Bluebonnets & Indian Paintbrush

In Texas the state flower is the Bluebonnet, but second to that it should be the Indian Paintrbush.  For those who don't know, Bluebonnets range in color from light to dark blue and sometimes with a purple hue.  Indian Paintbrush looks similar, but are an orange red color.  Both are vibrant and beautiful and at their peak in April.

We drove up about 10 miles past Brenham to Indpendence, Texas to take some pictures.  We did get a few good pictures, but the girls had so much fun that, pictures aside, it was worth the trip.

And on the way back to Houston we stopped for a $1.00 cup of ice cream at The Blue Bell Creamery.  (I should mention that $1.00 buys you about 2 1/2 scoops of ice cream)!

So, here's some pics!  We found a small field of flowers with two abandoned homes behind them.  This scene made for some nice shots.

 

We also got a few shots on the porch of the little blue house.

About a block away from our first stop we found a great area to take more pictures.

Hope you all had a fun weekend too!

Love,

Michelle

Trip to Kings Orchard

So, north of Tomball in a little town called Todd Mission is a place called Kings Orchard.  You can pick strawberries, blueberries,  blackberries, figs, butterhead lettuce, broccoli, flowers, etc.... all when they are in season.  Right now strawberries and butterhead lettuce are ripe for the picking.  Check out their website, if you want to go visit.  http://www.kingsorchard.com/

They have wagons you can pull the kids and  your "pickings" in and rows and rows of crops, as far as the eye can see. :)

Sophie wanted to pull Lydie, of course.  So, here they are beginning our adventure, empty boxes and all.  (You have to use their boxes to put your pickings in.  You pay by the weight, so they automatically remove the weight of their boxes, so you are only paying for the fruit).







It was much cooler than I thought it would be and windy too, so I knew this would not be a long visit.
We picked a few heads of lettuce and then headed to the strawberry field.  In the picture below you can see both girls, Sophie is much farther down the row.

Here are a few more pictures of the cutest strawberry pickers I've ever seen!

At one point Lydia decided it was time to go (I think she was a bit chilly), so she said, "Mama, Go!" and ran back to the wagon and climbed in.

As I didn't come fast enough, she climbed out and came to get me, with her arms flailing in the air.

I told Sophie it was time to go, but she had to pick just one more!

After we checked out and paid for our pickings, I asked the cashier to take our picture.
Isn't it cute?  (Although Lydia looks like she's in one of those Western pictures where they tell you not to smile, but look straight at the camera).


















If you haven't been out to Kings Orchard before, it is worth the trip.  It isn't nearly as far as I thought it would be and the girls really enjoyed themselves.

Love,
Michelle

Happy Easter!

HE IS RISEN!

HE IS RISEN, INDEED!!!

I hope you all had a wonderful Easter!  We did!  Of course there was the usual Easter egg hunts and talking children out of eating too much candy.  (We succeeded there as Sophie had one piece of candy all weekend and Lydie none!)  I am thinking it will get harder in the years to come.  :)

We don't really do the Easter bunny as Jesus is the reason for Easter.  Without his sacrifice and resurrection, what would we be celebrating?  I know that many people do not believe this, but we do and I will shout it from the mountain tops, or the Internet, as the case may be!

Also, I wanted to post to share some photos with you!  Enjoy!

Love,
Michelle

101 Things in 1,001 Days

I haven't blogged in awhile.  Apparently because I was accomplishing things from my to do list! :)

Take a look:

#24 Attend a Women's Retreat

This past weekend, I attended my church's Women's Retreat in Round Top, Texas.  Little sleep and lots of talking.  A "totally tubular" time.  (Inside joke).

#31 Clean Out the Garage

Last Thursday, March 25th, Christmas was finally put away.  I had taken Christmas down in January, but all the trees, though undecorated, were hanging out in the garage with all the Christmas decor boxes, waiting to be put away.  All done!

#47  Go through the girls clothes

This took me several days, but I've gone through all the girls' clothes in our house, ranging from size newborn to size 6.  I have many bins for items to hand down to Lydie, for clothes Sophie will grow into, and clothes to keep as memories or give to the girls when they become mommies.

#50  Do 25 random acts of kindness.

Completed 2 more.  Helped someone in the Walmart parking lot and helped a friend.

#71 Fast and pray for one day

I completed this on March 9th.  I was moved my the story of Layla Grace and was troubled by cancer's long arm, touching so many around me.  So, I chose to fast and pray for those I knew who had been affected by cancer.

#56 Visit two state parks in Texas &  #73 Take a spontaneous road trip at least an hour away.

On Friday, March 19th, the Schmitz family and the Alderson family drove out to Brazos Bend State Park and hiked around a bit, took pictures of the alligators and made many memories.  Take a look at some of the pictures!

My First 10K

Well, I did it!  I ran in and completed by first 10k.  Completing #4 of my 101 Goals in 1,001 Days!

For those who don't know a 10k is 6.2 miles.  6.2 looooooooong miles!  I ran in the HEB Bayou City Classic downtown on Saturday, March 13th.  There were about 2,000 runners/walkers.

I began running on January 18th and at some point decided to set a goal and train for a 10K.  So, after two months of training I put my running shoes on and drove downtown.

[So, here's something you don't really think about too much.  Port a Johns.  Yes, Port a Johns.  That's where you have to go to the bathroom before the race begins.  So. Well. No.  I don't like them and wanted no part of them.  I pulled off the freeway at the last exit before downtown and visited McDonalds' restroom.  Never thought I would be excited to go to the bathroom at McDonalds! :) This was just a little side note that I figured the ladies might be interested in.]

I arrived downtown and was getting nervous.  I forgot to mention I even called Brian from the McDonalds parking lot because I was anxious.  I found a parking lot fairly close to the starting line, parked and then found myself waiting in line for almost 15 minutes to pay for my parking spot.  There is one computerized machine where everyone in the lot has to pay.  However, this wait calmed my nerves.  I chatted with the other runners who were of all ages, shapes and sizes.  Thinking back I think God provided this time for me.  I was able to get the jitters out.

After paying I locked up all my belongings in my glove compartment and jogged over to the starting line.  I got there in time to hear the National Anthem being butchered.  Yikes!  Then the wheelchair participants were off.  I stretched and again chatted with runners around me.  Then, we were off.

It took me about 2 minutes to actually cross the starting line, there were so many people.  [When Brian ran the marathon I think it took him 10 minutes to cross it.  A crazy amount of people ran it!]  I began running.  It was kind of exciting and I could feel my adrenaline pumping as we all ran together.  After only half a mile, I realized my shoe was coming untied.  I ended running all the way to the first mile marker before I decided I needed to tie it before I fell down.  So, I did.  And I double knotted this time!

As I approached mile marker 3 I saw a glorious sight!  Brian and the girls waiting at the side of the road cheering me on.  I heard, "Go!  Mommy Go!" while Sophie jumped up and down waving a pom pom.  Brian wore a big smile and little Lydie was sitting in the grass focusing on the cracker she was trying to eat before she was interrupted by the screaming.

I gave a few hugs and was off again.  Just after the family was the water station, I grabbed a water and tried to drink it while I jogged.  Ok, so it looks easier than it is!  I pretty much spilled the first half of the cup on my shirt.  I slowed to a brisk walk, finished the water, threw the cup away and jogged off.

Around 4.5 miles I was starting to work harder.  Running toward the sun wasn't making it any easier either.  Just ahead I saw a pedestrian bridge crossing the street and the silhouettes of three people.  (Note:  you can see the bridge in these first two pictures).  One was a tall, thin man, one a litle girl with flowing hair and another a toddler.  Yup, you guessed it.  Brian, Sophie and Lydia!  It was so cute to see Sophie jumping up and down and Lydie with her arms outstretched on the chain link fence.  (She looked like she was about to be frisked or something).

Around mile 5 I drank more water and kept on running.  The course we ran was supposed to be a flat course.  If your drove it, you would think it was flat.  If you are running it, not so much.  So, around 5.5 miles I began to climb my last hill.  I thought I was going to have to stop and walk.  But, NO, I told myself!  You did not just run 5.50 miles of a 6.20 mile race to stop now!  So, I kept going.

As I, finally, turned the last corner and saw the finish line 200 yards ahead, I tell you, I was so grateful, I almost wanted to cry.  There on my left was my fan club, cheering me on.  I waved, smiled and put my fist in the air and crossed the finish line with a smile.  It took me 1 hour, 16 minutes and 29 seconds.  That's about a 12 1/2 minute mile.  A little slow, but having never run a race before and never stopping, I was satisfied.

A big, BIG, thank you to Brian, Sophie and Lydia for coming out to cheer me on.  I didn't think it would help that much, but boy was I wrong.  It was a HUGE help!  So, thanks! 

Also, thanks for all my friends who prayed for me and sent me words of encouragement.  A special  note of thanks to Lisha for dropping off a bottle of water with a sweet note of encouragement on my doorstep the day before the race. 

No plans to do it again, but...you never know!  Maybe I'll be running a half marathon next.

Maybe not!

Love,

Michelle

101 Things in 1,001 Days

#49.  Create a Weekly Meal Plan and Stick To It

This will be complete tonight!  I tend to do my grocery shopping on Thursdays, so last week I made a meal plan for Friday to Thursday. 

We didn't necessarily have awesome meals, but I stuck to what I said I would make.  I did switch a few nights, but not the needed ingredients.

We had a whole chicken one night and I ate leftovers throughout the week.  We also had fish, hamburgers, tacos and more.

The best meal was Sunday night when we had the Aldersons over to congratulate Skeet on being the official candidate for your church's senior pastor!  I made shrimp, pasta and a different, but yummy asparagus and avocado salad! :)

I'll knock out #4 - Run a 10K on Saturday!  So, wish me luck!
Oh!  And I'll complete #59 -Have dinner with the Aldersons every Sunday for a month on Sunday!  :)

Now off to accomplish little chores all around my house.  Not very excited.

Love,
Michelle

"C" Words

The past few days have been an emotional roller coaster for me and instigated by someone I hardly know and a child I've never met.

The first "C" word is "Cancer."

You have now all had a reaction to the word and thought of someone, probably close to you, that has suffered from cancer or had a scare.  Cancer's reach seems ever pervasive these days and it is making me think twice about my approach to life and my approach to mothering my little girls.

Let me explain.

There is a lovely, young woman with a loving family who is suffering from brain cancer for the second time.  This time; however, they have given her a very short time to live.  She has made arrangements for her memorial service and is heading to Sea World with her family this weekend.  She is spending as much time with her sweet children and husband as she can before God brings her home.  I found myself thinking about how I would be reacting if I was the one going through this and I found myself amazed by her strength and faith.  I can imagine all sorts of things, but she is actually going through probably one of her greatest fears, leaving her children behind.

There is (was) a beautiful, little girl who spent a little over a year suffering from a neuroblastoma.  At only 2 years old, Jesus was rocking her as of Tuesday morning.  This family found so much support from their faith in God's ultimate goodness and from their community.  They started a blog that I stumbled across on Monday.  I found I could not stop reading it.  Not because I had a morbid curiousity about their daughter's struggle, but because their faith was so evident and challenging. 

"C" is for "Courage"

These two people I've mentioned have courage by the ton!  To fight and not give in to the sadness.  Of course we cannot see behind closed doors and I know there was sadness and tears, but I think their ultimate outlook was one of hope and faith seasoned by their vast amounts of courage.

"C" is for "Caring"

So many people have come around these families.  But what I began to think about was the little girl's mother, "Edith."  On Monday afternoon Edith tweeted, "Mommy is rocking Layla."  My little girls are perfectly healthy and it hit me that I don't enjoy mothering them as much as I should.  I will get to rock my girls tonight and the next night and the one after that.  Edith didn't know if she would ever get to rock her little girl again!

I was challenged by this.  There are days when I lose my patience with the girls and in the past few days I've found myself thinking, "Mommy is rocking Layla" each time I was getting frustrated.  My heart would soften.  The girls still get in trouble and are corrected, but with a much gentler spirit.  I have always looked forward to their time at school, but as their last day was yesterday, I was wondering how I would handle being home with them all the time.  Well, I may still struggle with it, but what an amazing opportunity.  I get to be their mommy and I get to be at home with them.  I GET TO!  Thanks, Lord!

There are so many others around me who have or are dealing with cancer.  Brian's Aunt Joan passed away from lung cancer in the late 90's.  Brian's Aunt Ginger is is remission from breast cancer.  Brian's dad passed away from colon cancer in 2003.  Brian's cousin's daughter, Jordan, is battling T-cell lymphoma, Brian's mom is doing chemo for the third time to evict ovarian cancer from her body.  And this is just family!

"C" is for "Chemo"

Chemotherapy, which seems to be the primary choice for cancer treatment, is pretty much the hardest thing you have to go through, besides having the cancer itself.  Poisoning your body in the attempt that the cancer cells will be killed.  You can lose your hair, have painful mouth sores, long-term nerve damage and those are just the side effects that seem to plague my mother in law.

"C" is for "Cure"

The ever elusive cure.  I'm not sure that science will ever come up with a complete cure for cancer, but it certainly is worth praying for!

"C" is for "Christ"

In the end, we all will no longer walk on this fallen earth.  We will need to choose where our faith and beliefs lie.  I believe in God.  I believe He sent His son, Jesus Christ, to save us from this immoral world of sin.  Dying on the cross and rising again, Christ proved himself to be God's son and His death and suffering has washed us clean.  Thank you, thank you, thank you!

May I remember God's sacrifice, His truth, His love and His goodness.  May I choose to be more like Him when striving to love my children as He as loved me.

Love,
Michelle