ShenanINGRAMS

Yesterday, April 17th, was Joe's 39th birthday. I just can't begin this post without saying that he is a great man. He is a kind person, one you would want to have around as a friend because he'll give you the shirt off of his back without you ever having to ask. He may be picky about food and the preparation of it, but you'll never regret eating at his table. He is genuinely interested in people and he is my favorite friend! We did all of our gardening on his birthday AFTER taking my daughters to an indoor yard sale so that they could sell their homemade jewelry. I didn't expect them to do well, honestly, but Chloe made $50 (more than covering the cost of her materials and she still has tons of materials left, so her profit margin will be quite high) and Caylea made $40 but spent a lot of it. That's the problem with an indoor yard sale. You're there, you see something you like, you spend the $5 you just made. I got some good laughs out my soon-to-b...

Well, it's official. We now await the end of October. Our plan is to get the family pool pass and have some fun this summer so time will go a little easier. We don't want to rush God's blessings during this time, and we receive whatever He has to give. Joe is safely where he needs to be, although tired. He got 2 hours of sleep in a 48 hour period. Josh is now officially 9, Chloe is officially 11, and Caylea will be officially 14 in a few days. When I think back on their lives, I am amazed at how quickly time can pass. My chubby babies are now grown enough to fend for themselves, learn on their own, and take care of me when I need them to. We're in a great phase where we play constantly, talk excessively, and love each other no matter what. I am so thankful for my husband and his willingness to serve, my children and their ability to cope, and for good friends who call or email every single day to check and see if we need anything. I'm still mowing, althoug...

We left Virginia after more snow, rain, go-cart riding, and lack of visit to historical markers. It's just a bad time of the year to expect to go to Williamsburg and walk around when it is 37 degrees and extremely windy. We drove from Newport News to Bristol, TN. We had to make it to TN. There was no other option for my husband. We spent the next day driving through TN and only made it to Memphis. Tennessee is pretty long. The third day, we drove from Memphis to my brother's house in Sulphur Springs, TX, where it was raining, again, but the kids were too excited to care. My parents had just helped my brother's family build a big tree-fort in their backyard. We spent 4 days just hanging out with them, going to tennis lessons, watching softball get cancelled due to inclement weather, and celebrating Chloe's 11th birthday. She had a blast. We went to my parents' ranch to ride go-carts and eat cake, of course! Christina (my favorite sister-in-law) made home-m...