Planting the Seeds of Love

This is my amazing Granny.

She is one of the strongest women I know.

Her
Faith
Love
Endurance
Patience
Strength
Courage
Insight
Encouragement
and
Marriage
have greatly influenced my life.

No one can know this lady without feeling loved and blessed.

Here is the farm.


She was stressed that I had taken this picture. She does not like that everything has gotten "run down" as she puts it.

But all I see are memories.
Swinging from a rope into the hay always piled up here.
Running out screaming when we thought we had seen a mouse.
Flying by on Big Red the 3 wheeler with the usual 2-8 grandkids piled on top of each other.
Holding onto the cat's tail and walking around.
Playing family softball in the field.
Riding on the tractor.
Going to get the mail.
Jumping the bumps in the pasture, praying Big Red would stop before we hit the barbed wire fence.
Fishing in the tank...mmmmmm, those catfish were to die for.
Dodging cow patties.
Tossing cow patties.
Digging in the black dirt.
Being scared to death of snakes in the bottom shed.
Feeding calves.
Trying to make the cows mad.
Shooting fireworks and stomping out the fires we made along the way.

All I smell is home.

That is why this picture is priceless to me.

Along with these.



Granny agreed to plant some seeds with my kids.


We had planned on more, but the weather was not cooperating with us.

She is 82 and can still shovel dirt better than the rest of us.



What an amazing lesson for the kids.

What an amazing woman of God.

Just planting some seeds.

These roots will go deeper than we will ever know this side of Heaven.

I love my Granny.

We're Goin' to the Zoo, Zoo, Zoo!

After all the issues over Spring Break with the freezing weather, we decided to go to the Cameron Park Zoo in Waco. We have been there a zillion times, but it is really a wonderful zoo to visit. Despite the zillion people there that day(that has never happened before) it was a great time for the kiddos.

I am sure you know this, but if you are a Waco peep, for $45.00 you can have a year pass for grandparents and all grandkids. So we skirted the lines and got in so quickly. It pays for itself in about one visit!

Double Digits

Mailey baby is a 1 and a 0. Put that together and you have 10. 10 months old.

Just crazy.

She weighed 19.11 when we weighed her last.

Here is a list, and I have probably said some of these before but have no time to go look and see if I have, of all she is doing lately:

Actions:
-waves bye-bye
-waves hi
-holds up her pointer finger if you say, "#1!"
-shakes her head no when you say it, or when she is doing something she shouldn't be doing. She will crawl to the plug and shake her head, or reach for the blinds and shake her head. Most of the time she still grabs the thing, though!
-finds her hair, tummy, toes, bow, sucker, teeth, and squinches up her eyes for eyes
-signs all done and more
-crawling
-cruising
-standing alone until she figures out she is doing it and then sits

Words:
-da
-mama
-puh or dah for dog
-beh beh (baby)
-buh (Tracen, her bud)
-luhluhluh (sometimes for i love you...still with the head tilt)
-puh (diaper)
-mmmmmmmm for what a cow says

Attitudes:
-screams when you take a toy away from her
-screams if another kid is screaming
-screams in the nursery...yes, she is that kid. Everyone has my number over there!
-screams when you put her down for her nap
-screams (this has just started) when you put her down for bed
-screams when she gets into her car seat
-screams when you leave her to go to another room

That is about it! I feel so blessed to be her Momma and am loving everything about this baby girlie! (even the screaming...it is hilarious some of the time...SOME of the time!

Come to Jesus, and live

Today my oldest 2 kiddos went down to the front of our nine30 service to let everyone know they had asked Jesus into their hearts.

We have all prayed for Makenna's heart to be obedient to following through with baptism for a few years. Tracen, of all people, helped her to be brave.

On March 31st, in the car, Tracen told me that he was talking to God in his bed the "udder" night. I asked him what he said and he told me these words,
"I told Jesus I do bad things, but would He come into my heart."

The tiniest of faiths can move the heart of our God.

And the heart of a mother.

So we chatted for a bit, asked and answered a lot of questions, and then prayed together. I asked him what he should do next, and he told me he needed to be baptized because Jesus says to.

I am so proud of his little heart, and so proud of my sweet girl.

We have been talking about it for a loooooong time, and she told me she wanted to be baptized. She wanted all of us in her room to pray together, and she nailed it down on April 5. She understands that she needed to tell everyone, so we all walked down this morning.

Such prayers answered, and such a huge responsibility to teach and disciple them, as we have been doing, more and more.

The first step, only to be followed by a million more on each of their journeys to the feet of Jesus one day.

Wow, God.

Come to Jesus, and live.

Jesus is Alive!

Our Easter was filled with many things.

Many amazingly wonderful things!

For instance:

Listening to the Easter story in class...of course you have to have a basket on your head to listen better, didn't you know that?


Hunting for all the #9 eggs.



Smiling with Mrs. Gassiot's super class!


Taking a shower in Uncle Nelson's deluxe multiple showerhead shower.


Gazing at the view from the front porch of the fabulous house the Poorman's live in.



Sticking our feet in the Guadalupe River.




Playing in the non-Sugar(the dog) room.



Dying Easter eggs together.



Finding some Easter baskets filled with cool stuff.


Trying to get everyone to smile and look at the camera.



Loving on some cutie cousins.


Cracking up at Mailey and her smirks.


Posing for family photos.


Taking the creative route to get a calm and perfect picture.




Laughing with Mommy.


Finding a first egg.


Hunting where there are actually places to hide eggs...like rocks and trees and hills.


Smashing each other on the head with Coscorones.


Loving on some much-missed grandparents.(and somehow having no pictures of Grandma...how did that happen? So sad!)


Most importantly, celebrating that Jesus is Alive!