Tuesday, September 16, 2008

As of late...

We have been a wee bit busy lately with the arrival of Ike on the gulf coast and feeling better about the fact that it missed us. Obviously we are not feeling better about the poor people who have lost everything or are without electricity. I was reminded how wonderful our God is that in the midst of all of this, He would allow a cold front to move in to give some relief to those without shelter, or those who are trapped inside their homes without air conditioning. It is really very hot in South Texas this time of year. Anyhow, this is what we have been up to. We went to go visit my College Roommate Kristy Dupree (Stridde) and had a great time with her and her husband Chris and their two kids Kayna and Noah. Noah and Anna were born two weeks apart. Pretty cool. Anyhow, they had a blast together and she can't wait to see him again. Kayna was so precious and beautiful and Anna loved to hug her and kiss her and wanted to play with her always. We had a great time. Friendship like that is always a breath of fresh air.


Then when Ike threatened to come right to Rockport, we decided to head out of town and go to my parents house south of here in Calallen. Once we were out of danger, there was lots of time to play. Judd came down to help board up and have a mini-vaca and hung out with Anna a lot. She loves her Uncle Judd a bunch. She has prayed for him twice this week. When we get ready for bed, we ask her who she wants to pray for and she normally lists off the people she sees everyday, but sometimes she comes up with a few extras. He has been on her mind lately. : ) Last but not least, the other night before bedtime, Franklin was on the floor and Anna wanted him to sit next to her. She slid over and said, "Uh Heer Franlin" and then he jumped up on the chair. She was very proud of herself and was very happy to have Franklin next to her on the chair. Well, hope you all have a great week and thanks to all who called or checked on us. It is nice to know that you are important to others in your life. Until next time......

Thursday, September 4, 2008

Labor Day Weekend and Farewell Hemingway's

Stephen's sister Karen came in this weekend and we got to hang out over at Stephen's parents vacation house a lot. They have a place in Rockport, which is very convenient I must say. I really enjoy having them this close, especially when Karen comes in, cause we don't have to travel. : ) Anyhow, we decided to go crabbing on Sunday afternoon but came up short. Anna and Kaylee had a good time playing in the "sea shell sand" as I call it. We went crabbing off the pier at Goose Island State Park and down at the end of the pier there is a little island (really it is just a low spot that has collected a TON of old shells) and we took the girls down there to liven the day (Anna was not entertained with looking at empty crab nets). Stephen was working that afternoon, which now knowing that we caught nothing and just sat in the heat, he was the one that came out on top. : ) After the girls had played awhile, we decided it was time to head back and see if Granny and Grandpa had any luck with the crabs. We have gone crabbing or at least tried to go at least once a year since Stephen and I started dating. It is probably one of my favorite things to do...it really is fun and I was hoping Anna could experience it that day. Oh well, better luck next time I guess!


This view is MOST depressing when you are hoping for a crab dinner. Here are the girls in action at "Shell Beach"



Anna had a great time just hanging out with her Granny and having a snack after we played at "shell beach".
I just love this picture.

So after staring at yet another empty net, we cleaned up and headed back to the house. Anna has been getting better at singing songs and has recently taken an interest in "Ring Around the Rosy." She and Kaylee sang it and danced around for quite some time before I got it on video. By this time, Anna was not as energetic and it looks like Kaylee is whipping her around.


In other news, Stephen got a phone call yesterday from a local restaurant manager asking if he was looking for a job. Stephen had applied at this restaurant when we first arrived in Rockport and was offered a job there a day after he accepted a job at Hemingway's. A little confused, Stephen said no. Then the man proceeds to explain that there was a rumor going around that Hemingway's was closing down and if that was true that Stephen had a job with him. After calling his boss, getting his voicemail, getting another call from yet another restaurateur offering him a job (Stephen was popular) his boss called back and first apologized for the way he found out. Apparently he was making his way down the list of employees and the ones already called were already out looking for work. He then explained that they were closing down. Pretty sad because Stephen really enjoyed where he worked. He liked the people, the chef, the restaurant, everything. Fortunately for us all employees got a severance package and Stephen took one of those two job offers and got an increase in pay. He starts next Thursday. Please pray for him in this new job, we are hoping God will use this opportunity to further Stephen in his career. So this has been a busy week. All in all, we are doing good and I am very thankful that God allowed Stephen to be given news like this with the promise of stability in another job. I think the Lord knows I might have exploded had he not provided that information all at once. Below is a video of Anna and her daddy playing before bedtime.
Have a great week!