Camps and Clubs

The big boys had an awesome time with their camps and clubs this summer! Colton can't wait to be even bigger so he can do those fun things too!

Braden did Jedi Training at Space Center Houston thanks to GG and her generous Christmas money! He had a good time, but was disappointed that he didn't learn any "Jedi moves"... Andrew did a Lego Robotics camp at the University of Houston Clear Lake thanks also to GG! He was in heaven learning how to build different lego sets that all moved. His counselor said he would master the invention in about 5 min. so he had LOTS of time to explore on his own!

Andrew and Braden were able to go to two different Lego Clubs at the Lego Store this summer. One was with Lego Racers and the other with Lego Agents. They LOVE legos!!!

Bible Camp was a big summer highlight for both Andrew and Braden! They got to go to Camp Good News for 5 days from 7:30-5:30 every day! Their days were filled with games, stealing other groups flags, swimming, Bible study, worship, friends, BB Guns, archery, ropes courses, crafts, etc... They got to purchase snack every day which was lucky for them since neither one would eat "camp food". My mother's heart worried about them, but they were fine! It was an awesome camp and one they really want to do next year!

Thank you, God, for GG's generosity and for lots of awesome opportunities you provided for the boys this summer to help them grown in their knowledge and love for you and for.... legos! :)

Nana comes to visit!

As always... it is a super busy time when Nana comes! This time she was keeping us company while Tom was in Georgia at a conference. We kept busy by painting the guest bathroom and our bedroom, going to Fuddruckers and Mom Alone, playing Wii bowling and Dance Dance Revolution, the continuation of Nana teaching Braden to knit a scarf, watching the All Star Game, going shelling, Mom and Daughter day with shopping and lunch, Rainforest Cafe and the ride, Lego Club, etc... Always SO fun to have her here and she is always SO helpful!

Thanks for everything, Mom! We really enjoyed your visit! Can't wait for you to come again!

4th of July with Friends

How blessed we are to live in a country that lets us freely worship our God! This country was founded on that principle and sadly I think so many have forgotten. They are trying to get God out of our government, schools, etc... I love that my kids to go LSA and have the freedom to proclaim the name of Jesus throughout their day!

We spent the 4th of July with a ton of friends! The Swiggards always put on an awesome party and everyone always brings such yummy things to eat! We all had tons of fun in the pool all day long and then enjoyed a fantastic fireworks display from the hot tub! Can't beat that!

"As a prisoner for the Lord, then, I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received. Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love. Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace. There is one body and one Spirit—just as you were called to one hope when you were called— one Lord, one faith, one baptism; one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all." Ephesians 4:1-6

Attack!

It was a beautiful, sunny day after church one Sunday when we took the Swiggards boat out on Clear Lake for the afternoon! What fun we had being together, taking in the sights, having lunch, taking a dip in the lake, seeing Kemah from the water side, etc... Things couldn't have been going better until.... we decided to take another dip. Everyone was in at some point except me and Karen. Then slowly the kids were getting out when chaos started... Scott was yelling, "Get Out!", Braden was screaming uncontrollably, and we scrambled to get everyone out of the water. It was very scary!!! Braden and our friend, Mr. Scott, ended up with the worst of the stings and Tom had a little sting on his elbow. We had no idea what had happened until much later when we were able to process the whole thing. We think it was a jellyfish... No fun! Braden was so brave and tells a good story about the whole ordeal. Need-less-to-say none of the kids wanted to go swimming in the lake at their camps. It will probably be long time before we go in Clear Lake again...

God's protection and guidance were evident that afternoon!

A Belated Father's Day!

Since we were in MO for Father's Day we celebrated with Tom the 1st chance we had. The boys gave him some hand made cards, a #1 Dad ball cap, two Dad shirts, and some new getters for the grill. Then we headed off to start the day in the most nutritious way... donuts (Tom's favorite)! We spent the rest of the day at the Natural History Museum. We had fun seeing the dinosaur bones, watching a Deep Sea 3D movie that scared Colton so much he let out a scream I've never heard before, waiting for time to pass while watching the pendulum, looking at beautiful gemstones, etc... It was just great to be together!

Spaghetti Warehouse rounded out a nice Father's Day for Tom! What a Godly example he is to our boys. Thank you, Tom, for all you do for us and for working so hard to provide for our family! We love you!

A Sad Summer...

Right before our trip to MO we lost a precious child of God and dear family friend, Makenzie Stocker. She was 18 years old and tragically killed in a car accident. Her legacy lives on in our hearts and we are daily reminded of her unwavering faith and use her as an example so often in our family! She is deeply missed but what great joy we find in the fact that we will see her again in Paradise... You were a treasure, Makenzie, and we love you still!

We were also very sad to say good bye to some special friends, Micah, Amy, Emma, Jonah, and Gracie Parker. He was the Headmaster at LSA and they lived in our neighborhood. Emma and Andrew were good friends and he could always count on her to eat lunch with him or talk about all sorts of stuff and Braden and Jonah were best buddies and so much alike! Although there was never enough time to spend together, we treasure the times we shared and how we helped each other out.

Recently we found out the Stocker Family (Makenzie's family - Todd, Kellie, Nathan, and Maddie) moved to Minnesota. Again our hearts are heavy....

Both of these families are amazing examples of Godly character and love. There a people in your lives that when you are around them you are just better... Both of these families were that for us. We miss their daily friendship, smiles, hugs, and their presence at LSA. We know God has a plan and we pray continued blessings on both of these families and pray our friendship will continue to grow even though the miles that separate us are many...

God gives and God takes away... blessed be the name of the Lord!

Our Missouri Summer!

We had 2 wonderful weeks in Missouri spending time with family and friends! Tom was able to join us for a week, but then had to head back to TX! We missed him a lot and wished he could be with us, but I feel so blessed to be able to stay in MO longer with the boys to spend even more time with those who mean so much to us!

This year we got to celebrate with Pa Pa on his birthday with the boys carrying signs that read, "Happy Birthday Pa Pa" when we came off the airplane and then headed to Steak-N-Shake where Braden accidentally slammed Colton's thumb in the van door. The adventure had begun... after an X-ray the next day we learned that it was thankfully not Colton's turn for a broken bone!

We got to visit with my dad's side of the family a couple times with lots of people and yummy food! The boys had a great time fishing and playing chess with Opa and playing at GG's house and a outing to the bookstore with Opa and Mincy for their birthdays. A trip to the Magic House with my mom and sister's family and to celebrate our nephew's 1 year birthday and a day of bowling and Chuck E. Cheese and some Fritz's frozen custard! We got a lot of Tom's side of the family together to visit Great Grandma Ermeling's grave site and a picnic in the cemetery that ended abruptly with a thunderstorm. Then there was the 5 day trip to the Lake of the Ozarks with Tom's whole family filled with fun, a day of rain, wave runners, lots and lots of swimming, awesome food, Play Station, mini golf, charades, and our 15 year anniversary outing to Andy's Frozen Custard! We headed to Columbia for two days with friends that included Shakespeare's Pizza, Bucks ice cream, time spent on MU's campus and the realization of how much older we are..., Shelter Gardens, lots of great conversation and Guitar Hero for adults and play for the kids!

After Tom headed back to TX I got to see my girlfriends from high school, the boys went bowling and did Meals on Wheels with Pa Pa, we went to Fitz's root beer with Gramby and Aunt Tammy, ate at Burger King with my 1st friend and her son, Blanchette water park with Aunt Tammy, City Museum with some Columbia friends, Grant's Farm with Gramby, Pa Pa, and Aunt Tammy, sleepover at Nana's, Andrew made dolls, Braden and Colton enjoyed the slip 'n slide and water fun in the backyard, and all the boys liked to play games with Pa Pa, they watched a ton of Disney channel since we don't have cable, and loved Gramby spoiling them with all their favorite foods!

To God be the glory for this wonderful trip to Missouri with lots of treasured memories! :)

(The slideshow above the posting "A Sad Summer" goes with this post... tech. difficulties)

Scenes of Summer

Here are a few cute pics of some summer fun! The kids have been having a blast in the water and some good times just playing together uninterrupted! WE LOVE SUMMER! :)

Pajama Party!

We hosted the 1st playgroup of the summer... Pajama Party! There were at least 20 kiddos having a great time wearing jammies, eating a yummy breakfast, show and telling about their favorite sleeping friends, chillin' out with their friends while they watched a Veggie Tale, "Abe and the Amazing Promise"!

Although it was wild and crazy, the kids had a great time together and the boys quickly and with good attitudes helped me get the house back in order! Yea boys! We're going to have lots of fun this summer!

"But may the righteous be glad and rejoice before God; may they be happy and joyful." Psalm 68:3

Our Fake Camping Trip!

After the big birthday celebration it was on to the original plans... camping at the Swiggard's house! What fun the kids had sleeping in the tent in the game room. Sadly Colton was battling a fever the whole weekend and Andrew got sick moments before we were to load up the RV for a day trip to the Woodlands! Thankfully Scott and Karen and good sports and we loaded up anyway and had a great day! We worshiped at the Fellowship of the Woodlands where we were surprised to see the contemporary Christian artist, Sara Reeves! How awesome to sing "Sweet Sweet Sound" with her and get her autograph! A fun RV ride and lunch at Cheesecake Factory rounded out a great day! Lots of swimming and eating was in store for the rest of the weekend! :)

An Overwhelmingly Awesome Birthday!

My birthday started off with lots of hugs and smiles, hand made cards and a poem! The boys had great behavior all day which made things even better! Then it was off to the spa with my good friend, Karen, for a massage and pedicure! After a relaxing time there, we headed back to Karen's where I was overwhelmed with screams of, "Surprise!" and a massive amount of kids running to give me hugs! Tons of my friends were there to celebrate! What a wonderful time we had visiting and eating and the kids especially enjoyed the swimming! The food and death by chocolate cake were to die for! They know we too well... time together and food... what would make a better birthday?! :)

I give God the glory for providing such selfless, caring, kind, funny, awesome friends! You guys ROCK! :)