My Baby Girl

She's 17!!!
Whitney & Emily

It doesn't seem like 17 years ago that I was hoping & praying for one more addition to our family!!! Actually, the hoping & praying begin long before that.

There were a couple of years of praying, buying EPT tests & being sad about the results. I begin to wonder why, tried not to get obsessed or depressed, and had decided the next month was time for a specialist when my doctor's nurse came out to the waiting room to tell me the blood test was positive. "Aren't you excited?" she asked. I guess I was so stunned & afraid of being disappointed after two negative home tests that I had a really blank look on my face. 9 1/2 months later we brought home all precious 6 lbs. 11 ounces of her. For the next couple of years she was decked out in more bows & ruffles than I could afford to buy, but I loved every minute of it! I can hardly believe how fast the time has flown by & that next year she'll be getting ready to fly the coop! The years in between have been full! She's kept me at ballgames as much as her brothers before her. She keeps me on the edge of my seat whether she's playing or cheering. She might look a little like I did at her age, but lucky for her she definitely got her Daddy's athletic skills. I sit amazed as she shoots three pointers, clears hurdle after hurdle, or back flips across the field ahead of the football team as they make their grand entrance on Friday nights. I assure you I have never done any of those things! Nope, not even a cartwheel! I am proud of the student she is, the leader at school & church, & all the good choices she is making, but most of all I'm just proud of her & the fine Christian woman she is becoming. When she was little she always wanted me to lay down with her at night & before she would go to sleep she would say, "If Jesus comes back I want our whole family to stay home." At first I tried to explain why we would want to go, but after about a year or two of this nightly routine I groggily began to respond "OK". How sweet to watch Jesus work on her heart through the years. How thankful I am that He sent her to live with me, and blessed to know that she belongs to Him.

I know that I'm a little late with this birthday post, but I wanted to wait until after she & her BFF, Emily had their birthday bash. It was so fun, but I have to say I'm kinda glad there are no big plans for this weekend. Of course, that's been known to change around here. Some of us don't like a dull minute!

Home Again, Home Again Jiggedy Jig

Matt says I always said that when we pulled in the driveway. I really don't remember it, but can't deny it being true! But for the best home again news, Christine came home from the hospital on Tuesday. She is slowly recuperating & resting at home! Praise God! He is good all the time! I really can't wait to see her well enough to stand before the church & sing her solo,
"You are God Alone". She has modeled His unshakable nature through these difficult days & what a great testimony to our faithful God it will be to hear her sing it again. "In good times & bad, you are on your throne, you are God alone. You're unchangeable, you're unshakable, you're unstoppable that's what you are. You are on your throne. You are God alone." I will be boohooing in my pew. They might have to call the paramedics for me! I have to look no further than sweet, perfect baby Samuel to realize that God has heard & answered many, many of our prayers. No further than the way he has held Matt up by his power, & how precious to see our church family rally around him daily at work. Praise God for his job at church. No further than sweet Jack adjusting to constant change & entertaining us all the way. We are blessed & I KNOW that God who has begun a good work will carry it through to completion. He has great plans their family & he will love hearing her solo best of anyone! Praying & believing for her good health!

Up, Down, & All Around

Enjoying a great dinner at Cabo Wabo, no tequila I promise. The arch where the Sea of Cortez meets the Pacific Ocean.

Precious little miracle.

Taking a break from playing on the computer to pose.

Baby Sam growing like a weed! And yes, in charge at Giggi's house!
Jack trying to give one more smile up for Giggi's camera!

Be fruitful & multiply!

From three daughters came lots of grandbabies, their spouses, & great-grandbabies!

Happy Birthday to Poppi!
Jack sings just like Mommy!

Mom & Dad
Better known as Poppi & Nana


It's been awhile since I posted, & a lot has happened since then! On the upside, we had a fun trip to S'ville to celebrate my daddy's 85th birthday & my parents 65th anniversary! Wow! We had a great time & got to see lots of family & friends that are spread out all over Texas. It was also a great time to reflect on the blessing my wonderful parents are to us and so many others as well. They are truly some of the most loved, and most loving people you could ever hope to find. Blessed beyond measure to be their baby!


Kyle finished up his internship at the church in Tyler. We loved having him home for a short time. While he was here Ray, Kyle, Whitney & I managed to take a quick vacation. We spent a few days in Cabo & had a blast. As we started home we found we had several call ASAP messages because...


On the down side Christine has been very sick again. She has spent the last few weeks in the hospital. She had to have the surgery she had done last fall redone about a week ago. She's had several other setbacks with two blood clots, some unexplained internal bleeding, elevated liver levels, and just plain being miserable. She is still having a lot of pain and nausea. You can read more on her blog and Mindy's blog, too. This has been going on for about a year now. It is very disappointing for her to start feeling better and then be so sick again! Please keep her, Matt, & the boys in your prayers! They need a break! I've tried to take a lot of pictures of the boys while she's been stuck at the hospital, so I'm going to try to add a few to the post! That means I'll be done in an hour or so! Ha! I really stink at this but I'm too proud to ask Whitney to help me! Well, when an hours up I might! Love you family & friends!

OK, I added a few pictures. They're not exactly in the order I intended, but I'm sure you can tell what goes with what paragraph! Less than an hour, I might add!