A Mini 'Stay'cation!

So one day 2 weeks ago, Nick called me and said 'Hey are you ok with me taking next week off?' Duh! Of course! So we had a fun time doing all kinds of things in the Dallas area. If you ever want to visit Dallas, there are so many things you can do! Some of which we are still discovering! We went to places like:

The Dallas World Aquarium!

Both the kiddos absolutely loved it there!

Then another day we ventured out to Firewheel for dinner!

She loves kisses from Daddy!

We also took Gavin and Emory to their very first Rangers Game! 

And in between all those fun things, we had lots of play time with Daddy! 

Especially Wii competitions! hee hee

We had so much fun last week just hanging out with Daddy! It was a much needed time for all of us! Yay for a Daddy vacation! (not away from him but with him!)

*One thing that God ministered to me while taking this time off was that taking time to replenish is a good and GOD thing to do! Even Jesus' days were filled with counseling, encouraging, loving on children, protecting the innocent, feeding the hungry etc.... etc...! All those things are also a part of my life! So no guilt could be found on my mind last week! We took it off and enjoyed every minute of it! I was able to put aside all the thoughts/concerns of those I have been 'entrusted' with. After all, if they can't survive without me then something ain't right!!!!

Last Sunday we dedicated our little girl to the Lord! We love her so much and are blessed with such great children! The service was done by Dr. Inzer- one of the elders at our church. He also delivered her when she was born! So it was special to have him help us give her back to the Lord.

               

          

They love each other so much!

Mountain Top Experiences

So today I was reading Matthew 17:1-13...And I was enlightened so I thought I'd share it with you! When Peter says to Jesus 'Lord, I will put up three shelters...' And Jesus' response didn't make sense to me at first- He says 'the Son of Man is going to suffer...' What crazy timing to tell them this! But this is what God showed me...They were on the top of the mountain and had an amazing encounter with God. So much so they wanted to stay there! And on the way down He tells them He's gonna suffer. God really spoke to me and told me that He gives us mountain top experiences so that we will be able to cling to those to make it through the bottom of the mountain times! I sit here with tears realizing that no matter how discouraged you may be or how far away God may seem or even how much you just want to quit - you can remember the times when He was so near to you it felt like He was sitting right there with you, the times when you are in His presence and there is such joy, the times when all is well and you feel like you can conquer the world. Thank God that He gives us those times so that we can make it through the rough times! Be encouraged today friends! There is a time coming when you will start up that mountain again! Wow! What a word from God directly to me! I hope in sharing this 

with you that you can be encouraged as well!

 What an amazing God we have!

My God is ALIVE!

So the Easter Season has come and gone! But I am so very thankful for what my God did for me. To think about the pain that He endured just so I could eventually be with Him again- wow! And to know that my sins past, present and future are already forgiven! To know that He loves to give me good gifts and cares even about the little things that concern me. He cares so much that He even counts my hair and my tears. To know that He feels my pain and longs to be with me all the time. WOW! What an awesome, crazy, funny, romantic, loving God I have! I could go on forever describing how much my God means to me, but I think the point has been proven! He is such a GREAT God!

Are they not the cutest kids ever? Gosh I love them so much!

Grandma and Grandpa came to town!

So the past 10 days have been filled with lots of fun and memorable happenings! My parents came into town for Easter and then stayed an extra weekend so we could have Emory dedicated while they were here... so I thought I'd share a few special moments we had together!

Gavin just loved wrestling, going for walks, coloring chalk, riding his bike, playdough O and whatever else he could get his GrandMA's to do...he doesn't get that one is GrandMA and one is GrandPA! So he called them both GrandMA! hee hee, it drove my dad nuts! lol

One day while they were here we decided to go to the Dallas Arboretum! It was a lot of fun for everyone!

And yep, I took this picture!

And I must say I think I have the cutest kids in the world! hee hee

We did so many other fun things together as well but these were the best! We had so much fun visiting with Grandma and Grandpa!