Little Brother Wins!

It was early in the morning and I had been hollering at the boys to get ready for MDO and they just were not getting ready. All I could hear was bickering from the two of them. I go back to their room to referee whatever event is happening between them and I see this....
Cameron was looking in the closet for something to wear and Colton took that opportunity to roll himself up in his blanket and lie down in front of the door keep Cameron locked inside the dark closet with just a small space to plead for help. How hilarious is this? I couldn't fuss at them because COLTON FINALLY WON! He beat his brother at his own game. We've been telling Cameron for awhile now that as Colton gets older the challenge will start to even out. Colton most definitely has a few more years to gain on Cameron but on this fine morning, Cameron had been defeated. Love it!

Seminoles Finish the Season

Seminoles finished their season last week. It was a sad series, to say the least. They lost all 4 games which made the drive to Burleson that much more time-consuming. I will say, it was neat to see them play them play the National Anthem before the games and to hear them call each player out by name as they ran out onto the field. That was new and fun! And of course, it's always fun to get a few more pictures of Cameron since he has a tendancy to avoid the camera.




And because it's always cool to slide into the bag and burn a whole right into your batting glove!

Summer Fun Hairdos

Courtnie and her Aunt B got this sudden urge to color their hair pink. It's temporary, washable, cute, fun.... why not?!?! She had this pink stripe and it was pink underneath. It's almost gone now but I'm sure hoping it's completely gone before school starts. No idea how to make it wash out faster!
It was so exciting that Colton wanted something done to his hair. So Daddy took him for a cut. This is what I saw when he came home. All I could say was "WOW!" It is very fitting for Colton but I wasn't at all prepared for the red mohawk and couldn't believe his Daddy was okay with this. Luckily, the red was just hair gel and washed out that night. Unlucky for Colton, Mamma has no idea how to spike hair. Again, good thing this is temporary!It was all fun while it lasted =)

Jackson Wedding

My cousin Cory and his new bride, Hayley, were married this past weekend. It was a beautiful ceremony! Cameron has a tournament that weekend so once again he is missing in all my pictures, ugh. The younger two kids had a BLAST dancing at the wedding. They were both skeptical at first but after just one dance, it was near impossible to get them to sit down for a break. Here are just a few of my favorite pictures:

How beautiful does our family look? Jason is so dang handsome in his suit, an attire you very rarely will ever see. Courtnie looks like she just stepped out of a galmour magazine; dang she is so beautiful. And yes, her Daddy has a shotgun ready for her dating years. Colton is just a handsome mess, he dressed himself!

What a fun day it was! Thank you Cory and Hayley for allowing us to share this special day with you.

Courtnie's Birthday Party

We celebrated Courtnie's birthday this year poolside. And let me tell you, it was a HOT day and very nice to be by a pool. Wow! She had all of her closest friends celebrating with her and all of their siblings (this massive group pic is in our web album). We are missing a few of the younger girls though. We swam for a bit, iced our cupcakes (because they most definitely would have melted in that heat), opened gifts and swam some more.

After looking through the pictures, Cameron somehow avoided EVERY picture that was taken, even in the big group shot. I'll be sure to discuss this with him. hmp. It's not like I have my camera out ALL the time. Just most times.

I can't believe this concludes the celebration of my daughter's 9th birthday. NINE! Where is that tiny 4 lb baby that clung so tightly to me for so many years? Those sweet blonde curls that wrapped around her face with a tiny bow on top? That little girl who carried her babies around everywhere she went? I miss her so. I cherish every moment with my little girl and I can wait for her to grow up.

Seminoles WIN Again!

The Seminoles have won again and are now headed to the Pony Regional Tournament. How much fun is this?! Because of all the rain this week, we ended up playing 3 games this past Sunday and our last game late last night. We are headed back out to Burleson again this week for games on Wednesday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday. Go Seminoles!!

Thoughts into Words

A dear friend of mine sent this to me today....

How often do we say, “God will not give me more than I can handle" or "He has a plan”. Basically, we're saying that every trial we endure is in God's plans. But this couldn't be further from the truth! Our trials are the result of our own foolishness. Why do we so often like to pin it off on God testing us? The truth is, most of our trials are a natural result of our own sin, not a trial from God. With this said, God can take it and turn it into something that glorifies Him, but He most definitely did not plan for the trials we face in life. So maybe the whole "God will not give me more than I can handle" thing, is really not even true at all, because God doesn’t give evil. He doesn’t give sickness, or injury or anything of the like because God is good. Our trials are a result of our own sin. Yes, God allows those trials and yes, He can use them for His purpose but does He really test us by sending evil our way? He doesn't at all, but He is with us as we walk through them.

Doesn't it make perfect sense? I have been guilty of this very thought process. It's our own sin that causes such grief and heartache. Our trials are not part of the plan. It's Satan that causes evil, harm and hurt. Not God! We live in a world with choices and our choices alone make the path the walk. Some challenges are neither a direct result of our sins nor are they part of God's plans. God has promised to walk along side of us if we call on Him.

Bowling Scores

We are still bowling quite a bit and with this comes much practice. Courtnie is quite the bowler and VERY competitive. I've never seen someone bowl so many 9's and never get a spare or a strike, bless her heart. However, on this one particular game she finally bowled three spares in a row and then a strike. She was ecstatic! But after that, all we saw was her pouty face as she beats herself up. Can you say perfectionist? She must get that from her Daddy!

PS - For the record, I am the SECOND "B". I won't publicly announce who the first "B"'s score belonged to.... ahem, Breanne!

4th of July Celebration

This year we opted to celebrate Independence Day at the Ranger game. I have neither seen it more packed in my life, nor have we have seen a better firework show. It really was pretty amazing! The players and their families sat on the field below while the stadium lights went completely black in preparation for the show. This is the first year ever not one of my children has been scared of the fireworks so that was neat to be able to watch them all enjoy the show and enjoy it myself.

Happy 9th Birthday Courtnie!

Each birthday, the birthday child chooses where we eat dinner. Courtnie choose Magic Time Machine. What a GREAT choice it was! I had been before but not with my kids, which is like a whole new experience. Cameron was out of town and missed the fun but Colton and Courtnie's experience was just incredible. Our waitress was the beautiful and hilarious Alice from Alice in Wonderland. This girl rocked our night! she was awesome!!

My baby girl is growing up way to fast! She turned 9 this year! Where is that sweet little shy girl, who clung so tightly to me for so many years. She has blossomed into this beautiful young girl. I CAN wait to see where God takes her. Please let me hold on to and remember all of her special moments as she grows to become a woman.