So long to a fabulous year and DECADE!

It feels weird to be writing another “decade”.  When I look back on the last 10 years, I am overwhelmed by the LIFE that has happened in that dash.  One thing I am proud of is that we LIVED during the dash between those dates of 2010-2019.  Most of our best memories took place in the last decade and we are grateful for God that we all remained healthy and able to serve him during this time.  We have 14 blog books (each over 240 pages) filled with memories and pictures to prove it.  While we have memories that also broke our hearts, we have so much to be thankful for even amidst times of tragedy.  We cannot wait to see all of God’s blessings and adventures that he provides in 2020 and this next decade.  Some MAJOR highlights over the last ten years include:

- Charles and I transitioned from being the parents of our fur baby Baylor to being the parents of 2 children as well in 2009 and 2011.  It is hard to believe that Caelin is now 8 years old and Cade is now 10 years old.

- In 2015, Daddy (Papa) passed away and left us with a HUGE hole in our hearts that can never be filled.  Yes, I am confident that I will see him again.  However, the pain of not being able to hear his voice or feel his hug anymore is still too much to handle at times.  Not a day goes by that I do not think of him or we laugh with the kids about funny stories.

- After 12.5 years of love and loyalty, we lost our precious Baylor to be with Jesus in 2016.  It was hard on us all to say goodbye as he was such a special part of the family.

- Our hearts welcomed a new puppy, Bear, into our home in March of 2017.  It did not take long for us to fall in love with such a cheerful spirit and loving puppy.  He helped heal our hearts in so many ways.

- God blessed us with many different jobs in serving others in Klein ISD and Tomball ISD.  Between the 2 of us, God led us to 8 new roles (4 each) where we could bless the students, staff, and families we work with.
- After 15 years on Piney Way Drive (closed on that house June 27, 2003), we were excited to launch a new adventure in a larger home in Pinehurst, TX.  We all cried over having to leave our neighbors (especially the Pagnozzi’s and Koonts’), but God quickly showed us that we had been blessed beyond measure with our new community and friendships in February 2018.
- We added 3 new cousins to our family (Jaxson- 2010, Andrew- 2012, and Jacob- 2015)!
- The kids tried LOTS of new sports: dance, gymnastics, soccer, t-ball, flag football, wrestling, tackle football, etc. 
- Charles and I celebrated 15 years of marriage in Cancun (2019), Nana and Papa celebrated 46^th wedding anniversary before Papa went home to Heaven, and Gamee and Grampee celebrated 43 years of marriage.  Such great testimonies of LOVE!
- Charles and I both celebrated our 20 year High School Reunions (2018/2019).
- Charles turned 40 years old on Sept 19, 1979!
- I adventured on an unexpected path with a spinal fusion on lower back that led to numerous blood clots and ICU for over a week (2017).  Praise God for a complete healing and diagnosis of hereditary blood clotting disorder that I can manage easily.
- Traveled to: all over Texas, Cruised to Bahamas (Stacy), Cruised to Mediterranean/Florida, 6 trips to San Destin, FL, many trips to Waco for Baylor FB, Bowl game in Arizona & Orlando (Charles), Las Vegas (Stacy), Orlando as a family (x2), Mobile, AL, New Orleans as a family (x2), Horseshoe Bay with the Parks’, and Germany for a mission trip (Charles).

Happy Birthday Bear!

Happy 3rd birthday to our precious furry baby Bear, who we often call "Bubbies"! He is always waiting for us when we arrive home, is the best snuggler, loves hearing the word "treat", makes us laugh, tolerates being dressed up, and sure does love all his "babies". He perfectly completes us! Hope you enjoy being spoiled by Gamee and Grampee today and remember we LOVE YOU! 

Random December delights...

Happy 41st birthday Mendy!

This woman right here is my sister. She is my other half. We have laughed, cried, loved, and fought together for 39 years (yep...she is older). She is one of the most beautiful souls I have ever known and will drop everything if I send a single text. She is my other half and God gave me her! I am one lucky lil sister!  HAPPY BIRTHDAY Nina, love you all the way around the world and back again! "3"

Six Flags!

We couldn't resist one last journey (and we are crazy) with our season passes to Six Flags in San Antonio...

Merry Christmas from Round Rock

We have been busying celebrating together as a family and the cousins have enjoyed driving us crazy, ha!  No time has been wasted as we have already made a gingerbread house and visited Santa’s Jingle House for an elf hunt, hot cocoa and s’mores on day one.  That evening was made even more special as Nana surprised all of us with a trip to Cancun for June 2020!  The kids were all so excited and are already making plans of what they want to do.  On Christmas Eve, we decorated cookies, made reindeer food to sprinkle on the lawn, went to a candlelight service at church, ate a nice family dinner, and opened gifts from each other.  Cade got a NF CD, book about riddles, Chick a Pig game, and a Kindle.  Caelin got an LOL doll, a new case for her Kindle, a hover soccer ball and a Dribble Up soccer ball.  After gifts, we read Luke 2 and T'was the night before Christmas, and attempted to get in bed early for Santa.  Of course the cousins stayed up till almost midnight.  Today was a beautiful Christmas day filled with laughter and relaxation.  Santa visited this morning and Cade/Caelin were both surprised by their goodies.  Caelin got her Jimu Unicorn Robot and sleeping bag that she wanted, while Cade got his Lego Porg and Tech Deck boards as requested.  Even Bear got treats and a Gumby stuffed toy.  Looks like all our babies must have been good this year!  After breakfast, we just hung out playing with gifts, watching football, doing puzzles and cooking for our afternoon lunch.  Nana set out Grandma Parks' Christmas china and we ate a delicious meal together by candlelight.  The kids had one final surprise after dinner as we surprised them with tickets to the Sugar bowl to watch Baylor play Georgia in New Orleans.  We cannot wait to spend 3 night in New Orleans as a family.  We know the culture, music, food, and more will be one to remember!  If these last few days have sounded perfect, it was because they were.  Of course we had fighting daily between kids, messy floors and tears at times...but we also had tears of joy remembering Daddy and moments of glee watching each other.  To me, that is the best gift of all, time together.  So...as we sing Happy Birthday to Jesus and wrap up an amazing season of celebration, we also say Merry CHRISTmas from the Golfing, Sporty, Chatty, Coffee, Nana, Crazy, Smart, Organized, and Football Elves!