Birthday Week!

Last week was exceptionally busy with work and moving, but Jen and the kids made my birthday an entire week long celebration :-)  OK, OK, maybe we take birthdays a little too seriously around here, but they did go to extra trouble surprising me, and making things a lot of fun!  Jen even worked with the kids to make me some yummy birthday cupcakes, which were ready when I got home, so that made me feel really awesome!  I am very blessed to have such a wonderful wife and kids!

Here are a few pictures that I thought were cute from this past week...

(Jen, Josh, and Baby "M" Looking as Adorable as Ever)

(Emma and Grace Sporting their Balloon Art)

(No Birthday is Complete Without...The Volcano!)

As each year goes by, and things seem to keep getting busier, I really enjoy the chance to catch up with everyone around my birthday.  Yes, it sounds narcissistic to get psyched about people calling/emailing because of my birthday, but it's not that part that I think is cool...it's just a neat chance to chat for a few minutes with family and friends in the midst of our busy schedules.  That really reminds me what life is all about: looking out for each other, and slowing down long enough to enjoy the moments!

This is my prayer for my family and friends throughout the next year... "May the Lord make your love increase and overflow for each other and for everyone else, just as ours does for you."

1 Thessalonians 3:12

Bluebonnet Pictures

Some pictures we attempted to take of the kids in the bluebonnets.

Easter 2009

We had a great Easter weekend this year. Grandma & Grandpa came for a visit, and so did the Easter Bunny! After a great service at Church, we went home and had a great lunch followed by an Easter Egg Hunt.
We are thankful we can celebrate the resurrection of our Saviour, Jesus Christ.

Grace Finds Eggs...

This week Gracey had an Easter Egg hunt at school, so Jen took a few great pictures of our sweet little girl hunting for eggs with her friends.  I know I'm a little biased, but isn't she adorable?

(Gracey Saying Cheese While Showing Off Her Basket)

Home update...To roof or not to roof?

We should be closing this week, and only have a very short list of items for the builder to clean up before closing.  Of course, one of the items is a little bigger than typical (replace 1 side of the roof from hail damage), but they're up for the challenge!  

Since the builder is moving into new model homes (in our phase), they said we could take some rocks from the old model homes to frame our flower beds.  We'll probably need to level and restack these as time permits, but at least we're closer to having things ready for move in!

(Rock around new Landscaping)

Home update...almost home!

We walked through the house today, and it is 99.9% done!  There are a handful of little details that need to get wrapped up before we can close, but it looks GREAT!  Here are a few pictures showing the finished exterior, dining room, and kitchen.  Hopefully this time next week we'll be ready to move in!

(Stairs to Loft)

(Dining Room)

(Kitchen - Finally with a Dishwasher!)

(Sweet Girls Ready for a New Room...Where's Josh???)

(Front Finished)

More Bike Riding Fun!

The kids have really done great riding their bikes over the past couple weeks!  Gracey is still cruizing along on her little scooter, and is as fearless as ever.  Emma and Josh are really starting to look like they're ready for bigger bikes and longer rides (maybe just 30-40 miles to start off)!

Here are a few videos from this week's riding:

Home update...

Our house should be ready for final walk through this week, and the builder has made great progress in spite of a hail storm that hit quite a few homes in the area.  We still lack paint on some exterior items, and some minor items inside the house, but everything looks great!

Here is a before and after picture of the house right before the yard went in:

(Pre Yard)

(House with Yard)

The kitchen area is really coming along nicely.  The dishwasher still needs to be installed, but the cabinets, counters, and tile all look as good as we had hoped!

(Kitchen Appliances Being Installed)

(Counters, Cabinets, and Living Room are Coming Along)

One of the cool features caused by the new statewide sprinkler code is a rain sensor that will prevent the sprinklers from running on rainy days.  Hopefully this will save some water, and will hold up in our tough North Texas climate.

(Rain Sensor)