Our Beach Experience in Pictures

A couple of thoughts/highlights about our first Beach trip as a family:

1. My babies DO NOT like the sand.

2. Ainsley throwing up twice the 15 hours we were there.

3. Our "breakfast at the hotel" experience. Good times.

4. My babies think the sand and ocean are "dirty" and Austin commented several times that he wanted to swim in the "nice clean pool." Why we drove that long to swim in a hotel pool I will never know!

5. The drive to Galveston wasn't as bad as we thought it would be with 3 toddlers. :)

6. Audrey refusing to step foot on the "dirty" sand for like the first 20 minutes we were on the beach.

7. I absolutely LOVE just being at the beach and breathing in the ocean air!

8. Feeding the seagulls and looking for seashells to give to Papa.

9. We had a wonderful anniversary and it was definitely a memorable experience!

10. Did I mention how much the sand bothered my kiddos?!

We will hopefully try again next year!

Ainsley's 1st Birthday Party

Our sweet little Ainsley is 1 and we had so much fun celebrating her first year of life a couple of weekends ago with close friends and family. No more 1st birthdays from the Werley family for a while! hehe! Here are some fun pictures from the day:

Here is our beautiful little girl in her "big girl" car seat for the first time. Look how BIG she is!! I just can't believe it!

It's Our 10 Year Anniversary and we are...

at the BEACH!!

We decided to take a family vacation and for our kiddos to see the ocean for the 1st time! So fun!

Happy anniversary to the most amazing man EVER! I praise God for the gift of you every day and I am definitely one lucky girl! I love you, sweetheart! Here's to 40 more years at least!

Thankful Thurdsay - Our Parents and Grandparents

Mike and Betty Mauritzen, Cora and Gary Werley, and Yvonne Blevins

What we put on the back of our Wedding Day program 10 years ago and it still reigns true: To our parents, we could never thank you enough for all the many things you have done for our lives. You have played a role in shaping who we are today, and for that we offer immeasurable respect and gratitude. You have taught us how to build our lives on the foundation of Jesus Christ and how to love unselfishly. We pray that we may one day reflect your strength and love. Thank you for your support and understanding while planning this unforgettable day.

And to each of our grandparents who have played a unique and significant role in our lives. We praise God for these special people and their legacy :

Walter and Jeanne Mauritzen - Granddaddy and Jeannemommie

My Jeannemommie passed way almost 3 years ago now and I still miss her terribly.

Virginia Geist - my Mom's mother


Andrew's Grandparents - Peggy Neufeld, Charles Whitaker, Jane Harakal, Hazel and Sam Werley


We love you all and are so thankful for you!

Some more of our Besties

Our Wedding Party

My little sister, Suzanne Renee... I am not even sure words can describe how grateful I am to the Lord for the gift of a sis like her! She is my very best friend (besides my hubby:), she is one of my biggest cheerleaders, she challenges me spiritually, she is one of my prayer warriors, she knows everything about me (and loves me anyways!) and she has always been there for me. She has the most beautiful heart of anyone I have ever met, people are drawn to her godly character, she loves to serve the Lord and has such incredible loyalty and kindness to the people in her life. She is unselfish and self-sacrificing, virtuous, a peacemaker and the Lord has used her discernment and compassion for His people in many occasions. I could go on and on about my precious sis! (And those of you who know her would agree with me! :) Suzanne, you are a true woman of God and I love and admire you so much! I can't believe that you are already 27 and about to leave for the mission field - your dream that God gave you in 7th grade!! You are completely amazing and I praise God every day for your life and the many ways you have impacted mine! Thank you for standing by me on my wedding day and all the many other days since then! You are dearly loved by your big sis!!

My Maid of Honor and Andrew's Best Man - Kevin Napier

Kevin and Andrew have been best friends since their college days and they were both each other's best men at their weddings. I actually met and knew Kevin before I ever met Andrew. Kevin was also one of the guys that introduced me to Andrew. A group of us took a trip up to DFW from Nac so that Kevin could ask his girlfriend's parents for her hand in marriage and for us to hang out with this guy named Andrew. It was that weekend when I knew I would one day be Andrew's bride. It was so crazy! I will never forget it! Kevin is an amazing guy/friend and him and Andrew are like 2 peas in a pod. Deanna, Kevin's wife and I have joked for years that they act more like a married couple sometimes. :) I praise God for Kevin's life and the ways he helped Andrew early in his walk. I know that the Lord used Kevin and that Andrew is the man he is today because of incredible people like Kevin. Thank you for always being Andrew's 'best man', Kevin! You and your family are so precious to us!

Here is Kevin with his beautiful wife Deanna. we seriously would do anything for these two people! Some of our favorite married memories involve Kevin and Deanna. When we lived in Houston, we tried to hang out often. Many hand and foot games (with the girls ALWAYS winning:), great conversations, memories at Lake Conroe and laughs. We love you, Napiers!

This is my dear friend, Kylie Lindsey Higgins. Kylie is one of the most beautiful people I know from the inside-out and I know that we were placed in each other's lives for a divine purpose! We have been best friends since high school and I can't even begin to tell all of the MANY wonderful memories I have with her from youth group/camp days to summers and swimming. Who knew that we would be the two out of our group of friends to marry guys called into the ministry?! Kylie has been such a source of encouragement to me for so many years and she and her precious family are one of the many reasons that I miss Waco so much! Our two oldest - Austin and Hudson are 3 weeks apart in age and I cherish those early days of us "going through" being mom's for the 1st time together and for our boys being so close. Both of us also had some complications with getting pregnant with our boys and I remember many sweet emails from Kylie when she and Ronny were living in Africa - her always praying and encouraging me even through her own struggles. She is just that kind of friend! Then to be prego together and moms together has been such a blast! Kylie, look where we are 10 years later! You are one of my hero's and I love you so much! Thanks for being such a wonderful friend to me for so many years! I praise the Lord for you and the many ways He has used your life to shape mine. You are precious to me, my friend!

Here is Kylie with Jonathan Stewart. Jonathan was one of youth when Andrew and I were married and every time even to this day i look at Jonathan and see a little mini Andrew. I don't know if I can say that he was one of our favs, but Andrew spent a lot of time pouring into Jonathan's heart and life. He was an incredible young man and we would love to catch up with him one day soon and see what the Lord is doing in and through his life. Thanks for being a part of our special day, Jonathan!

And that completes the gushing of the people we chose to stand beside us on our wedding day! More to come...