Summer - 'Showers'

Leila has been letting her hair grow for awhile now.
She wanted to donate it to kids with cancer.
She got 11 inches cut off.
This was all her idea.
Sometimes she makes me so proud.
She's such a giving child at times.


We have a few new members in our church.
We're so blessed they've decided to join us.
They are active and have some great ideas to get us up and out and going.
We had a painting class in Aug.
Something no one had thought to do, but everyone seemed to enjoy.



Big things are coming.

We had Darrell and Haley's wedding shower.
We made it 'Friends' themed.


Once we were through with the wedding shower, it was time to plan Austin and Casey's baby shower.
Our theme for that was 'Ahoy - It's a Boy'.


I've kept some of baby things from each of the kids.
For Caleb's shower, I dug out Austin's baby clothes.
I copied a picture of Austin wearing each of the outfits and put the clothes and the pictures in a box for them.
I wasn't sure whether to do this or not - turns out it was a fantastic idea.
They loved it, and several people said they either wished they'd thought to do this in the past or they're planning to do it now for the future.


Leila also made the jr high cheer team this year.
Being in the 6th grade, she's still at the elementary school, but can participate in jr high activities.
This also meant getting to be a part of homecoming - dance, parade, etc.

Yes, she's still cheering for GC Starz too.
I foresee a busy fall.

Girls Trip 2019

Once school ended, we were ready for our 9th annual 'girls trip'.
This was the longest we've ever been gone (10 days), and the most varied trip we've taken.
We went from the seedy French Quarter in New Orleans, to the bayous of Mississippi, to the Gulf Coast of Florida, and then to the mountains of Tennessee.
We were very sad that our 6th member didn't get to go this time (Mandy), due to some unforeseen issues.
While our trip didn't always go as planned - we were flexible.
We still had a great time - we always do.
I'm so grateful for this group of ladies / family and for the opportunities we've been given to be able to do this trip and make these memories each year.

This is just a small sample of the adventures we had and the memories we made.






Playing in the French Quarter




We toured New Orleans and then took a haunted carriage ride.


We went on an airboat ride in the bayou and saw alligators.





Stopped at the Naval Air Museum in Pensacola.


While in Pensacola, we stopped and walked around Ft. Pickens.

After that, we met up and went to dinner with some long-lost friends.
Love these people so much - I just wish David had gotten to see them too.


Destin is such a beautiful place.




Ft. Walton Beach




We stopped and spent a night with Darres and Juanita on the way home.

Spring 2019

Big news was that we found out in April that we're getting a NEW BABY!
Austin and Casey are expecting a baby boy in Nov. His name will be Caleb David.



David left his job with AGFA after 16 years to manage the IT Department at PVH.
We hope and pray he made a good choice.

Easter was pretty much normal for us this year.
Sunrise breakfast, church, lunch, nap.
Mandy, Jessica and I went to an adult egg hunt this year.
That was new.
We didn't win much, but we enjoyed it. More spending time together than anything.





I finally got to use my Christmas present from Austin and Casey.
They got me a gift certificate for an Escape Room.
(It took awhile to coordinate everyone's schedules to go.)
We did 'escape'! I think everyone enjoyed it enough to go again sometime.


May was crazy busy.
We traveled to TN for Leila's final cheer competition of the season.
They did a great job, AND we got to spend time with Darres and Juanita.
Austin also performed on the adult team, and he did super as well.


Volleyball and school both finished up in May too.


Our 'big' thing for May was Darrell's graduation from Marshall.
He completed his Bachelor of Arts in Business Management with minors in Entrepreneurship and Marketing.
He also worked full-time the entire time he was in school.
We're so very proud.

He's currently working at Toyota with Austin.
Having them able to ride together on the way home in the mornings after working midnights - helps ease my mind.