Well, It's Been Awhile!

How did I SKIP the entire month of July???? Well, I think I know why. :)

First of all, I feel like I "need" to put up pictures every time I blog. Simple, right? NO, wrong. All my pics from my camera are on my OLD laptop. And I'm usually using my NEW laptop and am too lazy to walk upstairs and get the old one!!! LOL. So, tonight I have a few minutes and just thought I'd write a non-photo blog!!! Imagine that! But, I think that a non-photo blog is better than no blog at all!

So, July was busy, busy, busy! Next time I write I will post pics of our many adventures. We began the month with a short trip to Mission to visit Gonzalo's family and take care of some much-needed business. Did I mention that we have some land down there? Well, we do. And the county decided to raise the property taxes by 419% this year! Yes, FOUR HUNDRED NINETEEN percent! Which means (for all the non-math peeps out there), that they quadrupled! So, needless to say we had to fight a battle, which we ended up winning. Yipee! We had a great visit with Gonzalo's family while we were there, and we ended our July 4th by watching Sea World's fireworks from our bedroom window. Yes, in the air conditioned house. So that was our introduction to July.

The second week of July brought my MOPS Steering Retreat on that weekend. You've heard me talk about MOPS before, and I was asked to serve for the coming year as the Special Events person. Yes, me, the new girl in town. :) But, of course, I said yes, because I LOVE special events! The Steering Retreat gave me some much needed perspective, spiritual renewal, bonding with fellow members, planning, and just good fun! It was like a big girl slumber party! And I would have stayed about a week.....if I didn't miss my Rayv & Ry.

So, that brings us to the third week of July......did I tell you that the British came? Yes, of course they did! Our wonderful friends & neighbors in Kingsport - the Catchpoles - came to visit us for about 8 days, beginning on July 16. I will tell more details of their visit in my next blog, and I will post photos of our MANY adventures!!! Also that week, we had Rylee's first birthday bash, which I will also post photos of. SO much to do, so little time! We really had such a blast with our friends and also for Rylee's party.

And, well, the last few days of July we recovered from the British invasion and the birthday bash - which only means that Gonzalo cleaned (like he ALWAYS does, lol) and then we all relaxed. All in all, it was a fantastic and busy month! Can't believe that Rylee is one, but I think I said that last time, lol. Time sure flies when you're having fun. And I can say that I've had more than my fair share. :)

Today's sermon at church was about gratitude. WOW, I sure hope I have an attitude of gratitude. The Bible passage was about the ten lepers...you know, the ones that Jesus healed. And of course if you've heard the story, you know that only ONE came back to thank Jesus for this miracle in his life. I want to live each day thanking Jesus for all the miracles in my life.....a new day to spend with my family, my two beautiful daughters, the fact that Rylee didn't have a nervous breakdown in HEB, my husband made it home safe from work - again, my family is healthy, my friends know I love them....you know, the little things in my life. Actually, they are really BIG things.

It's getting late (and this is getting long!) so I'd better wrap this up. More photos and more stories tomorrow. Much love to all of you!!!

Just Starting Out.....

Okay....so I'm new to this "blogging" world! LOL. I've been working on this for so long, and I've decided today that it's never going to look EXACTLY the way I want it to! So, I'll just go with it, and see what happens.


Blogging is SO intimidating!! I feel the need to "catch you up" on everything that is going on in our lives at this moment. But, alas, there is not enough time between naps, and my fingers would fall off from typing. :) So I'll do a brief overview, with the hopes of writing more often, and putting up more pics next time too!

Rayven & Rylee, Easter 2009

So, onto my beautiful girls! I have just come to the harsh realization that my baby Rylee will be turning one in just three short weeks, BOO-HOO! She is so sweet! She is crawling like a maniac, and she chases her sister EVERYWHERE she goes. Too funny! She is trying to pull up, but she's a little unsure about walking. That is just as well with me....I want her to stay little for as long as possible!! She tries as hard as she can to talk as loud - and as much - as her big sister. I would LOVE to know what she is trying to say, and sometimes I don't think it's very nice! LOL. She loves eating :), and she LOVES her daddy! If he comes home from work and doesn't immediately hug her and speak to her, she throws a FIT! That is the way it is with daddy's girls...

And all about Rayven....wow, Rayven is growing up so fast. She will be turning five in October, which means this is her last full year at home before starting school in 2010. I'm so thankful that I've been able to be at home with her for the past 14 months! We joined MOPS in January, and we really love all the ladies & kids we've met there. Rayven LOVES gymnastics, which she started in March. She constantly flips through the house!!! She loves it so much, she can hardly wait from one class till the next...wish I had that much energy! We also recently joined a playgroup in our neighborhood, so we've been making friends there too. We are keeping busy! Rayven's favorite things to do right now are swim, go to the parks, Sea World, and play with her baby sister. :)

My parents are here for a visit! They have been here for almost two weeks, and they are going home in a few days. We have had so much fun with them, and we hate to see them go! But we'll be going back to TN in the fall for a visit, so we will see them soon! In a couple of weeks, our great friends & ex-neighbors from TN will be coming for a 10-day visit. Our summer is shaping up to be quite busy, but we love it!!

We are still getting used to Texas, but we all like it a lot so far. If it wasn't SOOOO hot, the weather would be perfect! We definitely love the sunshine, but it's been very unseasonably hot! Maybe July will be cooler? A girl can dream.....

Until next time - love to all!