A Day in Brenham, TX

We knew that we would have just one day with Fr. Tom. He has visited before so what should we do? We decided that it might be fun to take a short drive to Brenham. If we had been one month sooner the wild flowers would have been all over. As it was there were still some Brown Eyed Susan's and Indian Paintbrushes left. We narrowed our adventures down to two activities:

Blue Bell CreameriesForty-five minute tours include a film and a dip of
your favorite ice cream flavor. Nominal fee, call for tour times. Reservations
required during Spring Break and for groups of 15+. Closed most holidays. 1101
Blue Bell Rd., Brenham. 800-327-8135. http://www.bluebell.com/

Monastery of St. Clare Miniature Horse Farm The Monastery is home to a
group of Franciscan Poor Clare Nuns who support themselves by raising miniature
horses and by selling their handmade ceramic items in the "Art Barn" gift shop.
Guided group tours available. 9300 Hwy 105, Brenham. 979-836-9652. http://www.monasteryminiaturehorses.com/

We set off early enough in the day to get there and back in time for their planned Capture the Flag adventure and the arrival of our California Family. It isn't always easy to find a little place like this. Fr. Tom thought he would be able to sniff it out. We also had an iphone going with a maps application running and at the GPS. It wasn't the easiest to locate. I phoned a friend who phoned another friend who called back with very specific and direct instructions. After her advice we found it right away, thanks Janet.
We pulled in behind a sister in full habit getting the mail. She was gone before we unloaded and we never saw another nun after that point. It looks as though there are just two that live there (judging by the books and chairs in the chapel.) So in was a very small monastery with very small horses.

The sisters did have a sense of humor. All of the notes around were fun.It was fun to visit the miniature horses but I must admit that even a Poor Clare Horse Farm smells like a horse farm. Cute little ones.
I love the giggles on Jumba below.




I loved watching my little ones get very excited.

Then we made a visit with our Lord in the chapel. That was the best part.The chapel was small but pleasant. It was simple and loving. I still miss the elaborate alters from the mid-west Catholic churches but this was very nice. Next it was on to the ice cream factory. We signed up and went on the official tour. It is just a little piece of our Texas history. The part that taste yummy.
As we walked in we did not know what we would see but looked forward to the reward of a scoop of ice cream at the end. It was very interesting. But in the end gave each visitor a scoop of the flavor you asked for. That was our favorite part.

After our drive back to Spring we needed to decide what to do for dinner. The big kids wanted to swim but instead we stopped at Denny's for a quick meal.
Pooker ended up leaving practice and joining us for the first time all day. (She had been at school all morning.)
The food wasn't to die for but the company sure was.
To be honest I don't think we were this settled again until Sunday night after the Confirmation. (more on that later)

The Incredible Fr. Tom

Who is this person that I often refer to? Well he just happens to be one of my very best friends. We met on a March for Life years ago, we celebrated 20 years as friends two years ago in January. Father and I were friends while he was in seminary and I was in college. We spent many an evening on the phone discussing his classes and papers he was writing. I learned so much from those phone calls. Not to mention that this man always has had a sense of adventure and fun. Ice skating and Ted Drews were always involved in our activities.

(Here Fr. Keller is being "treated" for a skinned knee. The teens organized a
huge Capture the Flag game in Father's honor. He taught them the game years
before and they wanted to share with him their CTF group. I was glad to know
that they keep first aid kits handy.)

When I met J, I was most nervous about their friendship, would they get along? Would they love each other as much as I loved both of them? In the end I was blessed to marry a man that also adores my friend. The yearly visits are so much fun for all of us. J and Fr. are both kids at heart. Put them together with 9 children and "let the fun begin."

I took Goobers, Bear and Sugar to the airport to retrieve Fr. The fun began there with question and answer time. Fr. did a wonderful job and spoke to the children as he used to speak with me. Faith questions were flying. I love that Fr. was not holding back. He gives the answer and lets it stand on truth while allowing the teens to come to it themselves. Always there to help the answer sink in with a fun story. He is such a great teacher.

I think this is what we enjoyed the most about Father Keller's visit. He is so kind and patient in his teachings. Often we would find our selves just sitting and listening to the answers. Thank you Fr. Tom for loving us enough to teach us.

No Time to Write

Happy Mother's Day!!

These past few days have been so wonderful with our visitors here from St. Louis and Fresno. Our Fr. Tom, Mimi, KeeKee all here from St. Louis and DeeDee (Aunt Katie's new nick name) is here from Fresno with her four beautiful daughters. I can't wait to reflect more on this wonderful visit and share pictures of all these wonderful people. Today I just will not have time for that. Along with it being Mother's Day it is also Goobers Confirmation Day. She has worked very hard to get here and is so very excited.

Happy Mother's Day to each of you and Congratulations to our beautiful Goobers!

Come Holy Spirit!!

First Day of Work

My precious Goobers started her job this weekend. The pools are open for just the weekends and she and Pooker both had a shift on Sunday. I don't know if it made it better or worse but Pooker was the boss that day.

Goobers had a blast and loved being around all the kiddos that came to the pool on Sunday. We only stopped by briefly to bring lunch.

Summer is here and my babies are at work. If it wasn't so hot I would be thrilled. Way to go girls. Goobers know that we are proud of you on your first day of work.

Cinderella Production! (Two Thumbs up!)

Again we were privileged to see another CYT production. Christan Youth Theater really is a great group for young people. The environment is clean yet challenging. These kiddos get to learn so much about acting while putting on quality family shows. Our involvement has centered around one actress that has grown out of her time with CYT. This was Mel's last production before she heads off to college.
This time we got dad to go with us and he agreed that the production was wonderful. Cinderella is a wonderful story and my girls loved it. The boys, not so much.

Cinderella with my Princess and Bagel.

This Fairy God mother was wonderful.

The costumes rocked, as always.
No matter how cool it was Joy was our favorite again. Mel we are very proud of you. Thank you for introducing us to this wonderful world of CYT. We are always amazed at how many people we know in the productions.

They may have been evil step sisters but they were so wonderful to the kiddos.

Congrats MEL. We will continue to see productions for sure but we will miss you very much.

If you live close by consider seeing the CYT's production of Cinderella next weekend.

Power Washing

Every now and then the house and the drive way need a good cleaning.

Never under estimate the uses of a power washer.
Hey, don't knock it if you never tried. It really did get some stains out that we had given up on.

Time for Thank you's

We headed back down to Texas Children's Hospital to see the doctor one last time before Bagel was completely cleared. I have stated before how fun this hospital tries to be even though it is an outstanding hospital.

Children are put at ease, parents are respected and patients get FANTASTIC medical care. I hope the our family has little future need for THC but I am so thankful it is here.
Bagel is all good. She has healed wonderfully. We are so thankful for this wonderful facility that helped to save our daughter.
In truth "thank you"s go to each of you as well. Bagel could have been so much worse. We are convinced that answered prayers have given us our baby back. Thanks to each of you for all the prayers that you offered for Bagel's health and recovery. I can never put into words how wonderful it feels to have love and prayers pour in for a child. God has blessed us with a beautiful outcome. I can't even begin to understand why God is so generous to my family but I am most thankful. He answered your prayers and we thank you and we thank Him.
Please know that as we thank God for our healthy baby we also thank Him for each of you.