The Night Sky

I was in awe this evening as we pulled into the neighborhood.
This is the night sky that greeted us! Need I say more?
I immediately unloaded the kids and headed for a small stroll.

"God saw that the light was good, and he separated the light from the darkness. God called the light "day" and the darkness he called "night." And there was evening, and there was morning - the first day." Genesis 1:4-5

"God saw all that he had made, and it was very good. And there was evening, and there was morning - the sixth day." Genesis 1:31
"Thus the heavens and the earth were completed in all their vast array." Genesis 2:1
GOD IS GOOD!!!!

Horsing Around

Last week GG made an unexpected visit from Springfield to spend time with us. We played, ate & just plain horsed around! Here is a recap of her time here with us.
Monday we stopped to feed our friend Socks the horse who lives nearby. We ran into his owner recently and he gave us permission to love on Socks and provide him special treats anytime we would like. After munching through a bag of carrots and getting much attention we said our goodbyes and headed to Chick Fil A for lunch and running off some energy in the playroom.

Gabrielle takes after her Mommy in her love for horses. She longs for her Daddy to build a shelter in our backyard and buy her a horse with the $$ from her piggy bank. I think she finally understands that that is not feasible for us.

Tuesday we spent the morning at Wonderscope Children's Museum then stopped at Costco for lunch and shopping. GG treated us to a box of our new favorite special snack - Golden Grahams Treats - and the best part is they are safe for Gabrielle.
Wednesday we did what all women do best - shopped! We hit Kohl's, The Scrapbook Page & Joann's. We did a quick run through McD drive through and headed home to clean the house for a showing.
Thursday morning we went to Millcreek Park for the story time done by the local library. This was our 1st time being involved with the story time. We (including myself) enjoyed it so much. It was great to have the convenience of the playground following story time. After leaving we did a little garage sale shopping and then ate at Dairy Queen.

GG got to experience our lives in full swing this trip. She saw the good and the bad, watched more kids cartoons then she probably cared for & most likely gained a pound or two from all our eating! We look forward to our next visit with GG {in Springfield} where we will hopefully visit the zoo and go pottery making with Aunt Shari.

While Mommy is away the kids shall play

Do you ever think your husband makes irrational decisions?
Such as feeding the kids snacks and calling it a meal.
Strapping the car seats in haphazardly (which he did recently!)
You know where I am going with this...
Allowing the kids to play in the sprinkler in their church clothes.
I came home Sunday afternoon to find the kids (mainly Gabrielle) running freely through the sprinkler in her dress. Daddy gets props for allowing some fun on a whim.

Travis was on "Daddy duty" {a phrase we have coined when he has the kids by himself} again last night. He filled the new kiddie pool up and pulled the slide up to the edge. The neighbor brought her daughter over and the kids had a blast.
I love this time of year when we spend hours outdoors visiting with neighbors, riding bikes, blowing bubbles, playing with sidewalk chalk, all the water activities, grilling!, and most of all just hanging out as a family enjoying the backyard.

I adOre U!

These are my two favorite girls on the face of the planet.
My beautiful niece Paige and my own flesh and blood Gabrielle.
The first word that comes to mind when I think of them is adoration.
Paige adores her cousin Gabi and like wise Gabi adores Paige.
They delight in one another.
Seeing the two of them together brings me such joy.
I moved to Tulsa when Paige was just two. I lived with her and her family for a short while until I was able to get myself settled. I had many, many a stranger approach me and ask if she was mine. I would just laugh and reply "No, but I sure claim her!" Now when I look at Paige and Gabrielle I see so many resemblances. Just look at their jaw lines, chin, mile wide smiles and the way their eyes grab you.


This post lead me to look up the definition of both the word adore and adoration.
Adore - to regard with the utmost esteem, love, and respect; honor
synonyms for adore:
idolize
worship
love
delight {in}
dote on
admire
cherish
Each of these words sums up how Gabrielle feels about Paige
Adoration - a fervent or devoted love
These two share a fervent, devoted love.
One that even miles can't separate.

The caption on this last photo reads "I love you Paigie, said with a kiss!"

Texas

The kids and I traveled to Frisco, TX this past weekend in celebration of my nephew Tyler's high school graduation. The drive, with stops, took us right at nine hours. The kids did better than expected. They watched several movies and ate their fair share of snacks.

This is Ty right before his graduation ceremony.
Is this kid handsome or what?
He could easily have a side career in modeling!

Tyler and his buddy Brantley - cuties in my book.


Paige, Kelsey & the kids had fun using the web cam on the new house MAC. I gained an hour of free entertainment while they were taking the pics and another 15 minutes of belly laughing viewing them on Paige's Facebook page.
Here are just a couple of my favorites.

Tyler and Paige are both amazing with the kids.
Paige dug out her old cheerleading outfit for Gabrielle to play dress up.
She is such a ham!
I can't tell you how many times we heard her say "Everything is big in Texas!"
More Texas photos to come.