Sisters play DRESS-UP

I'm sure nothing surprises you about my posts...nothing that I do surprises you. So, here it is. Yes, I woke up on the morning after my birthday, at home with mom and daddy and Jenny and Daniel and Meredith, and I thought, "It would be fun to put on my wedding dress again!" Afterall, most girls only wear it that one day and never see it again - thought I'd put daddy's money to good use! ;-) So, as I was putting the dress on, Jenny walked in the room, and after some coercing, she put hers on as well - and she has had a child since her wedding. Doesn't she look great!?!?!!!!!

Scavenger Hunt

So, the birthday party was a scavenger hunt that Daniel and I made up. For those who have never been to my parents' house, they live on about 80 acres of pasture that is outlined by trees. On the other side of the trees is my granny's house. Daniel and I thought it would be fun to make up clues for random things at our house - deer feeder, 4-wheeler, rocking chair on the front porch, storage building, martin house, hummingbird feeder - and my granny's house - treehouse, greenhouse, trampoline, burn pile, bell, golf cart - and have those attending the party go on a scavenger hunt. Well, since the only guests were my grandparents, folks, and my sister and her 4 month old baby, we thought it might not happen. But they were all sweet to amuse us and they ventured out for the scavenger hunt....and it was a HIT!! Mamaw and Daddy were the winners...by just seconds!

They loved it and even requested that we make up another for when everyone is home for Easter!

Candles

28 candles...and 1 to grow on!! Yep, we had cake and ice cream after the scavenger hunt and I blew out 29 candles!

I Used to Be the Center of Attention

So, I know this is pitiful to admit, but I used to be the center of attention at my house. I was the BABY. And well

when my sister got her yorkshire terrior, Chloe, I lost my position. And now, there's Meredith. And poor Chloe...she lost her position,as well.


Look how cute our newest BABY of the family is! We had a really great weekend getting to play with our niece and see family!

Another PARTY in Fort Worth

Our friends, John and Deb Hormillosa, and their 2 little ones, Owen and Elle, are moving to California this week. Daniel met John and Deb when he first started going to our church, in 2003. Owen turned 5 on Sunday! We said good-bye to them at his birthday party.

God has opened up some great doors for them out in San Diego. We are excited for them, but will miss them! We love you, Hormillosas!!!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, RYAN!

Daniel and I made a quick trip up to Oklahoma City Friday night for our friend Ryan Smith's birthday party. It was a smashing birthday party - kareoke, "whose line is it anyway" renditions, sharades, dancing, stand-up comedy, and more! Our last visit to OKC was for Ryan's birthday last year - too long of a time between the two visits. I've only really known Ryan through Daniel, although he was in Turkey in 1999 and 2000 when I went for short term trips. However, I feel like I've known he and his wife, Adriane, for much longer. There's just something about the bond of Christ and our hearts for the nations that makes friendship so easy and painless! I commented to Adriane Friday night that it's easier to come in her kitchen, wash dishes with her, and chat about anything and everything after having only seen her 4 times in my life than it is for me to connect with people I've known in Fort Worth for over a year.

Connecting with people - that's what life is all about for this little girl. And Ryan and Adriane are super fun people to connect with...and did I forget to mention Daniel's other good friend, Andy Edwards, who lives in OKC? He and Daniel were once roommies as well. Ryan, Adriane, and Andy all love Jesus and pursue intimacy with him which is why our hearts are drawn to friendship with them, even living 3 1/2 hours away, and they also love to have a good time...can you tell? We had a great weekend of laughs and encouraging conversations. We spent the night with them and had a lazy Saturday. We took their new Toyota Highlander around the nearby lake and almost got blown away by the gushing wind on Saturday. Then we headed back Saturday evening after dinner with all of them. Fun times! Fun times! Isn't God good?!?!!!!

Ryan turns 32 today! Happy, Happy, Happy Birthday, Ryan!

Happy Birthday, Granny!

My granny turns 88 today! 88 - can you imagine!!??!?! Her life hasn't been easy - she's watched her husband and 2 of her children die. She's a woman of faith. And she's in love with my little niece. It's so neat how new life gives life to the elderly. I've watched granny go from looking old and tired from life to looking like she has a little more energy and willpower to stay here on earth for a bit longer when my cousin's baby Annie was born in 2004 and now with my niece Meredith's birth just 3 1/2 months ago! HAPPY BIRTHDAY, GRANNY!


And here they are, the Cohns! Aren't they stunning?!!

Newest Little Friend

Remember the pictures from our Super Bowl evening with friends? Well, exactly one week later, 4 days before the due date, Rebecca and Brent became official "mommy" and "daddy". We visited them last night and met Caroline Olivia. She has the fullest head of hair I have seen on a baby in a long time! Welcome to this world, little Caroline!

Mardi Gras

Several of us native Louisianians and our "married-in" or "dated-in" counterparts got together tonight for a Mardi Gras celebration in Fort Worth! We have to be true to our roots! Funny thing, though. I never celebrated Mardi Gras when I lived in Louisiana, but this is my second Mardi Gras festivity since being in Texas! :-) Michael and Meg are regularly getting everyone together for an event, and this night it was to celebrate "Fat Tuesday." Meg made some great jambalaya and the Bufkins brought a king cake.

The New Orleans tradition, begun in the 1870s, borrows heavily from European customs. As part of the celebration of Mardi Gras, it is traditional to bake an oval cake in honor of the three Magi, or kings - thus the King Cake. The shape of a King Cake symbolizes the unity of faiths. Each cake is decorated in the traditional Mardi Gras colors: purple represents justice, green represents faith and gold represents power. A small baby, symbolizing the baby Jesus, is baked into each cake. Like the biblical story, the "search for the baby" adds excitement, as each person waits to see in whose slice of cake the baby will be discovered. While custom holds that the person who finds the baby in their slice will be rewarded with good luck, that person is also traditionally responsible for bringing the King Cake to the next party or gathering.

Jason was the lucky one with the baby and will be the provider for the King Cake next year!

Thanks, Michael and Meg, for hosting a fun Mardi Gras celebration....anyone giving anything up for Lent? (I know, we're not Catholic either, but I like giving something up and being reminded of the days leading up to Easter!) I'm giving up chips for Lent and Daniel is giving up coffee. You're welcome to hold us accountable. What are you giving up?

Valentine's Day - by Daniel

Hi, blog and everybody who reads it. This is Daniel. First of all, I just wanted to make sure you knew I have me the greatest gal this side of Neptune. I told Kim recently that I like to go on adventures, so for Valentine's Day, she set me on a scavenger hunt. Loved it! I've got a funky idea of romance; I get excited about getting clues and driving around town. Anyway, at work today, I look in my box and find a note telling me to go to the Panther City Coffee shop. Well, I'm excited. To say the least. An adventure! I get there with wide-eyed wonder trying to figure out what surpriseful happiness awaits me. I go to the counter and realize I'm supposed to order whatever I want, so I did (an Almond Joy...coconut, mocha, almond stuff, etc.) and went upstairs where I greeted my sweet bride. We sat down and talked about stuff, and then the barista came upstairs and brought Kim a chai on the house; she just thought Kim's schemings were so sweet and thought she should have a chai. We thought that was cool; I'm sure you agree. Then Kim gave me the next clue, which was to go find her car and look under her seat. So I did so and found my GPS I got for Christmas and a note saying we're going to find our first geocache! I was so thrilled I positively fainted! Not really, but I thought I'd just say that. If you're not familiar with geocaching, I will explain. My buddy Ryan introduced me to it. It's basically treasure hunting for geeky, lazy people who don't want to bother trying to make out the smudges and clues on pirate maps. Instead, they go online and find the exact latitude & longitude coordinates of the cache. Then they enter the coordinates into their handheld GPS and drive, bike, canoe, or pogo-stick to the location. When they find the geocache (which is essentially a box with a visitor log and little trinkets inside), they sign the log, take a trinket, and leave a new trinket. It's a fun little global subculture. Anyway, it was pretty cold, so we just drove there and when we got to the place, we didn't really find it, cuz it was like in someone's house or something. We were confused, timid, cold, and hungry, so we decided to just be happy we were together and go get some food and try the geocache thing again sometime soon. And my oh my, this blog entry is becoming a lengthy ordeal, so I shall try to wrap things up. After a strange and hurried pit stop at our friends Mike and Tina's home, we went back to the house and Kim blindfolded me before entering. I sat down, thinking we were supposed to be getting something and then going back to Mike and Tina's, Kim unblindfolded me to a beautiful spread of things Kim knew I would love--sweet notes, candy, festiveness--an overwhelming deluge of thoughtfulness. I was speechless. Then she made me a lip-smackingly tasty dinner of salmon and loaded potatoes. Fantastico! Bravo, Kim. I do love that gal. A great Valentine's Day.