Little All-Star!

Last night Grady played in his second t-ball game this year.  Dad is coaching again, which I love.  He's so good with all the kids.  Dan usually stands with Grady just like the other dads do with their kids.  The kids don't understand that Dan is Grady's dad and think Grady is getting special treatment from the Coach.  You can hear the kids say, "Hey Coach, will you come stand behind me?" or "I want to stand with you Coach!" It's very sweet.  This year Grady is doing much better than last year.  I can tell his patience is more tolerable.  Last year he hated outfield and only wanted to bat.  He actually stays on the field instead of running over to me for a drink every 5 seconds.  And he no longer looks at me and smiles when he runs to first base.  That one I miss! :(

 

Here is my big boy running home!

Wait for it...Wait for it...You can start to see those legs bending down!!

And SAFE!! He just had to slide!

Grady with his buddy Peyton!

And an airplane is overhead!

And this is what a ballgame and a little sunshine do to a little boy!



Pool time!

If you need to find us this summer we will be by the pool.  Nini's pool is ready and I feel safe in saying that Garon is going to love the water just as much as Grady.  Sitting on the steps is pretty cool to him.  Of course I had to sit them down for a picture before they got in. 

These next pictures were taken at Grady's t-ball game.  I accidentally took the wrong lens so I couldn't get any good pictures of Grady playing ball.  Will have to make up for it at the next game.  

Saturday we headed to Wal-Mart to buy our own swimming toys.  This is what we came back with.  Garon got his very own swimming pool.  He loved it.  He really loved it.  Played in it non-stop.  Dipped his shovel in his bucket over and over. 

See he's still playing.  Even had the perfect setup.  Right under the tent so he was in the shade.  

Grady with his new slide and pool.  You can't see Garon in the picture, but he is starting to notice that what bubby got is a little bit bigger than what he got.  And a little bit cooler. 

And boy is it FAST!!

And here Garon has finally made his way over.  He has officially realized he no longer loves his small tiny pool that is hidden in the nice cool shade. 

Garon and Sarah taking a dip in the pool. 

Mom cooked hotdogs and burgers for us.  Thanks mom!!

We came home and Grady and dad caught fireflies.  I think Dan and I had more fun.  We got the ole jar out and tried to help Grady catch a bunch. 

Happy Anniversary

This Friday Daniel and I celebrated 5 years of marriage.  I personally can't believe five years have passed...where did the time go?  Some of my friends would like to congratulate Daniel for putting up with me this long! :)

When I first met Daniel I was going out to eat in Mtn. Home.  The girls that I were with thought it would be fun to stop by and see some of their friends.  I was told that night that I would meet "the hottest guy in Flippin!"  Don't know if that is bad for Flippin or for Dan?!  Either way I snagged him pretty quick and fell in love with him even quicker!

We had so much fun dating, but I'm glad dating wasn't enough for him.  I was so happy a year later when he proposed.  Our wedding day was amazing!  This picture is one of my favorites. 

Just when I think I couldn't possibly love Dan any more, we had Grady and Garon.  Seeing Daniel as a father is the best thing EVER! Seeing his love for them melts my heart. 

 We didn't make any special plans for 5 years, but that was okay for us.  Saturday night we did sneak away for dinner at Devito's in town and possibly a little TCBY! It was fun for us to talk about how far we've come in five years.  We are so blessed to have two beautiful boys who have brought us even closer together.  Ladies, I hate to brag but I think my husband is pretty great! Thanks Daniel for always putting up with me.  I can't wait to see what God has in store for us in the years to come.  Happy Anniversary! I love you!

My beautiful flowers that Dan had sent to me at school!

Joplin

Volunteering at Joplin was a very humbling experience.   If you watch the news, sometimes it leaves you feeling helpless and defeated.  Let me start by saying that what these families went through is indescribable.  My husband said it best so I will just steal his words:

"All of the destruction that you have seen on tv is really there, and a whole lot more.  Most of the day I worked along with everyone else with my head down, trying to believe this place didn't really exist, but toward the end of the day, my perspective changed.  We worked with an older couple who had lost most everything they had, except each other.  They told us their story of how it happened and what they went through, and all of a sudden I found myself with a new perspective about the whole thing.  This was a terrible storm, and several people died and we all know about that stuff because we've seen it on tv for a week now, this is terrible and unexplainable.  But where my perspective changed was that after seeing the destruction firsthand, you can't imagine how anyone lived to walk out of that destruction.  This however, can be explained.  I stood in awe of God's awesome power, not the power of a storm, but the power of a savior, who spared the lives of thousands of people whose stories you won't hear on tv simple because they lived.  These people felt like heroes to get to tell us their story, and to us they are heroes.  They lost most of their stuff, but we didn't haul anything to the curb that can't and won't be replaced.  Their story deserves to be heard as well.  The photos I posted are not for personal glory, but personal and public reflection about the fact that God's hand is evident all over that town."  



Grady & Garon

Tonight was fun! We all went outside to play.  Grady is getting ready for t-ball so Dan and him went to practice.  I immediately turned the whole practice into a photo shoot. 

I love this picture. They are so cute!

 I wanted a picture with my boys.  Dan told Grady to smile.  This is how that turned out. 

 Dan again told Grady to smile.  This is how it turned out. 

 And finally he smiles!

 Garon's turn!

 And now the three of us.

Garon already likes baseball like his brother and I got some great pictures!