What a funny little kid

Tonight Matt and I are at my parents house watching TJ.   After we got the boys bathed we let Cade watch a little of the Astros game.  I love watching how excited he gets when he watches the game.  He even screams a little girly scream when the game gets exciting.  You should have heard the scream when Pudge Rodriguez tagged a guy out at the plate.  It was a diving tag and everything.  Later in the game Darin Erstad hit a homerun and Cade got so excited.  He hit the homerun right by the Chick-fil-A sign....even more exciting.   Cade turned around after the homerun and said, "Erstad delivered!"  And then just now Lance Berkman was tagged out on his way to first and Cade said, "I don't believe it."  He is such a funny kid who is always making me laugh!

Frio River

We went to the river last week with my family. It was so nice and relaxing. The house we stayed in was very nice and worked perfect for our family. This was my first time to go back to the area since I was a young girl. We used to stay at a nearby resort. My mom and I actually went back to where we had stayed and it's amazing how small the cabins looked! We also drove around and saw where we used to play in the water. It brought back some great memories.
We floated...well walked and swam down the river one day. The river was very low. The next day we decided to just relax and let the boys play around in the water. It was perfect since the water was low.


Matt playing with his boys

Cade loved playing with the rocks

Taleigh and TJ

Reid

Madison...isn't she beautiful!

She had fun floating around

I told you he liked playing with the rocks....

and throwing them! Thankfully no one got hurt from throwing rocks! All the boys had fun throwing them.

TJ enjoyed relaxing with his feet in the water

we even had lunch at the river! We put our ice chest in the river on a little dry spot. Again....the river was VERY low!

Reid LOVES his Pa. He also loves hats....

We tried to get a 4th of July picture of the kiddos. Zach decided that wasn't a great idea.

This was the best we could get

Tessa and Reid

Tessa, Cade, and Lance

On our way back to Houston the guys decided that we needed to make a detour to the Cabela's near Austin. Cade, Zach and Reid had fun checking out the animals.

Cade carried this pop gun around the whole store and shot at every animal he saw. Afterwards he would say, "I got it"!

walking barefoot

Well, after just 4 days on the market Matt and I got 2 offers on our house. We negotiated for a few days and signed the papers Friday night. We were shocked it sold so fast. Yes, I prayed that it would sell quickly and really did think it would, but 4 days! That was great! Before we started this process it was easy to have faith that everything would happen in perfect timing. I still have faith that all will be ok, it's just so easy to get discouraged. I feel like I have looked at everything in the area we want in our price range and nothing is jumping out at us. I am constantly reminding myself that everything will work out and that God will show us the perfect house for us. It's hard. Tonight I was reading a Beth Moore daily devotional for today. I thought it was perfect and wanted to share it with you.

Take your sandals off your feet, for the place you are standing is holy ground.
Exodus 3:5

Faith is never the denial of reality; it is belief in a greater reality. In other words, the truth may be that you are presently surrounded by terrifying or terribly discouraging circumstances. But the reason why you don't have to buckle to fear and discouragement is the presence of God in the middle of your circumstances. So call upon Him to step His One and Only shoes onto your territory. This place--this circumstance--is now holy because God stands on it with you. You don't have to fill His shoes, Dear One. Take off your sandals and walk barefoot in His wake.

the beginning and the end

On Monday, Matt and I finally had mediation to settle the insurance settlement from our wreck almost 2 1/2 years ago. After our wreck several people told us that we had a long road ahead of us. I thought maybe a year, but never imagined it would take this long. It's been a road filled with many emotions. My life has forever been changed by this experience. It's really hard at times to think of how it's been changed for the better, though. I can say, first off, that I am blessed beyond measure to be sitting here today. There are so many people that were hit head on by a drunk driver who aren't here with us today. I feel guilty at times to be a survivor. When I hear reports of a wreck with details almost identical to ours I can't help but wonder why I survived and they didn't. Like never before, I truly understand what it means to cherish each day. You hear of so many people say that your life can be gone in an instant. Until you have that instance happen to you and you come through it, you can never fully understand that. I find myself often reliving that moment of the crash and thinking it all could have been gone in that very second. I know whole heartily that God has a plan for each person and His plan for me isn't finished. During those times when the flashbacks are bad or when every little thing around me reminds me of the events of that horrible night I just have to stop and praise and thank God. I have found that really, that is the only thing that helps me stay positive about this whole experience. Now, Matt and I can be thankful that this settlement is done. We are still waiting for the drunk driver to go to trial. He is currently out of jail. I used to be hopeful that justice would be served, but not anymore. He will likely spend a small amount of time in jail and then be released with no further punishment. I now have a new soap box about drunk driving, but we will save that for another time. Make sure you hug yours loved ones tonight and tell them how much you love them. Take each day for what it is. Who cares if your house is dirty. Spending time with those you love is always more important.

In other news, Matt and I put our house on the market yesterday. It is something we have wanted to do, but have put on hold until we knew if we would have leftover bills from the wreck to pay. We finally got tired of putting our lives on hold for the settlement and decided to get the house ready. We decided months ago that the end of school would be perfect to list the house. Isn't God's timing amazing that both things happened in the same week!!! We are hoping for a quick sale, but keep reminding ourselves that God has it in His hands. We know that our house will sell in His time and a new house will be waiting just for us.

"For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future." Jeremiah 29:11