A fun day at the park...

It was a great weather day in TX on Monday so we headed to the park. I can't believe the girls wore jackets and it felt so good. We've been outside so much this week and it makes everyone have a better attitude! The long hot summer really wore us out cause it was really difficult for me to take all 3 to the pool and it be a successful trip:) I am sure it will be back up to 90 degrees soon, but I think we are past the 100 degree days. Ellie and Anna love meeting friends at the park. We took the bike and scooter this past week and they really enjoyed having a flat sidewalk to ride on. Mary kind of crawls around on the mulch and gets really dirty! I have to bring lots of snacks to occupy her. She's getting a little closer to walking which will help.

First Day of School....

Well, the first day of preschool was a few weeks back and both girls are going T/TH. Anna was really sick the first day so she stayed home. However, Ellie was really excited and has enjoyed everyday. Her class is more of a pre-k class that has two teachers and 15 kids. Anna is in the older 3's class and has really enjoyed learning songs, letters, and numbers. We love our school and all of our friends that go there. We are so blessed to be with sweet families and teachers!

Happy 5th Birthday Ellie!

Katrina and I co-hosted the swim party

Katrina and I with our kiddos. Canon's 2nd birthday and Ellie's 5th

Love all of these people!

Mike, Ellie, and her new friend Maya

3rd year in a row for a pool party. What else do you do in TX in August?

Ellie and her best bud Emerson and her sister Rylie.

Love my family and celebrating Ellie

I am so behind on the blog, but is is still 90 degrees in Texas so a pool party blog post felt okay! We had Ellie's 5th birthday at a local pool and shared the party with the Saugier family. They were celebrating Canon's 2nd birthday. It worked out great cause Ellie and Canon both loved the Toy Story theme. Katrina and I think alike on parties as in keep them simple. We were fine with sam's club cupcakes, capri sun's and balloons. We love this family and are beyond blessed to call them friends.

Ellie is one sweet 5 year old. She's really maturing and I am so glad that I did not start her in Kindergarten. I would really miss her all day and I think she will do awesome next year being the oldest in her class. She's such a fun kid and so laid-back. She never meets a stranger and gets along really well with people. She's developing a heart for God and loves to tell us how Jesus would act. She enjoys being with friends and preschool/church are her favorite days of the week. I let them pick one activity each semester and she really wanted to do tap dance! I found a class that was ballet, tap, and gymnastics all in one hour. It is perfect cause E and A get to be in the same class. She still loves Mary and is super sweet with her. She begs me to wake up Anna and Mary during their naps so she can play with them. However, we have a good time resting together and the house being quiet which is very rare. Ellie is very even tempered and happy with almost anything I give her to wear or eat She loves to travel and she got to go on quite a few trips over the summer to GA and all by herself to KS to visit Mimi! She will be an excellent Kanakuk Kamper in just a few years!

Ellie we are so proud of you and can't believe you are 5 years old. We love you so much!

My dad is amazing...

Here is the latest update on my dad from his perspective of his battle with cancer...

http://dougb-thoughtsonlife.blogspot.com/

We are so thankful!

I forgot how encouraged I am by this video!

Mountains!

When we were in Georgia recently visiting my parents. We took a short drive up to the North Georgia Mountains. We left Mary with Nana and took the big girls. We try to do this every time we go visit cause there are no sights like this in TX. It was so much cooler there and it felt great. We did a short hike up to this waterfall and took some great pictures. The girls got a little tired, but overall we are at a fun age to try some new adventures!

Life Lately....

Well, I have been so bad at updating the blog lately, but with no pictures it just doesn't seem fun. However, it is September and we've had a few "cool" days which makes me so very happy. It was 109 a couple of weeks ago and it just felt depressing outside. I have lots to update, but thought I would just update the best I can and then give more detailed updates soon!

• The best thing happened today as many of you know my dad was diagnosed with stage 4 cancer back in June. He's been through quite a few rounds of chemo. He had scans done yesterday and met with his doctor today for the results. The doctor only had good news! All of the different areas of cancer looked so much better and some of the tumors had shrunk in size. My dad was able to play golf and go back to work a few days this week. We are all thanking God for this awesome news. I will write a post about it all soon.
• The other great thing that happened this week was we sold our house. Well, I guess it is now under contract, but it all looks like it will go through. We've been on this journey for well over 6 months of processing it and then deciding to sale at the first of June. There are many reasons, but the main one is to get the girls into an elementary with many other Watermark kids. It will be so neat to see them grow up together and just have that support at our school. We spoke with a teacher tonight at the elementary school Ellie could possibly attend. It was so encouraging to hear from her and to hear her excitement in knowing that their are so many upcoming Watermark members at her school.
• The sad thing is the house we loved sold last week. We are now back to searching and so far we've not found much. We are trying to network with so many people in the neighborhood, school, pta, church friends, etc... to see if any new houses might be coming up in the next couple of weeks. We know God has a plan and are excited to see it unfold.
• I will do a post soon of trying to sale your house with 3 children under 5. It was quite the experience and let just say I have not cleaned all week and it feels soooo good. It is also very messy tonight and I'm sitting on the couch enjoying it.
• Everything starts back next week so our lives will be much more busy. I am excited for routine and to get back into Wednesday morning Bible study, preschool, community group etc...
• Student ministry events started back on August 22nd and it is going great. I love seeing Mike at work. He loves it and God is doing some neat things already this school year. My small group that I co-lead are now seniors. They are such awesome girls who've been so committed since 6th grade. It is really neat to see a group of girls be together for that long. We've also added 2 girls this year and they've been great at being authentic with each other.

I will do a kid update soon. It is sad that I haven't blogged Ellie's 5th birthday. She's really starting to mature and is at such a fun age. Anna is enjoying all things girl and makes us laugh quite often with her curiosities. Mary is 15 months and still seems so young to me. She's standing up, but not taking any steps so far. She's so sweet and a funny little girl.

God has blessed us with a great end to a difficult summer. I continue to be reminded that I am glad that our house was built upon the rock. It has been a summer full of storms and life just being hard. He has truly sustained us.