Austin 2009

Ride 'em Cowboy!

Every Kiss Begins With Colin!

I have to say that being a mom has got to be the best job in the world! This Mother's Day will be remembered as one of my favorite. My sweet five year old Colin enjoyed Mother's Day almost as much as I did. He had been on Brad for some time to take him to buy me a gift. He knew this was a very important day. He kept telling me that I was really going to like what he was going to buy me because he saw it on a commercial. I was anxious to see what it might be considering we only have a Bealls and Walmart Supercenter in our town. As Brad and Colin got in the truck he began to ask his daddy if he had seen the commercial "Every Kiss Begins with Kay?" It was going to be an interesting shopping trip!

Later that night Brad and the kids took me out for dinner and Colin gave me his gift. As I opened it his eyes were so bright and his smile could be seen all over the restaurant. The first box I opened was a silver necklace. The next was some beaded earrings and a wooden bracelet. He was so proud! "Mommy put it on. Do you love it?" he asked. "I absolutely love it!" I told him.

Brad told me later about the adventure of his shopping trip. He apologized for none of the jewelry matching. As he began to tell me how Colin had in his mind what he wanted and realized he was not at Kay Jewelers, he decided that I needed all my pieces to be the colors of the rainbow. What a precious boy I have.

So I leave you with these pictures of my Mother's Day gift from my sweet Colin. Watch out Kay Jewelers because every kiss does not begin with Kay, it begins with Colin!!!

Happy Mothers Day

I have chosen this blog to express my love and gratitude to my mom. My heart is full today, full of many precious memories. How do you learn to become a good mom? That answer is very easy for me to answer, my mom. I am who I am today all because of her. It totally amazes me to think that God made me for her and her for me! Her for me! That means God knew I was going to need someone good! He made the choice knowing one day Caleb, Abbie and Colin would need a mother to guide them through life, giving them love and direction so they could pass it on. What a thought!

Dear Mom,

I have so many things I want share with you. The one thing that stands out in my mind the most when I think about our relationship is how you have always believed in me. One example recently is with this blog. I wanted a way to share what was going on in our family and thought it would be fun to blog about it. I wasn't very confident in my writing abilities. You being who you are immediately praised me for a job well done. I probably would have stopped after the first entry but, your encouragement made me want to try harder. This trait is one I strive to hold in my own life when it comes to my children.

Thank you for loving me through some difficult times. I'm sure there were times you wanted to take care of them, but you encouraged me and always gave me the confidence to face each challenge life brought my way.

Thank you for teaching me to love and care for others. I learned by watching you and now I have a little girl watching me. Caring for others comes very natural to me, I believe because it was lived out in front of me daily.

Thank you for taking me to church and teaching me to love and serve Jesus! I can truly say I would not be where I am today if you had not stepped out and taken me to church. Not every child is as fortunate as I was. I hold so many memories from my childhood church.

There are many other things I could thank you for but these stand out the most in my mind today. I love you so much! As I look at my three children I pray that I will continue to live out the values that you have set before me. I truly am a blessed woman because of you.

Happy Mothers Day!

Kara

Fried Computer!!!

I'm back! I was on a roll and then came a storm! We had been waiting for a good storm out here in West Texas but not the kind that would knock out our computer. The cautious person that I am thought it might be a good idea to unplug the computer, after all it was lightening! Bad mistake! The next day I plugged it back in to scare myself with the loudest electric sounding pop! Needless to say the motherboard is no longer a mother! I have alot to catch you up on and I finally have a new computer. We layed hands on the motherboard and her other parts and asked her for at least two good years! I don't think that is asking alot! We need to get Brad through two years of school then she can do what ever she wants. For those of you wondering why Brad is still in school, he's not. He is starting all over again! Ten years of school was not enough. Bless his heart, he is such a trooper and thankfully he's pretty smart. After all is said and done he will be a dual licenced mortician and funeral director. I am so proud of him and so thankful for his passion in life!

Good Friday

Today has been an interesting day as we remember Christ sacrifice on the cross. I wish to think that we pay attention to the details of this historical day as much as we pay attention to Easter Day. As I have listened to my children refer to this day it reminds me that I need to put more emphasis on Christ Death On The Cross! Here are a few things said today in our house which has brought me to this post. It seemed comical at the time but has really made me think.

Caleb: Has just joined Facebook. He thinks it's so cool. As he read someones status it said "It Is Finished". Caleb replied, "That's Great". Later I asked Caleb if he knew what his friend was referring to? He said, "Yea mom he finally got his wife's car fixed".

Abbie: My nine year old drama queen is taking on a new title, it is called I love to text, talk on the phone, and create a new website all at the same time. As she was texting a friend back in Missouri she began to brag on how many days she had off for the weekend. She asked her friend if she was off on Friday. Her friend said no and wondered why Abbie was off. Abbie began to tell her that it was Good Friday. "What's Good Friday?" her friend asked. Abbie replied " Its Jesus Resurrection." Her friend said, "No That's Easter." As I'm listening to the conversation I chime in by telling Abbie that Good Friday is the day we observe Jesus Death On The Cross. With that said Abbie's only reply was "I knew it had something to do with Jesus."

Colin: My sweet boy has been begging me all day to paint eggs. I was trying to put this off until Brad got home so he could make sure not to miss the excitement. As I began to get the egg dye out Colin began to get upset that we were not painting with real brushes and real paint. We never paint with brushes so I was a little confused. As I was a child I loved the part where you put the tablet in the vinegar and watch it fizz! I was shocked that he would not want to do the same. Luckily, I had a set of water colors handy! As usual Brad likes to incorporate every activity with " a lesson learned." He began to ask the kids if they knew what today is. I began to cringe when the question was asked knowing what had been discussed throughout the day. Abbie replied, "Yes I Know, Today Is When Jesus Died On The Cross!" Colin my five year old looks at them with the most confused look on his face and says, " Jesus Already Died On The Cross!"

Lesson Learned: These three quotes will forever stay in my mind as I reflect this Easter. "It has something to do with Jesus!" "It Is Finished!" "Jesus Already Died On the Cross!" "Thank you Lord for using my sweet children to remind me what this day is all about." "I am blessed!"

Happy Easter!!!

Nachos And The Winning Point

There is nothing better than a night at the baseball field. Caleb and Colin are playing this year and so far it has been a blast! Caleb is the catcher for his team and is loving it. He scored the winning point for the team tonight bringing the score 10-9. He is pumped! Little Colin is playing t-ball for the first time. You would think he was playing in the major league. There is no need for him to use the tee though, he can crack it with the coaches pitch. He is quite the stud! The funniest thing tonight is when Colin went to the concession stand to get some nachos. He comes running to the stands with the most amazed look on his face "hey mom they have a cheese squeezer for the nachos." It's the simple things in life that amaze us sometimes.