God created us to be His image-bearers. That we are to reflect an accurate picture of who God is. Well, because of Adam's sin, that mirror was broken. Only because of Jesus leaving His place in Heaven and coming to earth to live a perfect sinless life in complete humility and die on the cross for our sins do we have a way to have a personal relationship with our Heavenly Father. Now through the power of the Holy Spirit at work in our lives God can take and start putting the pieces of that broken mirror back together that we may reflect an accurate picture of God to the world around us. I am no where near being a completed mirror, but piece by piece of everything that I have been through in my life God is re-making that mirror. Oh, how wonderful it is to be an image-bearer for the Creator of the universe. I am thankful that He is the one I serve! That He is worthy! That His love is deep and unconditional. He is the only One that deserves all of our praise, honor, and glory!

I choose the gospel!

What is the Gospel? The word gospel simply means “good news.” The central message of the Bible is the gospel, or good news, about the person and work of Jesus Christ. In 1 Corinthians 15:1–4, Paul provides the most succinct summary of the gospel: the man Jesus is also God, or Christ, and died on a cross in our place, paying the penalty for our sins; three days later He rose to conquer sin and death and give the gift of salvation to all who believe in Him alone for eternal life.

The great reformer Martin Luther rightly said that, as sinners, we are prone to pursue a relationship with God in one of two ways. The first is religion/spirituality and the second is the gospel. The two are antithetical in every way.

Religion says that if we obey God He will love us. The gospel says that it is because God has loved us through Jesus that we can obey.

Religion says that the world is filled with good people and bad people. The gospel says that the world is filled with bad people who are either repentant or unrepentant.

Religion says that you should trust in what you do as a good moral person. The gospel says that you should trust in the perfectly sinless life of Jesus because He alone is the only good and truly moral person who will ever live.

The goal of religion is to get from God such things as health, wealth, insight, power, and control. The goal of the gospel is not the gifts God gives, but rather God as the gift given to us by grace.

Religion is about what I have to do. The gospel is about what I get to do. Religion sees hardship in life as punishment from God. The gospel sees hardship in life as sanctifying affliction that reminds us of Jesus’ sufferings and is used by God in love to make us more like Jesus. Religion is about me. The gospel is about Jesus.

Religion leads to an uncertainty about my standing before God because I never know if I have done enough to please God. The gospel leads to a certainty about my standing before God because of the finished work of Jesus on my behalf on the cross.

Religion ends in either pride (because I think I am better than other people) or despair (because I continually fall short of God’s commands). The gospel ends in humble and confident joy because of the power of Jesus at work for me, in me, through me, and sometimes in spite of me.

I'm back!

Company has come and gone. We are now trying to get back to "normal" life around here. Not sure what that really looks like, but I am sure it has a little to do with kids getting back into daily routines, bedtime routines, and sleeping once again all night in their own beds. The first day of no company is never an easy one. Poor Jaycee was in full bloom of emotions. She fell apart at every little thing that didn't go exactly her way. Lord help us for when the teenage years hit! When there are more people in the house you don't have as much of the sibling conflicts, but they were back in full force on Wednesday. We pushed through that day and yesterday was much better. Jaycee is back into her bed and loving it. Jackson starts out in his bed, but in the wee hours of the night, he ventures into our room and finds a nice cozy spot between mommy and daddy. I hope with the next week of really nice weather and no rain we can totally drain that boy playing outside that he will be so tired he won't be able to find our room and stay in his bed all night.

We had a fabulous time with family! 2 weeks passed by way too fast. I need to give myself a huge slap on the hand for not taking pictures. I really don't know where my mind was at in that department. Next time we are all together I will have lots of pictures to document our time together. The first week of Nana and Papa's visit we had great weather. The kids played outside everyday. We had fun at the Mariners vs Rangers game. The only bummer is that on our drive down a rock flew up and hit our windshield. It left a pretty good mark right in the center of the windshield. It was great having Papa here b/c he did all of the calling and appointment scheduling to get the window replaced. So thankful I didn't have to do any of that! Phil arrived on Thursday April 15th. The guys went fishing the next day with my dad and his buddy at Lake Texhoma. They all had a great time! Saturday was full of rain making it not such a great day since that was race day for NASCAR and the Nationwide race. We still made the trip down to Ft. Worth in fear that we wouldn't go and they would have the race. We still had a great time checking at Texas Motor Speedway and all the semis full of NASCAR merchandise. Sunday it rained as well so not only did the Nationwide race get postponed again but the Sprint Cup series was too. Both races were re-scheduled for Monday. The bonus was that Texas Motor Speedway allowed you to attend both races regardless of what race tickets you had purchased. The down side was that Phil had to fly back to Washington on Monday. We did consider changing Phil's ticket, but the lack of control we had over races starting on time, traffic, and weather we decided it was too much of a risk to take. Byron and Andy dropped Phil off Monday morning in Oklahoma City and then we headed off to Ft. Worth to catch the end of the Sprint Cup Series race and then see the entire Nationwide race. It was a wonderful day of racing! We arrived at just the right time to watch an amazing end to the Sprint Cup race. There was a huge crash that happened right in front of us causing 10 cars to exit the race. The red flag was issued to stop the race for about a 20 minute race delay so the clean up crew could get the track back up to par. The green flag was given around 12 laps to go I believe. It was a great race to the finish. Denny Hamlin which is one of our favorite drivers if not our favorite won the race. If Jimmie Johnson would have had one more lap he would have been victorious! That wasn't the case, Hamlin won! This guy is so tough. He had reconstructive knee surgery 3 weeks ago on his torn ACL in his left knee, but he is still racing and winning!!! The Nationwide race was fun, but no major crashes. Just being there is so incredible. Its so loud! Because of re-scheduling it wasn't packed making it easy to roam around and check the race out from different areas. It was a wonderful day at Texas Motor Speedway!

We totally loved having Nana, Papa, and Phil here. We had a great time playing, laughing, visiting, and being together. We look forward to doing it again and with the rest of the family!!! We plan to visit Washington sometime this summer, but haven't nailed down a date yet. It will most likely be July or August. June is a busy month for us. My parents are usually gone at least a week in June and my sis is getting married June 26th. That doesn't give us a lot of days free in June to travel to Washington. We will keep everyone posted!!!!

Our next 2 weeks!

Well, you probably won't be seeing much on our blog over the next 2 weeks! Nana and Papa arrive this Wednesday. They will be here for 2 whole weeks! WOOHOO!!!! Byron turns 30 this Thursday. So glad that he will be joining the 30's club, so maybe I won't have to hear all the comments about him being closer to his mid-twenties and that I am closer to my mid-thirties.(I highly doubt the comments will stop though.) Then Friday we are going to the Rangers vs. Mariners baseball game. The kids loved going last year and they can't wait to watch the fireworks show after the conclusion of the game! I am sure we will have lots of other fun activities during their stay. On April 15th, Phil arrives for a short visit. All of us adults are going to the NASCAR Nationwide Series at Texas Motor Speedway on Saturday the 17th. Hopefully, after all of our company leaves I will have lots of stories to share as well as pictures! We are so excited to have our family coming to visit. Look forward to making a lot of memories that we will cherish forever.