Sunday, June 30, 2013

Madeline and Papaw


Madeline was able to get in some quality time with Papaw while we were in Florida. Terry's dad ate her up and these two could be found napping right here almost every day! So sweet!!! 



Four generations right here...Madeline, Terry, Terry's dad, and Terry's grandpa. Terry's dad is Papaw, his grandpa is Papaw, and my dad is Papaw! Madeline is one lucky girl! 



Left to right; Terry's Uncle Stan (who totally needs his own reality show...seriously funny), Natalie (Terry's sister), Papaw Paul, Terry's Dad (also Terry), Terry, Michele (Terry's aunt - she's a woman of many talents and was so helpful to us), and Marsha (Terry's aunt who loves kids and is SO good with them)
 

We got to spend a lot of time with family and I enjoyed every second of it. I miss them so much and for the first time ever since we left 10 years ago, I wanted to move back to Florida. The one thing about being away is that you gain an appreciation for family and you get to truly enjoy them when you get to see them. We had such a good time with them and ate the BEST fried fish, shark, and shrimp I've ever had!

Doing ok...

I haven't blogged because I haven't been sure how to pick up where I left off. Many of you know Terry's mom passed away on 6/12/13.We are devastated. She was a wonderful mother in law to me and such a wonderful grandmother to Madeline. We miss her so much and life truly will never be the same without her. 
Many people say that Christians use our "religion" as a crutch when bad things happen in our lives. As my Dad said, sometimes your faith isn't just your crutch to lean on, it becomes your wheelchair. A place to fall when you can't stand. I truly don't know how people make it through this hard life without faith and a hope of eternal life.

That being said, we received an outpouring of love that I can't describe. Obviously, we were in shock when this happened and our friends here came over, took care of business for us, and saw to it that we were on the first flight out of here as a family. From there it was flowers, phone calls, cards, food, everything down to toilet paper was delivered to Terry's dad's house from our friends and family. Grateful doesn't adequately describe our hearts. We are filled with gratitude and surrounded by love.
We appreciate your love and continue to covet your prayers. 
 And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes, and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain; for the former things are passed away.
Revelation 21:4

Wednesday, June 12, 2013

Sweet Summertime

We are LOVING summer!!! I am trying to keep a good balance of doing fun things and things that need to get done. Here's what we've been up to lately...

Madeline made this delicious smelling scentsy for me with the dogs' food! 

We've been spending a LOT of time in our infinity pool! :) Ahhh, maybe one day! The bad thing is when Terry's involved, it gets dangerous. For Madeline, the more dangerous, the better. I try to just not watch and say a little prayer! 


I pretended not to watch her jump off the slide into the pool. She loved every second of it though!!! 

We've been visiting the nature center since its cheap and Madeline LOVES it. She asks to go see the animals at least once a day so I do try to take her once a week or so. She gets it confused with the zoo though and will ask me where the giraffes and lions are...maybe one day, San Angelo! The girl who works there got this guy out while we were there. I tried not to show my panic and disgust. I just wanted to step on him. I don't mind most bugs and will even put them outside as opposed to squashing them - roaches are the exception though. I squash 'em every time. Gross! 


Madeline loves the bugs and thinks most of them are "so sweet"! Just like her momma!


This guy below is fairly new. I guess I've never really seen a possum really up close but he was kinda cute. He had really sharp teeth though and long thumbs.  



They have several box turtles that live in this flower bed. If I ever find one, I think I'll keep it. The guy was telling me they're pretty much the lowest maintenance pet ever. They live outside, eat lettuce and dog food, and go under ground if it gets too hot or too cold. They're super cute and they don't bite. I had one as a kid and loved it. Although, for some reason he escaped from the foil lasagna pan I tried to keep him in! As a kid, if I found an animal anywhere, I brought it home - sometimes I'd show my parents and sometimes I'd deal with it on my own! hah
 I can't adequately describe how fond I am of this guy. He is super cute and minus the curls we seem to have the same hair problems. I loved him! 



 We've been playing at the lake a little too. Madeline loves the playground and she's finally at an age where my heart doesn't race the whole time she's climbing on everything. Terry picked out her outfit and shoes and she looked adorable! 

We sure are enjoying summer and being together! Trying to savor every second!