Volunteering!

*-*What we do for ourselves dies with us. What we do for others and the world remains and is immortal.The best way to find yourself is to lose yourself in the service of others. –Ghandi

--Justin&I have volunteered for a couple of different volunteer projects lastely! It has been fun to get involved in things that Luke can help out with too! 1) we have been volunteering at our church in Lubbock- Experience Life- we have been working in the youth group and teaching bible study classes. We have been going to our church for almost a year now and we love it! =)! We feel old listening to young teens talk haha...oh how dramatic junior high was haha! 2) we are also volunteering at the south plains food bank. Luke can help make grocery bags full of groceries to pass out to families who need food. Its a great organization to get involved with. It only takes up 1 day a month. (Usually a couple of hours on the weekend) And its a family activity that we can all do together. 3) and finally, we are volunteering at LeLand animal shelter in Lubbock. We get to play with animals and work on commands and social interactive skills. Luke loves animals and he loves playing with puppies. Also, through these we are earning volunteer points. Right now, at Disney World, when you earn a certain amount of points as a family, you get a 3 day free vacation to Disney World!!!

We like volunteering--Ghandi's quote is so true. I do not want to just exist in this world- I want to work hard and use every talent God gave me. Life can never be taken for granted. I like that we are also teaching Luke about giving back to the world. We have been sooo busy, but, we have still made time to work hard and donate our time to organizations that need us. We have met some wonderful people too!

Whewww...Life is BUSY!

April-August are non-stop busy times for us every year. We are always full w/weddings, birthday parties, traveling for vacations, graduation parties, etc!

I sent out Lukes invitation for his 2nd birthday this weekend. I was seriously in awe that we are already officially planning his 2nd birthday party. I cannot believe how fast time goes. Luke is no where near being a baby anymore either =(. He is almost fully potty trained. Still having trouble during naptime&bed time. He will poop in the potty everytime with no problem. But he will not come inside (when playing outside) to go potty either. Play time is way more important than coming inside to bother going potty HA! He wakes up from naptime&bedtime almost always wet so we still wear a pull up for those times. Luke is also talking so much- he likes to retell the 3 pigs story to me and it cracks me up when he says' "the wolf hufffsss & pufffffss and blowwwwws the house" lol! I marked it in his toddler book because it makes me laugh every time. He is so over dramatic--he gets it from his mama&Aunt T lol!

Anyways, back to birthday party stuff! We let Luke decide his own parties & the theme this year! So we took a trip to Party City and of course Luke chose Diego & Curious George. So-his Lubbock bday party will be Go Diego Go and his party at the zoo in Dallas will be Curious George! He is a silly boy! He loves playing baseball and soccer and we will spend hours outside kicking the soccer ball and playing catch. He isnt real good yet at actually catching the ball but he tries and he likes wearing a glove! He has great coordination running&kicking the soccer ball. Makes me happy bc our whole family is a bunch of athletes and he already is showing signs of that too! AWESOME!

Tamara starts her chemo this thursday. She will go 7 hrs a day for 4 weeks. So we will be spending lots of time in Dallas w/her&my family! My best friend, Brie, has her bachelorette party in Las Vegas! My lil sis-in-law, Katy, has her graduation&party coming up too! And, we have 3 wedding&baby showers coming up next month lol! And of course, a summer trip to the beach! Wheww, I think I am just going to pack&live out of our suitcase for the next 3 months haha!

**Oh & an update...I finished my 13.1 mile half marathon in right under 2 hrs! It was the hardest thing I have ever done in my life--but so rewarding! I hurt for days & it took me almost 2 full weeks to fully recover my muscles. I am now training for my first triathalon. It is 3 mile swim, 13 mile bike ride, and 4 mile run. In that order! I am already back to training and I will do this in August!!!!

Praise God!

"This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us. And if we know that he hears us - whatever we ask - we know that we have what we asked of him"-1 John 5:14-15--Praise GOD for His miracles&for His healing powers He has had on my sister♥..white blood cell count is finally up! YESSS!

Tamara will FINALLY be able to start chemo again. I know it seems crazy to be excited about that, but you have NO IDEA how huge that is. Tamara has not been healthy enough to even start chemo bc her white blood cell count was so low-it would have been fatal to her body. God heard our prayers&answered them w/HUGE MIRACLES! She will meet w/the bone marrow specialist soon to talk about her bone marrow transplant. One step at a time. Today, though, we are celebrating the miracle God has given her & our family.

Promise Yourself

Promise yourself to be so strong that nothing can disturb your peace of mind.
To talk health, happiness, and prosperity to every person you meet.
To make all your friends feel like there is something in them.
To look at the sunny side of everything and make your optimism come true.
To think only of the best, to work only for the best, and expect only the best.
To be just as enthusiastic about the success of others as you are about your own.
To forget the mistakes of the past and press on the greater achievements of the future.
To wear a cheerful countenance at all times and give every living person you meet a smile.
To give so much time to the improvement of yourself that you have no time to criticize others.
To be too large for worry, too noble for anger, and too strong for fear, and to happy to permit the presence of trouble.

Playdate w/Miss Jordann

We spent last saturday playing in the water at Uptown Village. 2 of my very best friends from home-Bree&Ryann- came and we ate a picnic lunch. Ryann's daughter-Jordann- and Luke played in the water! They ate-played soccer and just had a really good time! It was a very fun afternoon! It was fun to catch up w/my girls~

Lukes 1st Ranger Game!

YAY! I am so excited we got to take Luke to his 1st Rangers game! I grew up my whole life going to Rangers games and it was so much fun to watch Luke get to experience that to! It was my dads 52 Birthday!!! And, Tamara finally got out of quarantine so it was good for her to get to get out of the house&hospital finally and enjoy some fresh air! I did not pack our camera-YIKES- so no good pics from the game! But, we did take this one of Luke playing in the kids area and batting. He loves sports&loves being at sports games. He claps&cheers&dances and he is fun to watch and be around! The Rangers WON! YAY! It was definitely a fun memory I will keep with me forever =)

Most beautiful cancer patient ever

The past few days have been a roller coaster of emotions. I have spent many hours in prayer. Many hours with my sister- the most beautiful cancer patient ever. Many hours talking w/friends&family about Gods will. Through it all, my faith has stood its ground. I know my God, I know HE CAN make miracles at the tip of His finger. My hope&faith is in Him alone.

Hanging w/my sister at Baylor. Luke&I made his AuntT this picture! She is our hero.

You can't have a weekend slumber party without girly magazines ;)

This was Luke before I flew to Dallas making his AuntT some fun pics for her room!

Which sticker?? HMMM...such an important decision!

*Tamara came down with an infection that was so serious&scary. I have never in my life seen my sister so sick =(. But, Tamara was not going to let us get down about it. She stayed positive&upbeat like always! We actually had a ton of fun!!! (despite the seriousness of everything going on) We had girl talk, we read magazines, watched the Mavs game!, & Dancing w/the stars! We ate ice cream, we laughed and we made memories. Tamara looks so much better within 24 hours. She has so much faith in God and in herself. She is incredible&I learn from her everyday.

Tamara's cancer has spread into her bone marrow. I cannot even begin to explain how strong Tamara has been through all of this. Even through her procedure on her bone marrow- she was so TOUGH. OMG...its insane the strength she has. She is my hero.

**Through the ups&downs of the past few days- 1 things remains the same. I have the Bestest friends&family. The best! It only took 1 call for my sister-in-law to be here w/Luke while Justin worked. She cleaned, watched Luke, took care of food, etc. I had to leave on a moments notice&i am so impressed and amazed at the love that was given to our family. 2 of my friends cooked dinner for the boys 1 night also so they wouldnt have to worry about it. Our neighbor brought muffins! But more importantly, my prayer warriors have been on top of prayer for me. They all have hearts belonging to our Lord and the did not hesistate to add Tamara to their prayer list, list at church, passed on emails to family, etc. God is awesome. Only through His hands is love & prayers passed around. And Justin has been amazing through all of this. He is my best friend&husband, my rock.