My baby turns 13 today!!

Poor Hatley woke up sick this morning. He did manage to eat some tomato/basil soup and a slice of cheesecake (both favorite's of his). Oh, I forgot about the sticky buns and coffee he had for breakfast. Clearly, he's not THAT sick. He took some cold medicine before going with Jeff to the Dallas Star's game tonight. Hopefully, he will make it through the game without feeling too poorly. I will post pictures "through the years" later this week. I carefully selected my favorite photos of him and planned to scan the older ones so that I could post them while he was gone tonight...my scanner had other plans. It won't scan. aargh! So frustrating. I'll have Jeff look at it and get those photos up soon.
HAPPY BIRTHDAY SON!!!

Precious Joy

My sweet friend and neighbor, Precious Joy Bowman, died yesterday morning. I spent a lot of time with her, especially the last few weeks. She was diagnosed with Alzheimer's recently and couldn't be home alone for long periods of time. Her son asked me to take care of her while he was gone to Europe. I made sure she took her medicine, had something to eat, walked her to the bathroom, watched TV with her, etc. He also hired someone to spend the night with her in case she fell trying to get to the bathroom. She woke Mary up around 4:45 Sunday morning because she couldn't get a deep breath and her chest felt tight. Mary called me and then called 911. We were in the ER with her until they asked us to step out because she was "losing her heartbeat." Forty-five minutes later the doctor told me she passed away. I had not been in this kind of situation before...being the one to hear those words from the doctor...the one to tell her family...the one to take her bag of "things" back to the house and straighten up her house...the only one with details of how her last day went...and I wouldn't trade it for the world. I loved Ms. Precious very much. She was like a grandmother to us. Many, many times she would call to tell me to send one of the kids over to pick up a cake (with her homemade chocolate icing) or fresh yeast rolls (THE BEST) to go with our dinner. She made the best "peanut butter roll" at Christmas. I was supposed to help her this year so that she could show me how to make it. Precious was an amazing woman. She was 91 yrs old but until just recently, seemed not a day over 75. She still hung her laundry out on the line and took care of her flower beds. She was a gem for sure. I hope I have half her energy when I am old. I will miss her so much.

My Boy

Hatley shooting turtles and snakes

Hatley doesn't like the bigger horses, so he rides Fancy. He can't get Fancy to do a thing, but he tries. We call him "Festus" when he's on Fancy. Hatley is just as stubborn as the mule.

My Girl

I just love this picture of Mikayla! She was helping my dad with his horse, Angel. Angel had never been saddled and ridden so they decided it was time. Mikayla was able to ride her for a little while. Angel was very calm and only got excited when Hatley shot the 22 about 100 yards away.

FREE STARBUCKS!!

Go vote tomorrow!! After you vote, stop by Starbucks, tell them you voted, and they will give you a FREE tall coffee! http://www.starbucks.com/
I won't be able to "cash in" on this deal because I will be working the polls from 6am-7 or 8pm. Ya'll enjoy your Starbucks.

*Written by my husband*

First Baptist of Bolivar before we started working


Debris we cleaned out of the church

I recently returned from a trip to Bolivar Peninsula (near Galveston, TX). This trip was an amazing adventure for me on several different levels. First, this trip was a major breakthrough for me. I was always saying I would like to go on a mission trip yet I always had a reason I couldn't go. God compelled me in the words of James 1:22 to "prove myself a doer of the word and not merely a hearer of the word."
The second breakthrough for me was two-fold. I took my son with me and on this trip I saw him become a man, a servant of God, equal with me. The 2nd part of this breakthrough was personal. I did not meet my biological father until I was 21 years old and I didn't have a DAD until I was 10 years old. Personally, I struggled with raising a son because I didn't have a man to raise me in my early years. God broke down the walls between me and my son on this trip. I can now begin to build a new legacy that I can leave for my son.
The last thing that God has done in my life through this trip is to open my eyes to the never ending hurt and devastation that people go through here on earth. We accomplished amazing things while down there, but there's so much more that needs to be done. I will be going back and we could use many more volunteers. If you can swing a hammer or use a shovel, we can use you. If you would like to be a part of a future trip to Bolivar, please contact me or Thirst No More ministries (http://www.thirstnomore.org/). Consider being a doer and not just a hearer and see what God will do in your life!

Some of the destruction





Before and after pictures of the church

Hello Big Tex!

Last week the kids and I went to the State Fair of Texas with my dad. We get in free with our homeschool tickets and he gets in free on Thursdays for senior citizen day...all we pay for is parking and food. It's kinda become an annual tradition for us. This year the King Tut exhibit is in Dallas and they had this really cool sand sculpture for it-


Mikayla likes to try weird food at the fair so this year she tried fried alligator. It was gray! ICK! She liked it and that's all that matters.

My girl and me


Hatley likes the car show. He would rather sit in sports cars all day than ride the rides on the Midway. Crazy boy.