A New Experience...

We were invited to our first San Antonio wedding on Saturday evening and it was a wonderful experience! The bride's parents are good friends of ours from church and we felt very blessed to be included since it was a rather small wedding. It was held atop an old San Antonio building downtown and the reception was held there also. The view from the top was gorgeous and we looked down on an old estate that has been converted to a library. The weather was beautiful, except for the fact that it was rather breezy.

The men in the wedding party were all dressed in traditional Mexican shirts (there's a name for them, but I can't spell it). As soon as the ceremony was over, a mariachi band began to play as beverages were served and then we headed down to the former penthouse for the reception. The food and fellowship were wonderful and it was a perfect first wedding to go to in Texas!

The following morning was a special presentation of the triumphal entry into Jerusalem during the passover. It was held in our outdoor amphitheater for all the children and everyone was given palm leaves to wave as "Jesus" was lead through on a real donkey. It was pretty amazing!

The Final Hours...

We met this morning for breakfast at "The Stockholm Inn" to start my final day up north. The Swedish pancakes were wonderful, but the best part was spending time with my mom and the kids!

After breakfast we headed over to the mall so we could spend a little extra time together before I headed to the airport. While we were there, we watched a child jumping on a tramp with a harness so that they can go really high. I asked Lydia if she wanted to try it and got a very enthusiastic "yeah!" ...I couldn't believe what a thrill seeker she is...just like the rest of her family!

The last thing we did was visit Toys R Us where Lydia got in on celebrating Barbie's 50th birthday before picking out her "goodbye Grandma" gift.

"Seussical the Musical"

I wanted my last night to be a special one, so after meeting everyone for dinner at the Rockton Inn, we took Lydia to see "Seussical the Musical". I wasn't sure what to expect taking a three year old to the theater, but she did amazingly well. She was really excited to go although I knew she had no idea what to expect, however from the prelude to the grand finale, she was spellbound! She started out on my lap, but by the intermission, she was in her own seat laughing and clapping in all the right places. I think her exposure to Dr. Seuss books as well as the colorful set and costumes, proved this was the perfect first musical for a child!

A Day in the Life of a Preschooler...

This morning started out with an invitation from Shannon to join them for a breakfast of monkey bread and juice...MMMM! While Shannon was busy in the kitchen, Josh took Lydia to the basement to water the tomato plants they've started for their vegetable garden. I think he's training Lydia to be a farmer in the future!

After the yummy breakfast we headed out to the gym for Lydia's preschool tumbling class. She has a ball with her two little friends, even if they don't do everything the teacher asks them to do! At least it gives her a chance to burn off some energy while Shannon gets a chance to visit with other moms...important when you're cooped up in during the cold northern winters!

The last thing we did while we were out was stop by the preschool Lydia will be attending in the fall. She seems so little now, but at the rate time is passing, she'll be heading off to school in no time.

More Northern Adventures...

Time is zipping by and already my trip is halfway over.  Yesterday I visited Rockton Grade School where I used to teach, and visited classrooms dressed as the "Reading Fairy.  I was surprised how many of the little ones remembered me after two long years!

Later that afternoon, I also got to visit the preschool where Stacey teaches.  It is a beautiful building and people raved about what a treasure Stacey is...we've always known that her gift is little ones, but it's nice to know that others appreciate her too.

Then this morning my mom and I met our good friends, Bernie and Lee for breakfast at a darling Swedish restaurant before I headed back to Shannon and Josh's to visit the kids. It's been a great trip so far with the exception of the cold weather...I guess I've adjusted a little too well to San Antonio, because now I can hardly stand the freezing temperatures here.

My Mom's Place...

I was totally unprepared for the surprise I got when I went to visit my mom's new apartment.  I had been rather against the idea of her moving again, but after seeing it, I not only loved it for her, but I would be tempted to live there if I was old enough!  

I loved her apartment and all of her new furniture...it was such a different look for her.  


The picture to the left is the main entrance into the building and the following one is of my mom sitting at one of the tables in the "Bistro".

Cutest Kids in "My World"!

The first thing I wanted to do after I arrived in Illinois was visit Shannon and the kids.  Lydia is now old enough to remember me so it was fun being greeted by a very enthusiastic three year old!  Of course Grandmas always bring presents, so that was first on the agenda.  Even Shannon had fun going though my shopping finds for the kids.

Joshua on the other hand is still too young to remember me, but he still gave me a big smile when I arrived!  He's kind of getting to be a mama's boy and he absolutely lights up when he sees Shannon.

I even got reaquainted with "Buddy", Shannnons lizard as you'll see in the last picture, where he got a little friendlier than I was expecting!

Emma's First Day!

Emma's first night with us went well...she whined for a few minutes but then went to sleep and we didn't hear a peep out of her. It was so hard to go to work today knowing I would be missing her first day with us, but at least Shelley was home most of the day. As soon as I got home from school, I received a VERY enthusiastic greeting! I took her outside, where she enjoyed exploring each and every inch of the yard.

I had been talking about getting a new puppy at school for the last week, so today I brought pictures and showed them to the kids. I had only been home about an hour when a couple of my students rang my doorbell and asked to see my new puppy. Emma enjoyed playing with the girls and got some of her "puppy energy" out of her system. Tonight I took her for her first lesson on the leash. She obviously hasn't done much of that, but she's a fast learner and is picking it up really quickly.

Miss "Emma" Arrives...

After waiting a week and a half, we finally have our puppy at home with us! She arrived tonight after dinner and has made herself quite at home. She loves our yard and in spite of her recent surgery (she was spade on Monday), loves to run around and bark at the sounds she hears. Right now she's resting in her new dog bed while Larry and Shelley watch "American Idol". She also seems to enjoy the blue ball we got for her and brings it back to us every time we throw it. She seems really smart!

Rodeo Time...

This weekend was the finals for the San Antonio Rodeo and we had tickets for Friday night. After school, I met Larry and Shelley and we took off in our best "Rodeo duds" to go play cowboy...it was fun! We had a couple hours to kill before the show and we walked through the exhibits as well as visited the horse barns. My love for horses is still intact and Shelley got me checking to see if the horses felt the same way!

There's something about the opening ceremonies that really brings out the "Texas pride" in me...prayer, the national anthem, and the committment of each cowboy to God before they ride...it's obvious that in Texas, faith and patriotism are alive and well!



My favorite event again this year was the "Mutton Bustin", where little kids compete to see who can stay on a sheep as it runs through the arena...the winner was a six year old girl! I actually had one of my kindergarteners who competed in this event earlier in the week. Apparently, there is such a huge response to event that they now have drawings to determine who gets to compete.



I took this last picture for Larry. His company, HEB, is one of the largest sponsers of the rodeo. This year San Antonio again won the award for "Largest Indoor Rodeo of the year".

New Addition???

We had an unexpectedly exciting day today! As I arrived home from church after teaching Sunday School, Larry was just leaving on the motorcycle to go look at dogs at Petsmart. He had heard that the Humane Society was going to be there today with dogs needing homes. I jumped on the back and went along for the ride, telling him all the way there how we didn't need a dog right now. As soon as I saw the puppies I knew I was gonna have a hard time, but I kept reminding myself that I didn't have time to come home from work to let a puppy out during the day. There were some darling dachsund puppies that were tiny and some others that were bigger, but then I saw the cutest puppy all alone in a cage. It was older, but obviously still "puppy age". It was the most mellow puppy...very observant, but quiet. Larry asked if we could hold it and that was the beginning of the end. I fell so in love with this dog! They don't know her exact age because she was abandoned on the side of the road in the country, but they're estimating 6 or 7 months old. The foster mother said she's really good natured and gets along with her other dogs and cats. I filled out the paper work today and if all goes well, she sees a vet and gets spayed and receives a microchip for identification and we will have her by next weekend!

Waiting on God...

It's been a busy week with lots of time spent with friends, old and new. Last Thursday evening we had a visit with Don and Jean Christman, friends from up north who were traveling through San Antonio enjoying the good weather down here. Since it was a work night, we didn't have a lot of time, but we enjoyed sharing a meal and catching up on news from home.

Then, the next night we had invited some new neighbors over for dinner and games. They just moved here from Arkansas and I have their youngest daughter in school. It was fun getting to know new friends and we invited them to join us at Oak Hills since they're looking for a church.

Larry and I are on a committee to plant a new church in our area and we're anxoius to find out what building Oak Hills is going to purchase for the new church plant. Our first meeting is scheduled for February 22nd and it appears to be moving very fast. We hate to leave the main campus of Oak Hills, but feel as though God may have moved us here for this very reason.

Saturday was a beautiful day and since Larry had to work, Shelley and I went downtown to explore a bit. In addition to the rodeo which kicks off next week, there was a huge Asian festival at the Institute of Texan Cultures. I had never been there and found a lot of Texas history I wasn't aware of. Shelley was, of course, very interested in all the Scottish influence.

Shelley is spending all her time filling out job applications, but we're finding that no one is hiring full time help right now due to the economy. It looks like she may have to take a couple of part time jobs while she waits and just pay for temporary insurance...kind of disappointing for all of us. In the meantime, she seems to be getting involved at CBC. She's gone tonight at a Superbowl party for the College/ Career group. We're all praying God quickly shows us what His plan is not only for her, but for all of us.