Maw Maw

Two weeks ago yesterday Neil's grandmother was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. Maw Maw is 93 and has been so healthy so this all came as a surprise after her not feeling well after about 6 weeks. We have seen her twice since then. The four of us went to Kerrville and spent some really great time with her at her home while she is on hospice. The visit was so sweet... pretty much her same old self telling us stories about when she played basketball in high school - she was one of the tallest and "quick as lightening". Claire served her lunch and the girls made her pictures. She looked good and again, was her same self except for not being able to get out of bed. On our way out she told me I was such a blessing to their family and I can't help but think of how much she has blessed MY life.

Eating popsicles in Maw Maw's backyard

Hair Hats at one of Neil's childhood favorite stores, Gibson's

Visiting the river

On our way home we stopped to pick blackberries. It was a hot afternoon but Eden is still talking about it! Such beautiful colors as the berries ripen. The blackberries were yummy and especially in the cobbler I made!

Today we made our second trip to Kerrville. It was much different and harder but still sweet in many ways. Maw Maw was visibly more sick, uncomfortable, no longer eating, hardly able to talk, got sick while we were there, bedroom door closed... it's so hard to see someone you love anticipate the end of life and be in pain - no matter how peaceful they are about their salvation. Now for the sweet parts - Neil was able to share with Maw Maw how much he always loves her cherry pie - she said "You and John". And how he remembers the smell of her breakfasts cooking when she would come to visit or he would stay with her.  Also, Neil's cousin from Kingwood and another from Colorado was in to see her so we were able to visit them and the girls spent time with their second cousins. Went to the creek bed, played outside, laughed up a storm while eating ice cream, ate clementines....making memories.  I also got to spend some special time with Elaine listening and doing my best to comfort her.

Annabelle, Eden, Claire, Ethan and Cameron

Saying goodbye was really hard. Elaine thinks she will pass away soon. Neil plans to go back Monday or Tuesday. Please keep Neil's family in your prayers!

Birthday Celebrations!

I can't believe my baby turned 6 on Tuesday!! We had her birthday party on Saturday and what a fun celebration! She wanted to invite all the girls from her class and some of her closest girlfriends from church so we had 11 little girls running around the house in their pajamas!! That's right - a complete girly pajama party with fingernail painting, bracelet making, being silly, playing a stuffed animal/toy game, eating cake and pizza and watching Tangled for those who could stay for the after party. It was just what Claire wanted and I know she had a great time having her friends here to celebrate with her!

I got this balloon wreath idea off of pintrest and it is something I can use for any other birthday celebration! Well worth the time and effort as I over heard Claire telling some people at school about it before they came to the party. She thought it was pretty special =)
Here's my sweet girl! We planned on doing sponge rollers in all the girl's hair so I rolled Claire's hair. But after she looked at it she was in tears wanting me to take it out...I told her I needed atleast one picture of her! 3 other girls at the party rolled their hair along with this mommy so it was worth having out!

The grandparents from both sides were there as the designated adult helpers! Thanks mom for all your fruit/dips and extra help and to Elaine for bringing the yummy bread! Made these yummy s'mores treats off of pintrest and put it together with stickers and a bog of popcorn to go with the pajama party theme! "Thanks for poppin' in and makin' my party s'more fun!" They were SUPER yummy and I've already made them two more times since!
Claire picked out a couple baby pics of her to have out with the flower cupcakes!
Making bracelets! They couldn't get enough of it... some of them made 3 or 4 of them! Beads on pipe cleaner
Most of the girls in the hallway
Here they all are!! Loving their time in Claire' room and hanging out on the bunk bed
Each kiddo brought their favorite stuffed animal/toy and dropped it in a designated bag outside the front door to keep it a secret. Then we all guessed who brought what... I wasn't' sure if they would like this game but they loved it!
Singing happy birthday! Ever since I made Eden's Snow White cake Claire has wanted a Rapunzel cake. This one was a little more challenging with her hair being so long and with the different colors of the skirt.
Guess who enjoyed it?
Thank you to everyone who blessed Claire with such thoughtful gifts! This was one of her favorites - the Rapunzel Hair!
We LOVE you Claire - our favorite 6 year old!! You have changed our world for the better and we are so honored to be your parents!
If you want to see more pics you can click on this site and go to Claire's 6th birthday! http://neilkathrynclaire.shutterfly.com/

Claire's birthday was actually Tuesday so Neil and I gave her our gifts that morning. She loved her "foo foo skirt" outfit and really liked her feather hair clips. I also finished her birthday scrapbook up to her 5th birthday and she was really excited to look through it... now I get to do the 6th birthday! I love this picture of her...she just looks so cute!
I couldn't believe all the attention she got at school! It's amazing that at a large school they can still make a student feel special. She was on the BSN news announcements in front of the whole school, wore this special hat all day, got sang to a few times and got free ice cream at lunch time! I was able to take her lunch and celebrate a little with her in the cafeteria... funny story... I asked her what she wanted me to bring her for lunch thinking McDonald's or Chick-fil-a but with big, bright eyes she said "Chocolate pudding and Cheetos!" So that's what she got =) That and a bowl of her favorite minestrone that I make. What a sweetheart that she felt like that was the way she wanted to celebrate!
After school we went to see grandpa and he had a special snack for the girls including a candle in the oatmeal pie!

After gymnastics, we met my parents, Billy and Neil's parents out for chinese to celebrate my Mom's birthday on the 8th. Happy Birthday Mom and my Grandma Ann!!

Can't wait to see what this year will bring!

Grandma Ann

When I came across this picture on my mom's camera from her trip to Wisconsin in May, my heart melted.

To most this is just a window but this window and especially it's view holds so many memories for me. It's the window that sits right above my Grandma Ann's kitchen sink. I've seen such beauty through this window as I spent time at my grandma's condo. The glorious trees, bunnies, deer... but I mostly see my Grandma by this window, peeling her morning orange with her elbows on the counter, one leg bent and the other straight. Her CD player running. I see her fruit bowl on the counter top across the way and the magnetic cross stitching still on her refrigerator that I made when I was just a kid. Her big sliding glass doors that led to the deck out back - our favorite spot for pictures. It's amazing how one picture can evoke so many memories and so much emotion...

Last week I traveled with my parents to Wisconsin and spent my last time in her condo but she wasn't there. Her place was sparse with almost everything gone. Grandma has been moved to a nursing home and has been in and out of the hospital. She is not herself physically or mentally but she still has her wit! My mom said I was able to see her on really good days. I'll never forget her reading the recordable book that Aunt Barbara got for her to read to Claire, Eden, Pierce and Baby Boy Lewis. She didn't miss a beat and what beautiful inflection. With a smile she agreed when we told her she did a wonderful job reading and said "I have the gift of reading you know".

Here we are sitting in the sun room. What a joy it was to spend this time with her and I'm so blessed to have had this time with her and my other family.

I'll share more photos of my time in Wisconsin but wanted to make this post one of it's own.

Fiesta Parade

The annual Fiesta Battle of the Flowers parade was so much fun this year!! For the past three years we pack our cooler, grab our lawn chairs and find the greatest spots down by the Alamo in the plaza. Such a wonderful tradition that my mom and I have with the girls - it was Eden's first year and she did great once the parade actually started! Eden's favorites were the horses that she so desperately wanted to ride and the bands. Claire's was of course the Princesses on the floats. Already can't wait for next year!

Grandma with her girls - Eden eating all the watermelon until it was gone!
I took Eden on a little walk to pass the time as we waited for the parade to start. Here she is with the Alamo...


My Fiesta Princess We started in the shade but eventually had the sun right on us so we brought out the umbrellas. My mom was a trooper trying to help me keep those girls in the shade =) With Neil's melanoma 7 years ago (can't believe it's been that long) we are VERY careful with them in the sun. Eden was just hugging all over my mom's head and rubbing her hair - it was hilarious!
My mom has loved parades since she was a little girl and I remember her always wanting to go when I was growing up. I pretty much dreaded them and thought she was crazy. Well, now I understand =) We have such a fun time with the girls and it's one of my favorite traditions. One I hope the girls will hold onto for a long time!

Bert and Ernie & the Zoo

Claire has a thing for Bert and Ernie - her favorite Sesame Street Characters from the start (Elmo was a close second as well as Slimey). As soon as PBS told her they were coming to town for an appearance at the Children's Museum, she asked everyday if she could go. It ended up being the same day that we planned to go to the zoo with my parents but it meant so much to her that we did both! So off we went to the museum to see these guys but we didn't get as close as we wanted. Luckily Claire was content with waving from a far since we couldn't wait in the MASSIVE line that had formed. We said our hellos, took a picture from behind the fence and then it was off to the zoo to meet up with Grandma and Grandpa for some sweaty fun!

Here is Eden loving the ball zone at the museum. It was a free day which was nice so we could check things out. It's a really great place and now I know we will need to go back soon!
Claire milking a cow - my Wisconsin family will love this picture!
Claire's picture with Bert and Ernie - she was a trooper!
Before leaving, we had to do some shopping at the pretend HEB store. Claire plays shopping almost everyday if not multiple times a day. I always check her out and say "beep" so checking herself out was a dream for her! Eden was helping =)
After meeting up and bathing in sunscreen, we had a great day at the zoo! The monkeys were our favorite! They were so lively!
Grandma packed a lunch - Here is Claire with a couple of her favorite men!
Grandma and Eden
They have an aviary with these Lory birds that just fly around. One landed on Neil's head and Eden just loved it!
Resting in front of the Elephants
The Africa phase 2 is finally open and really nice!
Love this one =)
Claire really loved getting so close to the hippo
Sharing ice cream - one of the girls favorite parts of the day! This is probably my favorite picture!
Can't leave the zoo without the classic picture of girls on lions!
Of course I have about 100 more pictures but I had to only choose a handful! I will be uploading all of them to Shutterfly and adding a link sometime. I know my aunts will appreciate some recent pictures uploaded on there!