Guess where we are headed???!!!

That's right!!! We are driving right now (please pray for us! ;) to Orlando to visit the Magic World of Disney! We are so very excited AND the kiddos don't know where we are going yet! We have been talking about our "special secret trip" for a couple of weeks now, but we aren't telling them where it is until we are about an hour away. So fun! Lots of pics to come!!

Zoo Days

Spring Break was such a great week this year! We spent both weekends in Waco visiting my parents and a whole lot of time outside. LOVING the warmer weather and the longer day light! Here are some pics from our 2 trips to the Waco Zoo 2 weekends in a row. We just love this zoo! (Sorry for the large amount of pics in this post! :)

They just look so big to me here...

Thanks to Papa and Grandma for the zoo passes and for coming with us! ( I came the 1st weekend by myself with the kids while Andrew was at a conference.)

Sweet boy!

Audrey didn't quite get the purpose of the ladybugs. :)

LOVE these moments!

This was Ainsley's 1st time going to the zoo as a walker! She had so much to explore and look at!

Ains and Grandma

You can't really see it, but the giraffe on the right has his tongue way out! It was a cool sight to watch it reach for his food like that.

Zoo day 2 - Daddy with his baby girl

Our little monkey...

Uncle Cory and Aunt Kristin joined us this time. :) Always great to hang out with them!

The male lion was amazing this trip and he was SO CLOSE! Really cool for the kids to see and hear him roar.

The elephants are the kids favs

My sweet family! Happy 62nd Birthday to my Daddy!

Love you!

Loving these days and wishing life could stay like this forever!

What's a Party if it's not at Chuck E. Cheese?

If you are not a parent or grandparent of young children you might not understand this statement I am about to make: Chuck E. Cheese is essential to life as we know it! I never understood the draw of this place before I had kids. Too loud. Too many people. Too dirty. Not good pizza for the most part. Too much money. Do Andrew and I love it? Not so much. Do we love how excited our kiddos get when we tell them that we are going there? Absolutely! So, we take them there because making them happy brings us joy and though we don't go that often, it is a lot of fun watching all 3 of them have a blast every time. We got the chance to go to one of Austin's (and Audrey's) buddies, Hudson's birthday party at Chuck E. Cheese last week. It was right after school which was perfect timing for no crowds and the kids could just run around like crazy and have a great time.

We love to play with Hudson! This pic cracks me up b/c Hudson is the tallest of the 3, and he is the one on the stool that you can't see which makes him look like a giant! (He is tall, but not that tall! :)

Chuck E. Cheese!

Ains had a blast! She feels so much freedom now that she can walk all over the place.



I love that they like to be together!

Dancing girls!

LOVE these girlies!!

A couple of weeks ago I met up with some of my favorite girls on.the.PLANET! Lauren, Kristen and Morgan are girls that I have known since they were 6th and 7th graders and NOW they are getting ready to graduate and move forward with college and missions. My heart just overflows with pride and love for these precious girls and I am so very thankful that the Lord placed them in my life. They think I am a mentor to them, but what I know is that the Lord has used them in more ways than one to speak to my heart over the years. I started as their Bible teacher, then their history teacher (good times! :) and then became their Bible study leader when they entered high school. What fun memories and WHAT amazing women they are turning into! (I had no doubts. :) Girls, I just can't believe that we are in this place right now talking about college plans! These are the days you have been preparing/ dreaming about since I first met you. I am so excited about what the Lord has as each of you take the next step in your lives and with Him. He is so worthy! Each of you mean so much to me and I love you dearly. I am so proud of you and also so thankful that you still want me as a part of your lives. I hope and pray that Audrey and Ainsley have hearts like each of yours - fully devoted to God and so beautiful and servant minded. Enjoy these last few months of high school! I love you!!

"I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Wonderful are your works; my soul knows it very well." Psalm 139:14 ESV

The Doctors are in...

Austin had 'Healthy Me Dress Up Day' at school last week and he had so much fun dressing the part of 'Dr. Austin'. (And of course playing with all the fun doctor tools. :) We definitely don't think that the doctor profession is anywhere in his future, but he did tell me that he would like to be a doctor when he grew up as long as he didn't have to "see shots or have other kids cry". Both a doctor and a dentist came to visit his school that day and he came home full of knowledge (and a new toothbrush. :) These are the days when Austin seems so big to me - he truly is turning into a big kiddo and he is SO smart!

These two spent most of the week playing doctors and me and Ainsley were their "patients". Fun memories! (They played so hard that most of the tools are broken! Yep - that's the way it is in our house of pre-schoolers - we almost feel sorry for any toy that enters. ;)