Christmas 2010"

Christmas 2010 has come and gone and it was another blessed year and to that we Thank God alone for providing for us and always being faithful to our family. This year we left for Memphis on the 23rd to spend with both of our families and had a great time and visit with all of them. We stayed for a week and were sad to leave. We always love being with our family and spending quality blessed time with them. This year Peyton really understood the meaning of being with family at Christmas, he was very sad to leave which really touched us all. He is already making summer plans to spend with his Grandparents and cousins. Again we all wish we were a little bit closer to home but for now this is home and we pray that this year will really feel like it.We are talking about everything we are going to do to make it feel like home.What we will get involved in and how we will step out of our comfort zones and do things we thought we never would do. We pray that 2011 is a wonderful blessed year for you and your family! Thanks for making us a part of your day

I finally went to Canton, Texas

Ever since we moved here all I have heard is You have to go to Canton... Have you ever been to Canton? You will love Canton.. You are just gonna die when you go to Canton.. Canton is incredible you have to go! So this last weekend me and my bff who is also known as my younger sister Michele met in the BIG town of Gun Barrell City and stayed the weekend.. She has never been to Canton either but has really wanted to go too so we planned this weekend to go. Gun Barrell is only 20 minutes from Canton so it was perfect. So we met on Friday morning at the hotel which was brand new and very nice, we unloaded our cars and got our things together and took off.. OMG~~ I seriously thought I had died and gone to heaven. If you like to shop it was your heaven too.. Its called First Monday and its huge, its the whole town shop after shop, booth after booth it has everything you can think of I mean everything just awesome!So we get there and look at each other and laugh and I am just like come on lets shop, we had a ton of fun so we shopped and we shopped and we shopped so we were getting tired and knew we had a full day the next day so about 5 that afternoon we went to a shop that I had wanted to go to which is incredible its called Paul Michael's Home Decor if you are there check it out if not at least google it,so we go in and they are serving wine to all the shoppers and of course we jumped on that.. From there with me and the start of a migraine we go to eat we were going to go to the
Beach Club" with DJ Friction but decided that probably would not be a good idea..lol so we went and had Mexican food, Michele said it was great but me with the headache my taster was gone:(..so after dinner ran and got advil knocked the headache out and shopped at all the big stores in Gun Barrell:) needless to say we didn't buy much..lol SO we called it a night and went back to the hotel and talked and laughed most of the night.. The next morning we got up bright and early and back to Canton we went, we shopped and shopped and had a great time we then decided we had seen enough of canton so we took off to Tyler and shopped until the stores closed:) We then headed back and what was suppose to be a 45 min ride back to Gun Barrell turned into 2 hrs..lol I took the wrong turn and we ended up on the other side but it turned out fine, we talked and laughed and of course made more memories..lol.. We then got back and were hungry so we went to Denny's at 11:00 p.m. and laughed and laughed some more.. Then it was time to turn in so of course that turned into more talking and laughing.. What a great time.. I am so blessed to have her as my best friend and I look forward to many many more fun trips together,we are so blessed to have husbands who understand we need girl time and let us go and have fun.. Cant wait til our next outing which is already in the works...If you have never been to Canton I highly recommend it... Plan a trip and let me know when you are going and I will go too:)

GIRLS TRIP

GIRLS TRIP!!!! LAST WEEK MY MOM AND AUNT CAME TO VISIT ME AND WE HAD THE BEST TIME!! THE ONLY THING I CAN TRULY COMPLAIN ABOUT WAS MY CAMERA IS BROKEN AND I DID NOT GET ANY ACTUAL PICTURES SO THAT IS WHY YOU SEE ALL THE DIFFERENT LOGOS..LOL:) ANYWAY, AS YOU CAN TELL FROM THE LOGOS WE SHOPPED AND ATE AND ATE AND SHOPPED!! MY AUNT IS FROM ARKANSAS AND MY MOM IS FROM TENNESSEE SO THEY MET AND CAUGHT A FLIGHT OUT OF LITTLE ROCK, MY AUNT HAD NEVER FLOWN BEFORE SO THIS WAS EXCITEMENT FOR ALL OF US FOR HER TO EXPERIENCE THIS FOR THE FIRST TIME AND SHE LOVED IT AND CANT WAIT TO DO IT AGAIN!!! HER HUSBAND PASSED AWAY 3 YEARS AGO AND THIS WAS ALSO THE FIRST TRIP SHE HAS TAKEN SINCE HE HAS BEEN GONE SO LOTS OF FIRST STEPS FOR HER..HE WOULD HAVE BEEN SO PROUD OF HER AND WE OF COURSE ARE TOO!!THEY GOT INTO HOUSTON MONDAY NIGHT AND ME AND PEYTON WENT TO PICK THEM UP,WE SURPRISED THEM WHEN WE WALKED UP:) SO OF COURSE WE GET THEM LOADED INTO THE CAR AND TAKE THEM TO DINNER AT ONE OF OUR FAVORITE RESTAURANTS WILLIES ICE HOUSE WHICH MY AUNT ATE FRIED CRAWFISH ONE OF OUR FAVS!!WE CAME HOME AND MET PHILLIP AND CHUCK AND SHE ALSO GOT TO MEET MAX AND MOLLY FOR THE FIRST TIME, THEY LOVED LOVED LOVED HER... FROM THEN ON WE SHOPPED AND ATE AND ATE AND SHOPPED.. I INTRODUCED HER TO SAM MOON'S AND CHARMING CHARLIES AND THE JEWELRY PLACE FROM THERE WE WENT TO THE OLD TOWN SQUARE OF TOMBALL WHERE WE SHOPPED AND ATE LUNCH AT THE WHISTLE STOP WHERE WE PIGGED OUT ON BREAD PUDDING WITH RUM SAUCE... IT IS SO YUMMMMMY.. MY MOM SAYS ITS NOT REAL BREAD PUDDING BUT WHATEVER IT IS WOW... ITS YUMMMY!!WE SHOPPED SOME MORE AND THEN CAME HOME TO GO OUT TO DINNER..MY MOM AND AUNT GOT TO MEET PHILLIP'S GIRLFRIEND NATASHA AND THEY THOUGHT SHE WAS SO CUTE AND A VERY SWEET GIRL!! CONGRATULATIONS TASHA YOU PASSED THE TEST!!LOL!!:) I ALSO TOOK THEM TO CARLTON WOODS SUBDIVISION SO THEY COULD SEE THE MANSIONS..UNREAL.. WE PICKED OUT JUST A FEW THAT WE WANT:)THEIR LAST NIGHT HERE THE SHOPPING AND THE RUNNING WAS FINALLY CATCHING UP WITH US SO WE DECIDED TO ORDER PIZZA AND PLAY FARKLE..WHICH WAS A FUN RELAXING NIGHT... I HAD SO MUCH FUN WITH THEM AND OF COURSE NOW AS I TYPE THIS I AM MISSING THEM!!! HOPEFULLY THEY WILL PLAN ANOTHER TRIP SOON!!! THANK YOU FOR COMING! HOPE YOU HAD AS MUCH FUN AS I DID! WAIT A MIN I KNOW YOU DID...LOL!!! I HOPE EVERYONE HAS A MOM AND A AUNT LIKE MINE.. THEY ARE SO MUCH FUN AND THEY ARE BOTH MY BEST FRIEND!! LOVE YOU BOTH BUNCHES!! XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXO

Answered Prayers

THANK YOU ALL SO MUCH FOR YOUR AWESOME PRAYERS,THOUGHTS.PHONE CALLS, CARDS,TEXT,E-MAILS FOR "OUR PAPPY" WE ALL APPRECIATE THEM SO MUCH AND TRULY FELT THEM.. LAST WEDNESDAY CHUCKS DADDY HAD OPEN HEART SURGERY, HE HAD TO HAVE A TRIPLE BYPASS WHICH IS A VERY SERIOUS SURGERY AND WE WERE ALL VERY CONCERNED.. WE DROVE DOWN ON TUESDAY AND GOT THERE ABOUT 11:00P.M. AND HAD TO BE AT THE HOSPITAL AT 5:00 A.M. THE NEXT MORNING SO IT WAS A SHORT NIGHT BUT WHEN WE GOT THERE HIS DAD AND STEPMOM AND AUNT AND BROTHER AND SISTER IN LAW WERE ALL THERE AND THEN HIS SISTER AND BROTHER IN LAW GOT THERE TO PRAY WITH US BEFORE HE WENT BACK.. IT IS JUST SO AWESOME TO COME TOGETHER AS A FAMILY AND PRAY TO THE ONE WHO WE ALL KNOW HAS IT UNDER CONTROL AND JUST THE COMFORT AND PEACE THAT WE ALL FELT WAS AWESOME!! HIS SURGERY LASTED A FEW HOURS AND HE DID HAVE SOME COMPLICATIONS WITH NOT BEING ABLE TO STOP THE BLEEDING BUT IT STOPPED ABOUT A HOUR LATER AND WE WERE ABLE TO SEE HIM... OH HOW SHOCKING TO SEE OUR VIBRANT PAPPY IN ICU ON A VENTILATOR, IT WAS TRULY A SIGHT THAT WAS NOT ONE I WANT TO SEE AGAIN.. ONCE HE WAS AWAKE AND WE WERE ABLE TO SEE HIM IT WAS A LITTLE BETTER, IT WS JUST SO SAD TO TRY AND COMMUNICATE WITH HIM ON THE VENTILATOR AND HE WAS VERY FRUSTRATED BUT WE DID COMMUNICATE WITH HIM WRITING NOTES AND PLAYING CHARADES:) BUT AS SOON AS THE VENTILATOR WAS OUT ALL WAS GOOD... WE CARRIED ON LOTS OF HEART TO HEART CONVERSATIONS WITH HIM WHICH WAS PRICELESS...HE WAS IN ICU FOR A DAY AND A HALF AND THEN WAS MOVED TO A PRIVATE ROOM WHICH WAS SO MUCH BETTER TO BE ABLE TO HAVE ALL OF US IN THERE AT ONCE AND TO BE WITH HIM..IT WAS SUCH A STRESSFUL TIME AND ANXIOUS TIME BUT YET SUCH A SWEET TIME.. WE WERE ALL TOGETHER AS FAMILY AND GOT TO HAVE SUCH GREAT CONVERSATIONS AND JUST SHARE ALL OF OUR FEELINGS ABOUT HOW WE FELT TOWARDS ONE ANOTHER.. AS HARD AS IT WAS IT WAS A BLESSING...I JUST HATE THAT IT TOOK THAT TO HAVE TO SHARE OUR HEARTS AND TELL EACH OTHER HOW MUCH THEY MEANT TO US AND HOW MUCH WE LOVED THEM..BUT I TRULY FEEL GOD ORCHASTRATED EACH CONVERSATION..PAPPY IS HOME NOW RECOVERING AND HAS QUITE SOME TIME BEFORE HE IS 100% BUT HE WILL GET THERE, HE HAS A GREAT CARETAKER HIS WIFE!!PLEASE CONTINUE TO PRAY FOR HIM AS HE RECOVERS AND PRAY FOR MAMMY THAT GOD WILL GIVE HER STRENGTH AND REST TO BE THE CARETAKER..PRAISE HIM FOR MAKING RELATIONSHIPS STRONGER AND ASK HIM TO JUST TO KEEP US ALL CLOSE!!WE THANK HIM FOR EACH ONE OF YOU AND ASK HIM TO BLESS YOU AND YOUR FAMILIES!! " Families Are Gods Chosen Gifts To Us"

The Ennis Family Comes To Visit

Our best friends The Ennis Family came to visit over labor day and we had the best time! They truly are like family to us.. We go way back to St Louis.. We met in 1999 when we both lived in St Louis, we were neighbors and when we met we hit it off immediately!! Michele is truly truly the sister that God did not give me.. We are so much a like but oh so different..I can tell her anything and it does not shock her one bit.. Our husbands are the best of friends as well and have such a great time when they are together.. Our kids are like cousins, I think they seriously think they are.. So needless to say when we are together we have the best time.. All of us do!! They moved back to Arkansas 7 yrs ago and I thought I would die when she told us they were moving,oh what was I gonna do without her.. She was the friend who was there for everything, the friend who was there to hold my hand and cry with me, the one who encouraged me and prayed with me during the hardest days of my life!! The one who laughed with me and at me, the one who my children thought was their other Mother!:) She means so much to me and I can not imagine my life without her in it.. I am so blessed that God allowed our paths to cross back in 1999 and has continued to bless and grow our friendship..It is very very rare to have this kind of friendship and I just wish everyone could have a friend like her..Her husband Terry is one of the sweetest guys I know and is so much fun, we have shared many many laughs and have are own personal inside jokes) Seriously, how many relationships do you have that your whole family love each other and have great connections!! We had the best time,while the girls shopped shopped shopped, looked at houses, talked, laughed and just had the best time, the guys rode 4 wheelers, went to the shooting range, played basketball and hung out at the pool and then all hooked up for dinner it just seemed to good to be true...We celebrated Terry's bday while he was here and had so much fun, one night we went out for Mexican where they sang to him in Spanish and slapped him the face with whipped cream,needless to say out table was full of screams and laughter...The next night we had a pool party, lit the tiki torches and just had a blast... We just love their family so much, it just stinks that we are so far away from each other and cant get together very often.. Maybe one day God will see it to it that we can be neighbors again, that would just be the perfect plan for me!! Love y'all and cant wait til the next time we are all together!!! xoxoxoxoxoxoox

2010 SUMMER FULL OF BASEBALL

WOW! THE SUMMER OF 2010 IS COMING TO A CLOSE. WE ONLY HAVE A FEW WEEKS LEFT UNTIL SCHOOL STARTS BACK AND WE ARE BACK IN THE ROUTINE OF GETTING UP EARLY..UGH.. MAKING SURE WE ARE A SLEEP BEFORE MIDNIGHT AND DOING HOMEWORK AND STUDYING FOR TEST.. WE ARE VERY FORTUNATE THAT BOTH OF THE BOYS LOVE THEIR SCHOOLS AND LOVE GOING TO SCHOOL BUT WE SURE DO HATE TO SEE SUMMER COME TO A END.. THAT NOT ONLY MEANS WE HAVE TO BE IN A ROUTINE BUT IT ALSO MEANS ANOTHER YEAR OLDER, WHICH MAKES ME SAD!!BUT THIS SUMMER HAS BEEN FUN AND WE HAVE DONE ALOT OF THINGS HERE IN THE STATE OF TEXAS, WE COULDN'T PLAN A VACATION OUT OF STATE UNTIL THE VERY END BECAUSE WE HAVE PLAYED BASEBALL EVERY SINGLE WEEK AND WEEKEND AND PRACTICED 2 TIMES A WEEK. THANK GOODNESS WE ALL LOVE THE SPORT. WE HAVE REALLY MET SOME NICE PEOPLE AND MADE SOME NEW FRIENDS AND HAVE GROWN CLOSER TO THE FRIENDS THAT WE ALREADY HAD AND WE HAVE JUST HAD A BLAST WATCHING THE BOYS PLAY..PHILLIP DECIDED TO TRY OUT FOR A HIGH SCHOOL PREP TEAM AND MADE THAT TEAM BUT ALSO DID SO GOOD IN THEIR TRYOUTS THAT THE COACH OF A SELECT TEAM ASKED HIM TO PLAY FOR THEM SO HE WAS THRILLED AND SO WERE WE..HE HAS PLAYED SELECT BALL BEFORE BUT NOTHING THIS INTENSE.WOW TALK ABOUT COMPETITIVE, THIS IS SERIOUS BALL BUT IT HAS BEEN GOOD FOR ALL OF US TO REALLY SEE WHAT COACHES EXPECT OF THEIR BALL PLAYERS AND THE PARENTS. IT IS ALSO GOOD TO SEE AND HEAR THAT CHUCK IS NOT THE ONLY PARENT WHO GETS INTENSE..LOL.. HE LOOKS VERY MILD COMPARED TO SOME..:) PHILLIP IS PLAYING WITH GUYS WHO ARE HIS AGE AND OLDER AND FROM ALL DIFFERENT HIGH SCHOOLS HERE IN THE AREA AND HAS REALLY ENJOYED GETTING TO PLAY AS MUCH AS HE HAS. HE HAS DEFINITELY IMPROVED AND WE HAVE SEE BIG GROWTH IN HIM IN EVERY POSITION THAT HE HAS PLAYED. LAST NIGHT HE PLAYED A DOUBLE HEADER AND HE ACTUALLY SAID HE WAS EXHAUSTED,WE HAVE NOT HEARD THAT ALL SUMMER. LAST WEEK HE PLAYED 6 DAYS IN A ROW, I WAS EXHAUSTED JUST WATCHING HIM BUT HE NEVER SAID A WORD. HE STILL HAS A FEW TOURNAMENTS TO PLAY IN AT THE END OF THIS MONTH AND THEN FALL BALL STARTS BUT HE LOVES IT SO THERE FOR WE DO WHATEVER WE CAN TO MAKE SURE HE PLAYS.. HIGH SCHOOL BALL WILL START AND HE IS LOOKING FORWARD TO THAT AGAIN SO FOR NOW THE LAWN CHAIRS ARE STAYING IN THE BACK OF THE CAR..PEYTON ON THE OTHER HAND.... HE PLAYED SPRING LEAGUE BALL AND HIS TEAM WON THE CHAMPIONSHIP AND SO FROM THERE HE MADE THE ALL STARS TEAM AND PLAYED IN THOSE GAMES AND HE DID VERY WELL, HE IS SUCH A HITTER, HE HAS SO MUCH STRENGTH IN HIS SWING THAT WHEN HE IS UP TO BAT EVERYONE ON THE OTHER TEAMS COACHES AND PLAYERS START YELLING BACK UP BACK UP, WE ALL LOVE THAT.. HE DID NOT PLAY SUMMER BALL, THANK GOODNESS AS BUSY AS WE HAVE BEEN WITH PHILLIP, I SERIOUSLY DONT KNOW HOW WE WOULD HAVE DONE IT WITH BOTH BECAUSE WE TRAVEL ALL OVER SO THAT WAS A BLESSING..HE IS DEFINITELY READY TO START FALL BALL AND HAS MISSED THE GAME BUT HAS STAYED IN SHAPE BY PRACTCING AS MUCH AS HE COULD WITH CHUCK AND PHILLIP SO HE WILL BE READY WHEN THAT TIME COMES. HE HAS TOLD US THAT HE WANTS TO TRY OUT FOR SELECT BALL FOR THE FALL SO STAY TUNED FOR MANY MORE BASEBALL UPDATES ON THE RAY BOYS.. THIS MOMMA AND DADDY WILL BE BURNING THE HIGHWAYS UP TO WATCH BOTH OF THEM PLAY. WE HAVE SO MUCH FUN WATCHING THEM AND CHEERING THEM ON. WE ARE SO BLESSED WITH THESE 2 HEALTHY BOYS AND THANK GOD FOR ALLOWING US TO BE THEIR PARENTS!! THANKS FOR MAKING US A PART OF YOUR DAY..

Can't Believe its been 2 years

I CAN NOT BELIEVE WE HAVE LIVED IN TEXAS FOR 2 YEARS NOW.. JUNE 23RD MARKED 2 YEARS AND IT JUST SEEMS LIKE YESTERDAY WE MOVED HERE AND SAID GOODBYE TO ALL OF OUR SWEET FRIENDS IN MISSOURI. I HAVE TO SAY I TRULY MISS ST LOUIS AND ALL OF OUR FRIENDS BUT TEXAS HAS BEEN GREAT AND WE HAVE CERTAINLY BEEN BLESSED.. WE HAVE EXPERIENCED THINGS WE NEVER WOULD HAVE IN MISSOURI SUCH AS HURRICANE IKE...WHEW.. NEVER WANT TO DO THAT AGAIN..WE HEARD THE WARNING AND EVERYONE SAID IT WILL JUST RAIN REALLY HARD BUT IT WONT REACH US.. WRONG IT REACHED US, IT STARTED AT MIDNIGHT WITH THE HEAVY RAIN AND THEN IT ALL STARTED, IT WAS BAD... LOTS OF DAMAGE WAS DONE AND SCHOOL WAS CLOSED FOR 2 WEEKS BUT THANK GOD NO DAMAGE WAS DONE TO OUR HOME, THE ONLY THING, WAS THE BIGGEST OAK TREE ON OUR LOT WAS UP ROOTED BUT YOU DID NOT HEAR US COMPLAINING.. POWER WAS OUT FOR 4 DAYS WHICH WAS GOOD CONSIDERING SOME PEOPLE IT WAS WEEKS... WE ACTUALLY TOOK A FAMILY TRIP TO WACO WHERE WE WERE NEVER SO EXCITED TO SEE ELECTRICITY, AIR CONDITIONING AND HOT SHOWERS.. WE LEARNED IN THAT EXPERIENCE TO NEVER EVER TAKE THINGS FOR GRANTED, THE TOWN RAN OUT OF WATER, ICE AND GASOLINE NEVER THOUGHT I WOULD APPRECIATE THOSE ITEMS AS MUCH AS I DO TODAY..HOPEFULLY WE WONT EXPERIENCE ANOTHER HURRICANE FOR MANY MANY YEARS IF EVER..BUT WE LOOK BACK AND SEE WHAT GOD TAUGHT US DURING THAT TIME AND IT WAS TO BE THANKFUL FOR ALL THAT HE PROVIDES AND CHERISH THE FAMILY THAT HE HAS BLESSED YOU WITH..WE HAVE BEEN BLESSED WITH LOTS OF NEW SWEET FRIENDS WHO WE TRULY KNOW THAT GOD HAS PLACED EACH ONE IN OUR LIVES FOR A REASON AND FOR THAT WE ARE SO BLESSED..THE BOYS HAVE JUST ADJUSTED SO WELL, THEY HAVE MADE SOME REALLY GOOD FRIENDS AND THEY BOTH LOVE SCHOOL AND HAVE DONE EXCEPTIONALLY WELL. THEY ARE BOTH INVOLVED IN SPORTS AND LOVE THEIR NEW TEAMS. ON TOP OF MOVING TO TEXAS WE ADDED 2 NEW MEMBERS TO OUR FAMILY A LITTLE BOY SHIH-TZU NAMED MAX WHO WE GOT THE FIRST DAY OF SCHOOL HE WAS 7 WEEKS OLD WHEN WE GOT HIM AND HE IS PRECIOUS, HE IS A GREAT DOG WHO IS JUST A DREAM AND WE ALL JUST LOVE HIM VERY MUCH, AND THEN THIS PAST APRIL JUST A FEW MONTHS AGO WE ADDED A LITTLE GIRL BLACK LAB NAMED MOLLY WHO WE GOT FOR PHILLIP FOR HIS 16TH BDAY, WHEN WE GOT HER SHE WAS 5 WEEKS OLD AND NOW SHE IS 3 MTHS AND SHE IS SOMETHING.. I AM PRAYING SHE WILL BE THE DREAM PUPPY LIKE MAX IS SOOOOOOOOOON:)WE TRULY LOVE OUR LIFE HERE IN TEXAS AND WE LOVE WHEN OUR FRIENDS AND FAMILY VISIT SO THEY CAN SEE HOW GOD HAS BLESSED US.. PLEASE COME VISIT, WE MISS AND LOVE YOU ALL BUNCHES AND WOULD LOVE TO SEE YOU SOON!! I GUESS WE NOW CONSIDER OURSELVES "TEXANS"