Big Bend details...

Cindy & Dana asked for details on Big Bend, so here they are…

I went camping for 5 days.  My good friend Carl Cooper and I went together.  Carl is trying to start an adventure ministry where he organizes adventure trips to serve as discipleship retreats for churches and other groups.  We ran this trip for a group of 20 people from an Austin church's young adults ministry.  We cooked all the food and organized the excursions around the park.

A few highlights of the trip: hiking into the Chisos Mountains, our entire group made the 4.8 mile hike, even one guy who was 300+ pounds with bad knees; swimming in the Rio Grande at the mouth of Boquillas Canyon for 4 hours (we would walk up the bank a ways and ride the current down the river, what a blast); skipping rocks in Santa Elena canyon; sitting in a natural hot springs, watching the sun set over the Rio Grande…Big Bend is an amazing place.

As for the horses in one of the pictures: the first night Carl and I camped in a town called Marathon, Texas, which is 70 miles north of Big Bend.  We set our tent up at a hotel that has gravel pads for that sort of thing ($10 a night, not a bad deal).  I got up early to watch the sunrise and walked down a road on the outskirts of town.  A ways down I came upon four horses on the other side of a fence.  One of them walked over to me and kept putting his head down to the ground.  It took me awhile to figure out that he wanted me to pick up the hay that was sitting on my side of the fence and feed it to him.  Before I knew it, all the horses were lined along the fence.  I got to feed them and pet them as the sun rose…though I was a little nervous that some crazy West Texas guy would come stumbling out of his house with a shotgun telling me to get away from his horses.  But that never happened, and I was able to daydream about owning my own horse.

Big Bend

My life isn't as exciting as the people with little babies.  But I did go to Big Bend National Park a week ago.  Here are some pictures.

- Joel

Demolition at the Rental House

One thing Dad did while he was here this weekend was help Marc at the rental house.  Their goal for the day was to tear down the sagging, leaning, rickety carport (seen in the picture below to the left of the house). 

 

When I arrived on the scene, the carport was down on the ground and Marc and Dad were busy taking tons of nails out of the sheet metal to cart it off.  If I have my story right, I believe they used a big chain to tie onto the carport and pulled it down using Marc's big red truck.  And, I think, Dad was the one who got to do it.  The things you get to do when you come to Sublette...

 

Dad was a work horse.  Constantly on the move.  Constantly pushing to get the project done.

 

By lunch, the carport was all gone and the trash was loaded up in the truck.  The guys took the load to the city dump in time for roast and potatoes at Shirley's house.

 

Thanks for your help, Dad!

Mom and Dad Came to Visit!

 

My mom and dad decided to come out and visit last minute this past weekend! 

 

It was early Thursday morning and I had just given Cole his bottle.  I let him down to play and was just overcome with awe at all that he's doing.  All I could think about was that my parents were missing it!  I FaceTimed my mom right away (because she has an iPhone now!), so she could see some of his newest tricks.  During our conversation, I just blurted out, "What do you have going on this weekend?  Do you wanna come visit?"  I hadn't even mentioned it to Marc, but I just wanted them to experience all that he's doing so badly.  Mom said she'd talk to Dad but doubted they'd actually come.

 

Later that day, I sent them an email saying that I had a women's ministry team meeting down in Liberal Saturday morning and Marc would be working with Michael at the rental house all day.  They could watch Cole.  And, our anniversary was Sunday, and even though we didn't have any plans, maybe we would...and they could watch Cole!  And, guess what?  They came!

 

I loved every minute of it!  I ended up not going to my meeting Saturday morning but went over to the rental house to work instead (something I've been wanting to do, but haven't had a chance to because I need someone to watch Cole--which, Shirley, is always more than willing but has been painting quite a bit at the rental house).  So, Mom got some one-on-one time with Mr. Cole while I worked, which I think they both loved.

 

Somewhere along the line Dad taught Cole how to high five!  Are you kidding me?  He does that now.  So fun!

 

It was so fun to watch Mom and Dad interact with Cole and him with them.  I love that they love being with him so much.  I just kept thinking all weekend long, "This is so fun!"

 

Thanks, Mom and Dad, for making the trip and taking the time!  I love you!

She cracks me up!

This was the series of events at Old Navy the other day. Elsy loves to sit on things like a stool. She found a pack of undershirts and this is what happened. 

Success!!!

She was also quite intrigued by the mannequin dog at the front of the store. I'm loving this age!!

Candlyland!!

Every year, our church does a big, human game of Candlyland for the kids. This was our first year going since Elsy wasn't old enough last year and Elsy LOVED it! There was a separate area for kids under three so they had their own inflatable and different kinds of snacks instead of candy (goldfish, crackers, etc). But the rest of the gym was filled with the game and it was so neat! I wish I took better pictures of the whole room. They had some sort of DIFFERENT candy for each space!! And I think there were at least 150 spaces for the "board". It was pretty similar to the real game with shortcuts and all the characters dressed up, going back to the beginning, etc. 

Elsy kept squealing with delight. In this picture, she was putting her mouth up to the mesh and breathing through it :)

A girl from work who had her daughter close to the same time as me brought her daughter. This was the only picture I could get of them. 

Elsy put on this apron so she could play in the sandbox but being the girl that she is, not wanting anything on her hands, she opted out and never got in the box. 

After the little kid area, she just decided it was time for me to get my exercise and I chased her the rest of the hour through the big game board. That girl is all over the place these days!! She kept pointing to the large pieces of candy and yelled "badoon, badoon", thinking they were balloons. Every once in awhile, she would stop and pick up a piece of candy. 

Here's what the spinner looked like that the big kids used. 

And here's the stash we came home with!

Happy 6th anniversary to Dana and Marc

Six years ago today Dana and Marc were Married. Today Dave and I were able to wish them a happy anniversary in person. 

Derby weekend

We have had a donut holes, basketball, pizza and park fun. I love being a great aunt, but wish they all lived in the same town. I feel God has blessed my family in so many ways....kids are the best!!!

Homemade Teething Biscuits

When Julie and Elsy were visiting, Julie had made Elsy some teething biscuits.  What a cool idea!  The thought had never even crossed my mind!  So, the other day I went in search of a teething biscuit recipe.  For the recipe I found, you essentially make a loaf of banana bread (with lots less sugar and applesauce instead of oil) and then cut the loaf into sticks and toast or dehydrate the bread until it is hard and crispy.

 

Cole was a little hesitant at first because it WAS quite hard, but after chewing on it for a while, he got it soft and soggy and ate it right up.  I've been happy with them because they can keep him occupied for a longer time than anything else...and I think it's relatively healthy. 

 

The other morning I was wanting to whip up some muffins and Cole was crawling all over the kitchen.  I sat him up on the kitchen floor, gave him a biscuit, and he was content until the muffins were in the oven (I think General even scored a bite or two, too).

 

Curried Ham

In the fall our ladies Bible study did a study on the Home.  The study had some great concepts that I took to heart and then had a lot of practical resources in the back of the book.  One of the sections was full of recipes that were fancy but easy.  I found one for Curried Ham that I had all of the ingredients for, and thought I'd give it a shot.  The only hold up?  The recipe made enough to serve 24 people!  Now, I know that I could have just halfed or quartered the recipe and that would've been totally fine, but I had an idea!

 

I decided to contact all of my Bible study friends and tell them I was making the dish and when it was going to be ready and told them they were more than willing to come by and pick it up for dinner for them and their families.  This accomplished lots of things:  I got to try the recipe, I got to use up the ham I had in the freezer, I got to serve the ladies and provide them with dinner, and I got to have them all over to my house...but not for a long time (because, where would they all sit...or stand, for that matter?).

 

I didn't know how they would respond.  I knew it was kind of a weird idea and really a strange, non-kid-friendly recipe, but they ate it up (no pun intended)!  They ALL came over and got their curried ham and rice and some of the toppings and couldn't stop talking about how nice it was to not have to worry about dinner that night.  And, we had fun visiting and seeing each other outside of Bible study.  I think whenever you can have interactions with people outside of where you initially know them,  your bond deepens.

 

The list of ladies coming to get Curried Ham and how many servings they would each need.

The huge pot I cooked in.  It was a bit overkill, but I think our regular pot would've been filled to the brim!

Curried Ham.  Has anyone ever heard of this?

The suggested toppings.  The toppings "made" the recipe.

All in all, it was such a good experience.  I loved it.  This kind of stuff is right up my alley.  I kind of suspect this works because we live in a small town and are within two minutes of each other, so driving over to pick up supper at 5:00 is possible on short notice.  I'm not sure why it works, but I'm glad it does!

Cole's Adoption Story Book

 

 

I recently finished a photo book chronicling Cole's birth and adoption story.  I had a coupon for a free book that expired January 31st, so it gave me a deadline (something I needed, to get this done).   I was pleased with the way that it turned out.

 

As I was working on it, a lot of the emotions of that time flooded back over me and I became overwhelmed with gratitude that God brought him to us, sadness for what his birthmom experienced, and pure joy that he is ours.  What a treasure!  

 

I envision leafing through the pages with him and looking at the pictures and pointing out the people and reading the entire story as he gets older.  I think it'll be a great tool for sharing his amazing story of how God brought him to our family.  And, it'll be a keepsake for him for always...a glimpse into his beginnings.

Cole at the Park

Yesterday we were able to join some of our friends at the park.  It was such a beautiful day we were glad to hop in the stroller and walk on over!  This was the first time that I put Cole down on the squishy floor beneath the play equipment and let him crawl around.  He loved it!  The only negative...trying to keep rocks and twigs out of his mouth!

 

The Big Kids LOVE Cole.  I think he's kind of like their mascot.

 

What a fun day at the park.  I love living in a small town and having everything be so close, like the park and our friends!

2 puzzles & 2 taxes in 2 weeks!!

I finished my puzzles with Charlotte's help, so I helped her do her taxes. 

I think I am hooked on doing puzzles. I am looking to trade anyone for one of my completed puzzles.

I see puzzles as a way to relax & keep my mind sharp. Dana tried to get me to do crosswords, but I am more visual then mental, thanks Dana for giving me a challenge, even with all your easy ones.

Thomason Home makeover Part 1

I have wanted new carpet for quite some time. I'm sure many of you have heard me talk about it a time or two in the past few years. It was a big, expensive project but after living in our house for 17 years it was time.

We started by painting the living room walls. The color is different but not drastically so some people (maybe even most people) can't tell the difference.  I love it because it's fresh and clean. As I painted the wall down the stairs I thought there won't be hand prints on this for a while. Ladell and my friend, Mica helped with the project. Mica was such a cheerful servant and worked on the trim along the ceiling around the whole room!

Not a great picture of Mica but you can see how she worked on a tall ladder!

 

 

 

The next job was to do our part on the demolition. We agreed to take out the tile, remove the old carpet and pad as well as move the furniture to save money. Ladell worked very hard at removing the tile. He accomplished the tile around the fire place without much trouble. But the tile in the front entry was too much for him. We ended up having the entryway tile removed by the tile installers.

 

We had a lot of help with moving the furniture and old carpet. Kyle was the best at moving furniture. The carpet was pulled up by Erica, Cory, Mica, Joseph (our good friends), Ladell and I. Here is what it looked like after everything was done and ready for new carpet.

The furniture from the living room, piano room, and our bedroom was everywhere!

We got new tile and carpet on the main floor. We chose a different color carpet for the stairs which is a new trend in decorating which was a hard sell for my conservative husband, Ladell. It turned out great and we love it! I am very grateful. Maybe this will be the last time we change the carpet in this area of the house.

The new tile around the fireplace is the same as the entryway.

The carpet on the stairs is a brown berber type with a pattern.

Front entryway, the stairway carpet and piano room

Our Home Sweet Home looks a lot better! Come see us soon....