Dinner...Trey Style

This morning was a typical rush around the house and get out the door kind of morning.  I was determined to start dinner, straighten the house and make sure we all had what we needed for the day.  I know, I know, I must think I'm Wonder Woman...but I digress.  I decided to seize the opportunity and give Trey the chance to start dinner while I did dishes.

One by one I instructed him on what to do (pull out the crockpot, find the chicken, etc).  At first he acted annoyed that I was asking him to do yet another thing, but I pressed on and after a minute or two he was asking me what the next step was.  In a matter of minutes Trey had started our BBQ Chicken in the crockpot and he was ALL smiles!

I love connecting with my kids, even though this was just a quick few minutes in our busy morning; it's a memory I will cherish forever.  Trey was so proud of what he had done...as was I!  Then when he came home from school to the smell of BBQ chicken that had simmered all day, he was thrilled even more.

Now, if we could generate this much excitement when it's time to clean his room...

One Year...12 Months...365 Days...

It's been a year. A year of firsts. A year of new normals. A year of highs. A year of lows. A year of joys, pains, laughter, and yes, tears. A year since I've seen my Dad. A year since I've heard his voice. A year since I held his hand. A year since I told him I love him.

It's been a year. A year of lessons. A year of No's. A year of mercy. A year of growth.

It's been a year. A year for family. A year for babies. A year for love. A year for memories. A year for questions. A year for trust. A year for more laughter and more tears.

Wow...it's been a year. My Dad was ushered into Heaven a year ago to the hour. I miss him more than I can describe. My heart aches because he is gone...yet I rejoice for where he is. I've given myself some leniency this year. I took a break in writing. I needed time. I needed to grieve. My Dad used to love to read my blog. It hurt me to open this site and write. It's been a year.

I know this hurt won't go away. But with each passing day I feel God's comfort and love in a fresh new way. I'm grateful for His patience as I deal with my sadness...and I'm grateful for the legacy he gave me in my Dad. I'm grateful for my Mom and her strength that has helped us through this year. I'm grateful for my family. I'm grateful for our bond and our time together. I'm ready to see where God leads our us as more time goes by.

I'm grateful for the perfect timing of truths from God's Word. I'm grateful for the time I had with my Dad...and the memories I will always have.

Good-Bye For Now

My sweet Dad went to be with the Lord last night. He fought a long hard battle with cancer. Two years and almost 2 months ago we got his diagnosis. It has been a long 2 years filled with lots of ups and downs, but also filled with lots of life lessons. I saw a shirt once that read, "Cancer Sucks". Well, it does and it consumed 2 years of my Dad's life, but also of our family's life. I hate that cancer is how my Dad's life ended, but his life was so much more that cancer, and that's how I'm choosing to remember him.

My Dad's first love was our Heavenly Father. He made sure God was the center of his life and that He permeated everything my Dad did. I'm striving to be like that.

I loved the way my Dad loved my Mom and made her a priority. I loved the way he called her his "Bride". I loved the way he cherished her. I know their marriage was strong because it was founded on Christ, and just like in Dad's life, Christ was the center of their marriage.

Dad was a visionary. He often went to different areas of the land and visioned what "could be" and how they could use that thing in their ministry. Many times I failed to see what he saw, but looking out at their property today, there's no question that Dad's visions came from God, and God will continue to use this place to His Glory!

Dad loved people and he made sure you knew that. Nothing was ever more important that YOU in the moment you were with him. I loved his attention to detail.

Dad was more than a friend, he was a mentor. He was always quick to point people to Christ. I can remember talking with him on several occasions about something that was bothering me or a decision John and I found ourselves faced with and he always asked, "Have you sought God? Where is He leading you?" Again, that comes from a life centered on Christ.

My Dad was so much to so many. I know I personally am left challenged to live a better life. Dad left behind a wonderful legacy, one that I am determined to carry on.

I fully believe that Dad was ushered into heaven with the words, "Well done, My good and faithful servant." While it's hard for me and those of us left here, I know my Dad is rejoicing in heaven and I know he is whole and without pain.

Nothing can make this easy, except the promise of seeing him again one day when we're reunited in heaven. Until then I'm committed to live my life worthy of his legacy. Dad challenged people to think..."What's Your Legacy?" Live life intentionally. That's what I'm going to do.

Cowboy Football 2010

My parents rented out a suite at Boone Pickens Stadium this past OSU Football Season. This was the second year for our family to do this together...once again MANY unforgettable memories were made in this room with all 15 of us.


September 4th kicked off the Cowboy's season. We were all decked out in our orange ready to watch some football. Jacey is not normally much of a football watcher, but I managed to catch her snugglin' up to her Papa Bud during this first game.


Finally, the moment had arrived...we heard the word's we'd been waiting to hear...HEAR COME THE COWBOYS!! At each game right before the Cowboys run out, they play a video. It's the same video before each home game. My Dad loves that video. We all make sure we've gotten our dinner and are in our seats ready to watch the video together and then cheer the Cowboys onto the field...fun times.


Game Day #2 coincided with Gamma Phi Beta's "Dad's Day". Dad went up early to spend time with Kim and Kinzey. What he didn't know is that the rest of the fam had shirts made in honor of him. The grand kids shirts said "We love our Papa Bud" on the back, while us kids wore "We love our Dad" on our back. Mom, John and Jerrick's shirt's said, "We love you Bud". We all met out front of the stadium and took a family picture, then several of us sporting our new shirts walked in in front of Dad. He saw the shirts and was surprised. Up in the suite we all had cards waiting for him....more fun times.


In November a few people couldn't go to the game so Hudson invited a couple buddies. They all went straight for the Prime Rib station and asked the server for a "Man Slice". It took them a while, but eventually they all devoured their "Man Meat" as we called it.

Hunter did not want to be outdone by the big boys...he went straight to the Prime Rib section too...he just opted for a slice more his size...Love that little guy!

As I mentioned before Jacey is not much of a football watcher, but she loved the opportunity to dress up and spend time with family. Here she is with her Gran just before we loaded up to head to Stilly.

She could normally could be found coloring, playing with one of the many games my Mom kept in the suite to entertain the kids, or like in this pic, hanging from the top of the stadium seat saying "Go Pokes!" and showing her guns.

I will admit...I have ruined going to football games for my children. We have gone to other football games and my kids always ask why we aren't in a "room" and where's all the food? Oh well, I know they will look back on this experience with fond memories of family, friends, fun times and lots of ORANGE!

The Suites open 2 hours before kick off. John liked to get there as close to 2 hours before game time as possible to allow for lots of eatin' time. :-) We finally made it there 2 hours early before the Bedlam game and this is what we saw...The Cowboys circled up in the middle of their field and prayed for 5-10 minutes...not just a quick bow for a short prayer, but they took time to pray, as a team.

Then their theme song played and they started dancing. Really fun times.

Sadly, the season went by way too fast, but several things happened that we will remember for a long time:

1. At the first game Hunter and Trey were playing football in the kitchen area (something they started doing last year when the game went long) and Hunter tackled my mom TO THE FLOOR! Needless to say strict football rules were set after that.

2. Mom's OSU rug always seemed to move on game days. Mom usually kept the rug in front of the sink, but sometime during each game the rug was moved in front of the door. Several weeks we would all guess at how long the rug would stay in place. One week we caught Hunter (of course) moving the rug. When he was asked why he kept moving the rug he simply said, "We need an end zone for our football game." Typical for my boys, and I love them for it!

3. The "Man Meat"

4. One week Hudson and John were goofing off during half-time and John "tossed" Hunter to Hudson (only boys). Somehow Hunter's shoe caught Hudson's jeans just right and they ripped from his hip to his knee. Mom and I had to go down to the Student Store to find him some more pants.

Going to the OSU Football games is more than just something we do...it has become a family tradition.

What's Your Legacy?

My Princess Turned 5!!

She's only 5, but MAN! She looks at least 10! Why is she growing so fast?! Jacey's special day fell on a Wednesday this year. We started off the morning with donuts. She walked in wearing her birthday crown, so our friend, "The Donut Man" gave her her donuts free. She was so excited. I love making their birthdays special. The night before her birthday Grandma and Grandpa went took her to dinner and shopping at The Disney Store. She came home with Cinderella's wedding dress, complete with a tiara and light-up slippers. She also found a few shirts and such. Jacey thought that was pretty fun!

The Sunday following her birthday we had a Tea Party for her birthday. I'm a huge groupon fan, and one day leading up to Jacey's party Kupcakz offered a groupon for cupcakes! Talk about making my planning easy! A half dozen "Pretty in Pink" and a half dozen "Lemon Drop" cupcakes were just what we needed for our Tea Party!

Larkin, Emily, Chloe, Claire, Camille and Corbyn came over to help us celebrate Jacey's birthday. Each little girl made foam door hangers, then we opened presents and played dress up until parents came. Since I wasn't exactly sure how "tea" would go over with these lovely ladies, I served strawberry lemonade as their "tea"...they LOVED it!!

I can't believe my Little Lady is already 5...she's growing up so fast. It makes me sad a little, but I'm loving every minute of being her Momma!

Football Mania

This Fall we were baptized by fire into Jenks Football...so to speak. One might think that after watching my then 5th grade foster son play Jenks football, I would've been prepared...not so. Both Trey and Hunter played football through JTA this year. Between 5 football practices and 4 soccer practices a week, I barely had time to breath...let alone blog!! Hopefully I can paint a small picture of what the last few months have looked like.



Trey played on the 3rd Grade Nickel team. He was thrilled to have 2 friends from school on his team...and even more surprised to find that he played soccer with several of the other boys on the team. All in all he had a good season. His team made it to the play-offs. Yes, they lost that game, but they played hard and very well. For being their first year together they did amazingly!! I am so proud of my boy! Now, will Trey football again next year?? The answer to that questions changes on a daily basis. We'll see what happens come Combine 2011. :-)

Trey proudly wore #7 all season long. Love him!

Hunter played for Mighty Might Silver this year. He absolutely loved every minute of the season! It was so fun watching him at practices and at games. He went out there and gave it his all. Coach Ed often referred to him as "Freight Train" or "small, but mighty". There is no doubt in my mind that come time to sign up for next year, Hunter want to play again...and so it begins. :-)

Hunter was #20...Love that kid!

Just Cruisin'

9 days on the Freedom of the Seas was amazing. We relaxed a lot, and got lots of sun! It was great for John and I to get time away together before the school year (for John and the kids) kicked off. We missed our kids, of course, but we had great friends who were willing to watch them. We are eternally grateful to you all!


John teamed up with 3 other guys on the ship and played in 2 soccer tournaments. His team took 2nd place in the 1st tournament and 1st in the 2nd tournament! The boys loved being the recipients of his medals.

The sunsets on the ocean are breathe-taking! We had several cloudy nights, but this particular night I caught some wonderful shots. God's handiwork is amazing. I could've stared at this for hours, alas it only lasted a few minutes.

John and I also got to spend some quality time with Des and Pat. Over the course of the week we played 14 games of Settlers of Catan. Pat and I each won 4 of those times. John and Des each won 3. Fun times.

We came back relaxed and ready to kick off the school year! We were so thankful for this opportunity...and grateful that we didn't return to snow like we did in March!!