Chris, Sarah and Miss Addison. The boys were busy climbing rocks.

Dan and Janae (L), with our adopted family members, Kristen and Daniel (R). We're pretty sure they should be at all our family reunions, because we're all crazy about them! That they agree to go out to eat with all of us tells us they either like us too, or are gluttons for punishment.

I don't know if I've ever met anyone who loves babies as much as Janae does.

Don, Leslie with Landon, Jeremy and Bev. We're looking forward to them moving back home the end of this month. Landon will have both sets of grandparents, so there should be some serious spoiling going on!

Landon's babyfat rolls are adorable, when he smiles his whole face lights up, but my very favorite thing about him at this stage: his baby duck hair that sticks straight up. This was his first cupcake ever.


Miss Addison, deciding what she thinks of frosting. Love that smooshed face!

Grayson, alias Frito Bandito, and Uncle D. I believe his Daddy, Chris came up with the face art. Not exactly what his mommy had in mind, but his uncle seems to appreciate it.

Is this not the most precious photo ever? Naptime at the park, Daddy and baby. I'm pretty sure Leslie will be framing this one. The blanket they're sleeping on is my specialty, an idea passed down by my mother-in-love. A bluejean blanket I sew, from all their old bluejeans. This one was made from jeans that belonged to Leslie and Jeremy when they were in high school. The one from my husband's jeans is always in the back of our car. Each couple has one of their own.

We're all excited at the prospect of a future plumber in the family.....

Dan and I pretending to be tree huggers at Lake Palestine. This photo is to prove to skeptical friends and family, who question why we're retiring there. Texas DOES have big hardwood trees. We figure this one was more than 11 feet around, since our fingers barely touched.

Well, this is the backyard of what we were calling our "imaginary house" last week. We came upon the house of our retirement dreams while we were at the lake. It dropped $50,000 in price, and consequently sold the next day. I still figure this is what our backyard will look like, and someone else is living there, taking care of it for us. I've made this my computer wallpaper so I can see it every day, just imagining - that cup of coffee Don and I have together, our first morning of retirement, looking on this view, what that will feel like. I don't want to miss a day of where we are right now, especially with Leslie, Jeremy and Landon moving back here in about three weeks. Still, it's okay to start praying ahead about our life in the next stage. When we go back there for Thanksgiving with the kids this November, we plan to meet with a realtor we found, a man named Pug, who sounded adorable on the phone. How can you not like someone with a name like that and a southern drawl to go with it? Maybe we'll find the spot then. I know God's busy picking out just the right one for us. I gave Pug the list of our requirements, and told him - just about as important as being right on the lake was one big tree in the backyard to hold a treehouse for all those grandbabies when they get a bit bigger. Don't you just love the idea of cousins, laying in sleeping bags, under the stars, listening to crickets and frogs?

Last, we've been home for a whole week, so we're off again soon. The next trip is with our beloved camper, three nights in the woods of PA over Memorial Day. How I love our little camper. Then June starts with the wedding of one of my dear friend's daughters, on my birthday. How fun is that - blacktie dinner on my bday? I told Leslie, that same week, I'd be her 'Dobbie the House Elf', getting them settled into their new place. It's a bit hard to unpack with an 8 month old baby 'helping'. Then Don and I are taking Leslie with us to visit her 94 year old grandmother, on her Dad's side, in Colorado. They'll fly home, and I'll continue out west for Barb's daughter's wedding, with my mom and brother and his wife; then back down the mountain to spend some time with my other two brothers, then drive east til Colorado ends, slip into Kansas to watch my 82 year old dad play golf, and let him take me out to dinner at the club afterwards. June is going to be a bit of a blur. It sounds like such fun, getting to see my entire family in one trip!

God is so good, He tells us he came that we may have life and have it in abundance. I don't think that means the stuff at Walmart or the mall; rather it's the stuff of family, friends, treehouses, the song of crickets, and an assurance that we are loved and needed by those around us. I'm so excited about all this summer holds. Hope you all have lots of plans brewing too.

Labels: Family Affair