Our Summer Vacation

Location is everything! We found this great spot at Schlitterbahn yesterday. I love this waterpark! We arrived about 10:30 am and at fifteen minutes later we were in line for a tube ride. I kept asking Kevin what time it was. "Ten fourty -five " , he said. Okay, we have eight hours and fifteen minutes to play! I just wanted to savor every single second of our one day vacation.
For those of you who aren't familiar with Schlitterbahn. It is rated America's #1 waterpark! I absolutely agree. I love it! Although, Kevin and I just aren't has energetic as we have been in the past. We always arrive at opening, play continuously all day and close the park down at 8pm. We did the same yesterday, but Kevin and I were pooped! I heard Kevin moaning as he was trying to get his bones out of bed at six fourty five. I felt like I had been hit by an eighteen wheeler this morning when I rolled out of bed at nine. But the day was absolutely glorious and worth ever single second of it! If you live in Texas you have to visit Schlitterbahn! If you can, go during the week when it is slighly less crowded.

Great vacation- just not long enough! But none of them are, right?

remember that summer when........

Years from now we will remember our summer as "the summer we lived in the apartment". Other than that I believe it will be "the beginning of the golf addiction" and "the summer I gained ten pounds thanks to Chef K".

Last Christmas I purchased golf clubs and bags for all three of my guys. The boys had been interested in playing and Kevin enjoyed an occasional game in his post marriage years. I believed it would be a great testosterone activity for them to enjoy together. Well, not quite sure enjoy is the right word choice. They are all very competitive in nature so everytime the ball doesn't cooperate in flight they all get a little testy. You ought to see our family outings to Putt-Putt- not pretty.

The clubs really hadn't been broken in until a few weeks ago. Logan attended a golf camp with three of his friend the end of June. He had a great time and became quite knowledgable and pretty darn good at golf. After that he had to use his birthday money that was burning a hold in his pocket on a more improved golf bag, balls, tees, a towel, and a glove.

Last weekend for the first time in the K family history the whole family golfed 18 holes! Well, I golfed about 9 because I just plain gave up considering I have never learned or played in my forty years of life. It was fun, I guess, but very hot, long, and tiring. Notice, I didn't say relaxing! This week L is playing in a jr golf tournament. Not really sure how that will go - w'ell see!

The real problem I have is K! He has been cooking and baking all summer! Oh, yes, it really is a good thing. The problem is while he is cooking, I am eating and eating and eating! Blueberry muffins, grilled chicken, fajitas, brownies, and his favorite creation: Fudge Spoon Pie with ice cream. Oh my! I have no willpower! Now he wants us to have a cook off like the show Iron Chef America! Lot's of fun but lot's of food!!!!!!! It really has been a blast teaching him how to cook and explore some different recipes.

How many more days until school starts?

Ta Da.............

It's a little dark (beautiful sunset in the background). The house is bricked, just need to finish the porch (which will be bricked). They have almost finished the bottom floor sheetrock! Yahoo! There will be an end to apartment life soon........ L posing in front of the house. When we were there last night a cute little deer was grazing by our lot! I love it now, but not too sure about when they start eating my flowers in the front yard.
Anyone have any advice on that?

Staying Hot, Baby!!!!!

Well, again I am hanging out at camp all week with my girls and K & L! We are having a blast at Reunion Ranch in Georgetown, Tx! I have been exhausted and haven't had alot of energy to be blogging but.....

I wanted to share this Bible Verse with you....it is our theme this week........ and this verse always hits home with me...

"I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot. I wish you were either one or the other! So, because you are lukeworm - neither hot nor cold - I am about to spit you out of my mouth. " Revelations 3:15,16

It is so great to be at camp with the kids and although the message is for them, I always receive The Word as well!

Have a HOT week!

A Powerful Song

Tuesday coming home from my morning run I heard a familiar song on KLove.
The song is titled "Held" by Natalie Grant. You can listen to a portion of the song there. I have heard the song several times buy never could quite catch all the lyrics. I ran up the stairs to my apartment and immediately purchased the song and printed out the words. I have posted the words below for you to read.

The song(I am told) is about a mother who lost her child in her arms and two weeks later loses her husband. All day I listened to the song and meditated on the words. I thought about the tradgedies I have encountered in my lifetime. Thankfully, God has spared me from immediate personal tradgedy but I have friends that have experienced it first hand. These experiences have deeply affected my life.

Many years ago a friend of mine from my church in Amarillo lost her husband and three sons in a tragic boating accident. This incident still haunts me today. I still cannot imagine losing your whole family in the blink of an eye. It is incomprehensible. God obviously carried her through. How else could anyone heal from that experience?

Kevin and I had a very special friend named "Tuesday". She passed away in 1995 unexpectedly. She had a heart problem and died in her sleep pregnant with her third child. The last time I saw her was in our OBGyn office. We were both there for check-ups. I was pregnant with L at the time. Her child passed as well. We run into her husband and two children periodically. Life moves on...

The night before last after a day of listening to "Held" I slept very heavy and had one of those very emotionally charged dreams. I dreamt of car accidents, death, grieving, and celebrating life. It was so powerful it jolted me awake around 3am. I laid in bed trying to recap the myriad of events and details and the song played over and over in my head. It took me about 45 minutes to go back to sleep. When I awoke yesterday morning I was exhausted.

I don't fully understand why God allows tradgedy to take place in our lives. I do know that God has taught me some valuable life lessons from the unfortunate events that I mention. I can't even begin to understand what it feels like to personally experience it. I can't imagine how my friend Helen and Tuesday's families lives were changed after those tragic days. Somehow I know the only way they survived was because they were "held" by God's unfailing powerful love, peace, and strength. And I hope they felt His wise "hand open slowly to the lillies of the valley and tomorrow".

I know in the small tradgedies and minute trials in my life I have definitely felt "held". And in everyday life, for that matter. Praise God!

Wow - what a song!

"Held" by Natalie Grant

Two months is too little
They let him go.
They had no sudden healing
To think that providence would
Take a child from his mother while she prays
Is appalling.

Who told us we'd be rescued?
What has changed and why should we be saved from nightmares?
We're asking why this happens
To us who have died to live?
It's unfair.

Chorus:
This is what is means to be held.
How it feels when the sacred is torn from your life
And you survive.
This is what it is to be loved.
And to know that the promise was
When everything fell we'd be held.

This hand is bitterness.
We want to taste it, let the hatred numb our sorrow.
The wise hands open slowly to lillies of the valley and tomorrow.

Bridge:
If hope is born of suffering.
If this is only the beginning.
Can we not wait for one hour watching for our Savior?

Chorus:
This is what it means to be held.
How is feels when the sacred is torn from your life
And you survive.
This is what it is to be loved.
And to know that the promise was
When everything fell we'd be held.

Uncovering God's Little Gifts

I mentioned in "I'm Back" post that I was a counselor at Centri-Kid Camp in at San Marcos Baptist Academy in June. It was my second experience at camp and hopefully not my last. I have throuroughly enjoyed my camp counselor experience mainly because I have had the priveledge of spending five days hanging out with girls! What a treat!
Let me explain: Five days of strictly girly stuff; braiding hair, bows, pink and purple frilly things, hugs, girl chit chat, quiet voices (most of the time), compliments, and all around sweetness. Oh my gosh, I can't even express to you how much I enjoy every minute of it!

This year my special group included: Jordan, Madeline, Mikinzi, Kailey, and Lauren. Got to love all those cute girl names! I enjoyed all the girls and their uniqueness. I especially enjoyed becoming friends with Lauren.

Lauren was a little homesick most of the week and hung closely to me for those five days. Lauren is a beautiful girl. She has long straight golden brown hair, big brown eyes, and a sensitive sweet spirit. She reminded me of myself at her age. Lauren and I ate meals together, walked to worship together, sat by each other, and attended Kitchen Kaos together (one of the daily activities we were both assigned to).

I learned alot about Lauren that week. She and her mom are best friends! Her parents are divorced and she rarely spends time with her dad. He is remarried and has other children. Lauren was constantly putting the other campers before herself. For a third grader, I was extremely impressed with her positive attitude and huge sensative heart.

I really connected with Lauren that week. One of the counselors teased that I had a new adopted daughter. The truth is I would adopt Lauren in a heartbeat. Today I found the sweet little note she wrote to me during that week at camp. It reads:

Dear Mrs. Peggie

I am haveing alot of fun at camp.
Thanks for being there when my mom codn't.
I love that you are my conserier.

xoxo (she drew a cute little heart next to this)
Lauren

I teared up when I read it and gave her a big hug!

I have missed Lauren. She hasn't been at church in a couple of weeks. I will look forward to talking with her about how her summer is going. We are both excited about her being in my Sunday School class next year. Getting to know Lauren has been such a blessing to me. It has also made me realize (again) that I have real issues with not having a daughter and knowing I probably never will.

I love my precious boys with all my heart and I would never want a life without them but I definitely have a big empty spot in my heart for a daughter. In spite of that, God has led me to the great joy of sharing Jesus with girls through Sunday School and camp. I am glad I was listening when He called me because I would never have discovered His great blessings for me!

Good Friends, Date Night, and Rattlesnake!

What in the world could all of these have in common:

We have these really good friends. Their names are Mike and Karen. It is really interesting how God brings people into your lives. We met them out at the baseball fields where we have developed many of our very best friendships! Friendships are such a blessing(tear in eyes). (Sorry, I tend to have these small emotional distractions when I am writing my posts.) Anyway, Mike and Karen have three children. Jon is K's age, Jason is L's age, and then they have a sweet, precious little girl named Lindsey who gives me great big hugs everytime I see her! I am a sucker for little girl hugs.

The boys are really good friends and even though they don't go to the same school they spend alot of fun times together. Fun times include playing baseball (of course), movies, birthday parties, air soft gun wars, swimming, and sleep overs, calling girls, etc...

About once every two months our wonderful friends Mike and Karen invite both of our boys over to spend the night with Jon and Jason. Do you know what that means?

DATE NIGHT !

YAHOO!!!

CELEBRATION!

A few years ago when the boys needed a babysitter this was a very nice treat for us! We could have precious adult time out on the town and not have to pay a sitter! Plus, when we got home we could relax and not have to return to parent mode ( wink, wink - if you know what I mean). What a great concept after years of raising our two precious boys. You know, we went many years without really going out on dates on a regular basis.

A year or so ago Kevin made me sign a contract - yes, made me sign it - saying that we would have a night out together alone or with friends (no kids allowed) every month. I thought it was really silly at the time, but it was a committment we made to each other and an important one! For the most part we have stuck with it!

Back to my story......

Sunday night was one of those nights. We made reservations at Hudson's on the Bend. Our realtor gave us a generous gift certificate to this restaurant. Please make note of their menu. This is what I call an "Austiny" restaraunt. I love "different" cuisine. Kevin might coin it "weird". He is a simple guy. But... we had a wonderful meal!

We started with the" Seafood Crepes - Lobster, Scallops, Shrimp, Crawfish, and Crab in Saffron scented crepes with a rich Lemon Lobster Sauce". We shared this - it was good. We were quite conservative considering we could of had" Diamond Back Rattlesnake cakes in a pistachio nut crust coiled atop a spicy chipolte cream". Something in the word choice made me lose my appetite on that one. But, I am sure the rattlesnake cakes are delicious(hmmmmm).

I chose the "Pecan Smoked Duck Breast Shingles with Seared Diver Scallops nestled in Sweet Potato Hash and a Texas Blackberry Chipolte Sauce". It was an excellent choice! The duck and scallops and blackberry sauce was incredible!!!!!

Kevin had the most conservative item on the menu - "The Tejano Surf and Turf. Tenderloin of Beef Layered with Grilled Tomatilos, Jalepenos, and a Big ol' Tiger Shrimp with Melted Pepperjack and Guajillo Sauce". He enjoyed it.

I really wanted to take pictures of our meals when they came out to post for you, but Kevin wouldn't let me, darn-it! Both of our meals were served with a flower and I was wondering if they were edible flowers. I think they were.

Anyway, I would recommend this restaurant next time you are in Hudson Bend! And I recommend trying the rattlesnake (since we were too chicken ((I'm sure it tastes like chicken)) ). Okay, just ignore my punctuation!

The mysteries of my life......

Why do my waffles only cook on one side in my beautiful stainless steel Cuisinart Waffle Maker?

Why are my boys best friends one minute and the next "hate" each other?

Why am I so facinated with lists?

Why do I still feel so young but have so many gray hairs (and all the brown ones are falling out)?

Why do some hand lotions leave your hands naturally soft and smooth and others leave them oily but dry at the same time?

How can my son L go days without taking a shower and brushing his teeth and when he does get in the shower I have to remind him to use soap?

The male species...enough said.

Why is my teenager so cooperative one minute and arguing the next?

Why can't I get my spell check to work on my blog?

Do you have any mysteries in your life you would like to share?

Top Ten Things I would do.....

If I had a whole week of absolute free time (no kids, appointments, commitments, etc...) and endless spending money (that just adds to the fun) this is what I would do:

Day 1) Rent several movies that I have never seen and watch them all. I would have to have breaks in between because I would go crazy sitting all day.

Day 2) Spend the day with a good friend(s) that I haven't seen in a long time! As many as possible! I like to keep in touch with all my friends from the past!

Day 3) Catch up on my scrapbooking. The last page I worked on was K's two year birthday party and he turned thirteen this year. I think this could actually take up the whole week or month or year!

Day 4) Spend the day at the beach relaxing, playing in the waves, snorkeling, reading magazines, taking pictures , listening to the waves, ahhhhhhhhh.....

Day 5) Cook several recipes that I have been wanting to try but never have. Unfortunately, I would probably eat them all as well.

Day 6) Spend the day at the spa with a full body massage, pedicure, manicure, pool, hot tub, etc.......

Day 7) Shop, Shop, Shop till I drop! I thought I might like to visit as many malls in my lifetime as possible!

Day 8) Spend the day hanging out with my husband!


To be honest with you I am stumped at this point! Everything else I have come up with are things that I would want to do with my husband and my children! Some of the previous items I would want to do without my family, but the majority just wouldn't be as fun without them! For example, I would definitely want K with me to for the cooking day. The day at the beach would be quite boring if my fella's weren't with me! I would love for my husband to watch movies with me but I don't think we would agree on all the titles. I definitely would do the spa and shopping expedition alone or preferably with girlfriends!

And each day I would start out with a nice, long quiet time with God and then go for a nice relaxing 3-4 mile run!!


Okay, so the next Top Ten are things you would like to do with your family.......... new or different things that you have never done together!!!!!

My Summer Vacation Destination

This is summer vacation this year:

(See picture below)

I tried the new "Blogger Photo" feature but I couldn't get it to work! Hmmmmm? Has anyone tried it?

This time last year we were counting down the days to our departure for our long awaited and anticipated family adventure of a lifetime to the most exciting, fun-filled trip to the place that dreams are made of............

You know, Disney World!

It was so much fun! I still get excited thinking about it! We spent ten days (perfectly planned I might add) at all the glorious Disney theme parks. The boys favorites were Blizzard Beach and Typhoon Lagoon, the water parks! My favorites are Magic Kingdom( because I loved the romantic castle fireworks show and the character parade) and MGM Studios (because I adored the old timey characters that ride through the park) and of course Epcot (I enjoyed visiting all the countries). My only regret about the trip is that we didn't get to spend enough time at Animal Kingdom. We needed two full days instead of one! I remember it like it was just last summer! I hope I never forget the great memories. I need to get working on scrapbooking that trip!

Anyway, this year we are antipating the days until we will start the new chapter of our lives in the home of our dreams! The boys can't wait to have their own rooms. K's will be decorated in burnt orange and white- Hook 'em Horns theme! L wants a "high tech" room. I haven't quite figured that one out yet! I am looking forward to gazing out any of the back windows at the forest of trees that line our spacious backyard! I am very easy to please....... I am somewhat easy to please! I think Kevin is looking forward to just seeing our happy, joyful faces when we are settled in...that's just the way he is. He is always striving to make us happy! He sacrifices his own needs for us on a daily basis. Bless you, Kev! We love you! Okay, sorry, I had to add a little teary sentiment to the post.

So, the count down continues...... too many days to number right now.... until we depart on the next adventure of our blessed lives! In the mean time we will explore the dreams right here in our current backyard (well, small back patio) and of course spend at least one day at Schlitterbahn (the next best thing to Blizzard Beach)!

What are your vacation plans this summer?

It will look better with brick, don't you think? 

Precious computer time

Well, we are in the sixth week of summer! We have been super busy up until this point- camps - VBS - baseball, etc....
This week.... we have absolutely nothing on the calendar. Do you realize what this means?

BOREDOM!

My boys are bored! Now what? How in the world will I entertain them this week?

Anyone have any suggestions? We have already been swimming and playing pool in the clubhouse, ALOT! And remember they are 13 and 10! You can't do cute little crafts with them or take them to story time at the library.

This is what summer is all about, right? The lazy days of summer- Sipping lemonade and being lazy.

They are bored!

HELP!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Because of the boredom factor I have very little time on the computer. The boys computer is down so the three of us fight for PC time! They have both discovered instant messaging! YIKES!!!!!!!!

We are off to the grocery store and Best Buy. Taking my two to buy groceries is not a pleasant experience.
Pray for me!

My next post:
Top ten thinks I would love to do with a whole week of free time!

What would you do?

Hope you all had a fantastic 4th! We did!

Confessions of a Non-Reader!

Okay, if you read my Truth and Lies post you learned that "Reading a good book is my favorite quiet time activity" is a LIE! I admit it! I very rarely sit down and read a book! OOOOOH! Ahhhhhhhh! Gasp! I know, I hear all of you! I have come to the conclusion that many of you out there in Blog Land are huge book worms! I don't mean that in a negative way, but you love to read and you love to talk about the books you are reading! Well, I read. I read magazines. I read my Bible. I read my Bible Study book. Uhhhh, I read cookbooks. I read the newspaper. That's about it!

When I was young I loved to read. I read the whole series of Nancy Drew Books ( and the cookbook). I read many books. Then I went to college. I read some text books off and on. I wasn't very focused in college. Well, I was focused on boys, sororities, socializing, shopping , eating, and sleeping but not on studying. I regret that! Then I graduated and starting in "the work force". Free time consisted of socializing, shopping, eating, and sleeping. Oh yea, and boys!

Then I got married and popped out a couple children. I did read "What To Do When You Are Expecting", and "What To Do The First Year" And, after awhile I started reading the Left Behind series. I got through the first book and half of the second. I have thought some day I would love to sit down and read all the books that I have missed. To be honest with you, I don't know if that will ever happen. Why, you ask?

I can't sit still! I have diagnosed myself with Adult Defecit Disorder. I am very distracted. I literally cannot sit still. I need to always be doing something. If I sit still for to long, I get bored. I can sit through a movie as long as it interests me but that's about it. Scary, isn't it!

Whew - It feels good to confess this to you!

I do love reading cookbooks. It is one of my absolute favorite activities. I can sit for hours looking for great recipes! One time I made the mistake of telling my dad that I needed some new cookbooks. Well, if you tell my dad that he proceeds to overwhelm you with that item. So, for Christmas that year I literally received at least thirty cookbooks. What fun!

So, keep reading fellow bloggers! I will watch the movie when it comes out!

Do you have any confessions to make?