Reminiscing...

Just some older pics of Lucas. He is growing up so quickly. Heath and I were noticing last night how tall he is getting. He's definately not a baby anymore! Last night at church, Heath met baby Klayton for the very first time. He thought he was a pretty cute little fella. H just looks so natural with a baby, unlike most men! I'm not sure what Lucas thought about Daddy holding a baby, though. Guess when we have little brother (or sister), we'll really find out what he thinks!

Weekend...

Few notes about the weekend.

Saturday was MIL's 59th birthday. Heath, Lucas and I went to breakfast first thing that morning, then went to the store to get supplies so that I could make her a gift basket:

Complete with her favorite candy, flowers, new earrings, bracelet and necklace (pink and bronze pearls), a fun magazine, pics of Lucas, and some pampering items!

My FIL and I had a small suprise dinner for her at El Chico. Heath had to work, so he wasn't able to make it. There were about 30 people there I think. She was really surprised, as she thought she was going on a 'date' with her hubby!

Sunday morning we went to church. The kids and I had a great time. We are learning all about the Fruits of the Spirit. Last week we studied "love" and this week we are learning about "joy". The kids have been really resposive and are seeming to enjoy learning about the gifts that God has given us. And, I am finding that in teaching them, I am learning a lot as well! Also, Ashley dedicated her new little prince, Klayton Tyler. This was the first time Lucas had seen Klayton. In fact it was the first time Lucas had seen a baby that small. He thought Klayton was so cool. He was very sweet and very soft with him. He said thats how little his little brother will be one day. ;)

Sunday afternoon Amber and I decided to run to WalMart and buy Lucas and Irenee a slip-n-slide. When we got there, they found a small pool with a slide, and a Zebra that sprays water and decided that looked like more fun. After we finally got it blown up and ready to go they had a great time!

At church last night, Lucas was determined that he was going to preach. Papaw offered to let him sing instead, and he accepted. He seemed to be satisfied. I'm so proud of my little man.

He sang Jesus Loves Me. And, yes, He sure does love you baby and so do I.

Now, it's MONDAY! Fun's over, time to get to work. It's been a rough morning. I still have Chris on my mind constantly. I have dreamt, in some form or fashion, of him for the last 5 nights in a row. RIP my friend.

So, my break is over, Back to work. Lots to do today as I was in training all day Friday...didn't get much accomplished in the office. After several nights without much rest, I have really been hitting the coffee pot hard this morning!

Gardening Guru...ok, well not quite

Lucas and his friend, Irenee.

So excited that our garden has started pepping up. The corn is even breaking through the soil. Can't wait to start havesting and canning and most of all EATING!

Happy Friday! TGIF.

Spring

Ok. Since I am on a posting roll, here is a pic of our soon-to-be garden. Heath tilled up the land all afternoon Friday. He is planting today so I will soon have after pics! Lucas and I planted some flowers in our the flower bed by our back door. (no pics due to dead batts) They are beautiful petunias and God gave us a much needed rain on Sunday! I love spring and all that comes with it.




Saturday afternoon Lucas and I went to Aprils birthday party. We ate crawfish, birthday cake and had a good time hanging out and playing. Later in the afternoon we had an egg hunt for the kids. A few pics to share, thanks to April!

Behind...

I am a little behind on posting. And kind of out of order. Last weekend we loaded up in the truck with Pat and Eppie and headed to Canton. It was the guys first experience! Here's my photo documentation of the trip:

cheese!
you might be a redneck...



our lil' melon






i think they are ready to go...


my beautiful bestie



crowd...

Mental list of Easter Blessings

the resurrection of our Savior

teaching Lucas the TRUE meaning

beautiful spring days

planting new flowers and veggies

rainy days

teaching my kids at church

Olive Garden with amazing family

crawfish, corn, n taters

watching Lucas play and hunt eggs

Lucas sandwiches in our bed

the amazing love of my life

To My Lucas...

Lucas, today you…

Are 3 years, 5 months and 25 days old.

Weight 35 lbs.

Talk about super heroes, ninjas, Jesus, and fast cars.

Love Daddy’s truck – its super loud.

Like to sleep in boxers…only.

Love your friends.

Have almost mastered riding your bike – with no training wheels!

Love PIZZA.

Want to fly to California to see Uncle Chad & Aunt Tree, Buzz Lightyear, and Lightning McQueen.

Have invincible faith in GOD.

Love sleeping with Papaw and Nana.

Like to sing – anything, anywhere at any volume.

Want a baby brother SO bad.

Are convinced that Daddy has super powers.

Love to say, “Let’s book it”, “You got it dude”, and “You won’t like me when I’m angry!”

Love to talk.

Want to preach.

Enjoy animals and dirt.

Think you need to be outside as long as the sun is up.

Are such a boy: a ride in the Jeep, a fishin’ pole and some mud = a great day.

Want your own dog named Bolt.

Call me ‘your bestest sweetest mommy’

Can count to like 35.

Are the best block building and playdoh making buddy ever!

Give the sweetest smiles, warmest hugs and biggest sugars.

Are Amazing
Adorable
Hilarious
Smart
Caring

The best kid in the whole universe.

Updates....STUFF

Well, I haven’t blogged in a while. I did the 100 question thing a while back, and just copied and pasted it to my blog on Friday. Finding the time to devote to sitting down long enough to blog has been difficult. WE have had a unbelievable amount of STUFF going on, some happy & some sad:
I guess I’ll start with Heath’s birthday! He turned a whopping (lol) 34 on Wednesday the 25th of March. The Saturday before though, I threw him a surprise party at Margaritas. The biggest surprise was that I pulled it off without him knowing too much of what was going on! If I remember correctly, there were 44 of our friends and family there to celebrate. (plus 9 kids) He was very excited! He hadn’t seen some of the friends that came into town for the party in about two years! We had a great time chatting and hanging out with everyone that came. I have a few pics (before my camera battery died) that I will upload at a later date.

Then, Sunday we set our new church in order. The evangelist that preached the tent revival was there to ordain Dad and Mom as ministers in his organization, as well as a few others from our congregation as Christian Workers. He then said that there was someone in the congregation that had been called to preach, and if this person was also feeling that calling, and feeling that tug, the they should come to the front right that minute. Without hesitation Heath went to the front! I think everyone was a little surprised, but so happy!! Deep down, I think Heath is happy about it as well. Bro. Corley then also asked that if anyone else felt that God was calling them to be workers, and leaders in the church that they too should come to the front. More than ever in my life, I felt that calling. Myself, along with a handful of others went forward. We are so excited, but are definitely doing some major praying for direction and guidance as to where and what God wants us to do.

In the middle of our excitement and celebrating, we got a phone call that a close family member was in the hospital and not expected to live much longer. He had been sick for a while and on a respirator. He asked that the respirator be removed and that God’s will be done. Although I was not related to this man by blood, I have known him my entire life and have always considered him family. He was actually my cousin Lauren’s grandfather:

Mr. Claude Bueil “CB” Rightmire was born on May 8, 1927 in Groves, Texas. On July 21, 1927, he baptized at St. Elizabeth’s Catholic Church in Port Neches. Mr. Rightmire was the second of four brothers born to Dewitt C. H. and Zula DeVellier Rightmire. The family later lived in Houston where he attended Jeff Davis High School and starred on the football team. On April 5, 1945 he enlisted in the US Navy and served on destroyer escort USS Acree. After the war, he met and later married Olive Marie Harbison on July 8, 1950. Mr. Rightmire and Marie had three sons – Mike, Robin and Jeff. In 1967, the family moved from the city of Houston to Houston County Texas. After a lengthy illness, Marie passed away in 1988. In 1991, he was married to Eunice “Sissy” Dickey. The couple lived and worked in Houston County until he passed away on March 22, 2009 at age 81 years, 10 month, and 14 days. For most of his adult life, he was a carpenter and building contractor. He worked as a millworker and finish carpenter on many of the homes in the River Oaks area of Houston. He built three homes for his family in Houston and Houston County. After 1967, he built many homes in Houston County and neighboring counties. He loved the craft of creating with wood. He was a master mechanical tinkerer and could build or repair almost anything. He enjoyed the outdoors and the camaraderie of hunting and fishing in Texas and Alaska with his sons and many friends. He was a good Father, grandfather, husband and neighbor and we will all miss him greatly. Survivors include his wife Sissy Rightmire, of Grapeland; sons Mike Rightmire and wife Evelyn, of Plano and Jeff Rightmire and wife Kelly, of Mabank; grandchildren Lauren Rightmire, of Lubbock, J. J. Rightmire, of San Diego, Joshua Rightmire, of Washington State, Brandi King, Vanessa Petters and Megan Melson, all of Palestine; brother Donald Rightmire and wife Tommie, of Calvert. Preceded in death by his wife Marie Rightmire; son Robin Rightmire; brothers Robert Rightmire and Jerry Rightmire; and parents Dewitt and Zula Rightmire. Funeral Services for Mr. C. B. Rightmire were held Thursday, March 26, 2009 at 11:00 a.m. in the Callaway-Allee Memorial Chapel with the Rev. Eddie Atkinson officiating. Interment followed in the Evergreen Memorial Park. In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to the Macular Degeneration Foundation, Inc., P.O. Box 531313, Henderson, Nevada 89053 or American Stroke Association, P.O. Box 15186, Austin, TX 78761.

“Papaw CB”, as we fondly called him, will be remembered always and loved. While we were saddened by this loss, we are also comforted by the fact that we know Papaw is no longer sick, or in pain. After the visitation at the funeral home, we went to Aunt Gayle and Uncle Bill’s for dinner. We had a small birthday cake for Heath, and sang to him ( he turned red of course) A few pics from the evening:

After things got back to normal, for the most part anyway, we finished up our work week and welcomed the slow pace of the weekend. Yesterday morning at church we voted on the name for our ‘new church’. We are now Remnant Faith of The Trinity. Nice ring, eh...well, it's growing on me anyway... This coming Wednesday we will hold our first official business meeting, where we will elect deacons and other officers.

Of course, I can’t post without giving a little update on my Lucas. As usual, his wit and sense of humor impresses and cracks us up daily. You never know what to expect! He learned the hard way this weekend though that an attitude in combination with a smart mouth will get him grounded from playing outside! Our little boy is growing entirely too quickly. He is such a Jackson, from looks to personality, and ATTITUDE!

Bigger than the Dark...

We were on the way home from church last night, and Lucas says "Mommy I'm scared, because it's dark outside." Of course, I replied that he shouldn't be scared, we were perfectly safe inside of our car! Him, being so incredibly in touch with everything, says " That is right Mommy. WE are safe because God is bigger than the dark and He always make us safe." My eyes welled up with tears as I thanked God for this wonderfully precious little boy that He put in our lives. Lucas understands so much. If only us adults could have that kind of faith and reassurance in knowing that no matter WHAT we are facing...God is bigger, always in control and ALWAYS takes care of us. It's just that simple.