Chase's First Pep Rally

Chase finished his first football season this weekend, but we started the day with a pep rally! It was fun, but the best part of it was explaining to him what a pep rally is - that it was all about team spirit, etc. They ran through a run through...
watched the cheerleaders perform some cheers...
and even joined them for their typical half-time routine!
We decorated the cars, and everyone got into it!
Then, we took off in a caravan of purple and gold - ready for the game! It was a fun season, but I'm ready for a little break!!

Hope Fun Run

Mary Frances and Thomas ran their first race last week! I was so proud of them.

Thomas ran a half mile...
and did great! I was crossing my fingers the whole time hoping he would just keep running! I guess I was worried that he might not stay motivated without me encouraging him along -- I guess he proved me wrong! He finished running! YAY!! I had tears in my eyes because I was so proud of him!


Mary Frances ran a quarter mile! I felt the same about her race! I was so excited that they were getting into something I've recently been enjoying! She finished - running, too!

YAY!!! I'm a proud mommy!

Ellen & Adam's Wedding

Ray C. and I traveled to Charleston, South Carolina this weekend for his cousin's wedding. It was fun getting to see the extended family.

Ellen & Adam were married on Folly Beach and had their reception in the big house behind everyone in the picture below. It was so much fun!!Everyone walking out to the beach from our house to the ceremony.

Dad & Jaunice

One of my favorite parts was the "Very Manly Flower Man" actually throwing flower petals and carrying Ellen & Adam's dog, B.B., on a leash!
I even saw porpoises behind them during the vows! Could it get more perfect?
Adam's parents, Uncle Art & Aunt Gail
They planned everything so perfectly. The paper products all matched - from invitation to program. Ellen documented every special detail in a "fact sheet" for the guests at the rehearsal dinner. For example: the dress she wore at the rehearsal dinner was made from material Adam's dad brought back from Thailand while in the service; she wore an anklet made from something special belonging to her brother was died 3 years ago; and the arch was made by her father for her brother's wedding. There were many more, but the idea is that each detail was unique to her and Adam.
The cheese, cracker, and chutney spread on the table was amazing. Each item was labeled (in the coordinating paper).
Glen and Ray C. are enjoying the honeycomb at the end of the table. We actually scraped the honey out of the comb! It was an interesting conversation piece!
I love taking pictures of Grandma & Grandpa. I think Grandpa was tired of smiling! This was a silly smile just because I told him to smile! :)

I didn't take pictures of the steamed oysters that everyone picked on their own downstairs or the amazing dinner of Barbeque Pig (the whole thing) and many other amazing foods!

Ellen is a pastry chef and told me she did not want to talk about cake at her wedding! She made a delicious layer cake of brownie, chocolate chip cookie, and cheesecake! It was great, and to top it off they served it with milk in chilled old-style milk bottles!

They also made and served truffles, lemon curd, and Vanilla Bean Panacotta. It was AMAZING! I ate WAY too much, but it was delicious!!

It was a beautiful wedding, and I think they enjoyed it!

Black and White

I was talking to my dad this week about a video one of my classes watched on the Rodney King beating. Mary Frances and Thomas were sitting with us and asked what riot meant. So, we began to explain to them a little of what happened..."Rodney King is a black man that was beaten by some white police officers, and when the police officers didn't go to jail for what they did, some of the black people in the city got very upset and started destroying things and hurting people."

After a good explanation of what happened, Mary Frances said, "Mommy, I've never heard anyone say "black people and white people", but I think I know what you are talking about. I think you are calling the bad people "black" and the good people "white"."

I thought she made an interesting inference, but I was shocked that she had NEVER heard the terms before. I told her that I loved that she didn't know what I was talking about. We really have tried hard to not point out the differences. We are surrounded by people from many different cultures. We have talked a lot about friends who are "brown", but we don't want the kids to grow up with the prejudices that so many people have.

Anyway, I explained to her that we are considered "white" people, to which she was a little confused since we are not actually white in color. So, I said, "can you guess who the black people are?"

She was stumped. I then gave her a few examples of friends who would be considered "black" which still baffled her since they are not, in fact, black! I even had to explain how some of her friends have one "black" parent and one "white" parent.

Anyway...it was a fun conversation! I really do love that she is six and half and just now hearing that for the first time!!

Shots no More

Finally, after 2 years of fire ant venom shots, Thomas has been cleared!!! Apparently, his "mild" reaction to 22 fire ant bites a few weeks ago was his "graduation ceremony" from the shots! We will just keep a close eye on him!!

Hooray!! He doesn't get poked anymore and we don't have to fork out $30-60 or more a month!!

Astros Up Close

We had the opportunity to hang out with some former Astros players on Sunday at the game. We got tickets to sit in the private suite that the alumni were hanging out in. It was really neat to talk with some of them.


















Thomas has a ball covered with autographs from former players including Larry Dierker whose jersey is even retired with the Astros and who also happens to be a member of our church and the reason we were there anyway! :)



















Larry was asked to give an inspirational speech after the game and to introduce the Christian band, Mercy Me, for a concert. So, we got to walk out on the field with him and hang out in the dugout for a little while.



















How cool is that??? Of course, the dugout was nasty with sunflower seeds, drink cups, and spit everywhere, but we were excited to be down there! (That's Larry's wife, Judy, sitting with us.)


















The supply box in the dugout....plenty of tape, seeds, and gum!


















He looks like a natural, huh?














Mercy Me walked right past us and down into the dugout with us just before going out to play.


















I got my picture taken with one of my favorite baseball players while we were there! :)

FRYday Celebration

(This is Ray C. with two men who work very hard on our campus - Gary and Paul!)

We celebrated the pending purchase of the land for our new church last Friday. We called it FRYday since our land is on Fry Rd. and we call our campus the Fry Road Campus!

Anyway...We had a fun time tailgating, hanging out with friends from church and even walking out around the property!
Ray C. thanking everyone for coming out!

This is us in front of the new property! It feels like we've made it to the promised land - well, we can only look at it right now, but it should be ours very soon!

Praying over the new land.

It truly has been an amazing experience to walk out to the land with all of these faithful people and to remember what God has called us to! He is faithful!

A sketch of our 20 acre site!

Ray C. prepares everyone for our walk on the land.

Godfrey joined us fresh off the plane from his summer-long sabbatical in Hawaii! Can you tell? He asked everyone to please not abandon his discovery of a long-long theology that he has now embraced - "hang loose"!

On the church bus...going to visit the property!

Ray C. thanks Larry Dierker for his support of Foundry after a day of golfing at the annual Foundry/Dierker Golf Classic.

Living my Dream

I've caught myself complaining a lot lately about carting kids around and doing daily chores, but I've started to remind myself that I am actually living my dream!

I have three precious children, a husband who adores me (faults and all), and I have the opportunity to be at home and take care of them (for now)! I really do enjoy cleaning the house, cooking, and making sure things are in order for the next item on the calendar! So, why do I complain? I don't know, but I've realized that Paul's words were not written to children. They were written to adults. "Do ALL things without arguing and complaining!" We use it a lot for the kids, but I need it more than they do! Maybe if I change my attitude, they will too!

So, I am working on it! When I get to the end of my life, all I want to look back and know is that I was a great mother, wife, and Christian. If I never get to travel the world or own a brand new vehicle, that will be okay with me. I'm not going to dream about bigger material things because I already have everything I WANT!

As I look to my future, I want my children to love the Lord with all of their hearts and to love His people the way He does. I want my husband to have all the support he needs at home so that he can serve God in the way he has been called. That's it! That's all God has given me at this point, but it's all I can handle! This is what He has called me to BE, and I am grateful!

I just wish it was as easy as it sounds. Maintaining the attitude of Christ is a daily struggle, but I'm working on it!

Go Vikings!

Chase had his first real football game last week. It was so confusing for all of us! There were two teams on one regular-sized football field, each with 40 yards! So, the boys attention was divided between their game, the other game, and oh so many cheerleaders!! We were excited that Mrs. Susan came to see us. She dressed in purple and came bearing gifts! The kids had a blast (and lots of snacks)!

I think Chase was more excited about the cheerleaders than his actual game. This is our neighbor, Jillian. She and Chase were so excited to be on the same "team".

This isn't Chase, but I love how proud these boys are of the flags they just took!
Just the girls...

My Blog in Print

I finally printed my blog! I got my HUGE, 300+ page book last week, and we have had the best time reading through it! The kids like for me to read it to them at bedtime, and, of course, I am loving every minute of it! It has been so much fun to remember the funny things that have happened in the past four years.

More than anything, I am thankful that I have it all recorded. There are so many things I would have never remembered but that make me laugh so hard, I cry! Our life has truly been an adventure.

Luke Sywalker of the Battle Hughes

Meet Chase's new pet....a Bearded Dragon!

We love Luke (which really is short for Luke Skywalker of the Battle Hughes)! "Beardies" are known for being content just sitting on your shoulder and hanging out. He did that at first, but since his last name is Hughes now, sitting is just not on the top of his agenda! He'll sit for a little while, but he would rather crawl down your back and run around a little. So, we got him a leash - seriously! It is the funniest thing. You can't walk him like a dog, but you can put him down and make sure he doesn't run away! I'll post a picture sometime soon with him on the leash!

Wondering what he eats?...crickets, meal worms, collard greens, and carrots! Mmmm...aren't you hungry now?

And he sleeps in his desert aquarium in Chase's room as content as a little lizard can be!!

Legos Galore

Thomas is REALLY into Legos right now! He was so excited to be able to buy this Toy Story 3 Lego train with some gift cards he got for his birthday! Now that he's older, he wants more expensive things. So, it took a few of us pitching in to contribute enough to get it for him!


Anyway...we had the best time building it. Mary Frances and I helped with the caboose (which we started with),
but Thomas finished the rest of the train on his own.
It took hours broken up over two days, but he finally finished it and has been playing with it since!