a few more vacation pics

abuelita and the girls having fun with bows!
viv's little party
making a wish
little cam's chubbers
after some delicious tiramisu and coffee

Of relaunched churches, timeshares, and sweet tea

We were blessed to go on vacation to the Orlando area last week. We spent Friday through Tuesday morning with Andrew and Vivian Haney at their home in Odessa. Andrew has been pastoring for almost a year now at Keystone Bible Church, and it is exciting to see what God is doing down in that assembly of believers. They could always use a hand so if you are moving to the Odessa area, check them out. And if you're not planning on moving to Odessa-why not?

Our next stop was a Hilton Grand Vacations resort in Orlando. We got a great deal on it and just had to listen to a teensy-weensy presentation where we are shown all the benefits of buying into the system. Unfortunately, the presentation consists of being thrown into a dungeon and being flogged in an attempt to get you to relent. Anyway...it's just minutes away from Disney World, Sea World, and an assortment of other attractions. However, we had no desire to visit any of these attractions. If we weren't in the pool, we were next to it. Now that is my idea of a vacation. The only difficult part was leaving Stella with both sets of grandparents-not because they would do a bad job!-but because we would miss her so much. We're glad that she was able to spend some time with them, though, and were equally glad for a little break.

These are the Haney's four kids. They gave us our kid "fix" since we were sans Stella.

Erica had a surprise birthday party for Vivian at a Cuban restaurant called Arco Iris. They had spent all day shopping, and fortunately, I did not have to be a part of that. To me, shopping and vacation are incompatible concepts.

This was the building that we stayed in. It was called Villa di Tomaso which if my Italian translation skills return to me, means Villa di Thomas. If you're scratching your head right now, that's just a joke-don't worry about it.
In case you couldn't tell, this is a picture of an ornate ball fountain thing. Moving right along...
Here is a shot of the pool. We spent all of our time here. And I do mean all.This is just a general shot of the resort.
Another shot-it was a Tuscan theme, and I have to say it was very beautiful and very well done.

Perhaps the greatest discovery (at least for me) of our vacation is pictured above. This is a $1 sweet tea sold at McDonalds. This was something almost too good to be true. The north/midwest knows nothing about one of the south's greatest treasures, sweet tea with lemon. I consumed more of these than I care to admit and still miss them even now.

This is the kind of stuff we didn't miss on vacation :)

Endeared Friendships

No doubt Christian friendships are a means of joining and holding together Christ's body. Ephesians 4 speaks of the body being built up in love as each part does its work.

Endeared and intimate Christian friendships are used by God to sharpen His people as iron sharpens iron.

We are thankful for those God has used in our lives to build us up and leave us different than we were when we first met them.

It's an understatement to say we'll miss you guys.

stella hearts daddy

happy father's day!
a smooch for her favorite

still smitten

happy 5th anniversary, baby!

summertime, and the livin' is easy...

"i sure am glad they built these cupholders all around our house. now i never have to hold my cup again no matter where i'm playing in our yard. sweet!"

walking the only pet she'll ever own (if it's up to me - which it's not - but daddy's not pro-pet either!) :)

2 different shoes on the wrong feet and fingerprints all over her sunglasses

Cupcake Run

Whether you're a busy mother or the coach of an NBA basketball team in the middle of the eastern conference finals, you're NEVER too busy for for a cupcake run.



So this is Erica with Flip Saunders, head coach of the Detroit Pistons, at The Cupcake Station in Birmingham. I don't know if he called her to meet and discuss what defensive looks the Pistons are going to throw at Lebron in game 2 or how Chauncey is going to avoid the high trap in the backcourt. But I do know that cupcakes were had by all. And that is the important thing.

Happy Mother's Day

...and meeting a new one

Jared and Charisse have a new son!

Asher Hayes

born at 2:51 am

April 25, 2007

7 lb 8 oz

20 1/2 in

Awaiting Asher's arrival

(Charisse looked this great pretty much throughout the whole process! Is that a surprise though?)

What a cutie!

Jared changing Ash's diaper for the first time. (He's being coached by Grandma and Grandpa!)

Ash and Aunt Erica

seeing old friends...

We met up with some of Matt's friends from college during our weekend in Traverse City. We had a great time seeing them and hearing how God is using them in their ministries. It is a blessing to have friends who are persevering in their faith and glorifying God in their lives. Matt and I commented too that we really enjoyed seeing how God so perfectly fitted the guys with wives suitable for them. It was great to see you all!!

Stelly and Uncle Rob

The girls - Ainsley, Maggie, Stelly, and Madeline

Austin, Aaron, Ainsley, and Terri Lynn

Rob, Madeline, Trisha (and little Robbie in her tummy), and Maggie

The things they're still willing to do in public!! Some things never change!

Weekend in Traverse City

We are spending the weekend in Traverse City which is about 4 hours NW of where we live in Michigan. We came up to visit some friends of ours, Aaron and Terrilyn Bump, who work with Lake Ann Camp near Traverse City. Aaron is worship leader and official nature guide at the camp. (OK, I made that last part up). Our friends Trisha and Roberto Fipps are also going to meet us at the camp. But that part starts Sunday. We came up a little early for a little R and R. Nothing like live-blogging your own vacation-are we really that narcissistic? Of course you aren't that interested, but here are some pics of Stella anyway.

She was not exactly excited about the whole sand and bare feet thing. In fact, she started crying like a, well, baby. Once she got used to it, though, she started having a good time.


Nothing says fun at the beach like having your dad jump over you repeatedly. She actually really likes it, though. Now I'm out of breath-I could use a vacation.

It was hard to convince her to play in the sand, but once she tried it out, she like it. Then she liked it so much she decided to put a big glob in her mouth. I thought we were past that stage but the next five minutes spent trying to remove a handful of wet sand from her mouth convinced me otherwise.

Happy 50th, Mom!

Today my wonderful mom turns 50! I am so thankful for her and the many ways she has influenced my life. She raised me as a single mom, working hard to provide for us, overcoming numerous obstacles to get her college degree, and making countless sacrifices - I'm sure more than I even know. The best part has been seeing the way God has worked in her life over these past years since she has been a Christian. It has been a testimony to His sanctifying grace and power. I love you and am thankful that God gave me you to be my mom! Happy Birthday!

You've heard of the Blue Man Group...

but have you heard of the Blue Baby Group? Stelly is the first and only member at this point. If you know another baby who might qualify, please submit photos to:

whydidiletmy1yearoldusemarkers@yahoo.com