Just a Planting..

Our garden, Gordon, has been generous to us this year. We have put canned green beans and squash (plus we have been eating them fresh like crazy), we have frozen some purple hull peas (like black eye peas) and we have tomatoes, sweet potatoes, okra, and cantaloupe that are still filling our fridge. If that was not enough...we decided to have a bit of a pumpkin patch this year. The K-man planted "Mega" pumpkins

-and Little Bit planted "jack-o-lantern" pumpkins.

We have had pretty good luck in the past with pumpkins...I hope they grow huge for the boys sake and excitement!

Hmmm... I think I am getting in the mood for fall-

at least a break from this Texas heat wave!!!

Whew!

WHEW!

We have been having a non-stop SUMMER.

Sometimes I wonder how we manage to handle all the FUN.

( I guess the naps here and there help!)

We have had some FUN "Family Night Outs" with our church family.
Here we are playing a serious game of kickball...
BOYS vs Girls!
I have to say our boys loved the whole idea of kicking a ball as hard as they could!
We had the opportunity to bake a Father's Day dessert for the
"Main Man" in our lives. Yes, that is sticky, cherry filling on Little Bits leg!

Happy Father's Day yearly photo. CHEESE!

AND...Gordon, our garden, has once again kept us on our toes!
We have been traveling so much that we actually canned our veggies on the road. Once at the Smith home and once at my adorable husband's parents house-
You do what ya gotta do!


The boys have been OHHHH so helpful!

With all the hustle and bustle at home...we decided to take our show on the road.

We spent some time in Galveston. Is is so funny, my adorable husband and I both grew up close to the coast, so the beach was nothing special. BUT, to our boys it is sooooo "awesome!"

I have to say... the boys loved the waves, but the sand was the highlight of the beach!

We also visited the Rain Forest Cafe in Galveston.

This picture says it all!

They loved it!

Ok, Little Bit did FREAK out a bit during the TWO "thunderstorms", but the rest of the time smooth sailing!

Then it was off to Houston to spend time with the Flamingo families.

(Yep, THE FLAMINGOS!)

The K-man and Little Bit had not seen the other kids in ...Oh my...forever!

Once K-man got over being shy, it was off to the pool!

Little Bit was mesmerized by sweet Kacie!

Hmmm...arranged marriage???

Yes, this poor pool will never be the same after

4 Mommas and 8 children spent the afternoon there!

Good memories!

This pictures SERIOUSLY makes my heart smile...HUGE SMILE!

The three day and three night stay was PACKED! I can't think of a second that was not planned for fun! We were worn out, but just kept on running to the next event for that hour!

Can we say-

SLIP and SLIDE!

Oh...more happy heart pictures!

I am blessed to have such wonderful friends!

We came home for a couple of days (LITERALLY!) and had just enough time to wash clothes and repack to head back down south for baby showers and some family time!

My sister is due in 5ish weeks and I can hardly stand it!

"We" are having a girl...I mean, she is having a girl!

Lilah Claire.

Lindsey had two baby showers while we were down there...

I love shower cake and punch-Oh wait, it's not about me!

Lindsey looked adorable big belly and all!

Did I mention we are having a girl!

While I was running around drinking punch and eating cake with Lindsey and my Mom, the boys were hanging out at my adorable husband's parents house enjoying time with Grammie & Poppa, and of course Chica (the horse).

So many pictures! So little space!

We were down south for about 5 days total between the grandparents and then it was back up north for more fun!

We made it home just in time to celebrate July 4th twice!

Once on the 3rd - With friends from church at a huge firework show that was right above us! BEAUTIFUL...not so fun for Little Bit! He thought they were too loud and were going to land on us (I told you they were right above us!)

Then on the 4th- We hung out with friends from church and swam, cooked out, and of course more fireworks that Little Bit could not handle! I guess after two attempts...we have learned, they are NOT his thing!

Family FUN on Independence Day!

Man, we were worn out after the boys getting to bed around midnight two nights in a row-

not smart to do too often...there seem to be many more tears the next day!

So, as you can see we are just about PLUM WORN OUT!!!

We have a trip this weekend to Oklahoma and then VBS later in July.

WHEW!

I know this will all be over soon and the memories will be wonderful, but for right now the bed is calling my name!

I hope you are worn out with fun summer activities too!

Shop Local

The boys and I spent some time in town today...(I avoid taking both boys at the same time at all cost), but today we made it an adventure. Between the "must" errands, we made a couple of stops at locally owned business. One is a new little specialty popcorn/fudge place and another was a little cafe for lunch. This past weekend I also ventured out into our down town area and loved strolling among the stores. Why do I not do the local thing more often- I love it and it's what makes small towns great.

Oh- we got cotton candy, banana, and pickled flavored popcorn!

Caught by Surprise!

We had a very eventful evening yesterday (Friday evening).

About 7:00pm while picking in the garden I noticed a dark sky. As the boys continued to pick it started thundering and lightening (No big deal...just a thunderstorm, Right?). As the lightening seemed to move closer my adorable husband had the boys start making their way indoors. While waiting on the boys we noticed some low clouds moving in...I turned inside and as I did my adorable husband called for me to turn on the TV as the wind started to pick up. About that time there was a loud BOOM and the electricity went out and it started hailing!!!...we swoop up the boys and head for the closet. We had my adorable husband's laptop in the closet and as we were reading about the tornado warning for our area the house starts to creek and rattle. I slid my fingers out under the closet door to hold the door from rattling and scaring the boys- As I do I feel a weird sucking like breeze and we hear a grumbling like noise and my adorable husband asks me if that sounds like thunder...NOPE! We remain in the closet for what seems like forever! My adorable husband finally makes his way around the house. He returns with a look on his face and says..."It's gone."

Do you know what is missing?

Yep! The Tree Set .

When K-man was told about their Tree Set he just started sobbing and asking why God makes "Big Storms". We spent some time while we were getting over the initial shock of things talking about our faith and how thankful we were to all be alright (still a bit heart sad).

From start (the hail) to finish I think the storm/tornado lasted a total of 10 minutes, but felt like an hour. A little side note that makes me nervous is how close the Tree Set was to where we were in the closet...still bothers me to think about it.


From what we can gather, the Tree Set was lifted and twisted and then thrown down into our garden in about 100 pieces! After talking to our neighbor, our trampoline had to have been lifted up and flown through the air, hitting his storage building and then landing in the next yard over completely destroyed with springs and poles driven into the ground in several yards.


Our well staked windmill was also damaged.
The "only" damage we had was: the Tree Set, the trampoline, the windmill, our wooden fence is a bit loose, our deck is loose, a little water damage in the hall way, the garden is flat (but we are hopeful)...Oh, I have to add in here that I was in the middle of canning a batch of green beans before the electricity went out- grrr!
Bottom line- we feel very blessed and lucky!

Here are some pictures as we made our way around our loop to check on all the neighbors.
The sky was a bit strange until it grew dark.

Here are some neighbors checking on each other and making phone call to neighbors that were out of town. We had no electricity for about 4 hours (not really too bad considering the storm).

Around our loop the damages included roofs, chimney's blown down, play sets gone, trees down and twisted, barns and shops destroyed, car ports down..BLESSING -no one was hurt!

When the electricity finally came back on we bathed the boys and then they slept in the living room, because understandably they were a bit anxious. When we woke up, the Tree Set was still gone- Bummer! But the day was sunny and we were glad to have slept in a undamaged cozy home. We did venture out into our small community to see what other areas were hit. Here is some of what we saw.

Today, around our community there were neighbors helping neighbors trying to clean up and manage all the damage. There will be long days ahead for some of our neighbors. We are still not sure if there was one tornado or multiple (we were all in closets!) However, I feel blessed we are all safe.

While we were in the closet and K-man was trying to understand why God created storms and why He would let things like this happen...he paused to ask us if God would make a rainbow after the storm was over, "just like for Noah". Oh, my sweet boy! God heard you and knew your tender heart, and He gave you your rainbow! As soon as we stepped out on our front porch this is what we saw. Thank You, Our Father, for Your promises!

Tucking Little Bit in tonight he asked, "thunder tonight?...big storm?...Going in closet?" Yes, I think we all might be a little more nervous the next time a thunderstorm blows through.

Lately...

Lately, I have been a bit hard on myself about this blogging thing. I seem to be so busy with the day to day life...such as chasing little pirates...that I just can't seem to do one more thing in my day. If at about 9pm I even sit down for a split second I'm "down for the count." I really want to do better.

I have had some things on my mind, but I haven't taken that chance to sit down and voice them...even now as I type I have one Little Bit telling me his is "yucky" and another bigger K-man talking to me about all fun things done at school today (and of course I pause to smile and make a comment to each thing shared), mixed with a bit of "Momma can you do this, hurry momma."

1. How much time should you take for yourself? I know everyone is different, but I just feel so needed sometimes I can't breath. I feel very pulled to focus on "home" things. I feel my place is in the home doing the best I can for my family and my adorable husband...but sometimes I feel that I am restless. Like I want to do for me...selfish sounding, I know. I love every minute of preparing meals for my family, keeping my home, teaching my boys about God-loving my family, I just seem to need to find a time for my own refreshing time- I also can't seem to complete anything-I am absolutely interrupted continuously!!!! What do you do to refresh? How much time do you take to refresh? How do those wonderful women who post amazing things they do and complete have the time and energy (some of them have a home full of wonderful children!)???


2.Our family recently were invited to a home to allow K-man and T. ( A boy K-man has gotten to know at his "school") to play. I was sadden by the whole visit. The almost 5 year old boy said "crap" on several occasions with his mother's response, "don't say that, they may not talk like that." WHATEVER! No, we don't talk like that and absolutely no child of mine is going to use that language freely- so tacky! Then the evening proceeded with his mother and father continuing with..."T. don't play that music,...don't play that game, they may not like it." Oh my! I was blown away by what they allowed there son to listen, watch, play and say! Not only this,but I didn't even know this family well and the mother talked about everyone and everything (and not always the most kind words were used). I was so upset. Through passing conversations and greeting with her I had no idea the family life that they led. Living in a small town, I understand that you have to be nice to everyone, but I'm not sure this family is one we will be doing much with. I think I'm in for a rude awakening. We spend so much time with friends from our church and others who are so kind hearted that the "real world" can be so shocking! I was so concerned that night that I couldn't sleep and I was physically sick the next day. I'm just so tired of the "real world"! You can bet I have hit my knees in prayer with the realization that I will have less time with the K-man as he starts "real" school next year. I am also praying to be more assertive and not to become timid when it comes to how we raise our children and operate our home. Those wise women with children in school...How are you combating the "real world"?

That's A Wrap!

I could not let T-ball season officially end without a wrap-up!

One of the highlights of the season was K-man enjoying the day with his little league team at the Texas Rangers Little League Day!

K-man's team (along with my adorable husband and Little Bit)...Oh, and another 1,000 other excited little boys and girls , got the chance to walked around the field.



Aren't they just to cute!...I mean manly!
The day was also a special day for the boys because they were giving out Ranger jerseys! Little Bit is sporting one of the jerseys!

CHEESE!

What is a day at the baseball game with out Self Portraits?!?

yep! There are my precious boys!

The game was VERY exciting! They boys yelled, jumped, cheered, danced, and did the wave multiple times- I think that they got the full baseball experience!

This T-ball season was just plain FUN! K-man improved so much and he really had fun with the guys which is really what any mother wants. I love this picture because K-man is wearing my adorable husbands cap- after leaving his at Gramzie's house-oops!

During this season it was fun to watch the relationship between my adorable husband and K-man get a bit deeper on other levels. It warmed my heart to see the relationship between them only grow stronger. My adorable husband is K-man's #1 fan (after me of course!)

AND the season could not be concluded without mentioning the Little Bit. He wanted to be just like his big brother! He was able to sit with the guys on the team and say "good game" with the other team following the game. He even got to pick out of the "hustle bucket" following the game, but it wasn't until the last game when he was able to stand in the outfield with his Daddy and big brother!!!

K-man was so sweet to little Bit! He let the little guy hand out with him and made Little Bit feel so big! Thanks for being a GREAT big brother!

You don't have to much longer Little Guy before you will be knocking them out of the park!

Meet the Little League

ROYALS!

Oh, I can't neglect to mentioned that the last game K-man was hit in the face with a ball. The sweet boy cried and looked for his Daddy on the field. He was fine after a couple of reassuring words from his coach/Daddy! Way to be tough!

Following the last game pizza, cupcakes and a trophy were enjoyed by the team!

every boy on the team signed 11 game balls so each boy could have signatures from their teammates! What I neat memory for K-man's first T-ball experience.

The proud Dad!

And you better believe this K-man has a

VERY PROUD Momma!

K-man you did great!

Proud of YOU

My Granny, the K-man's Great-Granny, has been in the hospital for over a week with several issues. I got a phone call Sunday that Granny was asking when she would see me and the boys. That is all I needed to head down there as soon a s I could! We came up with a plan for me to take off from work then we would leave after K-man's graduation from Pre-K on Wednesday and spend several days with my family. WELL...We received a phone call Tuesday (yesterday) , around lunch time, to remind us that graduation was changed to this coming Thursday... WHAT? The day of graduation and we find out it has been changed!!! You just don't do that!!

I just started to cry. I'm really struggling letting my little boy "out in the world" to attend kindergarten next year (that is another post!) and being so far from family. Well, at that moment I just needed to cry. K-man had been practicing for weeks for his graduation program...he had been singing the songs at home...he was excited about wearing a graduation hat...my Granny has been so sick...she is so weak...she wants to see us...I love her so much...I have already taken off work...Trey will not be able to be at the re-scheduled graduation due to work...we just found out!..I have being packing...I want to do it all!!

So I talked with K-man. In a wise, sweet little voice he concluded, " I will be sad not to do my program, because it is my favorite, BUT I would be more sad not to see Great Granny because she has been sick." As my eyes filled with tears I knew he understood how important family was. I was so proud of his understanding of the situation. Then in a whirl wind my mind spun into action trying to make the night special for him!


K-man was THRILLED with the idea of a fun night a CHUCK E. CHEESE! My adorable husband let his love for us shine as he hauled us all to the K-man 's school to pick up his graduation shirt so he could wear it on our night out and then to the Big City to find a graduation hat and head to Chuck E Cheese to celebrate!

The workers there made K-man feel so special, making him feel so "big" because he would be going into Kindergarten!!!

Little Bit didn't mind helping K-man celebrate either!

We had special gifts for K-man letting him know how proud we are - how he has behaved at school and with friends, how he continues to make good decisions, and how he shows his love for God through his daily actions.

Let the games begin...

The proud Daddy!

The proud Momma.

K-man, I love you so much. I know you will do great things for our Father. Your love for your family is evident and makes me proud. I hope this night you had fun and felt a glimpse of how proud we are of you!...You looked adorable with your graduation hat on!