Easter with the Castles

This was Easter Sunday after church. We don't have any pictures as a whole family because Daddy was serving at the church before and after service. There was a lot to be done!

This was the Lifegroup Easter Egg Hunt at our house!



More Easter morning pictures! It was a beautiful service and a fun day!


We took the kids to The Embassy Suites next to the Dallas Galleria on Good Friday night. The kids LOVE that hotel. The hotel ran a special for the night. We enjoyed it very much because all of the suites offer a seperate room for mom and dad, a nice indoor pool/ hot tub, a made to order breakfast, and two huge flatscreen tvs.. The main event is the gorgeous swans that swim around the hotel. We LOVE watching them.
We also took the girls to American Girl Doll store at the Galleria. I'm so thrilled that my 11 year old still wants to go to the doll store.

This was Cort's first time to ice skate... watch the video.. he says... I'm gonna fall, Daddy! So cute....

Bluebonnet Babes

Tonight was our annual bluebonnet picture night. The day was just gorgeous and perfect weather for an outing to the park. We went over to Whitehall park about 7:00 and got it done.
It's always an adventure getting four kids dressed in something clean and happy to take pictures. This year went better than most. I guess the older the kids get, the happier they are. I wish the same went for Daddy. He's not always a good sport about going out... even just to help. I think he hates it as much as they do, but since Kate was born, I have a picture every year in the Texas Bluebonnets, and this year will be no different.

Lucky Jeans...lucky me!

Nothing like St. Patty's Day to bring luck and fortune :) ! Here's my lucky story for today..

This morning I was loading my car with armloads of clothes to take the the Care Center at Highland. As I was filling the back end of my car with both mine and my kids clothes, I was contemplating taking all of them to the resale shop instead of giving them to the needy. I was going over in my head what I could probably get for them, and what I would do with the money. They were for the most part, name brand clothes. But, then I was thinking about how they would be a blessing to someone who couldnt afford to shop even at the resale stores. I was remembering stories Chad has told me about the folks that frequent the Care Center, and I didn't give the resale shop another thought. The clothes were given and I was going on with my day happily.

An hour or so later I had just about 45 minutes to spend doing something I wanted until I had to pick up Clayton from Mother's Day Out, so as usual, the mall seemed the perfect place to spend my extra time. I wandered through JC Penney with my coupon in hand not needing a thing, but looking just because I could.

I wandered to a sale rack of jeans. 19.99. I remembered that my friend had told me about a favorite brand of jeans she liked from Penney's, so I ran across some and picked them up to try on. Right next to them was a pair of LUCKY BRAND jeans. They just happened to be my size, so I took them in the dressing room with the others... honestly, just because they looked comfy. I'm completely unfamiliar with LUCKY brand.

The JC Penney jeans were great.. but the zipper was broken.. DARN. The LUCKY jeans were a perfect fit and so comfy, but I noticed they did not have a price on them anywhere. HUMMM... They were hanging on the 19.99 rack, but we know how that goes. The only thing on them was a Brand hangtag, but no price. I look around for more, but there are none in the store.

So, I walk up to the register and ask the young little sales lady how much cost. She said they don't look familiar and called for the manager. The manager walked over and said, "Maam, we don't sell this brand. They are in here by mistake. I'm not sure what the story is, but my best guess is someone traded these jeans for a new pair and just left us theirs. I'm so sorry."

Well, I still want the jeans.. You know, I am NOT against shopping at a retail shop, and I've even been known to shop at Goodwill, so a pair of jeans that were worn before don't scare me. That's what the washing machine is for.

The manager instructs the salesclerk to just throw them in the trash because
"We can't sell them". Well, I just stood there and said, "Now ladies, let's not trash a perfectly good pair of jeans. Couldn't I just have them if they're going in the trash anyway? She looked at me and said "Doesn't bother me.. Take them!"

Well, there I go walking out of Penneys with my money, my coupon, AND a new pair of jeans. So, I immediately call my sister and tell her what just went down. She informed me that last week she was shopping with her teenage daughter and saw LUCKY jeans for $115. So, looks like I got a bargain!.

They've gone through my washer and dryer, they're all clean, AND they still fit! This leads me to think two things...1- The Lord blesses those who give.. and 2- While I'm not Irish.. I will claim the Luck of the Irish today for my new jeans.

Cotillion.. Cruel and Unusual Punishment?

The past six weeks Kate participated in Waco's Annual Cotillion Classes. If you are not familiar with Cotillion, it's a etiquette class for boys and girls that meets on Tuesdays for an hour and teaches 4th - 7th graders proper etiquette in social situations. It was a time for Kate to practice the polite way to address adults, and how to accept an invitation from a young man to dance.

Kate griped and argued about having to go. Most Tuesdays turned into some sort of argument about what dress she HAD to wear, why she had to fix her hair, how unfair it is that she had to go do something so ridiculous. But for Chad and me.. it's just something she needed to do. Most of her friends in Midway were also signed up, so how bad could it possibly be?

Several of the Tuesday classes were theme days. There was 50's Day sock hop, Western Day and this past Tuesday was Father/ Daughter... Mother/Son Day. Chad took her and was able to get some fantastic video for me. And well, it's just plain funny. I couldn't upload the videos because apparantly they are too long, but boy, have I gotten a good chuckle over what these cute little awkward preteens did at Cotillion.


My sweet little Kate is about a head taller than all the little boys there. I'm sure that had to be fun! Oh well, it's over for little Kate and I'm sure it's an experience she'll always have fond memories of.

Cort and the Harlem Globetrotters

I'm posting an email my hubby sent out to his business email recipients. Since he was actually there and I WASN'T :(.. I figure his story will be more accurate. It's so much FUN!

Ok, I can't resist. These emails are normally reserved for more economic and/or financial information but please let this father have his moment.



Last night my son, Cort, and I were graciously invited to watch the Harlem Globetrotters at the Ferrell Center at Baylor. Our court side tickets were courtesy of our good friends David Ridley and Robert West with KWTX News Channel 10.



The whole production was a great deal of fun and the crowd was much larger than I had anticipated. Throughout the game the Globetrotters would play tricks on the referrees and with folks in the audience. The entire length of the game Cort kept saying, "Daddy, why can't I go on the court with the other kids?" Well, he got his chance.



With less than 5 minutes to play in the game "Big Easy" came to our side fo the floor, pointed to Cort, and asked him if he would come on down and take a shot for him. Cort looked at me and I said, "Go make a basket!" He pops from his seat and makes his way onto the floor.



"Big Easy" gave Cort the ball midway between the free throw line and the base line. The ref calls timeout and questions "Big Easy" as to whom this child belongs to. "Big Easy" responds by saying that Cort is his son, and can't he see the family resemblance. Then "Big Easy" hands Cort the ball and tells him to take a shot. What follows next makes this father really proud.



Cort shoots. Cort scores. The crowd erupts with cheering. Then, with no prompting, Cort begins to dance a little jig that includeds the following: his fingers pointing in the air, high stepping, heel kicking, and booty shaking. Needless to say, the Globetrotters, and the crowd, broke into laughter and began to dance right along with him. Hillarious!!



Fortunately I have pics of the whole affair. Take a look at the below link to the picture section of the Globetrotter website. Just above the first pic of Cort you will see where you can scroll thru pics 68 - 81.


Thank you for letting me brag a little bit.

It's a Small Town Thing!

Wow! I just realized how long it's been since I've written a new post. Life just took off around here after Christmas, just like it does all of us.

We received a call Tuesday morning that Chad's Grandmother from Caddo Mills, Tx had passed away. She was 88 and had been dealing with Alzheimers for about 10 years, so we know she is in a much better place now... reunited with her husband and enjoying a new mind and fullyabled body. So, we made the trip up to Caddo Mills, Tx to plan and attend her funeral on Thursday.

Caddo Mills is the town Chad grew up in. He spent his whole life until he left for college in the town with 1100 in population, one stop light, one tiny grocery store that's overpriced and about 30 students in his graduating class at Caddo Mills High School which named him the Valdectorian.

I used to kinda secretly snicker and tease Chad about his small town, but I have never been more embraced, taken care of and loved as we were from this sweet little town yesterday for MeMaw's funeral. The visitation in the little Caddo Mills funeral home was packed with people of all ages coming out to show support to Chad and his family. There was food everywhere, flowers galore, people lined up just to give a pat on the back and I think, just to see Chad again.

No one was worried about what they were wearing or better yet, what anyone else was wearing. No one noticed who had on designer boots or whose hair looked perfect, who had on the most stylish outfit. None of that... these good folks had just come from work in their clothes and strickly cared about being there for the family.


At Chad's dad's house, the doorbell rang and rang with people dropping over homecooked casseroles, desserts, salads, or just there to talk, remember and hug. You name it and we had it. Then, for the actual funeral service, we showed up to the church and the sweet ladies from the tiny little First Baptist Caddo Mills, that probably has 80 -100 in attendance each Sunday, had a spread like I have never seen prepared for the family to have before the funeral. They were serving our plates, helping with the children, making drinks, they even had a playroom set up for the kids to go to.

After the sweet funeral done by the current pastor of the 1st Baptist Caddo Mills, we headed to the cemetary. The ride there was the final thought that made me realize what a sweet town my man grew up in. As we were all in a line behind the hurst with our lights on, cars were actually pulling over, men on the side of the street were removing their hats, tractors on the road stopped moving, a garbage truck actually pulled over and the driver inside removed his hat as well.

The cemetary was full of gravestones from names I have heard over and over while in Caddo Mills... generations of families all in one place.

The whole experience made me stop and think about two things: First, I'm so thankful that Chad had the experience to grow up with these folks who truly treat each other like family and stop everything to bless those who need it. I honesty think it is the first time I realized what made him, HIM.. This small town that raised him modeled service and just loving people.
Secondly, It made me think about how our generation is becoming so busy that I'm afraid we're getting away from serving others and blessing families. I'm sure I'm just speaking to myself here. I hope that even in the larger towns, we'll always form and keep our special bonds with our dear friends and will give them a "small town" feel when it's needed! It sure blessed me!

New Year Resolutions!

Let's have some fun and talk about our NY resolutions. I know, it's that time of year. The time we all try to say what we want to do and then fall off the bandwagon a month in. I'm sure guilty of that. BUT, because it's tradition, I feel like I'm going to make some anyway.

1- Chad and I decided to go on a cash only basis for our spending. I feel like there was a sign given to me from above when I lost my debit card last week. So, now, I have no choice but to use cash. I'm not the best cash spender. I'd way rather swipe a debit card than worry about having cash, but I think we decided that it'd be something we'd like to try for a while. It's really not about "charging" things as we typically don't have a problem with that... but more about keeping up with the family budget.

2- I want to be a better mom. I think I'm pretty decent at setting time out for my hubby.. In fact, I think we spend quite a bit of time together and enjoy it. But, I feel like I need to give my kids more one on one time and focus on them individually. More single kid date nights, etc. I also need to improve my patience with them. They're just kids and they really do need to ask mom 100 questions each. I also want to spend time showing them things and taking them to new places. Even just places around our community and surrounding areas that are interesting. A trip to a Mexican Beach might be nice too!! I'm sure I could squeak that under the "being a better mom" resolution.

3- I'd like to make some improvements on the house. I really want to focus on painting some things, replacing some things, cleaning out some things.. You get it. All of the things that take time and effort.. and money, of course.

4- I want to cook more decent meals. I "prepare" things and we all eat around the table each night. But, Preparing a meal and cooking a meal to me are two different things. Anyone can "prepare" a box of mac and cheese and baked potatoes, but cooking a meal takes a little more thought and effort. My kids really need to broaden their horizens with what they eat, and I feel obligated to help them do it by offering a bigger variety.


Thanks for letting me share. Anyone else have NY resolutions?