Opening Day is Oh So Soon!

I love me some Ranger baseball. I love me some Josh...Hamilton! Bradley and I were blessed to attend a local homeless shelter benefit with Josh Hamilton as the speaker. He and his wife Katy flew to Amarillo to share their story. I love their story. Jesus is real; He's still performing miracles in my life and the lives of those around me. That's why I love Josh Hamilton. His story includes Jesus. (Yes, he's pretty handsome, too). I have a passion for loving on addicts and covering them in prayer. I haven't been there, but for some reason, the Lord always brings these people to my mind and heart. They struggle. I struggle. The Lord redeems each of us - every time and every day. The Cross links us. Our need for the Cross links us. God is good and his goodness is for ALL people!

Josh shared a story about Katy that I pray can be said of me by my husband, family, friends, etc...when Katy realized she "simply" needed to forgive Josh, she called him up and basically told him that she didn't expect anything in return but that she needed him to know that she forgave him. And to THIS day, she has not revisited his "past" or "mistakes" E-V-E-R! Such a challenge to me not to dig up the past or remind anyone of past "forgiven" mistakes.

Hooray for April 1st - Opening Day!

The Boys!

a little about tate

Here Tate is saying, "hey batter, batter, batter, SWING batter" He and Bradley love to play ball together and Tate catching on to this saying is icing on the cake! (Yes, this is taking place during dinner...note the time on the wall clock...if dinner isn't on the table at 6pm each night...I have THREE cranky boys)

Here, Tate is screaming "hot dog". Tate is saying "hot dog" because he thinks Mickey Mouse is amazing and could watch those silly shows all day long...as long as there is a ball somewhere in the episode. Bradley is saying "hot dog" because he thinks that the "hot dog" guy at the Rangers game (who no longer works there) was amazing at saying "hot dog" the exact same way for probably 15-ish years! Regardless, these are two peas in a pod regarding "hot dog" and screaming it at the tops of their lungs! :)

Keys, keys, keys. Tate finds our keys in the "key drawer" and pulls his car out, tells us bye-bye, gives kisses, and he's off! I always ask him where he is going and he generally tells me school or bubba school. Recently, I made the comment that Tate hadn't misplaced/lost the keys E-V-E-R. I ate my words the next day. Bradley and I asked him where Momma's keys were...Tate's response was high...or so we thought. When he decided to get them a week later, he kept saying high, high, high...but he was actually saying hide, hide, hide!
Silly goose! Thank goodness for extra keys!

Bright! Tate loves to see lights, close his eyes, and tell me that the lights are bright. He is exactly like Bradley when he wakes up each morning or after nap..."bright momma, bright".

Here he is! My sweet William Tate!

a little about Parker

This is what you can find Parker doing most afternoons - reading, writing, coloring, drawing!
He is WAY into dinosaurs and enjoys sounding out the different dinos and spelling them! Mrs. Middleton continues to give us great reports about Parker's progress, respect for authority and kindness to others. Praise the Lord! He continues to show us pieces of his heart by busting out in song to the Lord, asking for forgivness and giving forgiveness without being asked.

The picture below was a note he wrote to Shawn Boyd. Shawn lost his brother tragically a couple of weeks ago. Bradley came home and talked to us all about Shawn and his brother Tyler. Understand that Parker and Shawn (Shawn is our associate recreation minister at FBC) share the love of batman and superman! So, as Bradley was telling the boys bye on his way to visit Shawn's family, Parker told Bradley that he was giving Shawn his best batman, "because he always gives things to me and I need to give something to him." I pray he always thinks of himself less and other more!

PS: Parker is still a "normal" kiddo with time spent in time-out and re-thinking wrong doings and how it makes others feel. Bradley and I have observed that about every 3-4 weeks, he REALLY pushes the limit; I just cannot understand why he does this! My, oh my, how my Heavenly Father must feel ALL the time from my lack of obedience. Wow - He is teaching me SO very much through my sweet boys...even on the hardest of days!

Happy Heart Day!

Yes - V-day is a commercialized holiday but I love it! Yes - we are to show love to every person we encounter every day, and I try, but I still love Heart Day! This year, I organized Parker's class' V-day party...SO fun! We had cupcakes, carrots, strawberries, cheese sticks, pretzels and Oreos. Yum-O! All of Parker's friends were so excited to have a special snack and share their homemade valentines with each other. After snack time, we played 4-corners. I played this game throughout elementary school and it was great to watch Parker catch on!

The kiddos were learning about the planets during the week of V-day, so I decided to let them count down 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1...BLAST - OFF! To not be a teacher by trade, I love to wrap up everything in a big bow!!

Brittan and Parker

Parker pretty much eats the icing and not the cake...E-V-E-R-Y time!

Parker is surely blessed with a great group of friends.
I hear that he is always a leader and helps others learn, too!

PS: Bradley and I enjoyed a lovely lunch date (without the precious children) and I cooked a nice dinner followed by treating the boys to fro-yo for dessert!

The kids on the bus go....

Discovering!


Britten (Parker's bestie), Parker and Angelina. Here they are learning about clouds and how the pressure level being low creates more clouds!

I gladly help Mrs. Middleton (Parker's teacher) with field trips each month. I love to have some time with Parker and to love on and learn about all his friends! This trip was to the Discovery Center with a feature exhibit of dinosaurs. Parker still loves cars, trucks, emergencies, and outdoor play; but add dinosaurs to that group and you'll have one happy camper!

Parker "roaring" along with the dinosaurs.
I'm certainly glad Tate wasn't along on the trip...he would have screamed...not in a fun, excited way either!

T-Rex could possibly be Parker's favorite!

Kamary

Gregory and Parker leaning all about the science of movement.

Parker on a bed of nails...and a pillow!

Free Wednesday Evening = Hosting Our Friends

FBC Amarillo had to cancel Wednesday evening activities (which rarely happens because snow and ice are just kinda, well, no not kinda, normal!) so we decided to host our neighborhood friends for Papa Murphy's pizza and smores! We had a great time visiting, playing and relaxing!

Darcie roasting up some marshmallows!

Callie and Parker enjoying a smore!

Tate giving some lovin' to Peggy!

Sweet Bereket taking part in the marshmallow roasting!

Our family is so very blessed with our friends here in Amarillo! The laughter and chatter blessed my heart that evening!

Extremes!

William and Parker hit the Amarillo "slopes"...you should be laughing hysterically at this comment because there are no hills, much less mountains, here...or trees. We love it anyway!

Ready to play!!

Sledding in Amarillo after a wonderful snow!

I'm pretty sure the windchill was still negative something ridiculous!

That didn't stop the neighborhood boys and dads from having a blast!


Then, this past week...

Sunshine, a warm breeze, a little baseball, exercising OUTSIDE :), and picnics in the back yard! I know we will have more freezing temps and snow, but I'm thankful for a glimpse of spring!