Randomness

I have a few random thoughts to share. Just cause.

1) I am TIRED. So tired. Anybody with me?

2) My kids never fail to keep me grounded. Just when I am feeling good about the picked up house, or my nice clean outfit, or the peaceful feeling radiating through my family.....Screeeech! My children bring me back to reality by wrecking the living room in literally a matter of seconds (Jack can make a mess faster than anything I've ever seen), wiping something (snot, food, dirt...it's all the same) on me or my clothes (I went to work today with something, not sure what, on my white shirt), and breaking out into endless whining and arguing that makes me say, "Ah, yes, there it is." :-) Now, on the flip side, when I feel exhausted, whiny, cranky, and sad... my kids can pick me up and remind me of what I have. Them. Bella will say something so funny that I immediately have to text Mark to tell him, Jack will come up to me and give a kiss just because, or Bella will say, "Mom, you are the best Mom in the world!". I've always said that Mark balances me out, but I also believe that my children do as well. They don't allow me to get too uptight about things nor do they let me forget what blessings they are. I love them so.

3) At our house, we love homemade chocolate chip cookies! I have the BEST recipe (from my sister-in-law's mother). It gets a huge stamp of approval from Mark, which is a big deal when it comes to homemade cookies. He is a bit of a cookie snob. We whip up cookies all the time, everybody pitches in and helps, and then we dig in. Mmmmm.

Delicious!

4) We also love rain at our casa. A big afternoon thunderstorm is the perfect day for us. We like to play in the rain. Don't you remember being a kid and jumping in huge rain puddles with your bare feet or walking down by the curb when all the water was sitting? That was the best. Back in the day, I considered myself to be an amatuer storm chaser. Haha. I chased a tornado once with my bestfriend... I'm not going to lie- it was awesome. Bella has taken after both Mark and I when he comes to loving storms.

5) Fridays. They are the best. There is something about them that instantly puts me in a good mood. For me, it means a break from alarm clocks, cooking, work clothes, schedules. Jack is my alarm clock on the weekends. 7:30 is alot better than 5:30. And I don't know what it is with me and not cooking on the weekends, but I just can't bring myself to do it. It also means a full weekend ahead... I love Fridays.

6) Is there anything as sweet as the smell of babies after a bath? I think not.

Burgers and Picnic Tables

We are a family that does not grill... until today. We have nothing against grilling. We love it. We just have never invested in a grill of our own. So, we finally decided it was time. I was excited because I would have help preparing dinner, and Mark was excited because, well... who doesn't love a juicy burger from the grill?
My dad is the grilling master, so we asked him what a good 'beginner' grill would be. This is what he said.

A Weber



It is a charcoal grill, and as soon as Mark fired it up, it smelled like summer. Ahhhh. I ran inside to get the patties ready. I mixed in some onions, some worcestershire sauce, and a bit of lawry's, and shaped them up. Mark threw them on the grill and watched them closely, seeing as we are amateurs at this. Well, let me just say, those burgers were mighty tasty. Perfect. Juicy. Delicious. We had a fabulous dinner outside on our new picnic table that Mark, his dad, and brothers made. They are awesome.

We followed up our dinner with a brisk two mile walk that maybe burned off a quarter of our burgers. :-)

Happy Wednesday!

La Grange

La Grange: peaceful, pretty, tents, fishing, walks, bluebonnets, berries, cows, rocks, bridges, docks, paddle boat, special. These are a few of the words that come to mind when I think about La Grange. La Grange is a small town in Texas where Mark's grandfather's land is. We often refer to it as Grandpa's Land.

I first heard about La Grange 16 years ago. I had a big time crush on the cutest boy in all of junior high. He wrote letters to me that summer about his grandpa's land and what a very special place it was to him. I still remember how upset he was about a gas well going up on the land. That next year, he took me to the "family campout", a spring tradition where as much family that can make it comes out for the weekend to camp and be together. I remember that trip being a very busy one. I fished out of every pond, walked on every dock, saw his favorite trees, went on lots of walks, looked in all the bird boxes, and met lots of family. I felt really special because I could sense what a truly special place it was. And not just anybody was asked out there. I was hooked, so I married the boy and have gone back multiple times every year. :-)
This year was the first time we braved all four of us in a tent. It was... well, an experience. The kids actually did really well- it just took them awhile to settle down and fall asleep. Once asleep though, they stayed asleep. Camping is soooo much work (esp. with the kiddos) but well worth it and so much fun.

One thing I love to watch is Mark showing his kids the land than he hopes they will love as much as he does. Bella and Mark fished all day Saturday with her cousin Kale. They are the best of buds.



Jack and I tagged along when we could. He loved climbing on top of the paddle boat and throwing rocks into the water with his cousin Macy. Then both of them enjoyed a much needed nap. :-)

Bella and her second cousin (maybe, not really sure) Caroline enjoyed a very refreshing swim in the pond. Seaweed and all!

We go to spend time with lots of loved ones and had a fantastic time. Here are a few pictures of this and that.

Finished swimming

Some of the crew under the pavilion

Macy and Megan

Uncle Mark and Grandpa

Cousins

Uncle Tommy made Bella's night with a tub of worms.

Say cheese Jack!

Grammy and Macy

Ben and Belinda

We ended our last day with some wonderful praise time and reflection. We also couldn't leave before we fed the cows! Oh, and we had to fit the boat ride in too.

Being in La Grange rejuvenates the soul and is an awesome reminder of God's spectacular creation.