Way to go, Josh!

Many of you know that last weekend our family went to Chicago to watch Josh run in the Chicago marathon. This was his second marathon in two years. He ran it with our neighbor David and my cousin Scott. We had a great time with Josh's old friends who now live in Chicago, and Taylor and their son were running non-stop all day Saturday. That is why Taylor fell asleep while we were waiting to see Josh in the marathon! We connected at miles 13 and 26, and we were glad to see him smiling at both! Taylor was looking very carefully for her daddy at mile 13, and she was very excited to see him. But, after a hot chocolate and cookie break, she fell asleep on the way to the mile 26 spot. Aubrey did not have to battle the cold and the wind because Josh's wonderful friends offered to keep her for the day. There was rain in the forecast but we are so thankful it never came!
Josh had problems with his knees and ankles all duringhis training and at mile 13 of the marathon he informed me that he felt like "his leg was about to fall off" it hurt so bad. But he never stopped until he crossed the finish! He says now he is ready to move on from marathons to triathlons so his body won't get such a beating. And for now he is resting his body while his brain is on overload with seminary classes and life decisions (very long story).





When we got back home Josh fell asleep on the couch, and Taylor decided he needed a blanket in order to have a truly good nap. So she took care of her daddy and gave him her kitty blanket. 

A Day in The Country

This was one of those days you hope you never forget. I almost decided not to go, because staying home would have been easier. But it was a nice day and I didn't know when we would have another chance to go. So we packed a lunch and took a trip to the apple orchard. The drive there was wonderful, the girls and I had a wonderful time together, it was wonderful to be in the counrty again, and the apples were wonderful! Thank you, Lord for convincing me to go!

 

 

 

Playing at the Botanical Gardens

This is a little video clip. I don't know if this works.

 

Botanical Gardens

The girls and I took a trip to the Botanical Gardens to take some "one-year-old" pictures of Aubrey. These (above and below) were my favorites.....(She is wearing a dress that I wore when I was a baby.)











*My Favorite*

More Catching up!

Here is Taylor and her friends at our neighbor Wyatt's birthday party.














Taylor helping Mommy feed Aubrey. (She still loves anything having to do with babies!)















Taylor and Aubrey watching Daddy drive off to school.
















This was back in August. Aubrey discovered she could put those rings on her arms, and we would regularly find her very proud of herself for getting them all on at once. At this particular time she also happened to be standing all by herself! Good job Aubrey!...This picture is in our playroom which we now have because the girls are sharing a room!

"Catching up"

Hello everybody! We are blogging again! We haven't done it in so long I don't know if anyone checks ours anymore, but we are up and going again! These are some pictures of this summer. I have had some trouble with my pictures lately, but I was able to make these available, more will come later...

This is the team I went to Haiti with in July. It was so great to be back after not having been there for over 5 years! Things haven't changed too much. We got to stay at the Harvest orphanage in Port-au-Prince for a few days and then we went down to Joli Gilbert to do medical training with the church leaders in the area, and do a medical clinic. As always, we witnessed God's mighty and loving hand miltiple times in those two weeks, and we were blessed.
While I was in Haiti, Josh was with Taylor and Aubrey driving up to St. Louis and getting everything moved back in by himself!! He is superman! I was so blessed -but not surprised- to come home to St. Louis and find the house and the girls all doing great. Josh was pretty worn out, but he still had a big smile on his face!

We got to go to the Bahamas with my parents and then stay with the whole John Leininger family. We also got to spend some time with Kelly and Richard there. Kelly took this picture of us at the beach.



















We had a great time playing with our friends and family in San Antonio.
















And we got to eat at Mague's ("Maggie's"), our favorite mexican place in Boerne. 

A Little Change of Plans

We have told many of you that we were planning to come back to Texas on the 20th, but things have changed and now we don't have to rush to get back right after finals are over. We are planning to stay here another week and get back on the 26th. Also we are thinking we will not be in Texas the entire summer now- but just the first half or so. And then we will head back to St. Louis, but that is all still up in the air. Just thought we'd let you know! We are looking forward to seeing everyone back in our good ol' hometown. Hope everyone is doing well. By the way, please be praying for us. We are now in the middle of finals and it is a very strenuous time with Josh studying and me basically having the girls to myself. He just called to tell me he has finished his second final. So we are getting close to the finish, but there are two more which are more difficult than the first two. Well, we'll see you soon!

This is Taylor with her friend Wyatt who lives right next door. His mom and dad have become good friends of ours and one of the reasons we are so thankful to live here at Gulf Dr. 

Look who's standing up!

A couple weeks ago around the time for Aubrey to wake up from her nap I heard her "talking" in her room. Usually right when she wakes up she is ready to get out of bed and play with someone, so I was wondering why that time she was content just being in there by herself. Well, when I went in I saw why. She must have been busy trying to stand, and when she did pull herself up she was quite proud of herself! (Time to move the crib mattress all the way down!) I really doesn't take much to make this little one happy. 

Meet Me in St. Louis

My mom and dad came out to visit us last weekend. We got to see several of the many sights of St. Louis, which is one of those things you often don't do until you have company! Taylor kept Nana busy from the moment she walked through the door. And we grown-ups enjoyed catching up on life and playing cards together at night. We all had a great time being together.....This is a picture of what might be Taylor's favorite part of the zoo, especially when she gets to go with Nana!












Three generations of graham crackers and milk.















Papa and Taylor at the park by the arch. 

Surrender?

Surrender is turning over all that we are to God's mercy. It is laying down our arms and confessing that His power and glory outnumber our puny weapons. Even more, surrender confesses that our deepest desire is not to succeed in business, to marry, to have kids, to be well or simply happy; instead, our deepest hunger is to see Him. Surrender goes even further: It despises anything and everything in us and outside of us that compromises our passion to be caught up in His glory and love.

Aaaa!!

Taylor and I had a little excitement that I would like to share with anyone who might be amused by it....Taylor was outside with her trike and somehow it rolled into the brush behind our back yard. She could not get it out so, seeing the situation, I came to the rescue. I didn't have any shoes nearby so I just went in my bare feet like the country girl I am (or so thought). I was on my way to get the trike out of the brush when I felt a cold, slithery feeling on and between my toes! I jumped and shreeked loudly as I looked down and saw a very upset snake make its way into the brush. Realizing Taylor saw the whole thing, I laughed and tried to make it seem like no big deal but I still had the shivers! Oh well, I don't know anybody who likes to play footsie with a snake, even if it is only about 18 inches long.

Happy Easter!