Summer is here

I guess with all of the cool temperatures lately, I haven't really noticed that it's the middle of the summer. I know that the official summer season didn't really start until a couple of days ago, but the end of June is usually noticed because of the sweltering heat. Not this year! We haven't even had temperatures reach 100 or above yet. Not that I'm complaining, of course. It's just that only today did I realize that this time next week I will be going to my mom's house for the 4th of July. It doesn't seem like it's time for that yet! Maybe we can be lucky enough to continue the cool temps and the unusually high amount of rainfall for the rest of the summer. Let's hope so!

I wanted to also tell you all about another blog I've been reading lately. It's about a mom and dad, Kristy and Josh Schwade, and their precious little boy, Kaleb. I'm not sure how I came across this story, but it's one that has touched me deeply. Most of you have heard of Shaken Baby Syndrome and the horrible effects it has on children. The Schwade story has helped increase the awareness of the this abuse. It's a sad story, but hopefully, with prayer, will have a happy ending. Here is a excerpt from her website:

My Name is Kristy Schwade and my life at this point is not anywhere near normal. My Son, the light of my life is fighting for his very own life in ICU and has been since May 9, 2007. He is suffering from Shaken Baby Syndrome by the hands of someone who is not in anyway related to him or us. I have 100% faith in God that my little boy will be the one that SURPRISES all of the doctors. He is strong and we have to be strong for him.

If you're interested in reading it, visit http://www.myspace.com/kristyreynolds.

Since my last post we've been to the lake a couple of times and are headed back this weekend. It's rained so much there that the grass is actually green! Yes, that's very odd for this time of year. However, the chiggers are out in full force. I never get bit, but I came home this past weekend with bits all over. We weren't even outside that much this time. There was a big storm that came through at the lake a couple of nights before and took out the dock, so we weren't able to go down there. Then, we didn't have an anchor in the boat, so we couldn't go out and park it in the lake. So, what did we do? We went into town and bought a Nintendo Wii. That's right! We drove all the way to the lake to sit inside most of the day and play a video game. I have to say, though, it was fun. If you don't know what a Wii is, let me explain. It's a video game that uses "remote technology". That means there are no cords. You just hold this remote in your hand and the sensor sends out signals to the system telling it what movement you make. If you've ever played, or seen anyone playing a video game, you know that you move around trying to get the controller to go in the direction you want it to. What's neat about the Wii is that moving around actually makes the game go in that direction! We've played golf, tennis, bowling, baseball, and boxing on it. Believe it or not, it's a real workout! You're actually making the moves, not just pushing buttons to tell the game where to go. So, if your golf swing isn't straight, the remote will relay that information and SLICE! I have to admit, it's a neat game. We had dinner with Mary Jane, Leslie, and Jon tonight. Everyone had their turn to play the game and it was fun!

Now we need a barn

So, now Randy has decided we need a barn. Not just any kind of barn, either. He thinks we need to find some land, maybe 10 acres or so, outside of town that we can build a big barn and have lots of open space around it. He got this idea from Elizabeth and Rusty's wedding last weekend. By the way, that was a beautiful wedding! More about that later. For now, back to the barn. So, it's not just four walls and a dirt floor he wants. We're talking a concrete slab, large barn doors on three sides, and a built in smoker. Then, here's the crazy part, he wants to make a room that's air conditioned and big enough for a pool table and shuffle board table by taking one of the long sides of the barn and enclosing it. Where did he get this crazy idea? Well, that takes us back to the wedding!

Liz lives in Direct, TX. And for those of you that don't know where that is, okay for nearly all of you, that is about 30 minutes outside of Paris, TX. It's a really pretty part of Texas because it's covered with greenery. True to Liz form, she found a really neat and unique wedding site and tailored the small details to make her wedding an unforgettable experience. The actual ceremony was held under a large oak tree and was really sweet. She found a great country singer named Wade White to play all of the music acoustic during the ceremony and reception. He sang, with a fiddle player and base guitarist accompanying, for hours. The reception was in, you guessed it, a large barn. Now this barn was made to have fun in! I have to admit, that room with the pool table I talked about was pretty cool. It also had a big screen TV and a DJ sound system built in. It was decorated with NASCAR and country music singer memorabilia that the owners had collected. Not my personal style, but well put together regardless. It was a great place to have a reception. As the night wore on we all danced, including Elizabeth. At one point she even borrowed someones belt to hold the train of her wedding dress up so she could jitterbug! And, we discovered there were some limber girls there when the limbo contest was underway. Overall, it was a really great night!

If you want to see the rest of the pictures of the wedding I have posted them on Snapfish. Look in the column to the right --> and scroll down until you see the link. If you haven't registered with Snapfish you will have to do that. It's really easy, just put in your email and select a password. Then it will ask you for the roomcode. This is the password to see the photo albums. Just enter: ourphotos.

The Limbo Winner

And just like that...

...the weight is gone! My doctor was right. It only took a couple of days to lose that fluid and get back to my normal size. I missed being able to move and bend like a normal person. Being off for two weeks without having any fun was not my idea of a vacation! I started back to work today and it was a very welcome change. Thank you so much to everyone that has checked up on us. And, thank you for all of the food and get well gifts. Randy and I both appreciate you all!