The Grand Canyon

We decided since we were so close to go ahead and see the Grand Canyon.  Wow, I'm so glad we did.  It was beautiful and we had a great time!  Taylor kept saying, "it's so deep!"  It was amazing and so pretty.  I'm so glad I packed jackets for us, we needed them. 

There were quite a few people there, but it wasn't too crowded.  We found a few nice people who took some great pics of us as a family! 

This picture looks like they are standing in front of a backdrop, but it really is the Grand Canyon!  So many people commented on Jackie's shirt that day.  I was so surprised.  We heard so many wonderful stories about people and how the Lord changed their lives!

This pic really shows how windy it was in some places.  I took so many pictures of the Canyon, but I know everyone has seen them in movies or on postcards before, so I'll save them for someother time.

I'm so happy!  Jackie is a great husband and we have so much fun together!  This trip was so good to get away and just have time to enjoy being together.  Our life is so fast-paced with school and all the other things we do, it was so nice to not be in a rush.  We got to take the whole day just exploring and laughing and enjoying the beauty God created!

We got to see the sunset over the Grand Canyon, wow!  Talk about amazing.  It reminded me so much of how I used to feel watching the sun rise over the lake at church camp.  There is something magical about being able to watch the sun rise and set.  It was so beautiful!

Taylor was tired, but was such a trooper, she had so much fun!  She did so good just looking around.  Someday Jackie wants to go back and camp out there, we were going to this time.  I am very glad I got to sleep in the comfy hotel bed and not with the bugs outside, but I do like camping!

Just in time for Father's Day. . . This picture is proof that there is more to being a Father than just genes!  Thank you Jackie for being such a great Daddy!!

The trip home

As we left, we decided to stop and visit Montezuma's castle.  I have been wanting to see as many national parks as possible and we have done quite a few so far.  Taylor was really excited about seeing a castle.  I had no idea what we would find, but it was really neat. 

It was very hot outside and we took a quick break in the shade before we continued on.  It was not very far off the highway which was the neat part.  Just off the very busy interstate was this amazing-ly preserved piece of history.

We got Taylor a disposable camera for the trip.  I should have known one was not enough.  She took four cameras full of pictures.  It was so funny seeing her take them.  She put the camera on her forehead so she could still see what she wanted a picture of.  I can't wait until we get them back from being developed.  It was so neat to see how her little mind worked and what she really wanted to preserve in film.

She wanted to read all the little signs.  She has really begun to understand that the letters make words and the words can tell us a story.  So, she wants to read everything, much like her mama! 

Taylor got a little tired of walking, so Jackie and I put her up on our shoulders.  She has such a fun personality.  She made many friends on our trip.  She's very outgoing and chatty.  I love being able to have real conversations with her and be able to really talk about important and silly stuff!  I always think whatever age she is at is the best, but Jackie and I are really loving this time!

Lord, Thank you for these two amazing people.  I pray for your blessing and protection all over them.  Please help me to be the wife and mother you desire for me to be!  I pray that Taylor will grow to love you and someday she will make the decision to ask you into her heart.  I am so blessed to have this amazing family!  It's so much better than I could have ever dreamed!  Thank you, Father!

Arizona, Phoenix

Last month we took a road trip.  We went to see my grandparents and aunt in Arizona.  Taylor said we were going to "Arizona, Phoenix."   It was very funny.  We got in the car as soon as I got off work on Friday and drove to Albuquerque, NM.  We got there really late.  We had been saving money for one of those portable DVD systems for the car. It was a lifesaver. Taylor watched Thomas the train and Dora so many times.  We also looked out the window and saw many pretty things.

Then we sang songs and made silly faces.

We really had a lot of fun getting to talk and laugh together.  Taylor did so good on the long trip!  We got to my aunt's house about 9 o clock Texas time.  The worst part of the trip down there was drving into Phoenix the road was shut down to one lane because of construction.  It took us about two hours to drive 30 miles.  I was so thankful to not live in the big city anymore.  I sure don't miss the traffic!

Taylor was so happy to see Granddad when we finally got out of the car.  She knew he was going to be there but was still surprised to see him somewhere other than Texas.  Taylor had so much fun on this trip.  She is still telling me how awesome it was.  Taylor had always called my Granddad, "Other Granddad."  Its so funny because she had two Papaws but it never bothered her, but two Granddads would not work in her mind.  So, she started calling him "Other Granddad."  I just love this smiling picutre of the two of them!

Sunday morning we got up early and got ready and took Taylor to breakfast at the Waffle House.  This was a huge deal.  Everyday on the way to school we drive by the Waffle House and Taylor wants to stop.  We have never taken her there.  So, naturally, on vacation you do the things you can't do at home.  So, we had breakfast at the Waffle House.

 

Taylor wanted to talk to everyone there.  A group of people came in and sat in a booth behind us.  They got their food and began eating.  Taylor said, "Excuse me, but you forgot to pray!"  Thankfully they were very nice.  I was so proud of her, but got to talk to her about sharing Jesus with others and how some people don't accept him.  I was so proud of my little 3-year-old witness!! 

Granddad had a stroke the week before we came out to visit.  That's the reason Dad had been out visiting.  He has so many therapy things to do.  So we gladly stepped in to help.  One of the things he needed to work on was his sight words and reading.  My cousin had brought over some flash cards so Taylor wanted to help Other Granddad.  Graddad was such a good sport.  He was struggling to read the words, and Taylor couldn't hold the card still enough.  But it was fun and we all laughed, which was more important than the words anyways!

Taylor had been such a good sport and a big helper we decided to take her bowling.  She loves to go bowling, but we don't do it very often because all the bowling alleys here are so smokey.  The next day she is always sick and has a hard time breathing, so it was a great treat to go on vacation.  Plus, the bowling alley was smoke-free!  It was so much fun!

She picked out her own ball and was so excited!  It was about 11 o clock Texas time once we started to play.  Taylor was tired, but so excited she stayed up and was very good. 

Jackie and I helped her bowl a lot in the beginning, but by the end she was getting the hang of it.  A few times she didn't throw it hard enough and we had to throw another ball to knock hers all the way to the end of the alley.  It was still fun.  She won the first game, but I creamed them on the second game! :)

One of our favorite times of the day was taking Grandmother outside for a walk.  Granddad would always take her outside for a walk.  I was amazed at how tan she was from it.  Taylor had to have a hat and glasses just like GG. 

I know it was rough on their schedule having us there, but everyone did so good.  We were originally planning on leaving on Tuesday morning, but stayed until Thursday night instead.  It was so worth it.  We switched to a different hotel, one with a swimming pool for Taylor.  We went swimming so many times and she loved it!  We went in the mornings and late at night in the dark.  She loves the water so much. 

She wanted Granddad to read books to her, but he was having a hard time, so Taylor read the books to him instead.  It was very cute.  She was very concerned about making sure they were doing ok.  She stood at the doorway and watched Eric, the physical therapist work with Granddad.  She remembered most of the exercises and helped Granddad and me work on them.  I wish I would have snapped a pic of that, but I was too busy making sure Granddad didn't fall. 

We had a great time, and I'm so glad we got to take this trip and spend so much time visiting with them.  Jackie was able to get to know them a little better.  It was also a great time for me to share my childhood memories with him and Taylor.  We were so glad to be able to help out for a few days.  Taylor is so blessed to have relationships and memories with her great-grandparents!  Hopefully we will get to do this again!

Our Happenings

Ok, so it's time again to update!  I was feeling a little lazy this morning so I skipped school and decided to blog instead.  Wise choice, I know.  Wow, time flies so fast!  I went to register at school the other day and my advisor and I sat down and looked at what I have left.  Summer school, Fall Semester, Spring Semester in methods, and then Fall Student Teaching, the GRADUATION!!  I knew it was close, but thank the Lord it's closer than I thought!  I'm so ready!  I got a scholarship for the fall and attended a reception so I could meet the donor.  It was so cool.  Their daughter was a teacher in Pampa who died really young, so they created this scholarship in her honor.  It was so nice to be able to personally thank them for paying for me to get to attend school.  Awesome! 

Now on to what everyone who reads this really wants to know . . . what's up with Taylor these days?  Well, two things I'm super proud of.  She is going potty all on her own.  She's been doing this for a long time, but now she's really good at it!  Here's a super cute picture of her in her panties!  She loves fun panties.  These have Elmo and balloons on them.  Her favorites are these ones with bright colored stripes on it.  She really likes to pick out her own clothes.  It's funny in the morning when Jackie picks out stuff.  She says, "Daddy, that don't match!"  She loves shoes, wonder where she got that from?  She has a closet full!  There are shoes all over our living room floor thanks to the two of us! 

One other thing she has learned to do is blow her nose.  Now, this might not seem like much of a feat, but if you have ever tried to teach someone how to do this, you know it is!  We still have to use the ball booger sucker, but not very often!  I can't believe how much she has learned lately.  She knows all her letters and can count to 20.  She is working on learning how to write her name.  She loves to ride on her scooter.  We are still working on the bike, she just has no interest in using the peddals.  She LOVES to play chase.  However, when you get close to catching her she sits down.  We tell her she is cheating when she does that.  The other day at Mom and Dad's we were all playing chase in the back yard and she sat down and said, "Granddad, I'm cheating."  Her favorite thing outside by far is her tower.  Jackie has been building her this awesome play tower.  It has a slide, ladder, rockwall, and a rope ladder.  She is always playing on it.  She can climb up the slide and down the rope ladder now.  That's a big deal.  She is always climbing on stuff and jumping and running.  She is an artist.  She is always coloring and drawing and wanting to paint.  I really like that. We have really cut back on the amount of movies she watches.  It's made a huge difference in what she has learned lately.  The movies she watches are Dora and Veggie Tales so they have good content, but it still is tv.  I am really starting to believe all those studies that say how bad it is for your kids. 

Yes, I know she has an OU shirt on.  We were all needing a break so in March we took off and drove to OKC for the weekend.  It was a much needed get away.  While there we had to stock up on OU hats for Jackie because we can not find them anywhere for less than $20.  We just won't pay that for his work hats.  Well, while there Taylor insited that she needed an OU shirt because she has a lot of Texas Tech stuff.  So, I gave in.  She wanted to wear it right away.  While in OKC we went to the zoo.  They have a really good zoo, except for a few things.  One, the elephants were in Tulsa making more elephants.  Then the train was broken, and the giraffes were not out where you can see them.  Taylor's favorite animals are monkeys, tigers, giraffes, and elephants.  So we got to see half of her favorites.  We had a lot of fun and she got a blow up giraffe there, so it was a great time!  We did get to see a rhino, and she said, "Mommy, he's freaky!"  I laughed, but it gave us a great chance to talk about how God makes people and animals in all different colors, shapes, and sizes and they are all wonderful, not freaky!

At the end of March, we drove to Dallas for a skin cancer check up.  I have been so disappointed with the dermatologists here in Amarillo.  I saw one right before we went to OKC and really was so frustrated.  He didn't listen to my concerns and walked out of the room as I was asking him a question.  I got in the car and was crying and called Jackie.  He was so kind and patient.  He said, why don't we just go see your other doctor you used to see and really liked.  So that's what we did.  It was so good to see her again and catch up!  She is amazing and made me feel so much better.  We removed a few spots and all is good now!  While there I took Jackie and Taylor around to all my old favorite places.  We were only there one day so it was hard to cram it all in, but we did pretty good!  We took Taylor to the Rainforest Cafe.  She did really good.  She got a little scared a few times, but overall did great!  She loved the fish, she always does!

That morning when we got dressed I had brought her a dress to wear with some sandals because it was already over 80 degrees there.  She said, "Mom you forgot my pants!"  She loved the dress!  We are for sure going to need more of these before summer really gets here! 

They have a carousel in the mall, so of course we had to stop and ride it!  She also got her picture taken with the Easter Bunny.  It was such a great picture.  She has the cutest look on her face!  We had a great trip, but were exhausted when we got home!  Jackie drove much of the way so I could study in the car.  We stopped so many times, but that's how it goes with a little one travleing too!

Easter is one of my favorite holidays.  Not because of the eggs or bunnies, but because of what it's really about.  Jesus dying for our sins and then rising from the dead!  It has been hard to explain that to Taylor, but we have been working on it.  The first time we talked about it.  We talked about how Jesus died on the cross and was buried in the tomb.  She said, "just like my Papa!"  We said "Yes he died like Papa did, but God made Jesus wake up and come alive again."  She had a hard time understanding why Papa wouldn't wake up but Jesus did.  We talked some more and I hope she understands.  When I ask her why we celebrate Easter now she says, "Jesus rose up from the dead!"  So I think that's great for a three year old!  We colored Easter eggs to put on our table.  Mom and Dad came over and went to church with us and ate Easter dinner with us.  It was a great day!  Taylor was so excited to have them come to our church.  After church we ate and then we hunted eggs and opened her Easter basket!  It was so much fun!  She looked so pretty and was so proud of all her eggs.  One time was enough for her though.  She wanted to play not look for more eggs.

Jackie and I have been teaching the 6,7, and 8 year old class.  It has been so much fun!  Last week we talked about baptism.  I used one of Taylor's dolls and an illustration.  When she got in the car after Sunday school she noticed her "baby" was all wet.  She asked me how she got wet, and I told her we were talking with the kids about baptism and she helped me.  Later in church she looked over at me and said, "Mommy why did you Babitize my baby?"  Of course, she is loud and everyone around us laughs, but I was embarassed.  She had a rough time in church last week, but I hope next week will be better.  Sundays are a long day for her, but usually she does great!

Well, we bid farewell to the Macrocab Christmas truck last week.  We are giving it away to someone because we fianlly afforded a new car!  Jackie's poor truck.  He has always been such a trooper and never complained about it once.  While, I on the other hand complained about it all the time.  See why I want to be more like my amazing husband?  We talked about buying one in October, but really felt like we needed to wait.  So, we saved money and paid off bills and now we are the proud owners of this  . . .

A 2005 Ford Escape!  We LOVE it!  It has a 6 disc CD player.  That is Taylor's favorite feature becuase she can listen to whatever song she wants when we get in the car.  Her favorites are Big, Big House (Come and go with me to my Father's house, It's a big big house with lots and lots of rooms) and Down (I get down, He lifts me up, I get down, He lifts me up) by Audio Adrenaline, and Down in my Heart (I got the love of Jesus down in my heart Where? down in my heart).  It's so much fun to watch her sing song about Jesus and how much she loves them!  Three is a testy age, but most of the time she is a super sweet loving little girl!  We are planning our summer vacation to Nashville, TN.  We will be driving and taking the new car, so if anyone had any suggestions on things to do let us know!  We will be going to see Graceland (Elvis's home), the Hermitage (Andrew Jackson's home), Grand Ole Opry, ride a big paddle boat, ride a duck, and maybe squeeze in DollyWorld, but it's a little bit of a drive.  I will post pics from that trip after we get back!