Enjoying the lake

The Monday after the July 4th weekend, we had a great opportunity to spend some time on Medina Lake. Clifton and Amy wanted to take a quick trip for the day and asked us to go along. Knowing that Layton had handled being on the boat for a few trips helped calm our nerves about how Mason would handle the boat ride.

We had a fabulous day. The weather was amazing, the water was so refreshing and we had a great time with the family. And we managed to come home with a pale little boy...God bless sunblock and hats!!!

Road Crusties

Anyone that has grown up with a dirt driveway or a dirt road nearby will recognize this picture. For me, it offers a peak into a great set of childhood memories...road crunsties just waiting to be crushed. I have to say it brings a smile to my face every time I see these. Crunching on these crusties a week or two after a rain was a point of sheer joy for me as a child. I'd weave back and forth down our driveway as a kid, working from one rut to the other. The sound was very satisfying as a child...actually, it is still pretty satisfying.

And I've witnessed the joy unfold for Mason. He has always had a fascination with the deep rut in our driveway. It's in a low spot and is actually about 3 or 4 inches deep. Every time he and I go for a walk-about, he pulls me over to the rut so he can walk through it. Well, now that we are days past our most recent gully-washer, the ground beneath his feet went crunch-crunch. He stopped, looked down, then up and smiled. He's found another simple pleasure of country life.

Little Romeo

Mason has identified his first little-girl target in Emerson Cochran. She is the daughter of Chad and Kellie Cochran. Kellie's older sister Kim was my best friend growing up, so she and Clifton were always in tow when we'd visit them. Kim and Mark were throwing a birthday party for their daughter McKenzie and little Emerson was their. That was the first time the two met. He was fascinated with another little person (she's just about 6 months old). Keep in mind, Mason is not in day care, so he is not surrounded my little ones. At the birthday party, he kept touching her face, trying to give her hugs and kissing her forehead.

Fast forward to Layton's birthday the following weekend. Chad and Kellie are good friends with my brother and sister-in-law, so they were at the party with Miss Emerson. Mason kept grabbing for her toys and smiling at her during dinner. Later in the evening, Emerson's daddy was walking by with her and Mason reached out to touch her arm. He then leaned in to give her a kiss after kiss after kiss after kiss. Now keep in mind, Chad and others standing around were egging him on.

Notice that both dad's are supervising, but dear Lord, have mercy on us...isn't he a little young to be girl crazy?!?

Going through Granny's things

We had the fantastic gift of a visit with my cousin Cheryl, her hubby Koy and their two beautiful daughters, Natalie and Callie. Cheryl is my mom's brother, John's daughter. She's the only other female cousin on my mom's side, so she has a very special place in my heart and childhood memories. Cheryl was always the young lady I've looked up. I shadowed her as a young girl when she and her brother, Matt, came to visit and she was a fantastic substitute-big-sister.

The family came as a part of a multi-stop trip over the 4th of July weekend. And while we enjoyed a fantastic visit with them all (there is always a massive amount of laughter when you mix us all together), we also tackled the task of going through Granny Temple's things. Mom had tackled a large part of the process but she needed help dividing up the quilts, paintings and other things. While it was a little hard at times, I wouldn't trade the great memories and stories that bubbled to the surface as a result of the process.

We all walked away from the visit feeling so blessed for the legacy of love that was paved before us by our Granny and Grandpa.

Betty and Deborah...she was so proud of her precious, beautiful daughter. Mom jokes often that while Granny did good to quickly run a comb through her hair, she was so particular about how Deborah stepped out. She thought mom was the most beautiful little girl God ever made. And when mom went back to college, Granny was one of her biggest cheerleaders...even to the point of helping with our family's laundry (that's love).

Granny Betty and Cheryl...her first grandchild and such a point of light for Granny. You can't imagine the sheer joy Granny had when talking about her. Granny was so impressed with and proud of her artistic gifts, sense of style and humor, and the love Cheryl has for family.

Granny Betty and Leslie...I was her birthday present (literally). She prayed that I'd be born on her birthday and she had great pull with the Lord. I was due April 12th and was born May 15th...that's a powerful prayer warrior, wouldn't you say?!?!

A surprise in San Antonio

JP, Mason and I took a play day and spent the afternoon with Bill and Vicki this past Tuesday. We had lunch, visited, played with Mason and went swimming. Vicki got Mason a life-vest from Bass Pro, so it was the perfect day to give it a test drive. Mason wasn't too sure about the vest at first, but we played in the water with him for a bit and laid him on his back to see how it works. It's amazing how it kept his head afloat and he just relaxed in the water...a very reassuring practice.


After a while in the water, we slipped the vest off and just bounced him around the pool, back and forth between JP and I. He was having a blast, in between getting water in his mouth. The pool also has a great set of steps that is just the right height for Mason to stand up...he felt like such a big boy. I honestly think he was jumping/dancing/performing for his Cranky (Bill) that was sitting poolside.

As you notice in the picture above, I was wearing a visor. To say that Mason has a fascination with anything on our head would be an understatement. He kept grabbing my visor, taking it off and then doing his best to replace it. I continued to try and correct him, telling him to leave my hat alone. And out of the blue, his brain made the connection between object, word and mouth. He grabbed my hat and clearly said "HAT." It was missing the "T" at first but after saying it a few times, he nailed it.

Now, he sees any hat in the house and proudly announces "HAT." What a delightful surprise for us all. So we have our first word that Mason will say on his own...we are well on our way.