When I think about the last 9 years of my life, it seems to have flown by and stood still all at once. My life changed 9 years ago when we welcomed Lexi Ray into our lives. She is a blessing to so many and I'm so thankful that she is mine. It's so much fun watching the young lady she's turning into. She's so full of life and I can't wait to see what the future holds for her. I pray that she will grow to be a noble,
courageous, kind, trustworthy, confident, humble, hardworking, patient, generous woman of God. That she will be bold enough to stand for what she believes in and loving enough to accept differences. Someone who is satisfied by the little things that life holds, but dreams for big things too. I hope that I can share in her joys, help her through her heartaches, and know when to stand by and let her make important decisions.
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This year after much pleading on my part, we opted not to have another slumber party. We settled on every other year...yeah me! We celebrated her birthday by taking 5 special girls to eat at the Cheesecake Factory and go ice skating. We couldn't have ended up with a better bunch either. They were wonderful little ladies and brought joy to my heart as I watched them help each other across the ice. It took about 45 minutes of warming up before they decided they were ready to become professionals. Tatum loved to grab my hand and lift her foot up off the ice without telling me...it was pretty cute! She also tried to sweet talk me into an ice skating outfit (and if I was rich, I would've given in!). Sweet Addie is a little fighter! She doesn't quit. Fall after fall, she never gave up or complained, just kept trying. Riley played it safe and stayed close to the wall or helped the little girls out by checking on them. Mia was a natural and took to the ice in 15 minutes. Lexi too! She was all over the place and even did a few spin moves. Best of all though, was watching them interact with a new friend. There was a sweet little fellow that we met almost immediately, who helped us with our skates, escorted us around the ice, and reminded us to use our manners. He was precious in his black helmet and gloves and the girls were so incredibly kind to him that we became his new best friends. My heart was so full of love for these little girls and their loving hearts!
Will was so excited to go hunting with the guys, he wanted his picture taken with everyone. 
Tatum and Will loved reading No More Monkeys Jumping on the Bed to Meemaw. 
The Grandkids think Papa is so much fun in the water! They won't leave him alone..he's like a big tree to climb in there!
Cousin Cuties!
Ben thought Will was too cool.
We traveled to Abilene for Labor Day weekend with the fam. The guys hunted, the kids played, and we enjoyed each other as always!
School is in session! We had a great first week of school. Last Sunday at church the congregation prayed for our students and teachers, that we might go forward and change public schools in the name of Christ. It was a very powerful and motivating way to start the school year. Needless to say, it led into a great week. We are so happy with all of our teachers and know our children will grow so much throughout the course of the year. I am LOVING 4th grade. I have a great class and had alot of my students in 2nd grade. I love working with my friend (& Lexi's teacher) Stacy and am always amazed at the positive energy that flows from her. I have never met someone like her before and try my best to keep up with her. We have lots of exciting things planned for this year. I feel blessed to work in Godley. I couldn't be happier with the school system. We have brand new buildings and our district does an amazing job of keeping up with the larger districts in curriculum, technology, and teaching philosophies. I am excited to see what this year has in store for our family and my students.
We've had another birthday in our family. Will turned 6 last week! Wow, how time flies! If you've spent much time around this boy, you'd know why I chose this title for this post. He's as sweet as they come, and I do mean that. He is all boy, rambunctious, wild, and dirty, but his heart is pure and tender. I see great things for this little boy. My hope is that his heart will remain tender, yet strong and that he will follow God's plan for his life. 
When I think about the last 9 years of my life, it seems to have flown by and stood still all at once. My life changed 9 years ago when we welcomed Lexi Ray into our lives. She is a blessing to so many and I'm so thankful that she is mine. It's so much fun watching the young lady she's turning into. She's so full of life and I can't wait to see what the future holds for her. I pray that she will grow to be a noble, courageous, kind, trustworthy, confident, humble, hardworking, patient, generous woman of God. That she will be bold enough to stand for what she believes in and loving enough to accept differences. Someone who is satisfied by the little things that life holds, but dreams for big things too. I hope that I can share in her joys, help her through her heartaches, and know when to stand by and let her make important decisions.
We love the beach!
Cousins... 
Big Boy!
Papa & Nana ...
and their legacy.
Lexi, Nat, & I convinced Mom to scare Dad in the middle of the night by dressing as a shark! I think it worked and was pretty funny!
Lex & Nat found the dress up box and put on a show!
At the fish market...
We took Lexi to town for a birthday lunch!
On the ferry.
Enjoying Lexi's breakfast birthday cake.
Happy Birthday!
Daddy's hanging out!
Mmm...ice cream!
Mom, LuLu, Lex, & Tatum.
Me and my sweet brothers.
Hard at work. 
This year, my brother invited us to spend a few days on the beach at his boss's beach house. It exceeded our expectations by far! We found a huge house that comfortably accommodated our family of 15 + LuLu and Robert. Between ping-pong, pool, karaoke, and a beautiful deck, we probably could have enjoyed the house by itself, but not our family...I think we all agreed that we could leave out lives and become beach bums pretty easily.