William and Braden Kinard...they used to play together when we lived at Wymount Terrace...17 years ago!

Pictures from the MTC

William sent us a tape recording of himself from the MTC. It was so good to hear his voice...I keep replaying the tape...it's like having him close. He's having a great time...he's so happy. A lot of his friends in his zone also added their "hellos". He loves his companion and his district. He even had an old friend say "hi"...so much fun!!! He also sent his memory card from his camera. It is neat to put faces with names he has mentioned. Here he is with his companion, Elder Barazoto from Arizona.

The Crazy One!

Grant was a little sad that I titled a post "one dedicated child" and it wasn't him...he is our crazy kid! We NEVER know what might come out of his cute little mouth. Sunday dinners at our house are usually times when he comes up with the craziest stuff. He once said that when Bill and I are old, Bill will need to lead me around by a leash! Whatever that means!? Believe me, we try not to be shocked by the things he comes up with, we just try to move on...he is the light in our family. When we decided to have a fourth child, way back when...we wanted a sister for Christine. We were blessed with Grant instead and have been grateful for him. He brings much joy and laughter to our family. He is so cute. He signs all of the letters he writes to William "with love and laughter, Grant". He is full of both of those things.

Another Eagle Project... DONE!

Yesterday we spent a good part of the day supporting Garrett in his Eagle project. He participated in our Stake's Emergency Preparedness Fair by running the Child ID booth. It was a huge success. He had hoped to do about 100 ID cards and ended up weighing, measuring, fingerprinting and photographing 203 kids! With the help of members from his scout troop, his scoutmaster, his sister, brother, mom and dad, we worked tirelessly for 3 solid hours. We were beat, but it was a great cause. Garrett was tired but felt great accomplishment when it was over. We went to the Cheesecake Factory for dinner to celebrate. The paper work is about done and Garrett has earned all of his merit badges, plus 5 extra, needed for the rank of "Eagle". We are proud of him and relieved that we only have ONE more son to move through this program...hooray!

Spring Break is Coming!

Six more days until we leave for our third Disney Cruise! We are so anxious to be on our way! With Bill working in Houston every week, we really take advantage of and enjoy our time together. We are hooked on cruising and have found Disney to be the best! We know that we are spoiled...we fully admit it. And we feel blessed to be able to take advantage of these vacations! We will add pictures of the "Magic" when we get back...not sure if I can pull off updating our blog while at sea...remember, I am still learning...

One Dedicated Kid

I have been thinking lately about my sweet daughter. I am convinced that she was blessed with a great portion of her dad's better qualities...actually all of her dad's qualities are great...but the ones in particular are her drive and tenacity. I admire her ability to blow through her homework, and to do it well! Back in the day, I blew through my homework too...however, not well. She is one of the brightest people I know. And her hard work pays off in some pretty good grades! So glad that she is my daughter! Also, she is so committed to early-morning seminary! I have NEVER, and I mean NEVER, heard her complain about getting up before the sun! And sometimes that early hour might be 4am...on those days that her hair must be straightened...ugh! But still, not a complaint. She is a joy. She is my sunshine!

Family

It's always fun to get together as a family for dinner on Sunday...not just the immediate family, but some folks that we don't get to see every day. Last Sunday we had just that opportunity. My brother Mike ( who passed away in June) has 2 daughters and a step-daughter and a grand-daughter. They all came over including Mike's widow, Sharee. It has been too many years since we all got together. Sad to say that I can't even remember the last time. Sharee and her daughter Allison live in the Dallas area with big sister, Amy. Michelle and Taylor are visiting from the bay area in California. My dad also drove up from Austin for a few days...love having him around! Dinner was yummy and the conversation was good. Michelle's little girl has a black father and she is adorable! She has the cutest hair and personality. Grant was following her around and she bumped her head pretty hard on a desk. To our surprise, she didn't even cry. Grant then blurted out "her Afro protected her!" He is forever saying the craziest things! We all laughed. I think it may have been true. We are hoping to get together regularly, every other week or so. Sharee has been diagnosed with Stage 4 pancreatic cancer and sadly won't be around for too many more months. It all seems surreal. This is completely unchartered territory for us all. We are hoping to be a support for the girls. Losing two parents in such a short time and at such young ages is unbelievable! This earthly life definitely has it's peaks and valleys...