Brady Turns 5

We started his b-day celebration with a party

at Chuck E Cheese the night before.

I'm not sure who had more fun...the kids or their parents!

Rise and Shine! We're off to the zoo!

We spent the first part of the day at the Ft. Worth Zoo.

Mimi, Mommy and Braden had a blast checking out all the animals.

Brady's favorite were the lions. You should hear him roar!

After the zoo, we met up with dad...then we were off to see GI Joe.

After the movie, it was off to the Rainforest Cafe for dinner. Yummmmy!

After a long fun filled day, this was Braden's stamp of approval.

Happy Birthday Little Man!

Faith

I came upon this in my reading this morning and it spoke riches to me. Maybe it will do the same for you...

This is an excerpt from Beth Moore's Believing God:

"...we may as well accept faith challenges as a fact of life and not be shocked or feel picked on when they come. God brings them to build our faith, prove us genuine, and afford Himself endless excuses to reward us. He delights in nothing more than our choice to believe Him over what we see and feel."

So my friends, stand strong in the midst of nay sayers. Dream even bigger for the dream dashers. Pray enlightenment for those who passionately speak against you in ignorance. Believe the unbelievable. Foresee the unseen. And, most importantly, hold on to the promise that when you rise to the challenge, your faith will be unshakable and get ready, get ready, get ready...the reward is on it's way.

So, go ahead. Amuse our God...delight Him today with your faith. I can't help but wonder then...what you will see and feel.

The Death of The King

As the world tunes in to the funeral of The King of Pop, I can't help but wonder what the world was like when news spread of the death of The King of Kings. Could you hear the groan of mourning across the world that day? Was the absence of His physical presence unbearable? To have walked, talked and felt Him so tangibly and then He is no longer there. Just as family, friends and fans of Micheal express their love and devotion to him still, the world has been impacted by his death. How much more was the world rocked by the death of Jesus Christ? How well have we remembered the death of The King? How well have we expressed our love and devotion to Him still?

Thoughts I'm pondering this morning...

"Soul Mates"

Call me a romantic if you will, but I believe you can find and fall in love with "The One". That it is possible to experience True Love. I know that there is such a person you can call your "soul mate". You see, I know this because I was able to experience this first hand ten years ago today. I know that in my areas of weakness, his strength carries me through and during his times of weakness, my strengths can do the same. I know that there is no other person in the world that I would rather spend my days with, to experience life with. I have experienced knowing someone so well, you can predict what their next move will be. I know what it is to love someone far beyond words and to have that someone love you right back.

But above all, I know that I am blessed to live this beautiful thing orchestrated by our Father God. I have lost count of how many times I have thanked Him for Brandon over our amazing journey together. The night before we said "I do" it was my prayer that what Brandon and I have be a testament to what God can do. The absolute peace you can have when entering into the most tender of all human relationships is something I long for all. It not only carries you through but fuels your relationship to operate on all cylinders. The life I live with my husband is possible all because of what our loving Father has done for us. So, you see, I live out the possibility of finding your "one" everyday. That is why I am a believer.

To my love:

You are the most amazing man I have ever met. Your integrity, passion and strength I admire. You have taught me so many things; like not take myself so seriously. It's okay to loosen up and have fun. (still working on this one, but hey, I've come along way.) I love your sense of humor. When you say, "Watch this" I may be running the opposite direction but I'm smiling the whole way. I have never felt so cherished, so loved. You know how to make me feel like I am the only girl in the room. I enjoy the journey of NewLife. To see your vision and dreams come to be. Your leadership is a strength I admire. I love that you are a God fearing man. I love to see what God's doing in your life shared with so many. I know that you are a difference maker. I am living proof. You have for sure made a difference in mine. The minute we met, my life would forever never be the same. I am so grateful. I love you!

Father God, Thank you once again for this man I am so privileged to call my husband, my best friend, my partner, my love. Bless him, prosper him and continue to use him to forever alter the lives of those you love.

Love,
Your Adoring Wife

Laughter's The Best Medicine

We primarily spend our Sunday afternoons and evenings together just hanging out. Sometimes we make an ice cream /limeade run to Braums. Other times we'll stop and grab a snow cone. There are times we do both...it just depends on who wants what. One of our favorite things to do is watch AFV aka America's Funniest Home Videos. Or as Brady very innocently calls it "Home O Videos". (I love it!) Anyway, it never fails, we always laugh at some of the ridiculous stuff people do (you want to ask them "At what point did that seem like a good idea?") But, more often than not, we end up laughing hysterically at each other. This past Sunday, I was busting a gut laughing so hard, then Brandon starts laughing at me or with me and Braden was trying to calm me down. He kept saying, "No mom, stop laughing" all while putting his little hand over my mouth. Then he says, "I don't want to have to watch it again!" When something cracks us up, Brandon will generally rewind it so we can see it again. Which just prolongs the laughter. Evidently, Braden prefers us to laugh and just get on with the show. But one things for sure, we love to laugh with...and even at each other.

My Love

As you can tell by the subject matter mainly covered in my blog...I value and cherish my family.

And it all began by falling in love with this man. We are closing in on 10 years. I can't believe it! The time has gone by so fast. It seems like it was not that long ago that two very young people stood in front of family and friends declaring their love for one another. One thing is for sure, we were in love. We were young, yes and maybe even a little or a lot nieve as to the challenges of marriage, but I knew I couldn't live without him. Brandon is who I saw my future with... whatever that turned out to be. If we could go back in time, I wouldn't change a thing. Not the good times, not even the bad times. It's because of them we are who we are today. I loved this man with my whole heart on the day we said "I do". Today, I love him with all that I am and tomorrow I will love him even more.

Thank you, Father above, for this man that I am so privileged to call my husband and beloved partner in this life. He is everything I could ever need. You know me oh so well.

My #5

Here's my number 5. Ever since seeing the Rangers play, he now has to wear his uniform like Kinsler. It's quite the production getting him ready for his games. It takes teamwork! I told Mimi at his game on Monday, "I know I'm his mom but he's just so darn cute!" What can I say, that boy makes my heart leap with joy. Maybe one of these days...he'll grow into his last name.