The Cake!

I agonized over what to do for Jenae's fish brithday cake. I don't know anyone here who does cakes, and I wasn't thrilled with the ones you find in the grocery store bakeries. Last year my friend Jennifer made an awesome cake for her birthday, so I knew the stakes were high. Plus, my sister took a Wilton cake decorating class last year and has become the pro and I knew she'd be eyeing my work pretty closely too. I'd seen some really cute ideas online, but thought there was no way I could replicate them, seeing as I'd never done cakes before. However, with a "little" coaching from my mom and lots of STRESS, I did it. I'm pretty proud of my little fish cake:




Here's the cake Jennifer did for Jenae's 1st birthday:

Happy 2nd Birthday, Jenae!

This past Saturday was Jenae's birthday. She "o-FISH-ally" turned 2 years old. That's right, and don't be surprised that we had a fish party to celebrate. This little girl has just stolen our hearts and it was so fun to have a whole day to do all things Jenae.
We had been preparing for this moment all week...practicing singing "Happy Birthday"...blowing out candles...she was ready. This picture below is of her delight at everyone singing her birthday song. She giggled the whole time.

Jenae with her dear friend Karen, from church, reading some of the new books she received.

The new art easel from Grammy and Grandpa Smith.

Puzzles

"Clack-Clack" dress shoes from Aunt Jenni

Jenae's best friends: Brenda, Lanny, Karen & Phil.
It wouldn't have been a party without them.

Getting ready for the big reveal. A surprise present from Momma & Daddy, Shasha & Boppa.

A kitchen!!

Her favorite feature on the kitchen set? The cordless phone. That's right. We are now seeing art imitate life. Watch out Momma, you're about to see yourself in action.

Pennsylvania or Bust!

At 5:30 in the morning Mimommie, Jenae and I are heading out on our Pennsylvania adventure. We're traveling with Mimommie in the motorhome to her Sojourn site. We are very excited. We'll be driving for 3 days and arrive at the camp on Wednesday. Then the real fun begins! We are going to spend one day in Philadelphia, one day in Hershey and one day in Lancaster with the Amish :o) Many of the Christian fiction books I read are about the Amish set in Lancaster county, so I can't wait to explore this part of the country. Jenae and I will fly back to Abilene next Sunday, then Mimommie will begin her work projects.

Please pray for us during the next week. Pray for Mimommie as she drives. Pray for Jordan as he stays at home without his family. I look forward to sharing more about our journey as we go (if possible) or once we return.

Tomorrow we'll be in Arkansas! Good night!

Painting the Parsonage

The parsonage the church provides us is such a blessing! We love being this close to our church building and it's been so convenient on numerous occasions. There are many things we love about this house and the things we don't we simply say, "It's okay we didn't choose this house." Except for one thing...the dark, glossy paneling that was everywhere! This house doesn't have many windows, and with the paneling it was just too dark and depressing. In the middle of the afternoon you'd have thought it was time for baths and bed. So I started talking to people who talked to people until I got permission to paint it! :o) I was scared and excited. I took several before and after shots. Neither really show how bad it was or the true color it is now, but hopefully it will give you an idea of how much it changed.

This is the entry way, obviously looking towards the front door:

This is looking into the family room from the entry way:
This is in the family room looking at the back door and breakfast area:

My next projects are to update some of the light fixtures, like the one above, and to try to put down some wood flooring in the entry way. The tile in there now is definitely from the 70's. I'll keep you posted on those too. It's so fun working on a house that isn't "yours." No worries if you "mess up." Ha!

Making Cookies

The Hubbards have a delicious Chocolate Chip Cookie recipe. Denecia always has some frozen cookie dough where she can make fresh cookies in the blink of an eye. It is a proud family tradition that Jordan is passing on to Jenae. Making a batch for Homie:

4th of July

Momma's Lil' Firecracker!

We had such a fun 4th this year. The last couple of years we've been at church camp on July 4th, so it was nice to do more traditional things this year. Homie flew into Abilene in the morning. We did a few errands and then came back to Winters. After gathering all our gear we headed out to Lake Brownwood. A family from church has a lake house out there and many of our friends met out there to celebrate. Jenae was pumped! Anytime we drive by water (of any kind or size) she starts talking about the fish. So we kept telling her we were going to "where the fish live." When she saw the lake it was like "jackpot!" She was very excited. Lewis took us out for a ride in the boat, but it didn't take her too long to figure out we weren't getting in the water...just riding on top of it. She didn't like that...she wanted in the water...with the fish! :o) After we got back to the dock, our dear friend, Karen, took Jenae swimming with the fish. Jenae LOVES to swim.

After all the swimming we ate a delicious meal that Phil cooked. The man knows how to BBQ...brisket and ribs. So delicious! Jenae started fading fast...she only took a 45 minute nap...so we headed back to Winters and enjoyed watching all the fireworks in the country as we drove back.

Lanny!

This is Lanny. He was Jenae's first friend here in Winters. The other night I was able to capture a photo of how he became her favorite. Swinging! He always asks her, "Jenae, do you want to swing?" She loves it!
Their relationship is starting to cause a few "situations." Lanny is one of our deacons. He's always doing something during the worship service--leading singing, saying a prayer, counting attendance. Well, now, whenever Jenae spots him she just starts saying, in her cute little voice, "Annieee! Annieeee! Annieeee!" (No "L" sound, just anniee, with emphasis on the "EEE")
There are so many people who love on Jenae. I'm so grateful for this little girl and the joy she brings to so many people. Thank you, God, for surrounding us with folks who give us joy in return.

Popsicles!

Father's Day

This was Jordan's first Father's Day as the preacher. Since Sunday would be such a busy day, Jenae and I gave him his gifts on Saturday night. The Disney princess bag confused him. He thought he was getting a trip to DisneyWorld. I just used it because it was big enough. Poor guy!

Jenae enjoying all the wrapping!

Daddy and Jenae. We tried once more for the "perfect" shot...one without a green fruit loop showing...and this is what we got:
At least Jordan was a good sport and went along with it. Jordan is a wonderful Daddy! Jenae simply adores him. They love to play and laugh and sing together. They also enjoy watching vidoes on the Internet and playing video games and the Wii. She always cheers when he comes home from work. How great that must be!

Pretty in Pink

So sweet! These girls are Bible class buddies. Cheyenne and Alicia ride the buses on Wednesday nights and go to class with Jenae. They all looked so cute the other night in their hot pink shirts!

Farming with Phil

The Colburns go to church with us and back during the wheat harvest they invited us to come out and ride in the combines. We felt like such city slickers, asking so many questions about the whole farming process. It was so fascinating! Phil and his boys farm over 4000 acres. Karen, Phil's wife, is one of Jenae's best friends here. They always sit together at church and talk about fish. :o) Imagine that! I love all that we are getting to experience out here in the country.

Hey, Homie! This is for you!

Homie came to see us at the beginning of July and we had a great time showing her Winters! Ha! Acutally, since there isn't much to do around here it was fun to just sit and visit and play. Homie loves my little girl and wanted everyone to see their pictures! This first one is from July 4th at Lake Brownwood.

Sunday afternoon "naps."

Thanks for a great time! Come and see us again soon! Real soon!