A sweet soul

My Great Great Great Great Great Aunt Peggy went to be with Jesus last week.  I always forget if she was 3 Greats or 5.  The family line seems to fade somewhere.  All I know is that she was one of the strongest women I know.  Stubborn, but strong, with a heart of gold.

She was 98 years old.  NINETY EIGHT.  I can't even imagine the life she has seen.  The change she has witnessed.  The good times and the bad times she has experienced.  All in 98 years time.  We miss her dearly, but I know that heaven gained an strong soldier.  An angel who has a sweet family to watch over.  Future grandbabies who will love to hear stories of her faith and life.  What a legacy she has.

(Bitter)Sweet Summertime

It's somewhat of a fresh start for us.  This summer.  You see, last summer was full of trips to and from hospitals across the state.  To nursing homes and rehab facilities.  To inpatient hospice.  Then to a funeral home.  It was completely unexpected and still the shock lingers on in us.  My mother-in-law fell sick with cancer while on vacation with us.  And she never returned home.  It was a summer of heartbreak.  A summer of exhaustion.  Nothing about it was planned and, if we could go back, we'd probably do things different.  If we knew it'd be our last summer with her, that is.  I don't really know what we would have done different.  The summer started immediately with her getting sick while on our vacation.  Then school started back with her funeral.  She never returned home.  She never got to see the kids swim.  She never got to make mud pies with the girls, which they did every summer.  She never got to take them to get sno-cones, which they did every summer.  She never got to help us prepare for first grade.  She never got to prep talk Kid2 into starting preschool.  She never got to help us start planning Kid3's first birthday.  All of these things we thought we'd get to do with her.  They never happened.

And now that this new summer is here, my heart is breaking.  We miss her something terrible.  We're planning our vacation again, which was the very start of our summer last year as well.  She went with us.  And she never came home.  I imagine it'll be a bittersweet trip.  I imagine thoughts of the 2 days she was with us there will flood our minds.

We rejoice, however, that she is strolling the streets of Heaven, completely healed.  And that's what keeps us going.

Day 137

Day 115

Funeral Planning

We are in the midst of funeral planning.  Again.  I never in my wildest dreams that I would have been planning two funerals when I was in my early 30s.  NEVER.  I never even thought about what all it entails.  There are so many details.  Sadly, this time is a no-brainer for us.  We're doing the same and it feels so routine now.  We've picked pictures.  We have frames.  We are honoring the VFW, which was extremely important to him and he was actually in the VA hospital when he passed.  It was him home for over a year.  

Why is this commonplace for us right now?  We should not be burying two parents within 7 months of each other.  My heart breaks for my sweet husband.  He has no parents.  He was an only child and his parents were everything to him.  They were so very very close and now he is without both of them.  I can't even imagine.  I pray constantly for him and his heart. 

Elwood Ray Hill

David's dad passed away today.  Although he's been in bad health and living in a VA hospital for 2 years now and we've anticipated his death several times before, but receiving that call this morning was still such a shocker.  We certainly weren't expecting it.  But we were.  It's a hard feeling to explain.  We are sad.  So so so so very sad.  He was a huge part of our life before and after his health problems began.  He always came to see us and each visit he came to the door with strawberries for the girls.   He was always there when we needed him and was such a huge support.

It breaks my heart that he didn't really get to know Jaxton.  He met him.  He always said "hey guy" or "hey Jaxton" when we'd go to visit him.  And the first time he met my sweet boy, he cried.  We all did. 

What a special man, he was.  He was a great father to my husband and a great Pop to my girls.  And he was the best father-in-law I could have ever asked for.  I miss his smile already.

3/10/2014 at 10:35am

Day 27

194/365

what a special, special memory this is now.  today was my granny's birthday.  and she likes to be pampered.  so my girls did just that.  they painted her fingernails and toenails.  they brushed her hair.  they put lipstick on her.  and who knows what else.  while mykah finished up, karsyn sat down and read granny a book.  i will cherish this picture forever and ever.

180/365

we didn't go to kemah again today, but i had to share this picture.  i didn't take very many pictures of our vacation because i wanted to soak up every minute of it (aka i had 3 kids to chase and it was 198* outside).  here's the scoop of the entire weekend though ...

we arrived thursday evening at a secret hotel.  my parents had gone to houston thursday as well, but none of us were invited.  we were to just meet them friday morning so we could all go to kemah together.  we're not dumb.  so we went thursday evening to avoid friday morning traffic from home to houston.  my sister and bro did the same exact thing.  so we were all within miles of each other in another city and had no clue.  bahahahaha!

so friday, we met at the hotel we all stayed at together and then headed to kemah.  we rode rides.  and rode rides.  and rode rides.  waited 50 forevers for the train.  slurped up some icees.  stood in the misters.  found any air conditioning we could find.  ate lunch at some buffet type place.  walked through the aquarium.  fed the eels.  played in the splash pad.  then headed back to the hotel 6 hours later.  we swam.  went to dinner at some mexican food place who stole the name of our favorite restaurant in the history of restaurants.  then swam some more.

saturday, we ate breakfast at the waffle house.  be still my heart.  those pecan waffles were amazing.  we swam some more.  and then headed to a fun place down the road to play 198* putt putt, laser tag, climb rock walls, bumper cars, bumper boats, and all kinds of other games.  we spent lots of money and had lots of fun. 

after that, we were all exhausted.  my parents came home with us and the sis & bro went home.  they're party poopers and couldn't handle any more of this.  it was a GREAT weekend.  it was one of those "i need a vacation from my vacation" vacations. 

179/365

a super fun {HOT} day in kemah with my family.  i'm in love with family vacations.  and ferris wheels.

172/365

Our "Little Granny" went to be with Jesus today.  I can say that my life was blessed when I met her.  She was a strong little lady.  She knew what she wanted and she told you what she thought.  I was able to witness some big changes in her life the short 10 years that I knew her and I will miss her terribly.  I'm very thankful that my children knew their great grandmother.  That's a blessing in itself.  She was 93 years old and she lived an abundant life. 

What makes this day hard is that my sweet mother-in-law is in the hospital.  She will be unable to be at the funeral, which is a feeling that is unimaginable.  I'm holding onto the fact that the last time Lola was able to visit Granny, they had a good visit.  That's the memory she'll have of her.

This picture is the day she met Jaxton.  What a sweet, sweet memory.

152/365

as a family, we competed in the color run this morning.  it was TOUGH doing this with small children.  i'm pretty sure i carried mykah for 3 of the 3.2 miles we trucked along.  she even managed to pee her pants before we even finished the first mile.  yep.  peed her pants.  she had to go and there was no where to go.  so, my recommendation for anyone wanting to have a 4 year old compete in a race ... make sure they go potty BEFORE you start!  we both smelled like pee by the end, but we made it.   can you tell mykah had fun?

mother's day

we had such a great day.  the girls woke me up bright and early with breakfast in bed.  i absolutely love seeing the excitement on their faces when they surprise me.  an english muffin with eggs & bacon, the biggest fruit salad this side of the rio grande, and water. 

they also showered me with gifts.  a robe that i have been wanting, a giftcard for a pedicure which i've been needing, a picture frame, and a notebook.  they know me and love me anyway. 

i also LOVE that my kids let me take a picture with them without fussing.  i'm so very thankful for this picture and will treasure it for years to come.  we had such a great day!  we spent the afternoon at my grandparents house eating and playing.  eating and playing.  eating and playing.  the girls always love their time in the country.

my other favorite part of mother's day is spending time with my own mom.  what a treasure she is to me.  she's been a great example, my sounding board, and my toughest critic.  but she's also my best friend.  she too knows me well and still loves me for me.  and i love even more how much she loves my children. 

my sister is another gift.  she has been the greatest aunt my children could ever have.  mykah even said on the way home today "she's the greatest sister you have."  and i agree. 

125/365

i love sundays.  absolutely love them.  this morning, my parents left, which isn't why i loved today.  they were here all weekend helping us move stuff into storage.  i never like to see them leave! 

sundays have meant family for us for forever.  i grew up with family time on sundays.  i still look forward to it more than any day of the week.  today, we went to church, ate lunch, came home.  of course, sunday afternoons are for napping too.  family and napping.  sometimes not in that order.  jaxton is always ready for his sunday afternoon nap because he doesn't nap at church.  he's way too busy for that. 

naptime comes and goes too quickly sometimes.  i usually don't sleep because then i won't want to go to bed at night.  the girls had rest time in their beds with the ipad.  best buy ever.

after naptime, mykah had soccer.  this was a makeup practice from a rained out one earlier in april.  we ate dinner, played soccer in the front yard, watched a little tv, read some books.  we simply spent time together as a family.  i love that.  i love family days at home.  the day ended with snuggle time on the couch in our jammies. 

this is my new favorite picture.  how have i been blessed with such a precious family?  i certainly love them more than life.

healthy home

one of my goals for the year was to make our entire house healthy.  to declutter the home.  to get our bodies moving.  to fill us with healthy foods.  and to make God the head of our household even more, by praying more, reading our Bibles more, and simply talking more about God and what He has done for us. 

we have definitely been eating healthier.  and we spend TONS of time outside moving instead of inside sitting.  our new favorite thing is to load up and find a new walking trail around town.  we are lucky enough to live in a community that loves being active.  running mainly, but getting families active seems to be a big priority these days.  so we have walking trails all over.  and they are trails that we have never been on, just driven by, so it's been fun to explore.

one evening we just went for a long walk, then ended up at the playground close to where we walked.  another night we ate a light dinner at a picnic table, then walked on the trail by where we were.  mykah is the one that is hard to get on board with our plans to be healthy.  she likes to eat and she does not like to walk.  but we're getting there with her.  she knows the importance of being healthy because we talk about it constantly, but her little legs seem to get tired quickly.  until you mention ice cream or playground, then she gets rolling. 

we have LOVED doing this.  the weather has been perfect.  jaxton has done great in the stroller.  and we feel so good afterwards.  on the nights where we don't really want to leave the house, we put jaxton in the stroller and walk the neighborhood.  it's definitely been a good change for our family.

soon i'll post about how we are becoming spiritually healthy in our home.  we KNOW we are blessed and we are doing what we can to make sure God knows how thankful we are for what He has provided us.

houston zoo

our spring break consisted of doctor appointments, dentist appointments, and our sweet boy getting tubes in his ears and his tongue clipped.  those were the first few days.  we tried to make the most of the break and we ended up having a wonderful week.  i was actually sad for it to be over with!  after the business of the first few days with appointments, we decided to make the other half a lot of fun.

we did a quick, random trip to lake bryan.  and then friday we decided to load up and head to the houston zoo.  we haven't been before and we love going to zoos.  we had everything ready the night before so that we could just get up in the morning and head out.  we had to park and walk forever because there was so many people there, but it was way worth it. 

we started the visit off with a train ride, which was awesome.  we got to do a little sight seeing through hermann park and to see some of memorial hermann hospital.  i absolutely loved the park.  it was so neat and perfect weather.  tons of other people had the same idea though.

jaxton wasn't so sure of the train.  i had him in the carrier on my chest, but he cried immediately, so i had to take him out.  everytime the whistle would blow, he'd stick out his bottom lip and scream.  it was so sad, but hysterical at the same time.  the people behind us kept watching and laughing too.  he finally got used to the sound, then came a tunnel.  he most certainly didn't like that. 

the girls were extremely excited, if you can't tell.  they love going to the zoo too, so to be at one that we have never been to before was even more exciting.  the train ride was about 20 minutes long, then we headed straight to the zoo.

ready to drop some bucks?  the zoo is NOT cheap.  at all.  but of course we didn't plan THAT well and everyone was ready to eat lunch right when we got there.  then, it's not a trip to the zoo without cotton candy apparently.  the girls HAD to have it, so that was their special treat for the day.  they knew they wouldn't get anything else, so they were very smart and snacked on their cotton candy all day long.  

jaxton did SO good.  seriously.  he was happy most of the day.  if he wasn't happy, he was ready for a nap.  he napped a little while in the carrier on my chest and again later in the stroller.  i was so very proud of him and how he made it through the day. 

it was a FUN time.  they even had a huge carousel at the end of the zoo, plus a kiddie park with playgrounds and a petting zoo.  our favorite parts were the elephants because we got to watch a mama elephant and a baby elephant really interacting.  i'm pretty sure the mama was trying to teach the baby things because she would do something, then nudge the baby until he did it too.  it was so neat.  i could have watched it all day long.

another favorite was the monkeys.  the one in this picture was hysterical.  he just sat there.  but he kept holding out a hand to us.  almost like he wanted something.  the other monkeys were just as funny.  one picked up a mouse and carried it with it's fingers by the tail.  then played with it, batting it around like a toy.  another one was walking around with a towel over his shoulders.  too funny.

mykah's favorite part was the carousel.  karsyn's was just seeing all the animals.

it was a GREAT trip.  everyone was well behaved, which makes it even better.  i don't know that the houston zoo was our favorite.  it was definitely more spread out than others we've been too.  it had lots of shade, but lots of people.  we'd probably go back sometime, but we'll have to save up some money.  it seemed expensive!

after the zoo, we made the long trek back to our car and realized it was 4:55 on a friday afternoon in downtown houston.  not the best plans.  but it gave the kids a nice chance to rest while we headed to the downtown aquarium for dinner.

74/365

this guy was hysterical.  he just sat there.  but he would hold out his hands to the crowd like he wanted us to cheer him on or hand him a banana.  so funny.  maybe he's meditating? 

61/365

i think it's taken me moving away for a while to make me realize the beauty of home.  my grandmother's roses that grow right alongside the sidewalk that lead to her front porch remind me of home.  she grows them beautifully.  and i love them.

. family of FIVE .

i'm still in shock.  i can hardly believe that i have 3 kids.  that God blessed us with 3 children.  to love.  to teach.  to grow.  and, at this very moment, all i wish for is that time would stand still and they would stay little forever.  it's rough on a mama's heart to see her children grow up so fast, but what a joy it is to see them live.  to see them learn.  to see them love and laugh.  and God has allowed me to travel this road three times.  i'm so in love.

. 21/365 .

today was my family's monthly birthday party and it was finally mykah's turn for her party.  she's been talking about it for weeks and counting down the days.  she was so excited!!  my family gets together once a month to celebrate the birthdays of that month.  there were 3 of us this time, along with my sweet cousin's bridal shower, all in one.  that's how we do things.  but the party didn't start until 2:30, so you can imagine how this 3 year old was by the time the party finally started and mama made her take pictures.  she was not happy with me, but she did great.  the party came and went.  we had a lot of fun and mykah made out like a bandit with gifts and money from everyone (and so did i).  i'm so very thankful for the wonderful family we have.  we don't see them often these days, but when we do, we have fun!