Saturday Fun!

This Saturday, my family and Richard and the kids all came down to cheer Troy on at his soccer game.  He did great, in spurts...He would be very attentive and running full speed one minute and then be looking over at us and waving the next.  I think we were more of a distraction than a support, but he did have a couple really good passes and breaks down the field.  He shot of the goal twice and almost made it both times.  He just needs to straighten out his kick!!  After the game we went to eat BBQ and then for snow cones.  The afternoon flew by too fast, but the time spent with everyone sure was fun!!

Troy's cheering section

Eating lemons and making funny faces

Richard always "jumps" the boys.  Troy loves it, but when you ask Teague "wanna jump?"  he starts to whimper and says "nooooooooo!" Guess he is afraid of heights!

Snow Cones!!

The first picture of all 7 of us!  Pretty good, minus Troy's eyes being closed, but getting all of us in one location long enough for a picture is difficult enough, so a perfect picture may be out of the question. We will keep trying though!

Graduation

Troy graduated from pre-school!!  All the kids were so excited!  It was neat to be a teacher and a parent there.  I was so proud of my own class for all their hard work this year, but also really proud of Troy in all he has learned, too!!  At this age, we teach number, letters, colors, etc...but I think it's also a key time for them to learn about manners and how to be a good friend and how to respect your teachers.  I am so proud of Troy and I have no doubt he going to do just fine in Kindergarten next year and LOVE every minute of it!!


With a last name starting with A, he is always first.  Here he is leading the graduation line!!

He got to hold the flag while we all said the Pledge of Allegiance

Getting his diploma

This is one of his friends...(girlfriend I think)  I see them together a lot and his teachers told me they were trying to hold hands during nap time the other day!  LOL...toooooo cute!!!

Mother's Day

This Mother's Day has been emotional although I am not real sure why. I'm hoping to find some peace in getting my thoughts out of my head and onto the paper. I think overwhelmed and sad would be the two words that come to mind this Mother's Day. This weekend the boys were not with me, so that made me a little sad. I did get them back early on Sunday and I tried to make the most of my "me time" by napping and running and blogging, but the sadness was not just that they were not with me, most moms plead for a little "me time" on Mother's Day, but it was because this is not what God or I intended for my family; every other weekend exchanges, with special considerations on Mother's Day/Father's Day/Holidays/and birthdays, etc... The whole thing just upsets me and reminds me that life is not fair.

But then God brought me back to a place of thanksgiving, in the fact that I have children to love who are so special to me. I know several out there who want children desperately and for whatever reason can not have children right now. I also know a few grieving the loss of a child that made them a mom for a short period. And all too close to home, I encounter three sweet hearts missing their mom today as she is in Heaven. Which brings back the word sad because it breaks my heart to think their mom doesn't get to enjoy them every day, and they didn't get near enough time getting to know their mom. It brings tears to my eyes that I am the one that gets to hug them or hear about their school trips or watch them play ball. It's not fair that their mother is not here with them...but life's not fair.

Along with the sadness, I feel overwhelmed. God brought this special family in my life and I am being given the opportunity to love on these children as if they were my own. Sounds easy enough, but then I wonder if I am doing a good job. Am I showing them how to be a God-fearing Christ follower? Am I showing them how to serve selflessly? Am I teaching them how to love others? Would their mother be proud of the job I'm doing? It's overwhelming at times, and today seemed to magnify those feelings.

Proverbs 31:28-29
Her children praise her, and with great pride her husband says, "There are many good women, but you are the best!"

This verse is my heart's desire and I pray as the years continue, God will help me look more and more like the Proverbs 31 woman.

Camping

Richard and I decided to take all the kids, plus two of their friends, camping.  We found a state park about an hour from Enchanted Rock that was so quiet and beautiful.  We were able to be near the water and a playground, so the kids loved that.  On Saturday morning, we got up early and made our way to Enchanted Rock.  It was quite a trek to the top, but we made it!!   Saturday afternoon we went back to our camp site to swim and relax.  Richard threw some chicken legs and ribs on the grill and got out the bean bag toss.  After a long day, everyone was tired, so the kids crashed around 9pm.  Richard and I were up talking when the wind picked up significantly and the temperature dropped.  We scrambled to secure rain flys to the tents and pack everything into a water proof place.  By  10:30pm, we were in the middle of a thunderstorm!  I have been camping many times, but never in a thunderstorm!!  It was crazy with the wind and rain and thunder and lightening!  Luckily, Troy and Teague were tired enough to sleep right through it!  By 4am, it finally started to die down.  Sunday morning was cloudy with a few sprinkles, but by 10am, it was hot and sunny, so we decided to go for a short hike to the Devil's Waterhole.  After lunch, we loaded up and headed home.  Camping is so fun and so tiring!!  We all will sleep good tonight!!

Unloading and preparing for set-up

After ... 2 adults, 7 kids, 4 tents, and a dog...Oh My!!

The sunsets were beautiful!

Tent time!!  It took these turkeys FOREVER to go to sleep, since tent sleeping is just soooo much fun!

At the summit of Enchanted Rock

Some of the caves were small and narrow and dark.  At one point, Richard and the boys went on while me, Troy, Teague and the girls stayed back.  About 30 minutes later they emerged and had some wild stories to tell about their underground adventure!

We had a bean bag tournament with Koby and Cannon.  Richard and I are an unbeatable team!!

Devil's Waterhole

Loved all the wildflowers!  Most were taller than Teague!

In the preparations on tearing down all the tents, a lizard jumped in mine.  The boys loved trying to catch it and once they did. they didn't want to let him go. 

Mud Quest

This weekend Richard, the kids and I all ran Mud Quest.  It was so much fun and the weather was perfect!  The kids' course was a half a mile and included hurdles, mud pits to crawl through and mud pits to swing over.  They ran heats about every hour, but after they finished they were allowed to run it again if they wanted.  I think the boys ran it 4 or 5 times before they had had enough.  Richard and I did the 3.5 mile run and we also had mud pits to crawl through, which were just as fun for us.  In addition, we had planks to balance across, ladders to scale, tanks to swim/walk through, hills to climb and then slide down, and a good portion of it was just running on uneven terrain.  It was definitely a challenge!  The scenery was nice too!  We were in hay fields and woods most of the time, but once we ended up in a field of wild flowers where Richard picked me a bluebonnet and gave me a big, muddy kiss.  It was so sweet, which was a change from him smearing mud on me and pulling me back into the pits!  :)  It was all so much fun and we decided we want to do another one very soon!!

Koby and Cannon not wanting to get too muddy yet...that didn't last long though.

Kelby getting dirty!

Baylee and Morgan afterwards

We did it!!

There was a fire truck on site to hose us off after we were done.  Surprisingly, the mud came off rather easy and it wasn't as big of a mess as I was thinking it was going to be!

Soccer

It's soccer season!!  Troy has been looking forward to playing again and did really well in his first game.  He is definitely one of the fastest on the team, but not the most aggressive, so he does really well in catching up with the ball, but then just kind of stands there and watches.  He did make two shots on the goal and both came really close to going in.  He also had one assist and a great defensive play where he got in front of the ball, stopped it and turned it around!  He already is showing great improvement from last year, so I have no doubt that as the season continues, his soccer skills will only get better and better!!

The many faces of my boyfriend

Over the last year, Richard and I have really taken the time to move our relationship forward slowly.  Due to our life circumstances, we have both been very cautious, and skeptical at times, as we started this relationship.  As the months passed by and we began trusting each other more, we began opening up more and now I feel like Richard is someone I don't want to live without.  He is spiritually mature and driven, a great role model, a strong father, thoughtful of others, sacrificial, and a playful companion.  I think that playful spirit is what I love most about him, aside from his love for Christ.  He loves to laugh and to make me laugh.  As I think about spending forever with someone, I think friendship and laughter are so important and I am so blessed to have Richard as a part of my life, as not only my boyfriend but also my friend.  As I looked back through my pictures, it made me smile just to see how often I have to retake pictures to try to get a straight face, but then I realized, his funny faces are what makes him who he is and why I love him so much!