and the very best kind….
we tried to entertain them the best we could in west texas. but it turns out the most fun we had were the laughs we got out of all of it. love this family to the moon and back! thanks for making the long haul to get here! memorial day weekend {2017} is in the books for now ….
here’s to our first summer out here…
xxoo
what an awesome opportunity God gave us this past holy week and easter weekend! our cousins in kc participated in family missions and invited us to join them! it was a very busy weekend but oh my goodness so beautiful! the families were able to clean up the church grounds, visit the near by nursing home and assisted living and also collect canned goods during door to door missions. we celebrated easter vigil mass with many tired babies in our two rows at church but it was so worth it. easter sunday was not like the ones we had celebrated before. we enjoyed taking our time throughout the day and watching the kids play together. we ate a very late easter lunch and it made for the best memories! thank you kindle and kent for hosting us and letting us take part in such a special event at your parish.
also thank you to holly and travis for letting us enjoy a nights stay {and more cousin play} at your house on the way back. otherwise i don’t know how well i could have done that drive home…
xxoo
so this christmas was full of surprises… we surprised holly for her birthday and chad and his family surprised us for christmas. it couldn’t have been better. of course this has taken forever to get all of my favorite pictures i want to remember on here. here comes picture overload probably, but it captures what a great visit it was! another wonderful christmas eve mass, so much food {that the teenagers magically make disappear} and the kids were spoiled as always. we are so blessed.
{jack you have entered an interesting picture taking stage …}
so many little bodies moving, it was almost all blurry pictures. 🙂
they love christmas eve, they didn’t like knowing it was bedtime 🙂
these little ones love singing happy birthday to jesus in the morning. they also really love cupcakes for breakfast 🙂
so call it picture overload or picture perfect 🙂 there’s no doubt that siblings are the best gift you can ever give your children. so much fun and so much love for all these people…
xxoo
oh what a fun party we had! girls kareoke almost all night 🙂
any excuse for a party…. forty’s fine when you look 29 😉 we love you holly! thanks for letting us celebrate with you!!
xxoo
during our christmas break, we welcomed the newest member of our family into our faith. it was such a beautiful sacrament to witness, with all the little eyes on the newest member.
ella gertrude marie
you are fearfully and wonderfully made.
welcome to the faith. you are so loved. we love you so much and look forward to guiding you on your journey!
xxoo
{thank you erika for the beautiful photos 🙂 }
so we didnt have many pictures to document this great holiday. we headed out and spent the weekend with kindle’s extended family. the boys got to shoot guns, play outside and catch a football game. mama got some much needed time with her sister. we have so much to be thankful for. this weekend together was wonderful.
more miles on the new ride but of course more memories made. we love our road trips as much as we love our family! 🙂
xxoo
another belated post… but oh my goodness this was a fun party celebrating joshua, jack and samuel’s birthday. these kids are awesome and are such a gift to the family!
{here comes picture overload…}
oh my goodness we underestimated how quick it would get dark. however, i think the kids were super excited how we celebrated outside in the dark like we were really campin’ 🙂 smores, movie and a bear oh my! wonderful memories were made that evening. thank you to all who were able to join us! i can’t wait to watch the boys grow this year. nine, six, and four here we come! happy birthday boys!
xxoo
the month of july was the busiest month this year by far. we ended our summer with saying goodbye to our favorite parish priest. oh my goodness father justin, if he only knew how much he was missed. we headed out for vacation bible school with the cousins. we had a surprise visit from mamas sister. we bought our first suburban and had a birthday to remember for granny. oh yes, and after all of it was over we made a move further out to west texas.
it was so. extremely. exhausting. but the memories were totally worth it. so very thankful for all the blessings this summer, seen and unseen. i look forward to a new fall season ahead. we have a new house and our very first school year to start!
xxoo
anna kate, on your actual birthday, you woke up at gramps and grannys house and we celebrated with donuts before our cousins headed back home and we headed out for one more day of vacation.
we stopped in fredericksburg to enjoy some family time and relax before our big move. we all enjoyed some pool time and a yummy dinner. you barely made it past dinner time and the boys each bought you a gift on main street 🙂 these gifts coudn’t have been more perfect for you.
what a fun day we had together! we hope your year ahead is full of adventure and lots more love!
xxoo
and she hasn’t the slightest clue… congratulations travis and holly and especially big brothers and sisters! you are the greatest gift to one another!
xxoo