Too Hot for Fall

Usually on September 1st I start decorating my house with some fall leaves and maybe a pumpkin or two...but this year it is too hot to even think about it. I will revisit the idea in about 2 weeks and decide what to do then, but it really upsets me to miss 2 weeks-worth of Fall in my house - it is my favorite season.

Guess I will just have to pretend and look at pictures like this for a while...

Family Vacation 2011

We are back home from Family Vacation 2011 and a good time was had by all!  We went on a Caribbean cruise to Costa Maya, Cozumel, Honduras, and Belize.  It was hot, but fun.

The best part about the vacation - Ryan and Chelsa didn't have to go back to Chicago after it was over!

Father's Day

Thank You, Heavenly Father, for the wonderful fathers in my life...my Daddy...

...my husband...

...and my son-in-law, Leah's Daddy...

Fathers are so vital to a family, for leading a family in the ways of the Lord, for protecting the family from evil and from the world, and for providing for the family in material ways.  We have been blessed to have some of the best.

This is my first year without my Daddy and I miss him, but I know he is in the presence of the Lord.  Happy Father's Day to all our Daddies!

Thank You, Veterans!

My Daddy was in the Army during World War II...

...so was my Uncle Hollis...

...my husband was in the Air Force during the Vietnam War...

...and his brother, David, was in the Marines...

...our nephew, Chris, was in the Navy...

Thank you to all our veterans for your service and for your sacrifice for us and our country to preserve our freedoms!

Mother's Day

I had a wonderful Mother's Day with all my children in town for the first time in 10 years!

Thank you, Allison, Justin, and Leah for hosting the party and for the cute flip flops and Ryan for bringing the dip and chips and Chelsa for hurrying home from Dallas to be there for me.
I am so blessed!

Easter

This was our first Easter with Leah Rose!  We had breakfast with the Easter Bunny at Brookwood...

 ...and we went to church to celebrate what Easter is REALLY ALL ABOUT - He is risen!  Then we had lunch at our house with our whole family and some friends.  This was the first Easter in 10 years that Ryan and Chelsa were with us - yeah!  And this was the first Easter that we did not have Daddy with us - we miss you, Daddy!  It was a good day of faith, family, and friends.

He is risen - He is risen indeed!

A Joy-Filled Year

Happy Birthday, Leah Rose!

What joy God has brought into my life through you!  I pray that the Lord will watch over you physically, mentally, and spiritually and that you will walk with Him all the days of your life.
Nana loves Leah!