Wonderful Weekend! :)

We had a WONDERFUL weekend!!! :)

On Friday, we got to have lunch with Jamie at The Galleria!!! :)

Then we picked Daddy up from the airport!!!!!!!!!!!!! (The following pictures are from the parking lot!!)

"Mama, are you sure this is my Daddy?"

"Okay...I believe you!"

"I love you, Daddy!"

Saturday morning we had brunch with Uncle Spencer and Shannon!!!! (Daddy had to work...) During bruch, Uncle Spencer and Avaree practiced high-fives and she did it several times in a row! :)

Saturday afternoon we got to visit with shea-shea, Uncle Scott and Karrington!!!

"Karrington...I will give you kisses!!"

"Oh Uncle Scott....., I love your glasses!"

Saturday evening...Avaree helped Mama find something to cook for dinner!!! :)

and crawled over Daddy to get what she wanted... :)

Sunday after church we got to have lunch with the Dekats and the Tingles!!! :)

Sunday night we got to go see Daddy's students perform in their Homecoming concert. (Well, Daddy got to see them. You'll see the view that Mommy had--hehe...but who could complain?) :)

Monday morning we got to spend time with Daddy and go to the park before he left for work! YAY! :)

What a wonderful, happy weekend!!! Avaree's tricks of the week: Giving High-Fives, On command (wet) kisses, crawling over and around and on top of EVERYTHING, standing up by herself for several seconds at a time, and laying her head down to go "night night" on anything that is soft (a cloth diaper, a pillow, a blanket, etc.)! What a fun week this has been!

Happy Birthday--from Avaree!

Avaree wanted to wish a few VERY SPECIAL people Happy Birthday!!!

Happy Birthday TODAY to Avaree's Popa (my dad)!

Hapy Birthday SATURDAY to Avaree's Gigi (Brandon's Mom)!

Happy Birthday NEXT THURSDAY to Avaree's Granpapa (my stepdad)!

Avaree loves all of you very much and is sooooo blessed to be your granddaughter! :)

Stay tuned for August's immediate family birthdays: Niecey, Granmama and Uncle D!

Trip to Hemphill and Mama Time!

Avaree and I have had some good girl time since Daddy has been gone, but we are oh so excited to pick him up from the airport tomorrow afternoon! :)

Avaree and I got to go to Hemphill for a few days last weekend and we had a ball! Avaree had only been to Hemphill once and she was only 3 months old, so I very much enjoyed sharing a piece of my history with her!!! Everything in my room is exactly the same, except for an added crib--ha!

I was concerned about how Avaree would do on the trip without someone in the back seat with her, so on the way there, I timed her afternoon nap perfectly and she slept for two hours! Then, my Mom met us in Longview and drove us the rest of the way so that I could sit in the back seat with Ave! The drive back was a different story, but the drive there was very pleasant! In fact, the drive there was even therapeutic for me as it reminded me of my college road trip days... :)

Enjoy the pictures!

My Mom turned our old exercise room into a playroom for her grandchildren (well, for Avaree and her future grandchildren!). She is so talented: She painted a mural of bright colors and included all the things that Avaree likes!

The cat on the wall is Bella! :)

This is my brother's contribution! He's so talented too! Love the bass, Uncle Spencer!

Mom picked out all of Avaree's favorite songs on the piano and Ave loved it!

We played outside and we played outside and we played outside. And...when we came inside, she cried.

One of Avaree's latest tricks is dancing! You can't really tell, but the frog next to her sings and dances--she is dancing to the music! :)

Granpapa made Avaree a swing and boy did she ever love it! If anyone went outside without her (i.e. just opened the door), she would start crying until someone took her out and she would lean toward the swing!

Cheeser! Avaree and I have been so busy playing and I have been so focused on getting pictures of her on my phone to send to Daddy that I have neglected to take many on my camera. Oh well...her eyes are probably thankful for a few days without that bright flash! :)

Brandon is in the first flight group to land at DFW tomorrow (yay!!!!!!!!!)! Please pray for safe travels for everyone!!!!!! We are SOOOOOO excited to see our Daddy!!

Boston Mission Trip

We got up early this morning to take Daddy to the airport. Well, that's a bit of an untruth--we did get up early, but not necessarily to go to the airport! :) Avaree's teeth hurt her all night so she was up a lot and then for good at 5:30. Daddy was too excited to sleep, so he was up at 2. I woke up several times between 2 and 5am listening to Brandon laugh at "Whose Line is it Anyway" and listening to Avaree talk on the monitor! :) Needless to say, we got to the airport early and enjoyed visiting with Daddy's kids and fellow leaders!

Please pray for safe travels (there are 6 different flight "groups" and a total of 265 youth flying to Boston today), effective ministry opportunities, successful concerts that share the gospel, and a smooth, fun trip for everyone involved! We will miss our Daddy!!! He'll be back next Friday at 4pm.

Avaree posing with Daddy and our good friend Ryan!

Thanks for your prayers everyone! I'll keep you updated as I hear from Brandon!

Fun with Avaree!

Avaree is 9.5 months old and seems to be learning new things every day! She interacts more (as if it were possible to interact with us more than she already did!) and loves us more! She is such a little love bug! On Sunday (the 4th) after church, Brandon, Avaree and I loaded up and headed to Bridge City! This was Avaree's first trip to Popa and Neesie's and it was long overdue! Avaree really did MUCH better than I expected! During the 6.5 hour trip, she took a couple of naps, Mama sang every song she knew and then made up some songs too, she listened to Mama recite her favorite book over and over again, and she played with an arsenal of toys! :) There were just a few screams, but only when she was getting hungry or tired! She did even better on the trip home on Tuesday. Overall, we found the trip to be a success and enjoyed spending time with our family!

Here are a few pictures from our whirlwind trip there!

Talking with Neesie!

We salute our military men and women!!!!

Reading the "Quack, Quack" book with Uncle Kenneth, Aunt Connie and Colton! (Backstory: Avaree was playing on the floor and Colton and his Papa were reading Avaree's book. So, Avaree crawled over to Uncle K, and raised her arms to be picked up! Then, they all read together!) :)

Playing with Daddy in the pool while cousin Colton checks her out! :)

Yes, I let Avaree ride in the Polaris, but only b/c Dad has been telling me about it since before she was born AND it has seatbelts. (And..i went with them!) :)

Avaree loved playing with her "friend" in Nese's big mirror!

Worn out for swimming and playing!!!

Reading her favorite book! :) She can turn the pages now!

Avaree was enamored with the fountain in the backyard! She kept wanting to get in it!

Watching Praise Baby with Popa and Speckles!

Back home... :)

This is how Mama is able to get things done in the kitchen now! This is the face I got when I took one of her bowls from her to wash--ha! :)

"Monkeying around" with my Daddy!

A smile for my mama!

After waking up for her nap, this is what I found Avaree doing... :)

Still has no idea that I am in the room....

"Oops...I'm caught!"

Cheeser. :)

Coming up: Tomorrow morning we take Daddy to the airport. He is going on a mission trip with the Prestonwood North and South Campus Youth Choirs. We will miss him sooooo much! I will post pictures tomorrow of his departure and specific prayer requests! Thank you!