My mother grew up in Corpus also... my grandmother lives in Houston now, but I had to go by and see the house... Grandpa White built this house I can remember sliding down the stairs to the huge wall mirror I remember Grandma's banana trees and huge smoker in...
 Memories... my dad always told me that his job was making memories. I have taken this job as my own with my children. This trip (with just my parents and brother) was amazing. Traveling to Corpus Christi, Texas... so many memories.  Strong hands... Hands...
 My parents grew up in Corpus Christi. It was an 8 hour drive to Corpus from Plano, Texas - where I grew up. My brother and I got very used to these trips and I always enjoyed the scenery. It has been two years since any of these road trips, so this time I tried to...
 This isn't the house I grew up in... my parents moved to Houston February of my senior year of high school. I can remember looking at the house with my mom when we were deciding which house to buy. We fell in LOVE with the curtains and the windows... light...
Last Friday, my brother picked me up at the airport and my Grandmother surprised me and was in the truck! I was so excited. And... it just kept coming. We drove by mom's school... Mom is one tough lady - 7th grade English in Houston... I don't know how she does it....
 I'm back in Arizona with my babies! So good to be home. Mom flew home with me, so I didn't have to fly alone on my birthday! I am spoiled (rotten, I know!). Dad and brother BJ will be here tomorrow. They are driving in and bringing me a sewing machine!! So excited!!...
 Leaving home for a few days... I'm headed to Corpus to see my Grandfather for his 90th... (Thank you April at JaneSays for the precious towels!) I am going to miss my babies... I hope they miss me too! (Thank you, Meg at Whatever for the amazing pillows!) But I know...
 Today was beautiful. It finally dried off a little... so the kids spent most of the morning in their hodgepodge fort outside... chairs, air conditioning duct leftover, old shoe rack, some extra 2x4s and anything else they found in the project pile... Their story was...
 Today I pulled out some sun catcher crafts - J got the butterfly and N got the planet. I was honestly dreading this craft... but it was the best one so far. They were each so careful with the tiny beads (it kept them occupied for 45 minutes). They turned out...
 We have had so much rain. It almost decided to come inside with us.  I have been saving up some rainy day crafts which came in VERY handy today. I have a shelf in my closet that I save crafts on. Ever so often I think... oh, I should just take all this to the...
AZ Highways magazine promised fields of wildflowers... Rattlesnake Cove out at Bartlett Lake was the closest... I was so ready! Armed with my camera, beef jerky, horizon chocolate milk (to keep the back seat appeased), good music and a beautiful day, we drove out. If...
 I hope you have a wonderful weekend! I hope you do something inspiring. We have soccer games and choir practice. I hope that we get to do some used-bookstoring (it's a word, I promise!). I hope I speak in gentle words to my husband, I hope I say just the right thing...
 I do not pray for success, I ask for faithfulness. ~ Mother Theresa  If you judge people, you have no time to love them. I have found the paradox, that if you love until it hurts, there can be no more hurt, only more love. In this life we cannot do great things. We...
Treasure, texture and encouragement all wrapped up in a sealed envelope. Shame on those bills for cluttering our beautiful mailboxes. Wouldn't it be  nice to have one mailbox for letters and gifts ~ all the happy mail and another mailbox for bills and advertisements?...
"... to give them beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness; that they may be called trees of righteousness, the planting of the LORD, that He may be glorified" (Isa. 61:1-3).
 At 10:16, Brian walked into my office - the nurse had called... Julia fought the slide and the slide won. (You may remember that this month last year, a three foot fall off of a slide resulted in a broken arm) One Urgent Care trip and two stitches later, she was...
 Time for my children to hop around and do the chicken dance... (Yup, Nate is #6).  Or it's time for soccer season again... they look very similar.  ' She looks taller, doesn't she?! I CANNOT keep pants that are long enough for her. Thank you for stopping by! Have a...
If you know my husband, then you know that he loves to make up rules for new games - which is so perfect for a family with a six year old...  He can understand so much, but not quite all the rules, so being able to adjust on the fly is a true gift.  We found...
Friday night was family night at the Scottsdale Arabian Horse Show (which equals free!). So relaxing... leaning up against a fence listening to horses rush by you. Look at this lady... wow. Her horse was gorgeous. Her outfit amazing. But she...
Take determined steps. Determined to release the weight of your burdens. Determined to secure the beginning that awaits you. Determined to hold tight to the beauty that you know is ahead. You've been chosen to keep going. Oh yes, the night is quick and ever present....
I had every cassette. I knew every word. IÂ had this amazing tent that mom and dad bought me for Christmas one year. I put it over my bed. I put her cassette in my pink radio / cassette player I had. I would listen for hours. I thought this was the coolest album. Hot...