Home Sweet Home

We finally took pictures of our home to share. Enjoy!

More time alone

Tonight was wonderful! I have been holding onto a gift card from a student all summer...until tonight. It was to Beauty Brands. I had never heard of this, but it's this great place with all kinds of beauty products, salon and spa. I had an 8pm appointment for a pedicure. It was heavenly! I was the only one getting a pedicure that late at night, there was soft music playing, a massage chair, magazines and free water. It was so relaxing I could have fallen asleep! I didn't leave until 9:15pm. She did a great job and my feet are so soft and pretty now! Before a pedicure was one of those things I only did for a special ocassion. After tonight, I think I may find a way to make this more regular. It is so nice just to have an hour by yourself sometimes! Clayton was great with Camille. They went to some friends house to work out. Thanks Clayton for giving me time to myself tonight!

4 Years

Clayton and I celebrated our fourth anniversary last Thursday, July19. It was wonderful. It began with Clayton sneaking out of bed very early to run to the store and then cook eggs, sausage and biscuits for breakfast. It was delicious and that is definitely a treat for me! My mom and cousin Mallory came in that evening to babysit and Clayton and I went to dinner at The Rainforest Cafe. It was so good and we definitely stuffed ourselves! We enjoyed a VOLCANO for dessert...yummy! We then walked it off by walking around Grapevine Mills Mall shopping. I had to try really hard to stay away from looking at baby stuff. I really wanted the night to be all about Clayton and I and it was so hard not to think of sweet baby Camille at home. After feeling a little better, we went to the Historical District of Grapevine and walked some more. We found a bench and sat and talked for a long time. It was so much fun just to be alone again. We easily forget how important time alone is now with Camille. We love her dearly, but dates are so needed. This was only the second time we have gone out without her. We need to get better at that. Here are some of the many things we have been blessed with our first four years of marriage:

• our first car
• made lots of new couple friends
• Clayton survived graduate school and recieved his Masters degree
• Clayton has a job that he loves
• I have had 4 teaching jobs with all of our moves
• We have been a part of 3 wonderful church families
• our first child - Sweet Camille Rae
• our first home
• lots and lots more

As I began making that list I realize there have been way more blessings I could ever add to my blog. God is great! Enjoy the pictures of our first four anniversaries!

This was our first anniversary! We stayed the weekend in a cabin on Lake Palestine. This night we enjoyed dinner in the cabin and our delicious anniversary cake. It wasn't that bad!

This was our 2 year anniversary. We were living in Abilene and came to Fort Worth to the Science Museums and the Omni Theater.

This isn't actually a picture from our anniversary, but it's close. We had just moved to North Richland Hills and went out to eat at Pappadaux's. The picture is from a family vacation in Galveston just before our anniversary.

Here we are at The Rainforest Cafe with our iguana friend watching over us. It was a great evening!

Sweet Granny

I have been meaning to update my blog about my sweet Granny for awhile now. We don't have internet at home yet so we're a little behind. My Granny (my mom's mom) has been battling emphezema and diabetes for a long time now. We have visited her in the hospital and nursing home over the last several months. After her last battle we all knew the next time she got sick she might not make it. Two weeks ago she started swelling alot again. Early Wednesday morning my mom and her sister were called to the nursing home because things had gone for worst. She was alert most of the day and things got better throughout the day. Thursday morning Camille and I were on our way to Summer Sizzle when I called my mom for an update. Things were worse again and they didn't expect her to be with us longer than 24 hours. I turned around, picked up Clayton and headed for Kaufman. Once we got there she was already in a deep sleep where no one could wake her. Her breaths were getting farther and farther apart. It was just a matter of time before she got to meet Sweet Jesus. Around 5:30 I had to drive Camille around to go to sleep. While I was gone I was constantly praying that she be comforted and peaceful. She was so peaceful all day long. When I got back to the nursing home, I couldn't believe my eyes. She was awake and alert. She wasn't talking, just responding with a nod or maybe a yes or no. I couldn't believe it! No one expected this at all. We were all able to tell her how much we loved her and pray with her. She was so excited to see everyone that walked up to her bed. There was no doubt that she knew we were there and loving her. When Camille woke up, I took her to Granny and she lit up more than she had since she had been awake. She lifted up and said, "Hi, Camille!" This will forever be my last memory of my Granny. She loved her only great-grandchild so much. She was awake for about 2 hours. Clayton, Camille and I had to go home around 8:30. She passed away just after midnight that night. Camille and I spent all day Friday back in Kemp with my family. It's amazing what comfort you get from being with family. Her funeral was on Monday. Our family was flooded with love, hugs, food, flowers and prayers. Thank you to everyone who was thinking of us during this time. My Granny was a special person. I never once remember her complaining about anything. She was a Godly woman that loved the Lord and raised her family to love the Lord as well. My mom has many of her sweet characteristics. Granny will always be remembered and loved.