James Henry at Bat

James Henry just finished up his first year of t-ball and he really had fun. I personally love t-ball.. I love how sometimes they swing so hard that they spin themselves in a circle and sometimes they run to 3rd base instead of 1st. James Henry was no different, he danced in the outfield and rolled around in the dirt!

                                      

He seemed to really like it and is already asking when he can play again. Maybe, just maybe we have a future Texas Ranger on our hands!

 

James Henry and his end of the season trophy!

Our Songbird

In May, Makayla auditioned and was accepted into Amarillo Youth Choir. Over the summer, she went to choir camp with AYC and they practice once a week. 

Last Saturday, was their first choir concert of the year and they did not disappoint. It was amazing!

We are thrilled that she gets to do what she loves! Makayla lives her life through song, a random word or sentence she hears during the day will remind her of a song and she'll just start singing! 

Her music brings joy into our world!

A big thank you to our friends at Pirtle Photo for designing the ad space we purchased for the AYC catalog. It is beautiful!

Christopher is a Yellow Belt

Last night Christopher made his first major step forward in his quest for a black belt... He took his first belt test!

Here are some pictures from the test...

He did great and was rewarded his yellow belt!

We are so proud of him and excited to see his passion for Brazilian Jiu Jitsu.

Presenting our new yellow belt...

 

Welcome, Fall!

I love fall! It is my favorite time of year. I love the cooler weather, the comfortable feeling of a hoodie and a pair of jeans and the smell of pumpkin scented candles. In our house we love that fall brings football! The leaves are just starting to change here and the weather is becoming milder but in Amarillo you know fall is coming by the onset of the Tri-State Fair and Rodeo. This year we went a record three times!
 James and I had a date night and saw one of our favorite Texas country bands in concert. In 14 years together it was our first fair date and I loved every minute of it!

 

James Henry and I went with Christopher's class on their field trip.

 

learning about how farmer's milk cows and how we get milk from the farm to our fridge

 

James Henry sitting in front of some of the panhandle's prize winning pumpkins.

 

James and I along with James Henry drove for Makayla's field trip and James Henry got to enjoy the petting zoo.

 

There may not be anything better than eating fair food!

                     I am so happy that fall has arrived and I enjoyed our time at the fair this year.
                                                                   Happy Fall Y'all!

 

Christopher's new passion

Last school year Christopher took drum lessons but towards the end of the school year we could tell he had really become uninterested, so we decided to take the summer off from drums and reevaluate his interests. When it became clear he wasn't going to want to continue with drums we started a long list of suggestions for his new hobby/sport.
   If you know my husband at all, you know his love for Brazilian Jiu Jitsu and MMA. So that was really what my husband was rooting for Christopher to decide to do and well....he did!! He started taking classes the first week in August.
Here he is on day one, receiving his white belt.

 

He has really fallen in love with it,and ask me to take him to train just about every day! It has been great to see James and Christopher bond over jiu jitsu and practice in the living room. They go and train together whenever they can. We love the confidence and discipline he is getting and his program also includes kickboxing.

 

 

 

He has done so well that he was invited to join the more advanced classes and last night, he received his first stripe!

James and I are both so proud of him but he really, really has a proud papa right now!

I think it's safe to say we may have found his passion and he is on the road to his black belt!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A New School Year

Yesterday was the first day of school for Makayla and Christopher. We are starting our first full year at Vista Academy and we have a brand new campus!

It is so nice and big. It's not 100 percent complete yet but they plan on having the ribbon cutting party in October.

   Makayla is in sixth grade and Christopher is in third grade this year.

We met their teachers last Saturday and God has blessed us with amazing Christian teachers. We are looking forward to a great year! 

  Today James Henry started pre-k at our church, Paramount Baptist Church.

He was so excited! He met his teacher about two weeks ago and he has been talking about her every since. She is actually the same pre-k teacher Christopher had, and she is wonderful! 

We know he is going to have a great year and I am clinging to this school year, since this will be our last year home together before he starts kindergarten! 

Our Summer Part 2

This summer went by quickly as always, but James and I think it may be one of the best summers we have ever had.  You can read about the first part of our summer here: http://lisfamily5.blogspot.com/2013/07/our-summer-thus-far.html

    The last few weeks of summer we have enjoyed catching turtles and horny toads....

 

James and I enjoyed a date night and saw a Clint Black concert, he was awesome!

Christopher started Brazilian Jiu Jitsu and he loves it! Dare I say, we may have found his passion in life.

We went to the circus, and it was the best one we have ever been to. I highly recommend Barnum & Bailey's.

We went to the new water park in a nearby town..

Makayla went to Amarillo Youth Choir camp..

We welcomed a new life into the world, our friends had a precious baby girl, Addileigh Burnett.

Christopher turned 9 years old...

 

Then this week we made one last trip to the water park..

 

God really blessed us with a great summer, but we are ready for school to start on Monday.

Now it's time to pull out my hoodies and watch some football!