More of Brad's 30th Birthday.

Our last couple of weeks have been so fun! As per my usual MO, we celebrated Brad's birthday for several weeks. Now it's June, and time to move on because seriously everyone in my family with very few exceptions has a June birthday--including my parents who are born on the same day, a few years apart.

But back to Brad! He's THIRTY!

When I started brainstorming a fun group activity for B's birthday, the first thing that came to mind was something I had remembered a couple of our friends mentioning a few months before--indoor rock climbing. There is a great place over in Arlington called Dyno Rock where they had climbed. The folks at Dyno Rock were wonderful to work with and let me set up the party wherever I wanted in their warehouse/rock climber's paradise.


I thought it would be fun to throw him a surprise party since it was a big birthday. Let me just mention here that I am terrible at keeping surprises. I have such a hard time at Christmas not just coming straight out with what I buy my people! The venue was not far from the Ballpark at Arlington, so I had high hopes I could have a friend faux-invite him to the Ranger game, but they were out of town. And I knew Brad would check out the schedule and figure out that something was up. So, I punted and just had them swing by the house and kidnap him a couple of hours after I left to go "shopping."

When my accomplices stopped by, they had him convinced we were going somewhere that he would need a swimsuit, so he had no idea what was going on. So awesome!

I ordered pizza delivered to the location to save some foot work and had cake along with trail mix as snacks/favors. It seemed appropriate for the night's activity.


Some of our awesome friends gathered with us to celebrate Brad's thirty years. One thing that is cool about Dyno Rock is that kiddos can climb with a parent (and a signed waiver, of course) so we had all ages.


I love that guy so much and am so thankful for the day he was born. He's my best and favorite.

Mystery Date!

Golf is a day
spent in a round
of strenuous idleness.

--William Wordsworth

My man turns the big 3-0 next week. To celebrate, last weekend we went on a mystery date--at least, a mystery to him.

I told him to pack his golf clubs and leave the cutoffs at home. He didn't
find out the destination until we checked in at the airport. Off we went on
the Company Plane--to North Carolina!

We took a long weekend at Pinehurst, about 90 min.
from Raleigh. If you're a golf person--which I am not--you would
know it as the home of the 2014 US Open and a couple of past US Opens.

The No. 2 course was where Payne Stewart won in 1999, his last
Major win 4 months before his tragic death. This statue
commemorates the day of his big win.

Here was my posture the day Brad played No. 2. Most of the
pictures I have of us are from that day, because I spent a lot of
the my free time in the spa or by the pool. He also played No. 4
one of the days we were there.

All the pine trees--hence the name. We also met Ben Crenshaw
during this round. He was out with a group looking over the course and
deciding what changes should be made before 2014. He was incredibly nice.

We did a lot of eating too.
Very good food.

The goal was a milestone birthday to remember. And I think it was accomplished!
We spent plenty of time just relaxing and enjoying each others company.
A perfect weekend.

What I Did at Work Today

I watched baseball...and met Mark McLemore.

And the Rangers won in the 12th inning, 2-1.

Lone Star Hero

Last Tuesday, my grandfather was awarded a Purple Heart from the Texas Department of Public Safety. He served as a State Trooper for many years before promoting into the service of the Texas Rangers.

Of course, the whole family roadtripped down to Austin for Pop's big day!
He received his award, then paused for a
moment and asked if he could say a few words.

No event is complete without cake. The Texas Rangers gave a reception in his honor, and some of his retired Ranger buddies were able to make it. So nice!

It was a special day, befitting a very special man.

One thing that people often don't stop to realize is the sacrifice involved in the law enforcement profession. Every day, good men and women patrolling for your interests and mine potentially put their lives at risk so that you and I can live in safety. And their families are sacrificing too.

{This was a good reminder for me, as I've been whining about being pulled over for not signaling a few weeks ago.}

Family Matters

Two weekends ago, we had strong storms come through our area. That night I checked weather.com, saw that there would be nothing but a thunderstorm warning along with some brilliant lightning, and went to bed to sleep peacefully. Little did I know that others in my family in Navarro County would soon be experiencing a hellish storm.

Around 1 AM that morning, my dad awoke to the windows in the house rattling. He went to the back glass door and watched as their entire patio (minus the grill and dog house) was blown completely off into the pasture some 50 yards away.

As day broke, they would find that much of their roof was destroyed. They live across the pasture from my grandparents whose home is nestled next to the woods. What is believed to be flat line winds felled many of the old, old trees surrounding their backyard.

After a text from my mom, we mobilized with some QuickTrip donuts and an ice chest full of diet cokes. And so the day became a family reunion of sorts as the self-proclaimed "Grape Creek Disaster Relief Team" converged on the farm.

I'm not often moved to tears, but when I went into my grandparents backyard, I was a little weepy praising God that He had protected my family.


The backyard.

This is a line of trees that were broken like twigs by the wind.

Big smile during break time.

An old oak completely uprooted on a house under construction.

Diet Coke Break.

A Farewell to April

The past month has been incredibly busy. We've had busy weekdays, weeknights, and weekends, and to be quite honest, I am VERY much looking forward to the summer. Summer means vacation, and seriously, my bags are crying, "pack me!"

We had a church-wide challenge to read the entire Bible in 90 days starting on January 1. It was more like 97 days for me, but I finished. I am amazed at how reading God's entire Word from Genesis to Revelation changed my perspective on His holiness, His faithfulness, His justice, His love, His grace, His salvation, and on and on. Reading the Bible is a worthwhile endeavor, but I can't begin to tell you how much it has changed me to read the entire canon from start to finish. God's Word is so alive.

A few weeks after that, I read Francine Rivers' new book Her Mother's Hope, and considering it is the first in a 3 part series, I can hardly wait for the next one to come out in October. I'm glad I read the Mark of the Lion books after they were all published. I don't think I could've handled the wait on those.

So, after reading the Bible for the first almost 100 days of the year, the list maker in me realizes that I need to make my reading list for the rest of the year. I realized I never posted what I thought about the books I read last year, so my thoughts regarding those will be coming soon.

I need your help on my reading list! What one book would you recommend as a must-read for me this year?

When you think Tim McGraw, she hopes you think of her.

Last Wednesday (over a week ago) smack dab in the middle of one of the craziest weeks ever, Ashley and I saw Taylor Swift in concert. The best way to describe it was just plain fun. Everyone was singing along, and Taylor's antics were very amusing. I really thought she might suffer from self-induced whiplash with the amount of hair tossing that she did. But she has great hair, so I say she can toss all she wants.

She kicked it off with "You Belong With Me."

Here she is with the fabulous glitter guitar. It has me considering a mod on my Rockband guitar.
Just kidding. Or am I?

Costume change for "Love Story."

She's probably singing "Fifteen" in this one. This was my favorite part--just her and the guitar.

We took no less than 15 self-portrait pics that night, and seriously not one of them turned out. So sad.