First Day of School - August 24,2009

Well it's official, the summer is over and here we go 8th grade and 5th grade. How can this be my last year with a child in elementary school? I was fighting back tears as I walked Katie in and took a picture with her teacher. Of course, she walked WAY ahead of me as if she didn't want to be embarrassed, surely I was imagining that. Don took Sarah on the first day, and he said she made sure he dropped her off without letting him get out of the truck. They both had a good first day. Katie says she's not going to have enough time to talk with friends, duh! Sarah has a tough schedule this year with Spanish and Algebra I counting towards high school credit. I know we didn't do that when I was in middle school. I enjoyed my first day without them (I kept busy because I felt like crying). Got a lot of little things done and even squeezed in a pedicure! Enjoy the pictures of my "babies". Next year I won't be allowed to take pictures at the middle school with Katie. Maybe Sarah will let me follow her into high school;what are the odds on that?

So happy, will it last???

Katie and her homeroom teacher, Mrs. James. Sarah had her in 5th grade too. Katie said she kept calling her Sarah all day. This happens every year, and I feel for her. But, hey, half the time I call her Sarah!

Cowboys Training Camp

We took a side trip from the ranch into San Antonio and went to the Cowboys Training camp. We also have some long-time friends that moved there 2 years ago. We went to visit them and their 2 cute boys. Thanks Scott and Tammy for the great dinner and letting us put our dogs in your backyard so we could enjoy a long visit.

End of Summer Get-Away

We have been blessed for the last several years to get away at what we call "the Ranch". Some of you have heard us talk about this, but I'll clarify for those who wonder what the heck we're talking about. My Mom works for two very generous men who treat her like family, and we're blessed to reap some of their generosity. One of them owns a 450 acre ranch in Kerrville that has been in his family for years. It's called the Hungry G. He lives in the Dallas area and he opens it up for family and friends to go and have fun.

There is a retired couple who have a house on the property and they take care of the houses and land. We get to stay in the "main house", a limestone house that has a "bunk room" with 6 twin beds, a master bedroom, kitchen, screened in front porch with a hammock that is perfect for naps, a pool, etc. The house has everything you could possibly need, except...... no air conditioning, no t.v., no computers and the only phone is the old rotary kind. But this lack of modern technology has never phased our family. It is nice to just get away from everything in our busy world and enjoy God's beautiful creation out in the hill country. It was a little warmer than usual this trip, but amazingly it does cool down at night. Very peaceful sleeping with the windows open and the ceiling fans on high! You hear all kinds of sounds and the sky at night is breathtaking! Here are a few pictures of the fun we had. Thank you Mr. Gruy for blessing our family!



Can you see the cow behind the fence? Boy, can they make some noise. Interrupted my relaxing float in the pool one day!

Down at the creek. We've found many fossils on our nature walks. There's a drought in south Texas, so the water was not as deep or flowing like in the past.



The best way to stay cool!





Yes, we take the dogs. They have fun being country dogs. It took the girls 2 days to coax Dixie into the pool. She prefers swimming in the creek.

Don secretly wants to be a photographer and had fun taking pictures of the girls. Here are a couple of his shots.



Sarah got to drive for the first time! What a perfect place......dirt road with no cars in sight for miles!

Go Rangers!

Just a few pictures from the Rangers game last Thursday night. It was hat night! I took these with my cell phone so I'm still trying to get the hang of how my new phone works.

Photos from Don on Mission Trip

Ok, I said I would post next week, but the pictures have been tugging at my heart this week. Don said it has been an eye opener for the "little white girls in his group". He also let me know that he was able to lead a 14 year old boy to Christ on Tuesday. Sarah's group worked at a food bank yesterday. She was sorting food and was overwhelmed at the bugs in the pantry. Not quite like home is it??

Makes me again realize how blessed my family is and how we take our simple everyday life for granted. Continue to pray for all of the teams to have energy and joy as they serve God for the rest of the week.

Happy Birthday to Me......(yesterday)!

Yesterday was my 43rd birthday. Wow, how can that be? My Mom was remembering the 40th anniversary of the moon landing on July 20, 1969. She says I was sitting in a rocking chair watching with her on t.v. The same chair is still in her house and both of my babies have rocked in it.

I somewhat had a 3 day celebration. Don and Sarah left for Mission Trip on Sunday morning, so they weren't here with me on Monday for the official day. Friday night, Don and I enjoyed a brief date out. Saturday I did laundry and packing while he and Sarah attended a last training day. That night my Mom and her friend (and mine) Mary Ann came over for dinner. We went to Pei Wei. We had some cheesecake and presents when we got home, and then more packing. Sunday morning I took Sarah and Don to church at 6:30 a.m., then came back home to get ready for church. The Merge students that I help lead on Sunday mornings honored me and 2 other July birthdays with a song! When I got up Monday, Katie gave me the sweetest letter and then led me on a scavenger hunt for another present. We had lunch at Panda Express, took a nap, went to Hobby Lobby, WalMart, and then dinner at Chili's! I enjoyed my day with Katie.

Don got me a new cell phone which I had told him I didn't need, but now love it! It has a full keyboard for easier texting (important with a teenage daughter) and also internet access for my emails. The girls gave me a picture frame, a notepad and pen with my initial "K" on it.

All in all it was a good weekend. I missed Don and Sarah on Monday, but they are doing far greater work in an area that needs them more than I do. I've posted some pictures on Facebook that Don has sent by his phone. Take a look or wait for next week when they get back and I'll update here about their trip.


Yummy cheesecake. The best part was a big cake was not left behind for me to be tempted by all week!!!

It only took Don 3 times to figure out how the camera timer works...worth the wait!

Katie and I at Chili's. This was taken with my new phone.

Katie was so excited when we got free birthday dessert. She says we're going back there for her birthday! See knows a deal when she tastes it!

Hanging out at the lake

We like to go out to Lake Grapevine even though we don't have a boat or any or those fun water toys. The girls just like to get wet and the dogs love to swim too. We have had many fun times on Sunday afternoons just being together as a family. Here are a few pics of our visit to the lake last week.


The car ride to the lake is long!!!! Dixie knows where we're going and she makes the most pitiful whining, barking noises as if trying to tell Don to hurry up. Ranger is just oblivious and lays down in the back. The ride back home is quieter since she's tired!



Katie and Dixie.


Katie, Sarah, and Ranger having fun.