A little R&R and Puffy Eyes

Just got back from our "friends & family" getaway to Kingsland, Texas (Lake LBJ). It was four fun-filled days of rest and relaxation, mainly because I left little Emerie with Auntie Flo! As terrible as it may sound, I had a completely relaxing time hanging out on the boat, by the pool, and just sitting around talking with my girlfriends. There were moments when I really missed my baby, and many moments when I felt horrible that Flo was having to work so hard just so I could relax...but in the end, it was worth it!

Here are the kids that were on our trip...all 12 of them. The adults were really outnumbered!

The last day of our trip, Landrie woke up looking like this:

Isn't that so sad? The day before she told me she had a headache and as I checked her forehead, I realized she had a huge goose egg on it. All she could tell me was that she bumped it on the bathroom counter. She didn't complain about it one bit. The next morning, I froze in my tracks when I looked at her like this! All the swelling had started draining down behind her eyes, and even as I write this today, her eyes are still swollen and very red.

You can check out the place we stayed here http://www.logcountrycove.com/ or here http://www.theavonne.com/ it was located down in the hill country, and I've really grown fond of the beautiful scenery there.

I'm also posting some pics from our family vacation to Wimberely, TX....not such a successful trip as the one we just had, but still some good memories were made. Wimberley is a little community built around the Blanco river. The river is the main attraction. So when it starts pouring down rain and the river turns into white water rapids, there's not much else to do. This downpour of rain continued until the last day of our trip, and we were really bummed! Finally, Cody decided come hell or high water we were going to salvage this trip, so he took us to Sea World. It was a perfect overcast, slightly rainy day and there were few people there. Even with the inclimate weather, our girls braved the water area and swam their hearts out! They returned to us freezing cold with blue lips, but they had so much fun.

Obsession

HP Pavilion 6000 Laptop

This is the reason I haven't updated my blog in a while. I freely admit it....I'm obsessed with it. Laundry has fallen by the wayside, dinner is whatever I can quickly make, husband is ignored, children get the "hold on just a second" answer to every request, my mild case of carpal tunnel's is full blown, my extremities are numb, and did I mention my bloodshot eyes from staying up too late???

Help me stop the insanity!!!!! I've got so much to learn about Vista, Photoshop Elements 5.0, what hardware I truly need versus what the store people are trying to sell me, and how to get all my stuff organized JUST THE WAY I WANT IT! It's a maddening cycle of awe, frustration, and realization that technology has passed me by. If any of you laptoppers have suggestions, I'd be ever grateful.

Brother Boog

Tonight was a pretty special night for my brother in law, Boog. He preached for the first time as Youth Minister of First Baptist Church in Malakoff. Cody and I got a babysitter and drove to see him give the Sunday evening sermon. We didn't even tell Boog and Flo we were coming and just surprised them with our arrival! It was great visiting a small-town church and being able to witness a very special moment in Boog's life.

Our visit also made us appreciate our home church, Highland Baptist, here in Waco. We have so many talented people like our Pastor, Music Minister, Kids Director, etc. but we also have lots of talented lay people--and that's what makes our church so great! Just this morning we got to hear a 14 year old girl, Trannie Stevens, sing some songs from her CD. She was amazing! Reminds me of Nicole Nordeman....

Finally, I just wanted to show off some pictures that I took of the girls this afternoon....and I FINALLY got one with me in it! My kids will grow up thinking I was allergic to the camera or something because I'm usually the one taking the picture!

Have a great week!

Angela

Quick Update

Just a quick "Hello" to let you all know that, yes, this is still an active blog! I'm so sorry for neglecting you guys...as I'm sure you've been waiting at your computer for the next update.

The photo of Landrie crying is self-explanatory....she is upset because of the spanking she received when she cut almost 4 inches off of her hair! I think I a guttural moan emerged from the depths of my soul when she showed me what she had done....the child's hair is such a big part of who she is, and I was afraid that we were going to have to "bob it" to fix it. Luckily, it's barely noticeable.

The picture of Emerie is just a glimpse into what my two younger girls do each day....I am amazed that they play so well together! They'll sit in Landrie's room for quite a while talking to each other in a way that makes sense only to them. Kellie-Laine and Landrie....now that's a different story.

The photo of Cody and I was taken at a friend's 40th birthday...our eight year anniversary is coming up next week. I can hardly believe it, and I am more in love with him today than ever. I love you, honey!

No photos of KL...I can't get her to stay home long enough to take one! Ahhhh, the life of an almost 6th grader!

If I might boast a moment...please take note of my new blog header created by yours truly! I love learning more about Adobe Photoshop, and this was one of the creations that I was mighty proud of!

We're off for a quick vacation next week, so I hope to have more photos for you then

Let Freedom Ring!

Happy Fourth of July! Since we Beelers don't travel much these days, I thought I'd share our most recent "quick trip" to Cedar Creek Lake for their July 4th celebration. It was sort of a comedy of errors because we were waiting on my dad to arrive, juggling Emerie's impending bedtime, trying to crank our boat (the battery was dead), and make it to the center of the lake in time for the air show.

As luck would have it, everything worked out with a few minutes to spare, and I attribute the perfect timing to my husband's silent prayer as he cranked the boat one last time. We joke that my sister and her husband have bad "boat karma" and that anything that can go wrong WILL go wrong if they're around!

The air show was really cool with a crop duster plane doing tricks that took our breath away, but the best part of the night was seeing a privately-owned mig race above us. The sound of it literally rattled our ears, and the kids were fascinated. I was reminded of Maverick from Top Gun, and he's even COOLER now than before!! We also commented on how scary these sounds must be to people who are actually battling for peace (or against it), and that the USA is one country you better not mess with!

Our kiddos didn't get in bed until well after 10pm, which made the next day pretty hairy for us. Both of my young ones are usually in bed by 7:30, so missing the extra 3 hours hit them pretty hard. Wouldn't you know that they were both up this morning by 7am, and my pre-teen managed to sleep until 10am! I know that having the little ones asleep so early really puts a damper on any evening plans we may have, but to be honest I need that break to re-group from the day's demands. Cody and I usually spend an hour or so on the couch just talking or watching a movie, and I miss it when I can't spend that time with him. (And I must confess that my husband gives a great foot rub then, too!).

The lake here in Waco is closed....as in flooded. Isnt' that weird? We've had a ton of rain--so much that the ramps are covered and the lake level is 15ft above normal. So far this summer has been pretty mild...which is nice, but I'm ready for the rain to go away for a a little while!

I guess that's the most interesting news I could come up with today. Again, keep praying for my sister and her family. Boog is well on his way to seminary and has just accepted a youth minister position at his church in Malakoff. Their house is on the market and they would really like for it to sell quickly. Lift them up if you think about it!

Happy Birthday to Me!

They pulled one over on me....I can't believe it!

My husband, close friends, and sister managed to plan a surprise dinner for me this past Saturday night in honor of my 32nd birthday. I am normally a very aware, intuitive, astute person, so I'm not sure how all this planning slipped by me. My husband has only managed to surprise me one other time in my life when he planned a weekend getaway at the 7-F Lodge in College Station...since then I've known about all other surprise attempts. Here's the photo my friend (and co-conspire-er), Julie, snapped of me as I was walking into the room.

I'm not normally a fan of surprises, but this one was so great because I was completely in the dark! I felt so loved and blessed to be surrounded by people I love so dearly! Thanks for making my birthday one I'll remember forever.

Not so lazy days of summer...

The first few weeks of summer have proven less than relaxing for our household....the busy-ness has been fun, but I know I can't keep up this pace for long! Kellie-Laine started out with basketball camp, then VBS, joined a city-league track team, and finally today we dropped her off in Grapeland, TX for a week-long stay at Frontier camp. For those of you who don't know, KL is quite the homebody and struggles with homesickness. She doesn't spend the night with friends, and so getting her to stay for a week at camp was a major ordeal. She woke up this morning with alot of nerves and anxiety, but once we arrived she was glad to be there.

KL also had her first track meet this weekend with Waco's city league. She had planned on running the 400m and the 200m, but after sitting in almost triple digit heat for four hours, we were burned to a crisp! KL had very little left in her to run. She completed the 400, came in 3rd in her heat and I practically had to carry her off the track. She was breathing so hard, calling my name and looking very disoriented...I was a little worried and decided that staying for her other race was not a good decision. She's been doing great in her practices and was in the top 8 for her 100m dash, but she's never had to battle the elements quite like she did on Saturday. She's also learned how to high jump and has a goal of competing in that event at a future meet. We'll see what happens!

Landrie just completed two weeks worth of swim lessons, and so that's been fun for her. They don't let parents stay during the swim lessons, and so the last day was "Parent Day" and we were able to see what they had been working on. I was really impressed! Landrie was able to kick underwater and "swim" to each of her teachers by herself. She has no fear of the water whatsoever! This lack of fear is quite scary, though, when I take the girls swimming. Landrie becomes overly brave going up and down the slide (over and over and over) all by herself.

Emerie is still bear crawling, although she loves to rock on all fours. She also pulls up on anything she can....and then gets stuck! It's so funny to see her cry because she can't figure out how to sit down. She's also learned to call for Landrie whenever I'm calling for Landrie, and she'll yell "Gee-yah" to echo me. AThis summer, I hired a babysitter to come sit for Emerie twice a week. I feel quite guilty about it, but since all my girls are at such different ages it was something I had to do. Landrie and KL both love to skate, go to movies, paint at Practically Picasso, etc. but those aren't exactly the best environments for Emerie -- so I carved out two afternoons a week for "big girl activities." It's been fun so far, and I know by the end of the summer I'll be glad I did it!

In other news, Cody found his truck and after much deliberation he bought it. I think the fact that it was the perfect shade of "Aggie Maroon" sold him on it. His old truck he is giving to his brother in Lubbock, and Andy will be thrilled to have it. Also, my brother-in-law (Boog, Flo's husband) has decided to enter the ministry, so keep him and my sister in your prayers as he enters seminary. My only prayer request is that God will keep them close to us...they're practically the only family we have, and it's nice to have them less than 2 hours away.

Have a peaceful week!