Today was Alexis' day!

 Today marks the day....that Alexis will forever be grown and on her own. 

Of course, we will still be there for her, etc...etc....but today....well, we packed her up and got her all settled in her new home.

It is so perfect. Both her and Tillie's room is the best combination of them yet it all goes so well together and is so comfy and homey.

I could not have asked for a better day for her to get settled in and for her to begin her new chapter and journey in life.

It was a HOT one, and busy and whew, I am sore and tired..........and super sweaty but so proud of her and happy that she has the best roommate and suitemates and has other friends in the building so she is ready to take it all on!

After we got her all unloaded, unboxed, sorted, put together, unpacked, a Wal-Mart run, and allll the rest of the things, it was time to leave and let them get ready for their first Rush event!

She is so excited and I am so excited for her!

The rest of this week will be a long and big one and then next week she has to gear up for school starting so lots of things coming her way! 

I pray that she stays calm, finds her place with the sorority that she is meant to be, and holds true to herself and makes the best memories and has all the fun this semester!

Sooo...how it started! Yeah, a very blank slate! Amazing how it can be transformed!

Allll the stuff! I mean, Tyler and I made a ton of trips...up the stairs...to get it all up! Whew!

BUT, it all turned out SO good and there is a spot for everything she needs!

It all turned out so cute!

We worked hard!

With her Daddy

And me too

This girl is ready to live her best life

And here they are. All together and so excited about all there is to come.

A new adventure that life brings

Never in a million years (especially exactly a month ago) would I have said that I am a substitute teacher in a small country school called West End High School.

But here I am.

And here I am doing something that only God knows the path and the plan. 

Trusting in Him to guide me even though I have absolutely no understanding or control......is SO hard, but it is something that I must do and know that he's got me and he will carry me exactly where I need to be. 

I must trust in Him.

So, as life moves along, you can either go without direction and without Him leading the way or you can put your trust in Him and find peace to know that he carries it all for you and that I am not alone. His plan is for the good as long as I cast all my cares upon Him and faith that he will deliver.

God, if you  have something for me, I want it. Amen

Thank you Lord.

Lily's 1st day of Freshman year!

 It is here and she is ready to take on her Freshman year!

Her class schedule is a tough one with all Honors classes, but I have NO doubt she will dominate and rock them!

It is a big year of all the things for her and I cant wait to watch her shine!

The rest of the month, life keeps moving!

 The rest of the month has been a blur mixed with all the things emotions can throw. But...spending the day with these two absolutely made my heart burst. You just cant not feel good when you are around them and it is exactly what I needed. WHEW, was I tired...as they kept me on my toes because we played everything under the sun while Mallory pained her deck and got their house ready to sell since they have bought a new and adorable home!

Maggie just cant help herself. She makes everyone just happy. This girl is a ball of sass and just pure joy. I cant get over how she is just growing up so fast and so witty. Just love her.

This girl is pure happiness too. Oh my goodness! She is starting Kindergarten again, since she will be at a new school and she is just a ball of energy and fun! She said she is ready for new friends and a new school and new clothes! ha!

She cooked Maggie and I breakfast....of toasty cinnamon bread! She was SO proud of herself because she wanted a pink REAL toaster for her birthday....and that is what she got! And though she said the bread was a little too hard.........(she toasted it a little too long) ha! that it was delicious and didnt I think it was soooo good too!? ha! Maggie and I both told her how good it was! :)

And spending some time with Alexis and watching her paint....just makes me smile. She is just SO talented. She is working on a canvas for each of her roommates and then this one for herself to put in their dorm rooms.

Just so cute!

Gearing up for all things school

 Both girls are in school mode. Lily just started and Alexis is about to.

Crazy to believe I have a Freshman and a Freshman in College. 

Just crazy!

But, they are ready and it is time to get it all going!

I had the pleasure of getting to attend Greysyn's Orientation at his school for him to gear up to start. He must makes me smile. So excited for him to start his new school year too!

Lily's picture isnt loading, for whatever reason, I am the least tech savvy person on this planet so I am probably doing something wrong, but she got her schedule, LOVED that her and Reese are in every class together and excited to be taking Driver's Ed in the Spring portion (with Reese too, of course)

But..I have this gold! Wasnt this just yesterday that she was starting Kindergarten! 

And...this too! I mean, gosh it goes by fast.

Tyler and I walked with Alexis around campus so she can see how long it takes to get from her dorm to her classes, etc.

It was an adventure. ha! She realized quickly that you cant drive everywhere so walking is essential. It is hot (she hates to sweat) and she has to remember where to go and not waste time because her next class starts after her other ends....so, she's got this. Her Daddy told her that he is a phone call away if she needs him to help her navigate because it was a lot that day. She only has 4 buildings that she is responsible for getting to and two of them are right beside her dorm...............so, she will be good!

Meeting his teacher and doing all the school things. He is so sweet!

Alexis and her Sorority Rush events underway

 Alexis has SO much coming up. SO many life changing events with College, moving into her dorm, Recruitment, and classes starting...

her life is just beginning and though I know it will be a lot and it may be scary for her, she is excited and I am so excited to see her new journey take place.

Her and I went to the Summer Social that kicks off Recruitment and it was so nice to see her roommate, and suitemates and meet their Moms.

The Summer Social was a lot of smiling and answering the same question (over and over) as each Sorority and Sorority girls came to the table to chat, but it was a fun experience and thankful I was able to do it with her.

It was so nice to meet all of them. We missed Allie and her Mom, Alexis' other suitemate, because they were out of town.

I cant wait to see Alexis' friendships grow with these girls and them living together. They are going to have a great college experience, I pray!

Tillie, Kayleigh and Alexis

So what has been some of the life's moments this month...

 This month, wow....just hard.

But so much good too.

Like I said, life still keeps moving...even when you may not want it to or think it cant. It does.

Have to find the good. Have to keep trucking. Have to just put one foot in front of the other.

So, life events here we go!

My Dad's anniversary of his passing was marked by Gran wanting us to go to Pirates Bay water park. Alexis had to work so I joined and her along with Greysyn and Lily had a great day being together and enjoying the beautiful day. I know my Dad was loving to see that from above.

I love these two and their bond. Greysyn thinks Lily..............and Alexis hung the moon!

They went down almost all the slides. Greysyn wished he was a little bit braver to do some of the bigger ones, but he did all he felt comfortable doing and it made it better when Lily did it with him.

Tyler and I had our 21 year anniversary the day after this. This day is always a hard day for me, but this year...it was the opposite but again, thankful to have Tyler and even though we didnt celebrate together on this one, it is still a huge accomplishment for both of us to have this number.

The day my world stopped but life keeps moving

It has been a month. A month I never would have thought would ever be. There is so much and so much so that I just dont have the words. 

But God.

God shows that even when your world is flipped upside down and you dont know up from down, he is there. 

In this month of reflection, I can only say that I have felt God at every turn and every hill and every moment. He is getting me through. 

I have been to exactly where God needed me to be during the past 3 weeks to hear some very good sermons at Church of Highlands and Church at Wills Creek. They have spoken directly to me and I literally do not know what I would do without His grace, love, forgiveness, strength, faith, hope, sovereignty. 

I do not know, literally what the next day can hold. I have had to learn a lot of lessons in a month's time....more than most will probably do their entire life, but I am here. I am going to be okay and I know with Him, I can make it through anything that comes my way. 

I am normally the person that has things planned month's in advance. I am normally the person that smiles through whatever situation. I am normally the person that can be counted on. I am normally the person that has 'all of her ducks in a row.' I am normally the person that wont let you down.

Well, God has humbled me. I feel Him say, I love you and I will show you the person you are supposed to be in this life, just give it all to me and lean on me for all things.

One of the messages from a past Sunday was Jeremiah 38, where he (Jeremiah) was cast into a waterless cistern and sinking into thick deep mud. It reflects a deep message that when there are discouraging moments when life feels overwhelming and that you feel you are drowning, that in those moments, God's presence, deliverance, and hope are there even in the depths. That even I can be pulled up from the mud, with dirty rags, and have God's light and love there for me to help me through.

Wow.

Also, another sermon I heard, John 16 and the end of Corinthians too, where Jesus acknowledged that in a world you will have tribulation. The sermon emphasized that you will have trails, distress, suffering as it is inevitable in human life, especially in a fallen and sinful world.

But through God, he encourages believers to take heart as He has overcome the world, to offer peace that transcends worldly troubles. 

This is big...

the peace is not dependent on circumstances..............

but faith in Christ who provides comfort, guidance, and strength during hardships.

I have moments where I am hard on myself saying, I do not deserve God's love and comfort. 

I have moments where I feel I dont deserve peace.

But, God provides.

I am thankful. I am getting through because he's got me.......even in times I dont feel worthy.

Thank you Jesus for all you do and all you are.

So, it has been a month since my world stopped but life keeps moving and there are things to do, wounds to mend, love to give, hope to have, faith to grow stronger, forgiveness to cover, and one of the biggest lessons I have been taught..........take one day at a time and make each day better than the day before. 

Wordless Wednesday!

 

Lily's Freshman year Cross Country

 Workouts are happening for Lily's Freshman year Cross Country season!

Whew, its hot out there but they are putting in the work! The season will be here soon!

Some that survived the first training session! 

Turnpike Troubadours concert!

 We had such a fun Fourth of July! We swam and cooked out and enjoyed the day at their house before we went to the Turnpike Troubadours concert in Dallas!

Such a fun experience!

It was HOT, not going to lie, but once the sun died down............it was perfection!

All us girls ready in our boots and cowgirl attire! 

Love them!

My favorite picture!

These girls have so much fun together!

Great show!

Memories made! We went for some SUPER late ice cream and called it a great night!

FIFA World Cup Soccer 2026

 Right now the FIFA World Cup Soccer tournament is being played and it SO cool that it is being played in the US. Not to mention one game was played in AUBURN! (Argentina and cant remember who) and then some games are being played in Dallas!

So, we got to go to Fort Worth Downtown and see some watch parties! I didnt realize how BIG of a deal this is and it was super cool to experience! And the fact, that they live right down the road from something like this is crazy!

World Cup Soccer is HUGE and a big deal across the world. Super fun experience!

We watched the games everywhere we went!

And look how fun! They had displays like this everywhere with huge tents and fans and big screens and music. The atmosphere was so great!

Texas on the 4th!

 We LOVE spending time with the Messers and love a good vacation and that is exactly what we had!

Never a dull moment with them. We pick up like we just left off, the girls love to hang together and do all the things and we just have a great time!

We had a great trip and now back into the groove of the real world!

This was our view for the rest of the afternoon once we got to their house! They had so much fun!

Us adults got cleaned up and had a skyline dinner!

Next day was full of water park and Swig and lunch! They had fun!

And only picture of a fun dinner!

Next day up and on a fun walk to the Farmer's Market and then brunch at Press, one of our favorite spots!

Love how we take a picture each year of them here! That is literally all the pictures I took. We shopped, ate, swam, laughed, played games, watched FIFA Soccer World Cup, had fun dinners, ice cream, the concert, all the things! We cant wait until next time!

Alexis is 18!

 Alexis got to celebrate her 18th birthday is Texas!

She loves that her birthday falls on when we normally travel and goes on vacation! It works out great for her! :)

They had just gone swimming and she did not want her picture taken............but............ :)

We sang her happy birthday and had a great little celebration for her!

Wordless Wednesday!

 

Alexis' family bday dinner!

 Like every year, she picks Yamato for her birthday dinner and we all gather to celebrate her!

I cant believe this year, we are celebrating her being 18!

That is just a crazy number! ha!

Though she may be thinking she is an adult and all the things..............she will forever still be our first, and as long as she is still living under us and we are paying for everything, our 'child.' ha! (she loves to hear that part!) :)

This next big phase of her life is coming quick and I am so excited to see what all it has in store for her!

Here's to 18!

The crew!

Opening her gifts!

Her 3rd Summer working!

 Alexis has loved being a lifeguard. So much so that she begged this Summer to do it because Tyler and I thought (and still think) she needs to branch out and do something different....

but, she is loving it and its her 3rd Summer! She is a pro!

We enjoyed getting to see her in action yesterday for a little bit!

She was focused! 

Our weekend!

 I am getting so bad about taking pictures. I dont know why, but it just is something I havent been doing lately.

That doesnt mean we arent still super busy and doing all the things!

Saturday was full of an early dinner with Nan, Pawpaw and Brandi at Tony's in Centre. It is a small trek there but so worth it. It was delicious so we were happy they said to meet them there! It is a gem of a place!

Sunday was full of all things Church, and gearing up for the new week with Greysyn thrown in! We got him and enjoyed a bike ride and then the pool for a little bit before it closed to see Alexis working!

It was a HOT day but so fun to have time with him! Besides some laundry and cleaning thrown in, that concludes our weekend! ha!

Tyler and Lily rode from our house on their bikes so I took Tyler's truck with mine and his bikes...so we had time to swing while we waited on them! We were the lucky ones! ha!

Getting ready to ride!

His little legs! BOY, you could tell he has been in the air conditioning all summer! ha! He was a tired little one! ha!

We had shade for a good bit of the ride which was nice!

Turtle Lake! Checking to see how many turtles and taking a break and drinking some water! ha!

We were READY for the POOL after that ride! And to see Alexis working!

This boy was ready for the pool, to sit in a chair and EAT some ice cream! ha!  We had a great afternoon!