God's Children

A few months ago while at community group, Elise disappeared from the playroom. When I realized that she wasn't where she was supposed to be--I started searching, and located her immediately when she started screaming. She had crawled out the doggie door and was in the hot tub (which was not on, but it was connected to the swimming pool.) Her head was not wet, but all the horrible thoughts run through your head about what could have happened---she was completely in God's hands---but it still took 10-15 minutes for my heart to slow down. We know that our little miracles belong to Him and our entire lives are already predestined, but it's much easier to say than to fully believe and trust Him. I do believe that God will protect them, and I try not to worry about the little things, as long as I'm being the best parent I can be...... Today, I was doing laundry, which both girls like to help throw the clothes into the washing machine. I had stopped the washer to let it soak, closed the door to the laundry room, and walked back to the nursery for something. The next thing I know, when I came down the hall---I heard Elise's screams. She had opened the door to the laundry room, climbed up the stool, and had fallen into the washer. This time her entire body was soaked and stuck sideways. I just held her little head up out of the water and tried to get her to relax enough so that I could get her out--which took several minutes. The crazy thing is that even though this situation was worse, my heart never raced and the entire time I knew she would be fine--once I got her out...... In bible study a couple of weeks ago, we talked about El Elyon, our Most High God---who is completely sovereign over everything, including our children. He definitely had His hands on Elise again today, as always.

Water, water, everywhere....

Every time it rains, our driveway floods. So on Monday, instead of saying 'next time', I agreed to let the girls put on their grubbies and splish-splash in the muddy driveway. However, I did have an ulterior motive---to pick up HUNDREDS of pecans that had fallen overnight. Let me know if you would like any..

Cowgirl Kaila at the State Fair of Texas

Kaila has been wanting 'cowgeerl' boots since last year, and finally received a bright pink hand-me-down pair from her friend Brooke. She has not taken them off since, and definitely had to wear them to the fair on Wednesday. She even found herself a pink 'cowgeerl' hat to match, and Daddy bought it for her. We enjoyed the petting zoo, the children's interactive farm, free ice cream, and the exhibits....but our favorite activity is the rides and the Texas Star--the largest ferris wheel in America! Kaila is turning into quite the thrill seeker. We thought Elise was going to be our free-spirit, but Kaila might have a little in her too!

Kaila's Favorite Rides

Rides in the daytime, and rides and night....look at the smiles, what a sight!

ZOO Day

Is Fall finally here? Wednesday was beautiful, and we decided to meet some friends at the zoo. Kaila's favorite animal is still the elephant, and Elise seems to enjoy the giraffes and of course, the fish which she is signing below.

Since it is impossible to get a picture of them standing still---the strollers seemed to do the trick. Otherwise, Elise is up and blurred...

Happy 90th Birthday Grandma!

At the end of September, we made our way to Adair, OK to celebrate my Grandmother's 90th Birthday. It was a wonderful party and good to spend the weekend with my brother and his family, my mother, and my uncles. This is my dad's mother, so it's still tough when we're all together and he should be there....Although she did great this day, we think that she's probably not going to be able to come home from the nursing home. So, I'm doing my best to write her on a regular basis since it's not possible to just pick up the phone and call anymore. I'm also planning to visit again before the end of the year and spend some more time with her, especially since you never know when God is going to call you home.