Christmas Blessings

Christmas is a time of waiting and anticipation.  Christmas Eve we went to Bayou City Fellowship's first Christmas Eve service.  It was cold and outside, but a good reminder about the "no room in the inn" time our Savior first experienced. With matching PJs a tradition my mom had started with us as kids, Bailey and Colton headed home still too little to understand anticipation of the next morning.  (the adults sure were excited to share their first Christmas with two babies) 

Mom had planned out a menu for the day with delicious breakfast items and traditional Christmas.  We each in turn made fun of the menu as we found it hanging on the refrigerator, but now I wish I had taken a picture.  She always does a great job making everything seem like a beautiful, special adventure.

Phillip, Erin and Bailey arrived first, so we had the next 20 minutes of distracting Bailey from the presents before Andrew, Amy and Colton got to the house.  Finally after the anticipation of waiting for everyone to arrive present opening began.  Since Bailey's birthday was just a month before, she had already mastered ripping off the wrapping paper.  I enjoyed getting her a tea set with a pink boa.  She didn't like the boa too much, but the tea set has been a big hit.  I also found Shelia Walsh's books about Gigi that fit so perfectly with the tea party idea.  She also got a fun pink Castle from Aunt Amy.

Although not even close to being able to enjoy these books, Tale of Despereaux by Kate DeCamillo became one of my favorites a few years ago.  She was in Houston to autographs books and I could help but get a copy for the fabulous Princess and Knight. Colton got is very own Shelia Walsh book about Will the Warrior.  I searched and searched for a sword to match the fun book, but never could find the best one.  So he got one of his toys from his Babies R Us list, a sports activity station. (I still owe you the sword Bud!)

So in reflecting on the anticipation and excitement of picking out the perfect gift, it points me back to the symbolism of God's love for us.  Many years people waited in anticipation for God's promised gift of Christ's presence on Earth.  As He prepared a special time, like we pick out the perfect gift, He sent Jesus to us. Oh how we wait for His return to Earth again.

She's here (just a tad bit early)

Yesterday Erin went to her regular doctor's appointment, but the doctor decided to admit her to the hospital because of low fluids. So we went to the hospital to bring her and Phillip dinner. The plan was to let them rest and then start to induce the next morning. At 8:00am I got a text saying mom and Amy were headed to the hospital because they had decided to do a C-section. Less than an hour later while teaching my math lesson I heard the beep of my text message and was surprised to see the picture of a beautiful baby girl. Welcome Bailey!

I got to the hospital later than I wanted because of a flat tire, but was delighted to see her open her eyes for the first time.

She wore her "My aunt is my BFF" outfit the first time I went to see her at home.

Becoming an aunt..it's a big job

In his heart a man plans his course, but the Lord determines his steps. Proverbs 16:9 Life has not turned out as I planned, but as I am realizing things are better when you leave them in God's hands; His hands are bigger and His dreams for us are better.

My brother and sister-in-law have given me much grace and love as I have pestered them with silly requests during this process of "becoming an aunt". Erin has let me "attack" her at the door to "talk" to Bailey, let me lay my head on her stomach to feel Bailey move across my cheek, and allowed me to tag along to Babies R' Us and use the scanner to register. (my excitement can sometimes get the best of me) So for all of those people who have told me that being an aunt is the best thing ever...I can't wait to see if the moment holds true.

At Babies R Us registering.

Setting up the crib,
Baby Shower where Bailey got lots of fun things.

Who knew this was on my bucket list too?

We all have those people in our lives. The ones who push and challenge us to try something new and make us realize that we just did something we previously thought was impossible. That person for me is my brother and he has been inspiring me for the last 30 years. Little did I know four years ago how much his impact would begin to help transform me into a beautiful person. This trip up Alp d' Huez with him at my side was a culminating moment.

Who dreams of riding up the world famous Tour de France Alp d' Huez on a bicycle as one of their bucket list dreams, my brother of course. So when he found out about his trip to Paris, he began researching how to get there. These are snapshots of my adventure as he let me tag along for the journey.

The train ride 6 hours south to Grenoble, France. We had to change our plans that day because a bike race was coming through the next day.

At the bike shop getting equipment and ready to start. My face sure says that I am not really confident about this whole thing, so my jersey (King of the Hill) is a boastful but only jersey I had to wear.

At the base of the Alp, about to make the turn to head up.

Looking down from were we came. I don't have a picture, but after that turn the incline increased by a significant grade. I took one pedal stroke, tried to switch gears, yelled out to my brother...he yelled out put it in the lowest gear, and I didn't see him again for a couple of hours when he was on the way back down. Most of my "journey" and it was a journey rather than a ride for me was mixed with riding, stopping, and walking. Phillip actually had to coach me up for a good part of the way with tough love and inspiring encouragement.

We didn't make it back down in time to see the bike race that came through, but we did see a lot of the buses for the teams the next day.

The summer my couch moved to France.

Despite the many amazing awards from my school year, there were a lot of hard personal trials, so when people asked what I was doing for the summer my response was always...relaxing, laying on the couch, doing nothing. Well all of that changed two days before school ended. My brother told my mom he needed to go downtown to get his passport updated, his company was sending him to Paris on Wednesday. She told me later that night and I told her how on the way to school that week I had a French Bakery shop and thought how good a chocolate eclair would taste. So June 5 I bought a plane ticket to leave for Paris on June 9....this was the beginning of my spotantious lessons.

My brother and I in front of the Arc de Triomphe



Notre Dame

Climbing the Bell Tower stairs.
We attempted to get a bike to ride on the streets like my family did last time, but the card didn't work, so this is the closest we got.

Looking out from on top of the Arc de Triomphe

A sweet pink cast for Abby

Yesterday Abby hurt one of her nails, so had to take a trip to the vet today. She is not excited about the pain, so is sleeping it off. The pink bandage seems to make it all better. (She did not like the soft cone around her head, so I took it off to stay away from embarrassing pictures.) Other pictures below of better times.

Feeding herself from the bag.

Lazily "tanning" by the pool

She is also known for tearing up things. This is some of the stuffing of my couch pillows she decided make her own bed in when I had the cover in the washing machine.

Spring Cleaning..well maybe not

During the recent spring break I was able to enjoy my dad's spring cleaning endeavors. Although I was originally enlisted to wipe down and clean off the items for sale, it soon became evident to me that my first days of spring break would be better spent reclining in the intended bucket seats for sale. Thankfully I was able to get him to sit with me for a while and quick picture.





As I was reclining I noticed my dad's childhood bunkbed frame leaning against the fence. Remembering a conversation from before about the possibility of selling them, I wanted to claim them before they were sold or given away to someone else. So although I don't have space for them right now and part of the bed is being used at my parent's house, we wanted to be sure I had in writing my prior claim to them before something else happened.

My brother is an Ironman...

Recently my brother accomplished a goal that not many even think or have the desire to achieve, he completed a Ford Ironman event. (Most people know and watch the big one in Kona) After months of training and preparation he swam out into the cold waters of Tempe Town Lake in Arizona among thousands of other participates. With a final wave from the waters to us standing high above on the bridge, the starting gun sounded and he was off on his 2.4 mile swim. Through transition to the bike portion, he gave us another excited wave and was off again for the 112 mile bike ride. We repositioned ourselves at the parking garage and waited for him to pass by on the first lap, there were 3 laps to make the full course. He was making great time on all the portions so far, and the best was to come... the run. He hates running, but we all knew he was going to do an amazing job. He had trained not only physically, but mentally as well. He would have to run a full marathon, 26.2 miles after all of the other portions he had completed. His goal to finish the whole event was under 12 hours. The proof of what make my brother MY hero and a true Ironman is shown in the picture below:


Notice the clock time...11:58:24, just under 12 hours he pushed himself to make it the last few miles.

Great run form and untrue to his normal head cock to the side.

More great form on the bike.

A little spectator action

Here's the wave I mentioned earlier.

Prepping the night before, he even had his number shaved into his hair.

SO now at 28 years old, (Happy Birthday Today!) My brother continues to be my hero and inspiration for many of the athletic adventures I have been most recently inspired to achieve.

Happy Birthday Sis~

My sister turned 24 today. Despite the stares we get sometimes at the mall, we are not twins. From the sweet little Christmas gift she was to me one year, to this amazing women God is calling her to be, I continue to blessed to get to know my sister more and more. Here are some of the moments we have most recently shared together.

Her wedding day, April 4th


The Wurstride from Austin, Tx to San Marcos, Tx

On the steps Jesus walked in Israel.

Goofing around in Paris, France

I know not all people are blessed to have a sister, but I sure able glad I am have one who loves me so much! Happy Birthday sis.

Road Trip

As a child, I remember during early morning hours being guided half asleep with my pillow through the house to the direction of the car. My brother, sister and I would all settle into our seats, quickly falling asleep again as one of my parents would start our journey towards the coast. Some years it would be towards Savannah,Ga to see my dad's parents, other years (mostly during the summers) it would be in the direction of Sarasota, FL to see my mom's parents. We never flew anywhere, but I always enjoyed the special moments that a road trip brings; stops at the gas station (of course for gas, but more importantly the snacks you don't get at other times) the games to keep yourself entertained to make time pass quicker (the license plate game, or alphabet bill board game), but best of all the many hours of being together in close quarters together(drawing imaginary lines on the car seat to be sure you have a fair amount of space) therefore building a foundation for the family you will become later in life. Slowly as we grew up, other members of the family would become legal to drive therefore sharing the burden of the long drives. Recently as full grown adults, we were able to share these memories all over again. (Perhaps more joyfully shared by me than my other family members, but a trip that I will treasure all the more because of the connects it allowed me to make)

Here's some wonderful stops along the way...

Thankful we were able to all fit in my brother's new car, and because of the "rule" of no eating in the new car, we had to stop for meals along the way. This stop was at the Grand Canyon, a planned stop along the way. What a measure of God's amazing creative power. I was also in awe because after 3 weeks of teaching my 4th graders about erosion, I was seeing up close real life application. Below is our next stop, a little less planned, but planned thankfully to the hotel rack of brochures. My dad was excited when he found the brochure on the Meteor crater that was near us.

Next stop...the petrified forest and painted desert, then onto Carlsbad Cavern...

These quick pictures were another moment along the trip that allowed me to connect the teaching of 4th graders with real life. Is the sun really a renewable resource?

All in all, the trip was "Grand" and the family road trip at 30 years old crammed in a car still proved to be able to build memories.