Raising The Ray Boys

Christmas 2010"

2011-01-02T20:20:00.006-06:00

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

2010-12-11T18:07:00.005-06:00

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

2010-10-24T15:58:00.004-05:00

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

2010-10-08T21:03:00.005-05:00

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

2010-09-17T19:53:00.004-05:00

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

2010-08-10T19:21:00.003-05:00

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

2010-06-24T17:53:00.005-05:00

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"

The Tails of Miss Molly Part 2

2010-06-14T12:01:00.004-05:00

So Sorry it has taken me so long to post stories about Miss Molly.. All I can say is she is growing so fast and doing things in a blink of a eye that it is hard to keep up with her.. She is full of spunk and energy and keeps us laughing all the time. She is truly precious but wow I think we had forgotten what it was like to have a puppy.. To give Max credit he was so good from the day we brought him home, he honestly is like a dream puppy, he was potty trained in 2 weeks, will not go to the bathroom in the house no matter how long you are away and loves to cuddle and loves belly rubs from others.. He goes to bed when we do and wakes up when we do, he travels out of town with us and does so good in the car so needless to say we have been spoiled.. Now Miss Molly on the other hand, we always think she is doing great with the potty training and she is but she sometimes well ...has accidents..All in all she is a good puppy she is just a puppy with a BIG personality.She has learned alot of commands and behaves pretty much most of the time. She loves Max, they have truly become the best of friends. Sometimes I am afraid that she plays to rough with him because she is now lot bigger than him but he pretty much holds his own and lets her know when enough is enough! She loves the water and it is very hard to keep her out of the pool.. The boys had a Schools Out for Summer Party and had kids over to swim and she was right there in the middle of them, every time I would take a picture there she would be, so I would say she has truly adjusted to being a part of The Ray Family.If she is not in the pool and its hot outside she will do anything to get to water, the other day I filled a big plastic bowl of ice water up for her and she drank some and then she took her paws and played in it for a bit and then I noticed she took the bowl in her teeth and flipped it on to her head and back, it is so hard not to laugh at her but I do have to correct her, so I got the bowl away from her and I was getting a towel to wipe the floor and she honestly was playing like it was a slip and slide, running and sliding, like I said she keeps us laughing. If the sprinkler is on in the yard she will run and run thru it, over it,around it until it goes off.I guess it is true when they say Labs are " Water Dogs" I guess it was last week we had so much going on with the boys and I was worn out , I told Chuck I was going to take my bubble bath and go to bed so I went in climb into my bath, turned the jets on and laid back and relaxed, well about 5 mins after being in there with silence and total relaxation GUESS WHO JUMPS IN... AHHHHHHHHHHHHHH so I start yelling Chuck Chuck come get her and she was loving it so finally we get her out dried off and put to bed, I have now learned to lock the doors when its bubble bath time. Stay Tuned for more adventures of Miss Molly the Water Dog...

The Tails of Miss Molly xoxoxo

2010-05-24T23:49:00.007-05:00

THE TAILS OF MISS MOLLY, I THINK IT COULD SERIOUSLY TURN INTO A CHILDREN'S STORYBOOK.HMMMM.... WHAT A BRILLIANT IDEA..WELL THE STORY BEGINS OF THE BOYS MEETING A NEIGHBOR RIGHT AFTER WE FIRST MOVED IN AND SHE ASKED THEM TO DOG SIT FOR A WEEKEND SURE NO PROBLEM THEY SAY.. WELL THERE WERE 2 DOGS ONE OLD SWEET SWEET BLACK LAB NAMED "SUGAR" AND ONE YOUNG, ACTIVE YELLOW LAB NAMED "DAISY".. WELL WE ALL IMMEDIATELY FELL IN LOVE WITH BOTH OF THEM. ABOUT A MONTH AFTER WE WATCHED THEM MS PAM CALLED TO TELL US SOME SAD NEWS, SUGAR HAD PASSED AWAY AND WE WERE ALL VERY SAD. WE CONTINUED TO WATCH DAISY EVERY CHANCE WE GOT AND EVEN OUR SWEET LITTLE MAX LOVES DAISY.. MS PAM MADE THE MISTAKE OF TELLING THE BOYS THAT WHENEVER SHE BRED DAISY THAT SHE WANTED THEM TO HAVE ONE OF HER PUPPIES.. OH OK SURE THAT IS SO SWEET BUT HECK NO... WE HAD A LAB RIGHT AFTER WE GOT MARRIED AND HIS NAME WAS BO, WE TRULY LOVED BO AND IN HIS DEFENSE HE WAS RAISED IN A APARTMENT WHERE HE CHEWED THE WINDOWSILL, HE CHEWED THE BEDROOM WALL, HE CHEWED AND CHEWED AND CHEWED UGGGG SO NEEDLESS TO SAY.. WELL.... HE SOON BECAME A OUTSIDE DOG AS SOON AS WE MOVED AND HE LOVED IT AND WE DID TOO BUT WE ALWAYS SAID NEVER AGAIN..LOL... HA HA HA... WELL BACK IN MARCH MS PAM CAME BY AND SAID GUESS WHAT?? DAISY HAS PUPPIES... COME ON AND PICK YOU ONE OUT,,, SURE MS PAM BUT NO THANKS...WE EVEN MADE A DEAL WITH MS PAM WE SAID IF YOU KEEP ONE THEN WE WILL TAKE CARE OF IT TOO WHEN WE WATCH DAISY... SHE WAS LIKE SURE THAT WOULD BE GREAT...NEXT DAY, BIG MISTAKE! BIG BIG MISTAKE, HUGE MISTAKE... I SAID TO CHUCK ONE EVENING AS WE WERE WALKING MAX LETS STOP AND SEE DAISY AND HER PUPPIES.. OH MY GOODNESS WHY DID HE NOT SAY NO! WE BOTH FELL IN LOVE THERE WAS 9 BEAUTIFUL PUPPIES... 7 MALE, 2 FEMALE... 2 YELLOW, 2 CHOCOLATES, 5 BLACK.. CUTEST THINGS YOU HAVE EVER SEEN... WE GOT THEM OUT AND LOVED ON THEM AND THEY ALL CAME OUT EXCEPT ONE SHE WAS THE RUNT OF THE LITTER AND SHE JUST SAT AND WATCHED.. EVEN WHEN WE PUT THE OTHERS BACK IN THE KENNEL WITH THEIR MOMMA SHE STILL JUST SAT BEHIND HER MOMMA PEEKING OUT.. VERY SHY..SWEET PUPPY... A FEW DAYS LATER THE BOYS WANTED TO GO DOWN AND SEE THEM SO WE WENT AND PLAYED WITH THEM AGAIN.. THIS TIME THE BABY CAME OUT AND CUDDLED IN PEYTON'S LAP AS SOON AS PEYTON GOT UP TO PLAY WITH THE OTHERS SHE WENT AND CUDDLED WITH PHILLIP, THEY BOTH FELL IN LOVE WITH HER.. THE NEXT DAY THEY WANTED TO GO BACK AND A FEW WERE GONE BUT SHE WAS STILL THERE SHE CAME OUT AND LOVED ON THE BOYS AGAIN AND THEY JUST OOOHHHHED AND AWWWWED...PHILLIPS 16TH BDAY WAS COMING UP THE NEXT WEEKEND SO WE SURPRISED HIM WITH THE SWEET LITTLE BLACK ONE... HE WAS SO EXCITED AND WE ALL COULD NOT GET ENOUGH OF HER.. EVEN MAX FELL IN LOVE SERIOUSLY THINK HE THOUGHT SHE WAS HIS BABY... WE GOT HER WHEN SHE WAS 5 WEEKS OLD AND SHE WEIGHED BARELY 6 LBS..TINY LITTLE THING THAT LOVED TO CUDDLE WITH ANYONE..A FEW DAYS WENT BY AND SHE WAS GETTING USE TO US AND HER NEW HOME AND LOVED TO PLAY WITH MAX. THE NEXT WEEKEND WE THREW A SURPRISE PARTY FOR PHILLIP WITH A TON OF KIDS, LOUD MUSIC AND LOTS OF EXCITEMENT.. WELL THAT SHY PUPPY DECIDED SHE WANTED TO SOCIALIZE TOO, SHE WAS THE CUTEST THING GREETED EVERYONE WHO CAME UP, RAN AROUND AND EVEN TRIED TO JUMP IN THE POOL WITH THE KIDS A FEW TIMES.SO I GUESS YOU COULD SAY SHE STARTED OUT SOCIALIZING EARLY AND SHE LOVES PEOPLE..Phillip decided to name her Molly, he wanted to name her Maddi but we said no because our friends have a dog named Maddi and our best friends have a daughter named Maddi.. The funny thing we told our friends daughter and she was all for naming her Maddi but we decided Molly really fit her..We love our new addition and look forward to playing and loving her.. Stayed Tuned for the adventures of Miss Molly.. I will be adding them soon.......

Happy Birthday Chuck

2010-05-09T08:22:00.004-05:00

Today is May 9th and it is Mothers Day and it is also Chuck's birthday!! How cool is that? I think it would be so cool to have a baby on Mothers Day.. Babies are truly a Gift from God any day of the week but just to say I had a baby on Mothers Day it just seems like a extra special blessing from above.. Any way Happy Mothers Day to all of you and a Happy Happy Birthday to my man. I know I just posted a Anniversary post on Chuck but personally I can not brag enough about him:) He truly is a amazing Husband, Father and Friend. I have to say I am one of the luckiest girls in the world to have him as my husband, partner and best friend. He gives and gives so much of himself and will do anything we ask and want him to do and then gives more.. You know some people have those relationships where it is 50/50 well truly I feel here it is 110/50... Thank you so much for loving me and doing all that you do for me and the boys, we love and appreciate you more than we could ever show or tell you. You are such a great example to me as a christian leader, a loyal friend and loving spouse and I truly don't know what I would do without you. Thank you for being such a awesome Father. Here are some notes from the boys that they wanted to share with you.
From Phillip..... Happy Birthday Dad! I hope you have a awesome day and I hope you know how much I love you! I am so glad that I have you as my dad, you care about me and love me and want the very best for me. I am sorry that I let you down at times and I m sorry that I disappoint you sometimes but I thank you for loving me no matter what. You are the best and I hope to be just like you one day! Happy Bday!! From Peyton...... Happy Bday Dude! Hope you have a great day, thanks for being the best Dad in the world, I am glad that God chose you to be my Dad, I think you are the best Coach and I have a good time out there with you and all my friends think you are cool.. Love you Dad! Happy Bday! I hope and pray that this year is the very best by far, I pray that God shine his light on you and thru you. I pray that this year will be filled with a abundance of blessings for you.. We love you very very much and hope you have a Happy Happy Bday!!!

My Baby is 16!!!!

2010-05-03T14:00:00.010-05:00

AS I SIT HERE I HAVE SO MANY EMOTIONS AND SO MANY THOUGHTS IN MY HEAD AND IN MY HEART. TRULY DID NOT THINK IT WOULD BE THIS HARD TO WATCH PHILLIP TURN 16 BUT GOODNESS MY TEARS ARE FLOWING. I HAVE TO SAY I AM EXCITED FOR HIM IN THIS NEW JOURNEY OF LIFE BUT THEN AGAIN I AM SCARED TO DEATH FOR HIM SO MANY THINGS RESPONSIBILITIES, DRIVING,WOW.. HE STILL HAS A LONG ROAD AHEAD OF HIM BUT YET ADULTHOOD TRULY STARTS HERE, HE IS OLD ENOUGH TO GET A JOB, HE IS OLD ENOUGH TO DRIVE AND THAT'S FUN AND EXCITING BUT YET AGAIN ITS THE FIRST STEPS OF ADULTHOOD AND I AM NOT SO SURE I WANT THAT TO HAPPEN RIGHT NOW, I STILL WANT MY CHUBBY LITTLE BABY WHO I COULD HOLD AND PROTECT AND KISS AWAY THE TEARS WHEN HE HURT HIMSELF, WHO COULD BE HIS BEST FRIEND AND THAT WAS THE GREATEST THING IN THE WORLD, THE ONE WHO WHATEVER I SAID I WAS RIGHT AND OH SO SMART..LOL .. HA HA NOW ITS MOM DON'T HUG ME IN FRONT OF SO AND SO AND MY GOODNESS DON'T YOU DARE KISS ME, AND NOW ITS THE GIRLFRIEND AND THE FRIENDS WHO HE WOULD RATHER HANG WITH..LOL.. AND OH WHATEVER I SAY I AM USUALLY WRONG AND OH SO DUMB..LOL.. OH HOW I REMEMBER BEING THE SAME WAY TO MY MOM AND DAD, ITS JUST THAT AGE AND KNOWING IT ALL AND BEING INDEPENDENT,LOL LITTLE DOES HE KNOW MOMMAS ALWAYS RIGHT AND MOMMA KNOWS BEST AND MOMMA WILL ALWAYS BE YOUR BEST FRIEND WHEN MOST PEOPLE COME AND GO.. ANYWAY WE ARE BEGINNING THE NEW JOURNEY WITH OUR SWEET PHILLIP AND REALLY LOOK FORWARD TO IT AND WILL BE DOING LOTS AND LOTS AND PRAYING..WE SURPRISED PHILLIP WITH A 16TH BDAY PARTY HE HAD NO IDEA, NO CLUE... HE KEPT TELLING US HE WANTED TO HAVE A FEW FRIENDS OVER TO HANG OUT AND WE WERE LIKE WELL WE WILL SEE WE HAVE THIS AND THIS AND WE HAVE TO GO HERE AND THERE AND HIS GIRLFRIENDS MOM EVEN TOLD HIM SHE COULDN'T COME OVER BECAUSE SHE HAD SOMETHING TO DO SO HE WAS A LITTLE BUMMED NEEDLESS TO SAY BUT HE MADE OTHER PLANS, HE SPENT THE NIGHT WITH ONE OF HIS FRIENDS ON SATURDAY AND THEY WERE GOING TO BRING HIM HOME AROUND 4:15 ON SUNDAY, SO ALL OF HIS FRIENDS CAME OVER AROUND 4:00 AND THEY WERE HERE WHEN HE PULLED UP,HE WAS VERY SURPRISED AND VERY HAPPY.. WE HAD A POOL PARTY AND COOKOUT AND A DJ WHO PLAYED ALL THE LATEST MUSIC THAT THEY ALL LISTEN TO FROM POP TO COUNTRY, WE HAD A KARAOKE MACHINE WHICH SOME OF US, OOPS I MEAN THEM HA HA SANG AND THERE WAS A BUBBLE MACHINE AND FOG MACHINE, IT WAS SO COOL.. HE HAD A GREAT TIME AND HIS FRIENDS DID TOO. SOME OF THE PARENTS STAYED AS WELL AND I THINK THEY HAD AS MUCH FUN AS THE KIDS. THANK YOU ALL WHO SHARED IN HIS SPECIAL DAY AND WHO HELPED WITH DECORATIONS AND COOKING AND CLEANING UP.. YOU ARE ALL A BLESSING TO ALL OF US AND WE ARE SO THANKFUL THAT GOD HAS PUT YOU IN OUR LIVES..PHILLIP, DAD AND I JUST WANT YOU TO KNOW HOW BLESSED WE ARE TO CALL YOU OUR SON, YOU HAVE TRULY BEEN A ANSWERED PRAYER FROM THE TIME WE FOUND OUT WE WERE HAVING YOU.WE LOVE WHO YOU ARE AND WHO YOU ARE TURNING OUT TO BE, WE PRAY THAT YOU WILL ALWAYS FOLLOW GODS PATH FOR YOU AND THAT YOU WILL ALWAYS FOLLOW HIS WORD AND HIS TRUTH. WE ARE SO THANKFUL THAT YOU KNOW IN YOUR HEART WHO YOU TRULY ARE AND YOU KNOW WHATS RIGHT FROM WRONG AS TEENAGERS AND SHOOT EVEN ADULTS WE OFTEN MAKE STUPID MISTAKES IN JUST ABOUT EVERY SITUATION, WE PRAY THAT YOU WILL ASK GOD FOR WISDOM AND GUIDANCE AND LEAN ON HIM TO SEE YOU THRU DIFFERENT SITUATIONS AS YOU START A NEW JOURNEY THIS YEAR. WE PRAY FOR HAPPINESS AND LOTS OF LOVE AND BLESSINGS FOR YOUR LIFE AND WE PRAY THAT YOU WILL TRULY SUCCEED IN THIS WORLD OF GOOD AND BAD AND THAT YOU WILL BLESS OTHERS WITH YOUR SWEET HEART. HAPPY BIRTHDAY PHILLIP TAYLOR, NEVER EVER FORGET HOW MUCH YOU ARE LOVED AND MEAN TO YOUR FAMILY, WE ARE SO BLESSED AND SO THANKFUL TO GOD THAT HE CHOSE YOU TO BE OURS...XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOOXOXOXOXOXXOXO

I have the BEST Husband in The World!!! Happy Anniversary!!

2010-04-19T16:41:00.007-05:00

Happy Anniversary!! April 22,1989 I married my Best Friend, The Love of My Life, The Man of My Dreams and All that I could ever Hope for.. We have been married for 21 years and I can not believe it has been that long.. In ways it seems like it was just yesterday and then again I can not remember my life before him! I have been blessed in so many ways being Mrs Chuck Ray and I owe all my Thanks to God! Of course we have had our ups and downs in our marriage just like any other but I am so Thankful that we have God in the center of our marriage and at the head of our household because it all works out for the best because of Gods grace and guidance in every situation. We have also been blessed with 2 boys who he is a great example to, he lets them know that marriage is hard work and you have to work at it, he lets them know that I am his number one priority, he shows them to love and respect me in everything that he does. He is such a great example and I am so blessed! Happy Anniversary Chuck, I love you more today than I did 21 yrs ago! I pray that God continues to bless our marriage and that he allows many more happy years together filled with nothing but happiness and lots of love!Thanks for all you do for me and thank you for putting our family first.. I have to honestly be one of the luckiest girls in the world~ I love you bunches and will forever and always and for eternity~~~
James 1 : 17 says that Every Good and Perfect Gift Comes From Above.. and you are truly my gift~~~ Love you , cherish you and oh so proud of you~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxooxoxooxoxoxoxoxooxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxooxxooxox Happy Anniversary to my Mom and Dad too! They have been married for 49 years and have been the greatest example of what True Love is about.. Thank you for setting that example, we pray that you have many more years of happiness and true love!! Love you both!!

Happy Easter 2010"

2010-04-08T15:20:00.004-05:00

Happy Easter to you and yours! Wow! This day is fabulous and means so much to me.. I have always known what Easter was and what it stood for. Of course as a little girl it meant that the Easter Bunny was coming and bringing me a basket full of goodies and of course I got to dress up and go to church but then later on in life I focused on the day as just a Holiday and got to get a new dress and wear it to church like a fashion show and then later after I had the boys we started the Easter Bunny tradition as well but I also knew there was more to it and I wanted my kids to know it just was not about the basket full of goodies, the dying of the eggs and the dress up, I wanted them to know that God sent his son his only son to die on the cross for our sins and how he was put in the tomb after he died and after 3 days he rose again. Of course they were little and did not really understand but I can say TODAY at almost 16 and 13 they know the TRUE meaning of Easter and we celebrate that our Lord and Savior is Alive and guides us everyday. I am so thankful that they do understand and I am so thankful that they both have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ!!I was talking to a friend of mine the other day and I was telling her that this year the meaning of Easter really really hit me personally. I can not relate to the LOVE that Christ has showed us by sending His one and only Son to die on the cross for us for me, when I am describing this to someone it just amazes me that HE died for us but if it was just ME or YOU he would have done it anyway.. wow that is true love! When you think of your own child would you send your child to take that sacrifice? That is True Love! I am blessed! It really hits me personally when I think of Him on the cross and all HE went thru.. He took it for me! That is TRUE LOVE! After he died they took his body off of the cross and wrapped it in linen and put him in a tomb and rolled a heavy heavy stone in front of the tomb, after the third day they came back and the stone was rolled away and the body was gone, do you know why it was not there? Because HE said HE would come back and rise again, HE promised and HIS word is TRUE. Thank you Lord for coming back to live with me every single day, every single second to guide and direct me, to love me like no other, to be my best friend, to be my Savior, to be my KING, to be my EVERYTHING! I truly can not comprehend how people do not believe, I just can't even go there, I can not understand why you would not want a personal relationship with HIM. What do you have to lose? Do you know GOD? Do you believe in GOD? Do you believe GOD? or do you just know the Easter story that someone told you?? I also look at Easter as Renewed, Refreshed,A New Start.. Easter always takes place in the Spring time, when you think of Spring , you think of Sunshine, New Growth, Green Grass, Brightly colored flowers, Blue Skies, New Blooms on Trees, Baby Animals, New Life a whole New Start And that's what HE promises us when we have a personal relationship with HIM.. I just want to say Thank you Lord for your amazing love, your amazing grace, and all that you do for me and bless me, I want to Glorify you in all I do and say and I want to share your word and your love. If you just know the Easter story and would like to know more and would like to have a personal relationship with the Creator of the Universe, get in touch with me and I will introduce you to HIM! For those of you who do have that personal relationship with Jesus Christ, my prayer is that you would continue to grow deeper with HIM and Glorify Him every single day with your actions and your words..I beg you to teach your children about Jesus Christ instead of the Easter Bunny, just a FYI he brings baskets full of goodies every single day not just once a year.. Have a Blessed day and thanks for making us a part of your day!! Lots to come with Raising The Ray Boys!!!

SPRING BREAK 2010'

2010-03-27T23:08:00.004-05:00

WELL SPRING BREAK HAS COME AND GONE AND WE ARE ALREADY AT THE END OF MARCH.. THIS YEAR SEEMS TO BE FLYING BY.. I REMEMBER SOMEONE SAYING THE OLDER YOU GET, THE FASTER THE YEARS ROLL BY AND BOY IS THAT TRUE.. ALL THOUGH I AM STILL 29:) WE HAD A GREAT SPRING BREAK, WE DID NOT GET TO GO ANYWHERE THIS YEAR DUE TO PHILLIP BEING ON THE HIGH SCHOOL BASEBALL TEAM, HE HAD GAMES SO HE HAD TO BE HERE..BUT THAT WAS OK IT TURNED OUT OK.. OUR GOOD FRIENDS THE LONGS FROM ST LOUIS CAME UP AND SPENT THE WEEK WITH US. WE ALWAYS HAVE SO MUCH FUN WITH THEM, THEY HAVE TRULY BECOME LIKE FAMILY TO US..THEIR BOYS ARE DIRT BIKE RIDERS AND SO THEY BROUGHT THEIR BIKES AND GOT TO RIDE EVERYDAY. THAT HAS ALWAYS BEEN PEYTON'S DREAM SINCE HE WAS 2 TO RIDE DIRT BIKES.. I CAN REMEMBER HIM IN HIS CAR SEAT MAKING MOTORCYCLE SOUNDS AND EVERY TIME HE SAW ONE ON THE ROAD HE WOULD SCREAM LOOK LOOK.. SO HIS DREAM FINALLY CAME TRUE,WHILE THEY WERE HERE THE TRACK THAT THEY WERE RIDING AT WAS HOSTING A BEGINNERS CAMP THAT WEEK SO WE SIGNED HIM UP AND I CAN NOT EVEN BEGIN TO TELL YOU HOW EXCITED HE WAS.. THE LONGS WERE SO SWEET, THEY HAVE KNOWN PEYT SINCE HE WAS 2 AND HAVE ALWAYS KNOWN THAT THIS WAS HIS PASSION AND SO THEY BROUGHT HIM ALL OF THE GEAR THAT HE NEEDED, JERSEY, PANTS, BOOTS, GLOVES AND HELMET AND OH MY GOODNESS YOU SHOULD HAVE SEEN HIS FACE WHEN THEY GAVE HIM THOSE THINGS, HE WAS SO EXCITED!! SO OFF HE GOES TO CAMP AND HAD A BLAST, HE DID REALLY WELL FOR SOMEONE WHO HAD NEVER RIDDEN BEFORE. HE DID SAY AT THE END OF THE DAY THAT HE WAS TIRED AND THAT RIDING WAS HARD WORK ON YOUR LEGS.. HE DID HAVE FUN THOUGH AND SAYS HE STILL WANTS TO RIDE BUT WE HAVEN'T REALLY SEEN THE PASSION THAT WE THOUGHT WE WOULD SEE AFTER THE FACT.. TO BE HONEST I AM HOPING HE WILL FIND ANOTHER LOVE,MOTORCYCLES SCARE ME TO DEATH AND I SURE DON'T WANT TO SEE HIM GET HURT..PHILLIP PLAYED A FEW GAMES OVER SPRING BREAK AND HAD PRACTICES SO HE WAS BUSY WITH THAT BUT OH MY DID ALL OF THOSE BOYS HAVE FUN.. THEY PLAYED BASKETBALL AND BASEBALL AND WE WENT OUT TO EAT A FEW TIMES,OF COURSE THEY PLAYED VIDEO GAMES AND WATCHED MOVIES AND I CAN ONLY IMAGINE WHAT THEIR LATE NIGHT CONVERSATIONS WERE WHEN THE LIGHTS WERE OUT AND THE DOOR WAS SHUT, HA HA HA.. BUT OH THAT IS WHAT MAKES THE FUN MEMORIES...THEY LEFT ON SATURDAY MORNING BRIGHT AND EARLY AND I HAVE TO SAY I WAS REALLY SAD.. LIKE I SAID WE ALWAYS HAVE ALOT OF FUN AND ALOT OF LAUGHS WITH THEM.. MARGY DOESN'T REALLY LIKE TO SHOP BUT I TURNED HER INTO A SHOPPER WHILE SHE WAS HERE, WE WENT TO HARWIN FOR THE DAY AND HAD A BLAST. I AM SURE SHE NEEDED A VACATION WHEN SHE GOT HOME.. THANKS FOR COMING TO VISIT, WE ENJOYED YALL SO MUCH AND LOVE AND MISS YOU BUNCHES! WE HOPE THAT YALL HAD A GREAT SPRING BREAK TOO... A FEW MORE WEEKS AND SUMMER WILL BEGIN, AND I CAN NOT WAIT!! THANKS FOR MAKING US A PART OF YOUR DAY.. CHECK BACK AND SEE WHAT THE RAY BOYS ARE UP TO NEXT!!!

ITS BASEBALL SEASON ONCE AGAIN

2010-03-09T20:44:00.006-06:00

I CAN NOT EVEN BEGIN TO TELL YOU HOW EXCITED WE ARE THAT IT IS BASEBALL SEASON ONCE AGAIN.. WE LIVE FOR THIS TIME OF YEAR.. SITTING OUTSIDE WATCHING THE BOYS DO SOMETHING THAT THEY HONESTLY LIVE AND BREATH AND LOVE TO DO HAS TO BE ONE OF MY FAVORITE THINGS TO DO.. THIS PAST SATURDAY WAS OPENING DAY FOR MAGNOLIA BASEBALL LEAGUE BALL AND IT IS ALWAYS SO MUCH FUN TO GO OUT AND SEE YOUR CHILD HAVING A GOOD TIME AND BONDING WITH THEIR NEW TEAM AND FRIENDS. THIS YEAR IS DIFFERENT FOR US, WE ONLY HAVE ONE IN LEAGUE BALL AND THE OTHER ONE IS PLAYING HIGH SCHOOL BALL FOR HIS SCHOOL. THANK GOODNESS WE DON'T HAVE TO MANY CONFLICTS, WE HAVE A FEW BUT WE ARE NOT COMPLAINING. CHUCK IS COACHING THE YOUNGEST SO I AM ALWAYS WITH THE HIGH SCHOOLER BUT MOST OF THE TIMES WE WILL ALL BE ABLE TO WATCH EACH ONE. WE ARE SO EXCITED TO SAY THAT BOTH TEAMS WON THEIR FIRST GAME SO EVERYONE IS HAPPY IN THE RAY HOME~~ WE WERE SO EXCITED ABOUT THE LEAGUE TEAM, SINCE CHUCK IS COACHING HE GETS TO PICK OUT WHICH TEAM HE WANTS TO BE, SO GUESS WHO HE PICKED?? THEY ARE ALL MLB TEAMS, ITS OUR FAVORITE TEAM EVER..... YOU GUESSED IT...ST LOUIS CARDINALS!!! I AM JUST SO EXCITED BECAUSE MOVING HERE FROM ST LOUIS, I HAVE LOTS OF CUTE CARDINALS ATTIRE:)AND I GET TO WEAR IT WITHOUT BEING HARASSED!! OUR JEEP EVEN HAS CARDINALS ON IT SO THESE PEOPLE PROBABLY THINK WE TAKE OUR LITTLE LEAGUE TEAM SERIOUS..LOL..I CAN NOT WAIT TO WATCH MY BOYS PLAY AND MESH AS A TEAM WITH THEIR NEW TEAMMATES AND ALSO GET TO KNOW THE OTHER PARENTS. IF YOU HAVE EVER PLAYED ON A TEAM OR HAD A CHILD PLAY YOU KNOW YOU SEE THE SAME PEOPLE EVERY WEEK SOMETIMES 3 OR 4 TIMES SO YOU BECOME FRIENDS AND THEN YOU TRULY BECOME LIKE A FAMILY AND I LOVE THAT..ITS SUCH A FUN TIME AND I AM SO THANKFUL TO GOD THAT MY BOYS ARE HEALTHY AND ABLE TO PLAY BALL AND I AM VERY THANKFUL THAT CHUCK IS A HEALTHY MAN WHO IS ABLE TO COACH AND SPEND TIME WITH HIS CHILDREN AND OTHER PEOPLES TOO.. I PRAY THAT GOD WILL JUST USE HIM TO MENTOR TO THESE BOYS AND GIVE THEM GUIDANCE AND DIRECTION AND BE THE EXAMPLE THAT GOD WANTS HIM TO BE TO THEM. I THANK GOD THAT I AM ABLE TO GO AND WATCH AND CHEER AS LOUD AS I CAN..THE FINAL WORDS ON THIS POST IS SPEND TIME WITH YOUR KIDS AND TRULY ENJOY WATCHING THEM DO WHAT THEY LOVE TO DO.. ENCOURAGE AND PRAISE THEM AS MUCH AS YOU CAN AND REALIZE THAT THEY ARE ONLY YOUNG ONCE.. MAKE MEMORIES! SET POSITIVE EXAMPLES! AND LOVE YOUR KIDDOS!!!!

NOTHING IS BETTER THAN GROWING CLOSER TO GOD WITH A GROUP OF SWEET FRIENDS

2010-02-21T15:10:00.016-06:00

I know I have blogged before about my sweet friends who I met when I first moved here in the Just Moved Bible Study Class... The study that we did was held at a church that we all attended at that time and now some of us have gone to other churches, but we all met at this study in August 2008 and have kept in touch weekly and have grown closer to one another.. This group of ladies are just a important part of my life and I look forward to seeing them weekly. They strengthen me and encourage me, they inspire me with their God gifted talents, they listen to my crazy stories and cry with me when I am down especially when I say I want to move back to St Louis and laugh with me when I am up.. We all come from different walks of life and have some what different lifestyles but then again, we are all Married, we are all Mommas and we are all Southern girls and most important thing is we are all Sisters in Christ~~So you see we may be different in some ways but we are more alike than anything.. Right now we are doing a weekly bible study on Thursday mornings it is a study that I am sure you all have heard of if not have already done it.. The Purpose Driven Life by Rick Warren.. This study has such a awesome insight of what our purpose is in life and we are on day 12.. We have had some great discussions and great insights and great advice.. I appreciate what they do and say on Thursday mornings and it is just not on Thursday mornings, we pray for each other daily and the thing is I KNOW they are praying and not just saying it.. I can totally feel their love and their prayers when I am not with them..In this short time that we have known each other we feel each others pain and know when one another is down without having to say a word, we can tell by each others facial expressions or how we are carrying ourselves.. God has given each one of us the gift of compassion and friendship.. I would say that is the beginning of what true friendships are..Don't you just love unexpected gifts from God..When we moved here at the end of June 2008 I had no idea that I would meet these girls and have the love that I do for them today! We have gone through some situations with other friendships, with our husbands,with our families, with our own health issues and we have all been there to share and pray for one another.. I thought my life was so blessed and so good when we lived in St Louis and that nothing would ever compare, I thought it was the end of my life when I had to move away from my friends but God showed me not only was I comfortably blessed with my life and friends in St Louis, he showed me and gave me more blessings to add to my life and for that I am forever grateful..Do not ever underestimate the gifts from God that he will bless your life with....He truly knows the desires of our hearts and for that I am so glad.. Before we moved and after we moved in I prayed and prayed that God would let our family feel like we belonged here and that he would give us all a great group of friends who were built on the same foundation as we are and boy did HE~~I am so glad the he knows my hearts desires and I love the path that he has made for me.. I pray that I continue to grow with him deeper and that I can shine HIS light thru this community.. I am so glad that I have a blessed group of girls that I can grow with and that they can be my prayer partners, my spiritual encouragers and my accountability sisters! I love you all and I pray nothing but happiness and blessings for each one of you and I pray that God will bless you with a group of great friends too!!!!

Congratulations Phillip!!!

2010-02-12T13:41:00.007-06:00

We are so excited for Phillip!! He made the high school baseball team!! This has been a dream of his ever since he could pretty much hold a bat!! This is going to be a great season of his life and ours too.. Here in the South High School sports are BIG... Especially when you live in a small town.. The whole town practically comes out for all the games so this will be a ton of fun for all of us.. A few of his friends made the team too so we will be getting to watch and travel with all of the other families... It is just so neat, when your kids play on sports teams with their friends and you are together weekly or sometimes more than once a week, you get to know other families pretty well and you become like "Family" So again I say God has Blessed us once again!!Phillip is so excited and looks forward to practicing every single day..He gets upset if it rains or something comes up where they don't get to but oh how he looks forward to it when they do.. Last Saturday, they had a 100 inning game and they announced all the players and their sponsors and that was a fun day..We just pray that Phillip has a great time playing ball and getting to know his teammates and coaches.. We pray for all the boys on the team that they will all work together for the best for the team and they come out a winning team... We pray that Phillip will be able to keep up with his school work and keep his grades up and play ball and we hope he can balance it where it wont be to overwhelming for him...Today he had his first scrimmage and they had to play about a hour away so they always have to take the bus to and from for liability reasons and I was kind of afraid that he would get tired or hungry on the bus but NO! he had a blast, he said it was actually very fun...He did really well at this scrimmage and felt good about how he did, we have told him to do his best and give it all he has and he will do fine... He has another scrimmage tomorrow and we cant wait to watch him play again! He got his uniform last week and was just so excited, they can not wear them to scrimmages, they have to wait for the season to start to wear them so they will all be clean and crisp...If you are in our area come on out and support the team! Looking forward to a fun season of life... Thanks for making us a part of your day today.... God Bless YOU!!!!

MY BABY BOY IS 13!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

2010-01-27T20:00:00.021-06:00

I CAN NOT BELIEVE THAT MY BABY BOY IS 13! WHERE DID TIME GO? SERIOUSLY, I FEEL LIKE I BLINKED AND HE GREW UP:(... IF YOU WOULD HAVE TOLD ME THAT I WOULD HAVE FELT LIKE THIS 10 YEARS AGO, I WOULD HAVE ARGUED.. OH MY GOODNESS THAT CHILD WAS INTO EVERYTHING AND I COULD NOT KEEP UP WITH HIM.. HE WAS A RUNNER AND EVERY TIME WE WOULD GO SOMEWHERE HE WOULD TAKE OFF AND IF HE DID NOT GET HIS WAY WATCH OUT! EVERYONE SAW AND HEARD HIM AND NOW HE IS MY LAID BACK WHATEVER KINDA DUDE:)I WANT TO SAY HAPPY HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU PEYTON.. WE ARE SO PROUD OF YOU AND WHO YOU HAVE BECOME AND WHO YOU ARE BECOMING!! WE LOVE THAT YOU HAVE A HEART FOR OTHERS AND ACCEPT PE0PLE FOR WHO THEY ARE, WE LOVE THE FACT THAT YOUR HEART IS BIGGER THAN THE STATE OF TEXAS FOR YOUR FAMILY AND FRIENDS.. YOU ARE DEFINITELY THE KIND OF FRIEND THAT IS ONE IN A MILLION,YOU ALWAYS ARE LOOKING OUT FOR YOUR FRIENDS AND ALWAYS HAVE THEIR BACK!! YOU ARE A TRUE DEFINITION OF WHAT A LOYAL FRIEND IS!!WE PRAY THAT YOU WILL ALWAYS HAVE THE STRONGEST BOND WITH CHRIST FIRST AND WE PRAY THAT YOU ALWAYS KNOW WHO YOU ARE AND THAT YOU DO YOUR BEST AT WHATEVER IT IS YOU DO! WE HOPE AND PRAY THAT YOU WILL ALWAYS KNOW THAT WHATEVER YOU SET YOUR HEART AND MIND OUT TO DO THAT YOU WILL HAVE THE CONFIDENCE IN KNOWING THAT YOU CAN DO IT!! YOU CAN DO AND BE WHOEVER YOU WANT TO BE.. ALWAYS REMEMBER THE VERSE THAT WE HAVE ALWAYS GIVEN YOU PHILLIPIANS 4:13 I CAN DO ALL THINGS THROUGH CHRIST WHO STRENGTHENS ME!REMEMBER THAT IN ALL YOU DO AND YOU CAN DO ALL THINGS!WE PRAY THAT YOU WILL FOLLOW GODS PATH THAT HE HAS FOR YOU AND WE PRAY THAT YOU WILL GROW IN HIS WORD AND IN HIS TRUTH! PEYTON, YOU ARE ONE OF A KIND AND WE ARE SO THANKFUL THAT GOD CHOSE US TO BE YOUR MOM AND DAD! WE LOVE YOU MORE THAN WE COULD EVER EVER TELL YOU AND WE WILL ALWAYS BE HERE FOR YOU!! HAPPY BIRTHDAY PEYTEY WEYTEY PUNKIN PIE:)!!! OH MY GOODNESS, I JUST LOOKED AT CHUCK AND SAID AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH WE ARE NOW THE PARENTS OF 2 TEENAGE BOYS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! THANKS FOR MAKING US A PART OF YOUR DAY BY READING OUR BLOG AND ALSO PLEASE SAY PRAYERS FOR US!!:)

Sharon finally gets to visit!!!!!:)

2010-01-16T20:14:00.009-06:00

I have this wonderful friend who lives in St Louis, Mo and ever since I have moved to Texas we have been planning on her coming to visit and every time we would plan something would come up and she couldn't come.. Now remember she is a wife and a Mommy to 4 sweet kids so she is usually running non-stop.. Well she finally got to the place where I was last October and told her hubby ok enough.. I need a break.. I need "ME TIME".. So her hubby was as sweet as mine and said GO!! She flew in on Monday afternoon and stayed all week, she did not have to go back til Friday afternoon... We had the best time and just enjoyed hanging out and catching up and laughing and shopping and eating, it was so awesome! I enjoyed spending time with her and I am so glad that it finally worked out for her that she got to come...I want to Thank my sweet hubby for letting me have my girl time when she was here... He did everything, picked the boys up after school, did homework with them and studied for final exams with them and fed them dinner each night... I did not cook one time when she was here:) I promise all of you I have the BEST husband in the whole wide world~~ Thanks babe! Love you bunches!! We had such a fun time, on Monday night we had dinner with Chuck and the boys and of course we had to take her to one of our favorite Mexican Restaurants where she got to experience my favorite drink of all times"Sangrarita"" mmmmmmm:) and then on Tuesday we went and had lunch and shopped all day in Old Town Spring if you have never been there, you so need to put it on your list to do, it is a old town that has all kinds of boutiques with home accessories, clothes, shoes, jewelry, bling bling you name it! It is just so much fun~and then we went out to dinner with Evelyn and Adri, she knew them when they lived in St Louis too so it was nice for her to catch up with them... On Wednesday we went to Market Street and shopped all day and then went to Sam Moons and Charming Charlies where we had a blast shopping and finding lots of fun stuff:) we tried on hats and sunglasses and laughed and laughed, the best part was when I tried wigs on.. I was trying to be so serious so the lady would think I was truly going to buy a wig and Sharon was about to lose it, she could not even look at me without cracking up... anyway we had a great time and laughed and laughed and laughed.. In the last store before dinner they were playing some very odd sexual sounding music and we thought we were gonna die I seriously don't think I have ever laughed that hard....and by the way we searched and searched for that song but never found it....lol!!we went and met Chuck and Peyt for dinner and then continued shopping some more so much more that I bought a pair of house shoes and continued shopping in them.. I am telling you we were not going to waste one second...On Thursday I lead a bible study and we use to do one for years together and so she went with me and met my new friends.. She loved all of them and they loved her too, I think it made her realize how much she missed bible study so I hope that it put a spark in her to find another one and join... We all went to lunch after study and it was just so neat to see my new friends embrace her and love her like they had known her for years.. I love how God just blesses me with such sweet friends...On Thursday night she got to go and play Bunco with me and meet that fun group of friends.. It was just like the other group, they all loved her and treated her like they had known her all along:) On Friday we got up and went back to all the shops that she had seen things at and did not buy but bought them before she had to leave:) we went back to Sam Moon and Old town Spring and she got some adorable things as did I!:) and then it was off to the airport with a tearful goodbye! I sure do love when my friends come to visit me but it is so hard to say goodbye, just knowing that we can not do this everyday like we use to but I am so blessed with the new friends that God has put in my life!! I am so glad she came and I cant wait for her to come back.. I miss her so much already!! She is the kind of friend who I know will be in my life forever! She has a heart like no other and I love the quality in her that she finds the good in everybody before she finds the bad and she never has a bad thing to say about anybody.. I love that and wish I had that quality!! I am gonna work on that:) Again, I am so thankful that God has put such special friends in my life! I am so blessed and I love you so much!!

Christmas 2009

2009-12-29T21:14:00.036-06:00

Wow Christmas 2009 has come and gone and I can not believe it!! It seems like we get ready for months and months and months and we plan and we make list and we shop and we party and we attend and host once a year events and we look forward to it all year long and then its over.. But I have to be honest and tell you Christmas is celebrated everyday at The Rays... Sure Christmas is fun and the season is busy with shopping and partying but the real reason for Christmas is the birth of our sweet savior Jesus Christ and without HIM we would not have any celebration at all.. Without HIM we would not have our families, we would not have our friends and we sure would not have anything else at all~~ We have a family tradition that we go to my parents in Memphis and we celebrate Christmas Eve with them with a fun dinner and exchange gifts with them and my brother and his family and we just have a good time being together and then of course Christmas morning we celebrate with the boys and then off we go to celebrate with Chuck's family.. We are so Thankful that God has blessed us with such special families..We hope that each one of you had a Merry Blessed Christmas and we pray that you will celebrate the true meaning of Christmas everyday too!!Luke 2:10,11

Bunco Progressive Dinner

2009-12-21T13:40:00.018-06:00

I have been truly blessed! I was asked to play in our neighborhood bunco group right after I moved here and I just love it.. I have made some wonderful friends in this group and we all just have a great time when we are all together..You know how it is when you get a bunch of females together your are always gonna have at least one that others have issues with.. But, not in this group (unless I am the one)lol!! We all just love each other and have so much fun when we are together.. We have our Christmas Progressive Dinner where we bring our husbands and thats alot of fun too..When we play bunco in November we plan the dinner and we also draw names to see who we will buy " Secret Santa" gifts for and then at the dinner we give our final gift and let the secret out and who we are.. This year I had the best Santa.. she brought me some of the cutest gifts... She brought me a monogrammed stocking filled with wine and chocolate and then she brought me beautiful ornaments for my tree and then she brought me the cutest bucket filled with homemade Hot Choc, homemade marshmellows and candy stir sticks and then for my final gift she gave me the most beautiful blinged out Christmas tree with gold, red and green, gorgeous!! I loved my Secret Santa and I love her.. Kristen Jones... she has to be one of the sweetest people I have ever met! she is the one that invited me to play bunco.. she was actually the very first neighbor I met before we even moved in and she has gone out of her way to be a friend to me.. I am so Thankful for her and so blessed to call her my friend! The dinner was a ton of fun and very very yummy.. We started the evening off having appetizers and cocktails it was very yummy and everyone said they wanted all the recipes for the cocktails that our personal bartender Tonya was making and then we moved on to the main meal which was at Barbara's and she went all out with the tables decorated for Christmas and Patty went all out with her delicious beef stroganoff it was amazing and then we moved on to Donna's for dessert and gifts and that was a fun time too.. It is so much fun to be with all of these sweet couples, we need to do it more often than just once a year, the meal that is!! not the gifts but I could go for that too!! I hope everyone had as much fun as we did. Thank you all for hosting and Thank you all for bringing and providing the food and drinks.. We wish yall a Very Merry Christmas and we hope that 2010 is filled with tons of blessings for you and your family!!

Christmas Cookie and Ornament Exchange

2009-12-14T12:32:00.004-06:00

Well, I have been to 2 Christmas cookie and ornament exchanges this season.. Well I have been to one and hosted one.. All I can say is FUN FUN and YUM YUM!!!If you have never been to one you have to!! It is such a fun time of fellowship and good times! I love seeing all the yummy cookies and of course tasting them.. The first exchange was a neighborhood exchange and it was just a good time hanging with friends and meeting new neighbors and of course getting new recipes for cookies.. And the ornament exchange is really neat to because you see all kinds, that may be your taste or not but it is always fun to hang them on your tree year after year and remember where you got it and who it came from.. That game is alot of fun because depending on what number you draw you choose a pkg or steal one from another and that gets really interesting when that gets going...Lots of laughs:)The second one that I hosted was for the ladies and girls of our church, that was alot of fun too.. The funny thing is nobody wanted to steal, I guess that's the honest christian thing to do but I think they realized it was just a game so some of them started it and the game began!! We also went around the room and shared Christmas memories as a child and there were some really good ones..I love hearing about other peoples traditions and seeing how similar they are to ours..Its a such a great time of year to share fun times with friends and I hope they all have a very blessed Christmas but I also hope we all realize that not everyone can afford to go to a exchange so this season I ask you to just reach out to one person and give them a bag of Christmas cookies and a ornament and see how much it blesses them and you too!! Merry Christmas!

Thanksgiving 2009

2009-12-09T06:48:00.003-06:00

This year we decided to go to Arkansas to spend Thanksgiving with my family.. My parents have a home on Eden Isle which is located in Heber Springs.. It has to be one of my favorite places to go.. It is so peaceful there! When you drive in the gates it is honestly instant relaxation.. I was telling someone the other day that truly the only thing you can complain about is a bird singing to loud so now you see.. So we got there on Wednesday night and everyone was there and it was just so nice, I felt like we were HOME~ We had a great time being with my parents and my brother and his family.. The boys love being with their cousins and their Nana and Papa.. We had alot of chit chats and we played games and ate and shopped and ate some more.. It was a great time.. The boys got to play alot of golf with their Papa and that is one of their favorite things to do... We also got to see our sweet friends The Ennis Family who we met when we both lived in St Louis, they moved to Arkansas about 6 yrs ago and just happen to be about a hour from the lake house so that is another reason its one of my favorite places to go.. We love being with them, they are just like family to us and always will be. They have 3 cuties who are growing up way to fast for me...I took a ton of pics of my family and my friends and for some reason my pic card is not copying on my computer, it just makes me sick.. If I can some how get them to pull up I will post them as soon as I can... We were suppose to come home on Saturday but we decided to stay another day and it was just us with my parents, my brother and his family went home so Chuck and the boys played golf with my dad and me and my momma went to the little town of Heber Springs and shopped in all their cute boutiques and bought some of the cutest things...I just truly enjoyed being with my momma... She is alot of fun to shop with:) Thanksgiving of course is a holiday to eat lots of food and not feel guilty and boy did we do that but it is also a holiday to realize what you are Thankful for and I am so Thankful for everything in my life~~ God has truly blessed my life with my family. friends, health and just everything HE does for me.... I hope that you and your family had a blessed Thanksgiving too...

Halloween 09"

2009-11-23T14:53:00.007-06:00

Halloween was so much fun this year! Our boys are a little old to be trick or treating but never to old to have friends over for a good time.. So they invited a few friends and we did too! We grilled out and had yummy desserts and just lots of fun! There is nothing like a house full of family and friends and chit chat and laughter lots of laughter!:) After it started getting late upstairs was filled with boys and the game of rock band was on, so of course this momma had to go rock out with them a little bit and I am sure they thought I was a weird momma but oh well I was singing Eye of the Tiger better than any of them!!lol!! Anyway all I can say is that God has truly answered our prayers when we asked for friends for our boys, good friends that have the same morals and values that we are trying to instill in our boys. They were all so well behaved, very polite, very respectful and very very appreciative!On Sunday morning we all got up and had breakfast and they all went to church with us, we had a pew filled.. Thank you Lord for hearing our prayers and knowing the desires of our hearts. The boys all made a pack that this would be a traditional event every year which is just fine with us!!!!

My Visit to St Louis

2009-11-05T19:55:00.019-06:00

I have been wanting to go back to St Louis for a visit by myself so bad and probably about the middle of September, I thought I was gonna go crazy if I did not get there soon. I seriously think it was because it was Fall and it still felt like Summer here.. I was missing all of the fall colors and the crisp cool air and the cute fall clothes and of course all of my friends.. I remember telling my friends here that the day it turned cool in Texas we were going to putt on our winter coats and boots and go to Starbucks and sit outside and drink our coffee.. Oh yes I am now a official coffee drinker:) cant do the black coffee yet but hey I am doing it ok!! It was time to grow up and drink coffee with all my friends here:) Ok anyway I think Chuck got tired of hearing me say I wanna go to St Louis I wanna go.. I miss my friends so finally he said OK... set a date and book your flight.. So I called all of my friends to make sure they were going to be there and to make arrangements with who I was staying with and I got all that settled and booked my flight.. When my boys found out that I was going, of course they wanted to go too but no no no I needed a Momma Getaway.. I left on a Friday morning at 7:00 a.m. and got there at 10:00 a.m. When we were flying in to St Louis it looked like a box of fruity pebbles, it was gorgeous, I got so excited and could not wait!!! My sweet friend Margy picked me up with her son Cole and we took off shopping and then we went to a new restaurant by the name of 54th Street it was yummy and then we shopped more. Her husband Steve came and we all went out to eat St Louis Pizza and toasted ravioli( STL thing) we had so much fun just visiting and laughing with their 3 boys.. They were our old neighbors so I was staying right down the street from my old house which was a little sad...:( The next day their boys had a wrestling tournament and they wanted me to come watch and I wanted to see them because needless to say I have never watched wrestling up close and personal.. Well!!! that was very exciting and very entertaining!! I was so tempted to go out there and pull their opponents off of them and scream get off of my boys!!At noon that day my friend Karen came and got me and we took off to meet my sweet friend Kathy and sweet friend Sue for lunch and then we went shopping in the little old town of Cottleville, it has lots of cute old houses that have been turned into shops.. Oh I had so much fun and bought a few things, the weather was honestly picture perfect!That night I spent the night with Karen and her family, we have known them since Phillip and her son started kindergarten and they have a sweet daughter named Kirsten who is Peyton's age, she is a sweetie pie and has turned into a beautiful young lady...That night that had invited several friends over for a chili cook off and it was a blast, the chili was delish and the games we played were so much fun, they introduced me to a game called sequence oh how fun, I had to come home and buy it,, The next morning my friend Jenn came to get me with her daughters J and Livi.. Oh it was so good to see them and be with them.. We went to church at our old church and that was a really good feeling seeing all of our old church family and hearing our old Pastor preach..I was really looking forward to going to church and seeing everyone but also was afraid of what my feelings might be... I prayed some mighty prayers that God would really reveal to me that this is where he really wants me at this time in my life..And I am happy to see say that he clearly let me know that this is where I belong.. I missed my church here and all my sweet friends.. Its just so funny how life moves on with me and my friends. Of course there are some friends there that I did not want to leave and had thoughts of bringing them with me...But those friends will have a special place in my heart and in my life forever.. One particular was my sweet Livi, after church on Sunday we went to lunch and she said she wanted to pray so we all held hands and she thanked God for letting her step mom come to visit(me) how cute is that.. She has no idea what step mom means but I think she was just thinking of me as her second momma xoxoxomuuuah~~I love you Livi lou!!!From there we met the other girls and needless to say I felt like I had died and gone to girl heaven... I love those girls so much but I have to honestly say sometimes I have a hard time keeping up with their conversations, they all talk so fast and they talk in stereo, lol:)I have to say ok wait wait wait slow down your turn now your turn...lol.. I wonder if I would have stayed in St Louis if I would have been able to keep up with their talking?? lol Oh how I miss being with them!That night we dropped the girls off at home and went out to one of my favorite places Chevys, oh how I hated that place when we first moved there but by the time we left it was one of my favorites..I have so many fun memories there. We met some girlfriends from church and had dinner and chatted for a few hours, it was fun having a girls night out with all my old friends.. The next day, Jenn and I shopped shopped shopped and came up with project after project. We had our annual friendship lunch at THE CASTLE... mmmmmm yummmm it was so good.... The next morning we met Beth,Sharon and Sweety for breakfast and had a great time catching up and then it was time for me to go to the airport.Before we went to the airport we needed to shop just a little longer to get everything in.. We went to the mall and I bought the boys new cardinal tshirts because YES we are die hard Cards fans and always will be~~ and then we had to go to Garden Ridge to get a few more decorating items for Jenn's house...And then it was off to the airport, such a sad ride:) When it was time for me to say goodbye we both cried and cried it is just so hard to say goodbye when you love someone so much and you know you live 14 hrs away.. Some friends are like family and all of these friends definitely are! Thank you all for your sweet hospitality and please know I love and miss you all so much and now I am waiting for your visit!! xoxoxo Hope to see you soon!!!!

THE RAY BOYS FACE EACH OTHER ON THE BASEBALL FIELD

2009-10-07T17:28:00.010-05:00

I have been meaning to write this post for weeks now and have been so busy, I thought I would just post again when they played each other again but thats not for a few weeks so I thought I could go ahead and publish this one... As most of you know our boys played against each other in baseball a few weeks ago and it actually turned out very very good~Why is it as a parent when your kids have confrontations with each other you just assume the worst is gonna happen.. I just knew these two would smack talk in the week leading up to the game and then on the field and after the game and then of course for the weeks to follow.... But it did not happen that way :) Well, I take that back it did start at the beginning of the week and I stopped it immediately... and it did stop but Chuck was just as bad as they were toward Phillip as HIS team was playing against Phillips team, there is still some bitterness there toward him since he decided to play for our friend Coach Keith:) Keith laughs and says that is true loyalty towards him! Anyway we all got ready and took off to the game and of course they knew they could not say anything to each other or else they were gonna get it from Momma.. So lots of looks were going on and of course when we all got to the field and the boys took the field to warm up with their teams, their teammates did enough smack talk for both of them towards each other.. Of course everyone found it kind of comical but Not me..Ok so I made them pose for pictures before and they were cracking me up, they were not happy at all, we made them say good luck to each other and shake hands and we told them to hug and say they loved ea ck other..lol that did not happen.. They said I was pushing it..lol. Anyway they both played a great game.. Phillip pitched and Peyt got a couple of hits off of him and of course Peyt thought that was great and Phillip would just laugh.. It was really neat to see them playing together and I have to say we are very proud of them way they handled themselves.. It was very stressful for me and Chuck as their parents and of course as Peyts Coach and Phillips Dad.. He wanted Phillip to play the best he could but he also wanted his team to win.. It was so funny because when Peyt came up to bat while Phillip was pitching I was just so stressed and a little confused, I thought ok who do I yell for first what do I say... I was standing by Phillips dugout and I was yelling lets go Ray boys... Cmon brothers.. Keith steps out of the dugout and says Shannon, you need to say Good Hit Peyt, Good Pitch Phillip... Be fair Momma.. so needless to say Thanks Keith for keeping me in line:)The game ended with Phillip's team winning 12-7 but both teams played very well and our boys showed really good sportmanship manners:) I just knew at the end of the game with the teams shake hands and say good game, I just knew they were gonna break out and wrestle on the mound but they did not, they handled themselves very well and so did their Daddy:)lol...We are very proud of both of our boys and no matter who won the ballgame, they are both winners to us.. We will keep you posted on the next game when they face each other again.. Just pray that they keep their awesome qualities up~~~

MAGNOLIA HIGH SCHOOL HOMECOMING 2009'

2009-09-23T21:25:00.027-05:00

WOW WOW WOW IS ALL I CAN SAY!! THE QUOTE THAT WE HAVE HEARD OVER AND OVER SINCE BEFORE WE MOVED HERE IS "EVERYTHINGS BIGGER IN TEXAS" WELL, WE FOUND OUT THAT HIGH SCHOOL HOMECOMING SURE IS AND ALL THE TRADITIONS THAT GO WITH IT:) SO OK! THIS IS HOW IT WENT DOWN.."" PHILLIP SAYS I WANT TO ASK ANGELA TO HOMECOMING? OK GO FOR IT THAT WILL BE FUN.... SO A FEW WEEKS LATER SHE WAS OVER AT OUR HOUSE SWIMMING AND HE COMES IN WITH THE BIGGEST SMILE ON HIS FACE AND HE SAID SHE SAID YES!! YEAH!! SO OK... BACK IN OUR DAY... YOU WENT TO THE HOMECOMING GAME WITH YOUR BOYFRIEND OR GIRLFRIEND OR JUST YOUR FRIENDS ESPECIALLY IF YOUR BOYFRIEND PLAYED FOOTBALL OR YOUR GIRLFRIEND CHEERED...AND THEN THE DANCE WAS AFTER THE GAME.. WELL, NOT HERE ITS A ALL WEEKEND AFFAIR. I DON'T THINK ANY OF MY DATES EVEN BOUGHT ME A COURSAGE FOR HOMECOMING IT WAS JUST COME DRESSED CUTE IN CASUAL CLOTHES AND GO TO THE DANCE AFTER THE GAME AND THEN GO TO MCDONALDS...HERE IT IS FORMAL.SO YOU HAVE TO BUY FORMAL CLOTHES AND THE GIRL BUYS A FORMAL DRESS AND SHOES AND JEWELS AND GETS THE NAILS AND TOES DONE:) OK SO IT WAS A BLAST.. THE WEEKEND BEFORE THEY ALL CAME IN FROM SCHOOL AND SAID THEY HAD TO MAKE HOMECOMING TSHIRTS AND WEAR THEM ON THE DAY OF THE GAME... OK SO OFF WE ALLLLLL GO TO WALMART BUY SHIRTS AND PAINTS AND IRON ON LETTERS AND OF COURSE BLING FOR THE GIRLS.. SORRY BUT MY MOTTO IS EVERY GIRL HAS TO HAVE SOME BLING!:) SO FRIDAY NIGHT WAS TSHIRT NIGHT THAT ENDED UP INTO A PIZZA PARTY AND ROCKIN TIL MIDNIGHT, IT WAS FUN FUN!!SO ON SATURDAY I TOOK PHILLIP OUT SHOPPING FOR HIS OUTFIT:) FUN.. HE COULD HAVE CARED LESS.. AND THEN ON SUNDAY ANGELA ASKED ME TO GO DRESS SHOPPING WITH HER AND HER SISTER AND HER MOM WHICH WAS A FUN TIME, I AM NOT USE TO DOING THESE THINGS SINCE I HAVE BOYS IT WAS QUITE A EXPERIENCE BUT OH SO MUCH FUN AND THEY BOTH PICKED OUT CUTE CUTE DRESSES AND SHOES...SO THE NEXT FRIDAY MORNING WAS THE DAY OF HOMECOMING AND IT ALL STARTED AT 6:45 A.M. THERE IS A BIG TRADITION HERE THAT FOR HOMECOMING IF YOU HAVE A DATE YOU BUY THEM A HOMECOMING MUM FOR THE GIRL AND A GARTER FOR THE GUY..I HAVE NEVER EVER IN MY LIFE SEEN THIS...IT IS CRAZY.. YOU HAVE TO LOOK AT THE PICS TO EVEN UNDERSTAND WHAT I AM TALKING ABOUT! I CAN NOT EVEN DESCRIBE IT.. YOU PUT ALL THEIR HOBBIES AND INTEREST ON IT..MY GOODNESS! AND THE BIGGER THE BETTER!!WE DID SO GOOD BECAUSE ANGELA WON BEST MUM IN THE FRESHMAN CLASS AND HER SISTER WON IN THE JUNIOR CLASS.. WOOT WOOT.. WE DID GREAT!! SO OK THEY EXCHANGED THESE AND WORE THEM ALL DAY AT SCHOOL.. CAN YOU EVEN IMAGINE WEARING THESE AND TRYING TO CONCENTRATE ON SCHOOL WORK AND CAN YOU EVEN IMAGINE BEING A TEACHER... OH MY I WOULD NOT BE ABLE TO THINK:) SO THEY GO TO SCHOOL COME HOME, HANG OUT HERE AT OUR HOUSE AND GO TO TO THE GAME WHICH WE WON 21-14 IT WAS A GREAT GAME.. TONS OF FUN!! AND SO THEN ON SATURDAY WAS THE BIG DANCE,THEY HOOKED UP WITH SOME FRIENDS FOR DINNER AND THEN ALL WENT TO THE THE DANCE TOGETHER, THEY HAD A BLAST!! AFTER THE DANCE THEY ALL CAME HERE AND HUNG OUT AND TALKED ABOUT WHO WAS WITH WHO AND WHO WAS WEARING WHAT AND ON AND ON AND ON.. OH MY IT BROUGHT BACK SO MANY MEMORIES:) TO BE IN HIGH SCHOOL AGAIN.. i HAVE MIXED EMOTIONS.. IT WAS ALOT OF FUN IN THOSE YEARS WITH NO RESPONSIBILITIES BUT YET THE HEARTACHES OF GROWING UP AND DEALING WITH BOYFRIENDS AND MEAN GIRLS:) I PRAY MY KIDS HAVE GREAT EXPERIENCES AND LOTS OF BLESSINGS IN THEIR HIGH SCHOOL YEARS.. NOW WE ARE EXPERIENCED TEXAS HOMECOMING PEOPLE SO WE NOW KNOW WHAT TO DO AND WHAT NOT TO DO!!:) WE ALL HAD A TON OF FUN AND LOOK FORWARD TO NEXT YEAR!!!

A New School Year !!!

2009-09-21T13:45:00.006-05:00

So sorry I have not posted in forever but we have been super busy as always!! Well, as you know Summer is Over and a New School Year has started and it could not be better.. Both of the boys started new schools this year and absolutely love them. Both of the campuses are alot bigger than they are use to but they have adjusted just fine and we have not heard one complaint from either one of them!Fall Baseball has started too and we are gearing up for the season to start, opening day is this Saturday so we are anxiously awaiting that! Chuck was asked to coach a team so of course he did not hesitate to say YES:) I think he loves it more than either one of the boys do,, now hear me if you know The Ray Boys that's all they love to do both of them, they eat sleep and dream baseball its their life and they get it honestly from their Dad! anyway he decided to Coach and he was so excited because this is the only time in both of the boys lives that they are able to play on a team together so we were more than excited YES! practice at the same time, games at the same time, get to watch one game instead of running back and forth to the other field..woo hoo... Will not have to be at the field 6 days out of 7 YES YES YES.. went to NO NO NO real quick.. Phillip says he would rather play on a team with his friends for the Coach he has played for since we have lived here.. Cant make it easy for us so we gave in and said ok that's fine have fun that's what its about right have fun and in the mean time we are both grumbling and Peyton is just thinking wow you would rather play with your friends instead of me and Dad hmmm.. so guess what its RIVAL TIME now oh my gosh I do not know if I will be able to stand it..... and can you imagine when they play each other OMG!!!! help!! Can you all come for that game so I do not have to go it alone?? Anyway it will be fun!!So school has started and Fall Ball is on the way so Life in the Ray house is getting back to normal!Stay Tuned for the first Texas Homecoming Game and Dance post.. It is more than you can even imagine..... Thanks for making us a part of your day!!

Happy Birthday Momma!!!!//Nana!!!XOXOXOXOXOXO

2009-08-11T23:14:00.003-05:00

Today is My Momma's Birthday and I wanted to take this time to honor her on my blog today~~ Wow! Where do I even begin!? There is a TON to say and I am not sure where to even start! But I will start by saying Happy Two Two Momma!! I hope that you have a amazing day and that it will be filled with lots of love and a ton of blessings because that is what you are to me and my family! My Mom is my Momma and she is also My Best Friend she is My Boys Nana and she is My Husbands Other Mother.. We are so blessed to have her in our lives! I Thank God every single day for this woman! I Thank HIM for hand picking her to be My Momma.. I can honestly remember when I was little how she would hug me and tell me that she loved me, I remember her telling me I could be anything I wanted to be, I just had to do to my best, I remember her laying with me when I was sick, I remember her sitting outside watching me ride my bike and roller skate..I remember when I was about 6 years old, I was so excited that it was her birthday and me and my friend snuck off, there was a field behind our house and then there was a IGA grocery store, we took 100 pennies and bought her a birthday cake and it had to have yellow roses on it because that is her favorite flower( or so I thought:)I just remember I wanted to have a party for her because she always made sure I had a pretty cake with flowers on it and always made sure I had a party!!We moved quite a bit while I was growing up and I will always remember my mom always made sure that we were happy and that we made friends.. After I became a teen, I was very rebellious and just loved to make her mad,, I guess it was being the age and thinking I was grown and I knew it all, I am really surprised that she did not kill me because I think back and think how blessed I am that she did not give up on me and that she continued to pray and pray for me and that she still loved me! Oh I can remember some times but I sure will not share those not so sweet moments that will be between me and her..haha:)After many prayers.. God really started working in my life and I realized that friends come and go and even boyfriends came and went but My MOMMA was there forever so I thought it would be best if I got all my priorities right.. Chuck and I started seriously dating right after our senior year and he just loved my mom, he saw pics of her when she was in high school and he would tell her he would have given my daddy a run for his money if he was back in their day:) My Momma was beautiful and she still is!! She always would quote to me "Beauty is as Beauty does" she always told me to be myself and never ever feel like I had to hold someones hand to make it... she told me the first quote for as long as I can remember she still does:) but the last one was when I was in high school, I remember her writing me a poem and a letter that I still have! Anyway Momma if you ever really wondered if I ever listened to you and really took what you were saying to heart YES I did and I still DO!! When Chuck and I got married my parents made sure that our wedding was beautiful and that everything I wanted they made sure I had it! My momma was at my side with all of the planning and all of the showers and just everything...My momma has always played a very important role in my life not just as a MOTHER and FRIEND but everything a Mother should be.. She has always always set a example of what a Mother should be, what a wife should be, what a friend should be!! She as set the example of what a southern lady should be and act like, she has set the example of what a daughter of Christ should be... After our boys were born, SHE was there and she was very excited, she was there when they both were born, she was there when they both came home from the hospital, she stayed with us and helped us adjust, she would cook and clean and take care of me and the baby, she even would spend the night with me and let me sleep after they were born and she would get up and take care of them the first week, I think that was when Phillip was born by the time Peyton was born I had it, I was a pro..hahaha!! She was always there and I appreciate that and will remember that forever!! When the boys were 2 and 4 we moved to St Louis, Mo and I can honestly say I was sick I missed my momma so much!!They have always helped us move into our new homes when we have moved and after they left to go home from St Louis, you seriously thought someone had died.. I missed her so much!! My Momma has always been there for me and my family and I seriously do not know what I would do without her.. Now please do not think we have this lovey dovey relationship all the time we have the Mother/ Daughter relationship just about everybody has, I am sure there are times when she wants to kill me but I know she would not trade me for the world and me either~~ Momma, Thank you for being who you are and being the best Momma and Nana that could ever be~ Thank you for always being there and loving me and doing all the things that you do.. Thank you for making sacrifices when I was little and even now! Thank you for being the christian woman that you are and Thank you for loving me like no one else in this world does! You are one in a million and we are so glad that you belong to US!! Happy Birthday Momma/Nana.. We love you more than we could ever tell you and we wish you nothing but many many blessings today and always!!

D-Now Weekend

2009-08-10T16:28:00.005-05:00

Wow! What a amazing weekend! It was incredible and I can not say enough about it!! There are no photos with this post because of privacy reasons for other peoples children who attended this weekend retreat that I do not have the parents permission of putting their childrens photos on this internet blog.

Anyway the weekend was more than I could have ever imagined! Our church offered a retreat weekend and the title was "Pursuit to Purity" it was from ages 6th grade to College age and we had different christian speakers come in and talk about different topics for the girls it was on Godly Submission and Beauty with Modesty and then virginity and dating for the boys it was on Chivalry and Respect and Lust and Purity of the mind and also virginity and dating.. These leaders did a incredible job, they shared their personal stories and their struggles and their praises and how God was so incredible faithful to all of them. We had a pastor speak and teach the truth on how God feels when we sin in those areas and then they had incredible worship. It was so so so good..

We saw God move in this place and move in these kids hearts and we saw conviction and brokeness, we saw Him lift them up and give their hearts and souls to Him.It was so incredibly awesome!!We were asked to be a host home for 6,7,8th grade boys so we said yes we would love to and we are so glad we did. They were the best boys I have ever seen! They were all so polite and very very respectful to us and our home and very grateful for everything and made sure to let us know.. We will be praying for all of these boys and their Counselor who was Tony the Youth Pastor at First Baptist Kennard, what a guy! he was so good with these boys! One of the students from our youth group was saying that he was so impressed with the kids from Tony's church that they all knew their bible from front to back and knew where to find it in the bible if you even said a quote.This speaks volumes for Tony and his teaching, these kids are truly blessed to have him in their lives! We just want to say Thank You to all of the leaders, counselors and families who invested in our boys lives and all the other children who were there. Retreats like this set strong foundations in a teens life and we feel so blessed that our boys got to experience this! We pray that all the teachings that they received this past weekend and all of the feelings that they experienced good and bad that they will remember those for forever instead of days or months! We pray that the leaders and counselors will be blessed beyond measure!! Not only were our children moved and blessed this weekend, we were too!! I hope that if you have teens of your own that you will try to find something like this and let them experience a life changing event! Have a great day and Thanks for making us a part of your day!

The Lewis Family Comes to Texas

2009-08-04T13:51:00.037-05:00

Our Sweet friends The Lewis family came to visit us.. We go wayyyyyyy back with them. Phillip and Joey met when they were in 1st grade and started playing baseball together when they were little bitty.. We automatically became friends with Troy and Sue!! They also have a daughter Courtney who is 20 and of course there were times when Phillip would wonder if she was coming to the game?lol:)She is a real cutie!!Anyway we have been bleacher buddies for years up until we moved.. We actually said Goodbye at the ballpark:) what a ending!!Anyway they came up on July 24th and they were here for the weekend and we had the best with them.. Of course we had to take them to our favorite mexican restaurant, when we lived in St Louis we would always go eat mexican together and drink margaritas:)so we had to introduce them to TEXAS mexican food:) and then on Saturday we just hung out here in the pool allllll day long which was nice and relaxing and then we went to Incredible Pizza so they kids could play and it ended up the hubbys had a good time too.. They have go karts and so they pretended to be Nascar drivers and Troy won he even got a First Place ribbon:)after our incredible time at Incredible Pizza we came home and played Rock Band, we had a blast the only one who did not serenade us was Miss Sue, I think if I would have put the microphone down long enough and filled her wine glass up she might have:) I just could not put the mic down, I was a ROCKSTAR and I was loving it!! Then on Sunday we all went to breakfast at Shipley Doughnut shop yummmmm:) I love doughnuts especially Shipleys and then off to Galveston we went. What a fun time that was we all rode the ferry across the bay and it was so neat, the pelicans and seagulls were everywhere and even the dolphins were swimming beside the ferry it was just so cool, it made me want to go on a cruise( which I am working on)so from the ferry we went over to Moody gardens and saw the turtle pond lol which turned out to be fountains not turtles.... and then we went to Kemah boardwalk where we had a blast, we had lunch at Joes Crabshack and then walked around and looked at everything, Kemah is a neat place it has shops and restaurants and is a amusement park.. I swore I would not ride the rides but Peyton wanted to so I did and it was fun!!It is definitely a place that we will go back to! We got home and the guys played basketball while Sue and I stood and laughed and took pics.. We had so much fun with them. They are such a precious family and we are so Thankful that God let our paths cross! We will be forever friends! I have to say after we said goodbye it took me a few days I was so sad and missed them a ton.. They are just fun fun people who we just love to be with. Our boys love hanging with Joey and now they are all at a age where they do their own thing and we can just sit and vist..ohhhh so nice.. Never thought we would get to this place in our lives.:) Troy and Sue remember me chasing a cotton top baby in diapers trying to get on a baseball field in the middle of the game:)lol and me running full speed trying to catch him and then the time where he was acting bad so I snatched him up and he hung on to the steel metal bleachers and almost drug the fans with us..lol Oh my goodness and they still love us!! what awesome friends they are! We love you Lewis Family and can't wait to see you all again soon! Lets plan out carribean getaway!! xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo

Visit from The Bayers

2009-08-02T18:23:00.022-05:00

Our sweet friends The Bayer's came to visit, they are our friends who lived in St Louis and our boys were best friends and then they moved to Austin a month after we moved to Houston.. God is so good! He knew I needed Pam close by:) We just have the best time with their family.. Jackson and Peyton became friends in 3rd grade, they actually had met before that but became close in 3rd grade so you now usually when the kids get close the Moms do too and that's what happened Pam and I became friends and then we introduced our hubby's and they decided to coach baseball together and became fast friend so needless to say we LOVE hanging with them, we have alot in common and love to laugh and share stories when we are together.. Pam and I are so funny because when it comes to parenting she will say something and I will be like that is how I am and I will say this may sound dumb but I ------- and she is like ME too:) it is just so cool to have friends whose families get along and love being together.. Mark and Pam have Jackson who is Peyton's age 12 and then 2 beautiful sweet girls Addie who is in 5th grade and Ashlyn who is in 4th and a beautiful girl who is in heaven, sweet sweet family and we feel so blessed to have them in our lives.. Peyt refers to Pam as his other momma xoxo.. Anyway they came up on Monday just for the night because Mark is in school and had to get back to classes on Tuesday but they came up that afternoon and the kids got to swim and hang out and play and then we all put our RED on and went to see The Cardinals play The Astros.. It was so much fun being with them and cheering for our cardinals unfortunately they lost 3-2 but it was still fun being there with them eating ballpark food and rooting for our team together.. We came home and sat up talking til after midnight.. The next morning we woke up to doughnuts and then had to say goodbye... Hopefully we will get to see them again before school starts but no matter when we see them next we all just pick up like it was yesterday that we saw each other... We Thank God so much for this family and we just pray that he will continue to bless them and we Thank him for making them neighboring Texans:) Love you Bayer's.. Hope to see you all again soon!! Well, we are wrapping up the month of July but still have lots to share.. Stay tuned for the next adventure with more sweet friends The Lewis Family from St Louis....

Cousins Come to Town

2009-07-31T21:49:00.012-05:00

As soon as we returned from Florida, our 2 neices from Memphis flew in for a few days. Sarah is 16 and Caroline is 13 so I had 4 kids at once, 16,15,13,12 wow Thank God I had 2 boys and 2 girls, there was some mixed teenage hormones in the house which was a good thing.. I can not imagine 4 boys or 4 girls ewwwwww.. Anyway we had a blast with them we shopped and ate and shopped and ate we went to Splashtown waterpark and we went to the movies and we rented movies and we shopped and we ate:) My boys love hanging with them and chit chatting about everything you can think of some things I was just like ok ok !lol but I so remember talking about the same things with my friends:) We all had so much fun with them and loved being with them! I loved hanging and having girl time with them,it was sooooooo nice shopping and no one tellimg me lets go.. I am tired, I am hungry, I am thirsty and the most famous line I AM BORED>> WHAT??? How can you be bored shopping! So needless to say I loved hanging with them and shopping til I dropped and seriously I did a few times.. We went to the Houston Galleria, I had never been and I have to say I was very very impressed but oh my goodness we walked and walked and walked I even had to find a chair in one store and sit, I know y'all cant believe that but I sure did! and then we were on the hike back to the car to leave, half way back there was a Godiva Chocolate store and I was like STOP I need a caffeine fix to get me back, well,, ONE CHOC STRAWBERRY was $8.00 OH NO!! I was like come on I can buy my own and make them! so we did not get one instead we stopped at the Snow-Cone shop on the way home.. Later in the week my parents came up and brought our nephew Jack who is 7(their brother) and we had a good time with him too! Peyton and Jack have so much fun when they are together they swam and Papa took them to the Children's Museum and they had snow-cones and we introduced him to our sweet neighbors who are 7 and 9 they had a good time together and he went fishing and played tennis and hung out with the boys.. I am sure he enjoyed boy time like I did girl time.. It was so nice having them here, we really miss not living close to them but we pray that they will all stay close! They all left on Monday morning,, My mom was a HUGE HELP, she always is when she comes but this time it was HUGE... she did all the laundry and helped me clean house because they left at 9:00 a.m. and we had our sweet friends from Austin coming in at noon the same day:) stay tuned for our adventure with The Bayer's! There is nothing like Family......

Our Trip to the Beach

2009-07-31T19:49:00.036-05:00

We went to the beach for 10 days and it was incredible, we had the best time!!! Chuck's brother and his family came and needless to say we enjoyed spending every minute with them and their sweet baby or should I say "MY" baby Ford.. He is such a good baby and just a true joy to be around..He is walking and learning to talk so he would say our names.. he said Phillip and Peyton really well and Guck and for some reason I was Tutu..lol isn't that funny? Oh well he can call me anything he wants I just love him so so much! We got to eat out and the nights we didn't.. Our personal chef "Brad" cooked for us and it was awesome!Chuck and I decided that it was the best meal that we ate while we were there.. I sure wish he lived closer:) Anyway we had great weather and we spent everyday on the beach it was so relaxing and just a pleasure!!One day it did rain so the boys went into town and me and Jennifer and Ford stayed in, we ate lunch and then decided we would nap so she laid down with Ford and I went and crawled in my bed and I think we all slept for 2 to 3 hours that was a great day and then one afternoon we went and got pedicures it was a great time.. I went today to get a pedi and I missed having her there with me to talk too... She is such a great sister in law and I am so blessed that God picked her out to be mine:) she is so fun and we have great conversations lol sometimes we have ones that our hubbys tell us to be quietttttt lol if they here us:)but she is just precious and I just love hanging with her! We got to shop and we got to stay up late and chit chat and we all stayed up and played games which I won and the men couldn't handle it:) helloooo I am smart admit it please!(Hey Brad, I am still trying to find out who Gina Peoples is)lol!!Anyway! we were there for the 4th of July and we all watched the fireworks from the beach..It was Ford's first time seeing them and I think he liked them, he was a sleepy baby at that time and we celebrated Max's first birthday(our puppy) and we celebrated my birthday and we celebrated Jennifer and Brad's 4th Wedding anniversary so there ya go it was just a vacation filled with lots of celebrations.. we just had one party after another:)If you are ever in the Seaside/SanDestin area you must go to Elmo's bar and grill on 30A fun place for the family and great crab legs all you can eat and it is just fun fun.. There are tons of places to go but that happens to be one of my favorites and then there is Baytown Wharf to walk around and shop and just hang out, we went there a few times.. It was time to leave and I can honestly say I was very sad! Ford left a little before we did and I could not even watch them drive away, I was so sad but hopefully I will get to see him soon!! We hope to make this a yearly tradition! Jennifer and I talked about it while we were there and we were talking about the boys bringing friends and then their girlfriends and then their wives and then their kids... wow.. as fast as they are all growing it will be here before we know it~ I hope that you all have fun family vacations and I hope that you realize that you are making memories that your kids will never forget! My boys are already asking if Uncle Brad and Aunt Jennifer and of course FORD can go on the next vacation with us..:)Stay tuned for the next adventure of The Ray Boys

The Month of July

2009-07-30T12:39:00.005-05:00

Oh My Goodness! Where do I even begin! The month of July has been so busy for all of us we have been going non-stop but it has been alot of fun and we have enjoyed every second of it.... We started off the Month with a trip to Florida, my family owns a place in Blue Mountain Beach and it is beautiful.. Its right on the beach so we do not have far to walk, out the door a few steps to the stairs and there it is,beautiful white sandy beaches and crystal clear different shades of blue water, it is breath talking it is so pretty... We were there for 10 days and enjoyed everyday that we were there!! On our way we experienced something incredible and we knew without a doubt that God was with us!! We left around 5:30 in the afternoon and decided to drive all night, it was fun and exhausting at the same time.. Anyway I guess it was about 11:30p.m. and we were somewhere in between Baton Rouge,Louisiana and Hammond,Louisiana the truck in front of us lost control and started swerving all over the interstate and then totally lost control and flipped 3 times and went down into the embankment... We pulled over and immediately called 911 had no idea where we were but Chuck jumps out and is going to help of course me and the boys were yelling be careful because #1 we had no idea what he would see and #2 the car was smoking bad! well he gets as close as he could and is yelling Can you hear me, Help is on the way and out pops a guy who looked to be in his early 20s and Chuck kept asking him who else is in the car and out pops his girlfriend.. not one scratch on them just a little shaken up, she had her cell phone out calling her momma and kept saying I came out of my shoes oh no I need my shoes, needless to say I had to hold back a laugh here she was totally concerned about her shoes:) anyway by this time several people had stopped to help and I guess the police found us because like 7 squad cars came to the rescue..:)Thank God for 911!!Anyway we were so touched that God had his hand on this couple.. the truck was completely totaled and the front end was all the way across the median it was amazing that they were standing there talking to us with no scratches they were so lucky to be alive.. I took that opportunity at that moment to tell them how blessed they were and that God had his hand on them and then we asked if we could pray with them before we left and they were very grateful! I think about what could have been and what we could have seen and even if their truck would have turned a certain way it could have hit us but God was there and we were very very Thankful needless to say none of us slept the whole way to Florida, we had our eyes open wide on the road and just kept talking about the couple but mainly how God was so amazing...We arrived in Florida at 4:30 a.m. and all crashed until noon the next day...... Come back and see what the next adventure is for The Rays...But take this time if you will and Thank God for the many blessings and miracles that he is doing in your life... He is so amazing!!

Summertime with The Rays

2009-07-28T14:17:00.003-05:00

Wow! The month of July has been sooooooooo busy! We have been traveling and visiting and have had out of town guest for weeks now so we have had a ton of fun with lots of laughs, up all night, sleep overs, junk food and entertaining! I am working on my post right now but I am going to cover the whole month of July in one post so check back in a few days and see whats been going on in the lives of The Ray Boys! Thank you for making us a part of your day... Hope you are having as much fun as we are!!!

All-Stars Do it Again!!!

2009-06-30T16:41:00.003-05:00

The Magnolia All Stars did it again last night...We play 7 innings and Phillip was lead off hitter he hit and scored and then another scored in the first inning and the score was 2-0 we played and played and the other team scored and scored and in the bottom of the 6th inning the score was 10 them to 2 us:) ok somebody must have said Rally Time or the Lord heard alot of Momma's praying (personally I think that is what it was )we came back and won the game 14-11 whhheeeewww can you say stressed? can you say Loud? Can you say excitement? wow! what a game, it was awesome!! We play again tonight at 7:00 and we are pumped, we are ready for another game.. I am stocked up on super bubble, I think I was chewing 4 pieces of bubblegum at one time I was so nervous..lol it was so much fun and we all had a blast needless to say Phillip was on cloud 9.. I will keep you posted on what happens tonight:)Wish us luck or better yet say some Prayers!!! I posted a picture of Chuck's team and Phillip's team when they were both the same age 15 and they are both on a All Star team...

PHILLIP'S ALLSTAR TOURNAMENT

2009-06-27T21:09:00.016-05:00

WELL HERE I GO AGAIN BRAGGIN ON MY BOYS....HERE WHERE WE LIVE THEY PLAY YEAR ROUND BASEBALL BUT AFTER THE SPRING SEASON EACH AGE GROUP PICKS THEIR BEST PLAYERS AND FROM THERE EACH TEAM PICKS 2 PLAYERS AND THEY MAKE UP ONE TEAM OF ALL THE BEST PLAYERS..WELL,I AM EXCITED TO SAY PHILLIP WAS PICKED... WE WERE SO EXCITED BUT A LITTLE UPSET THAT PEYTON DID NOT MAKE IT BUT IN HIS DEFENSE HIS COACH DID NOT NOMINATE ANYONE FROM HIS TEAM, WHICH WAS NOT RIGHT BUT, WHAT ARE YOU GONNA DO? SO ANYWAY WE ARE VERY EXCITED FOR PHILLIP AND WE ALL SUPPORT HIM AND HIS TEAM 100%..WELL THIS PAST WEEK THEY HAVE PRACTICED EVERYDAY FROM 5:30 TIL 9:00 TO GET READY FOR THEIR FIRST TOURNAMENT.. SO LAST NIGHT WAS THEIR FIRST GAME AND IT WAS A REALLY GOOD GAME THEY WON 10-9.. SO THIS MORNING THEY HAD TO BE BACK AT THE FIELD AT 8:45 TO PLAY AT 10,IT WAS A GOOD GAME BUT OUR TEAM MADE SOME REALLY CARELESS MISTAKES WHICH COST THEM THE GAME, THE FINAL SCORE WAS 13-8..IT WAS A HOT HOT DAY AND I AM SURE THE HEAT DID NOT HELP BUT THEY LOST... SO THE COACH SAYS THIS GAME IS OVER, YOU LOST YOU CAN GET IT BACK.. SO BE READY FOR MONDAY NIGHT...SO WE PLAY MONDAY AND IF WE WIN WE KEEP GOING..THIS IS A GREAT GROUP OF BOYS AND WE ARE SO EXCITED THAT PHILLIP IS ON THIS TEAM, WHEN THEY ARE ON THEY ARE ON AND THEY PLAY AWESOME!SO WE ARE HOPING THAT THEY ARE ALL ON MONDAY NIGHT! I LOVE THESE TEAMS BECAUSE NOT ONLY DO THE BOYS MAKE GREAT FRIENDS BUT SO DO THE PARENTS!WE HAVE SO MUCH FUN!!THE EXCITING PART IS ONCE THEY START WINNING THEY START TRAVELING AROUND THE STATE OF TEXAS AND THEN ALSO OUT OF STATE TO WORLD SERIES.. WE ARE SO EXCITED TO BE A PART OF THIS AND WISH THEM THE BEST OF LUCK!! WE WILL KEEP YOU POSTED ON OUR ALL STARS...

Happy Fathers Day~ 6-21-09

2009-06-21T20:23:00.018-05:00

Today is Fathers Day and I just want to take this time to blog about the men in my life and tell you how awesome they all are! First of all Happy Fathers Day to My Heavenly Father, the most amazing Father a girl could have.. I Thank you for choosing me to be your child and I Thank you for everything you do for me everyday..I can not imagine my life without you~ I honestly would be Nothing!I hope that I can be all that you want me to be and I know you are not finished with me yet! I look forward to glorifying you all the days of my life!Happy Fathers Day to my Earthly Daddy, I Thank God for choosing this man to be my Dad.. I have been so blessed to have a Daddy that loves me for me and is there whenever I need him no matter what it is or how old I am:) Happy Fathers Day Daddy, I love you very much!! and then there is my Father In Law.. I Thank God for this man because he is a loving, caring man who raised a incredible son that is now my husband!! Happy Fathers day Pappy, we love you and we are so blessed to have you in our lives! and then there is my husband.. Wow! I could not have picked a better man to be the husband and Father that he is! I Thank God everyday for giving me the gift of Chuck. He puts us first always and loves his boys soooooooo much!! We were sitting in church the other day and our Pastor was preaching on loving others and he was talking about his own kids and how much he loved them he was saying oh they get on my nerves..:) and they drive me crazy..:) but I would die for them and that is exactly how all of these men feel about their children! My life is so blessed to have these men in my life and my boys lives and I just Thank God everyday for all of them and Pray that God will bless them beyond measure~~ Happy Fathers Day.. Love you all Bunches!!!!

Visit From The Samples

2009-06-20T20:11:00.020-05:00

Our Sweet Friends The Samples came to visit us from St Louis this week... We had the best time with them but I can honestly say it was so hard for me to say Goodbye! We have been friends with them since we moved to STL.. Karen and I met in the parking lot of the elementary school when our oldest Phillip and Kyle started Kindergarten, we were there for orientation and Phillip and I were walking out to our car and there was this lady and her precious little boy standing there talking to someone when the 2 boys noticed each other, they said hi and Phillip said Momma he has my shirt on and it was so funny because they were dressed identical..:) they both had there Tommy Hilfiger shirts on and kaki shorts with their little braided belts and their little tennis shoes they were precious.. They were not in class together because Phillip had a.m. kindergarten and Kyle had p.m. but they did have the same teacher who was truly a angel and later on in the year she became a angel. she died of leukemiah.. Bonnie Higgins she was a precious precious soul who was totally created to be a kindergarten teacher, we were very blessed to have her in our lives.. So anyway 1st grade the boys were in class together and I think they were every year except 4th.. They have been really good friends forever but of course they went through a time where they went their seperate ways but they always found their way back:) They also have a daughter Kirsten who is Peyton's age and they were in class together too... Our families have so many memories we were always doing things together, baseball. vacationing, dinner, lunch, celebrating holidays celebrating bdays you name it I think we have done it! They are very sweet friends who have a very special place in our hearts and we feel truly blessed to know them.. Karen is my friend who I can just be me and we can talk about anything and anybody and nothing phases her...She is the friend who makes me laugh until my tummy hurts and it doesn't matter what it is.. It can be something she says or it can be just a look and I know what she is thinking.. Thanks for coming to visit us it really meant alot to us and we so enjoyed every minute!! Please come again soon!! We love you and miss having you in our daily lives! You are all very special to us and we hope we get to see you again soon~~ P.s. karen, I found a family beach photo for your home... Its the one we saw at the restaurant...lol:)

A Busy But Fun Weekend!

2009-06-08T21:25:00.021-05:00

This weekend was so busy starting Thursday night... I have not been feeling well at all but thought it was just allergies and decided to treat myself with over the counter meds so Thursday night we set off for our sweet sweet friends High School Graduation.. Of course it was outside in the heat for awhile and the night air so needless to say I felt awful and coughed all night long but anyway our girl graduated and we are so proud of her!! I look back and remember when I met her she was in 5th grade in St Louis, Mo and now here she is graduating from high school in Texas right around the corner from us:) Congratulations Adri! We are so proud of you and pray that you will hear Gods voice guiding you down the right paths of your life!! So after having a all night coughathon. I decided I needed to go to the Dr so I did where I was diagnosed with full blown pneumonia and a severe case of bronchitis:) so I had a option it was either be put in the hospital or take some strong drugs so I opted for the drugs got those and a shot in the hip(ouch0:o!!so after that I felt really good so we decided we would go to Adri's Graduation Party, we agreed if I felt bad we would come home so off we went to a fun fun night that was filled with sweet sweet friends and their families who feel like they are ours:) We had a great time socializing and eating and drinking.. Well by the time we got home I felt like I had been run over by a Mack Truck... I took my meds and went to bed and slept til 11 the next morning. We had plans to go to the lake for the day with our sweet friends so I told Chuck to take the boys and have a great time while I stayed at home and slept and just laid around...Saturday night I was still feeling really bad and I think I was back in the bed by 9:00.. I hate being sick and feeling yucky!!So Sunday morning rolls around and still not feeling good but we were hosting Peyton's baseball party so I knew I had to get up and go.. luckily we decided to do at our neighborhood pool and pavilion instead of our own... We had a blast at that party most of the boys came and played basketball and swam and we decided to do a yummy crawfish boil, it was so yummy.. Our Sweet friends Dean and Yvonne who are TRUE Cajuns cooked it all up and knew exactly what they were doing.. we had crawfish, potatoes, corn, mushrooms, asparagus, artichoke and sausage it was delish!!!! We had tons left over but we all took a few bags home and we are all gonna cook up some " Crawfish Pie, Crawfish Etouffe',Crawfish Pasta, Crawfish Quesidillas everything you can think of crawfish we gonna make it:) It was a great time to be had by all and we so appreciate everyone who was there helping out and we are really going to miss playing wit some of these boys next season.. Peyt and a few others are moving up so they are leaving some behind and that means their parents too:( This was a great group of kids but we know we will see them around the ballpark.. So the weekend is over and I am dog tired.. I have to go back to the Dr tomorrow and hopefully she will say things look better and sound better! Please say prayers that I will be well soon! I DO NOT HAVE TIME TO BE SICK!!!

Our First Trip of Summer Vacation

2009-06-07T22:04:00.028-05:00

Well, we have officially started the summer off with a road trip... Chuck had to help work a home show last weekend in Austin so we thought that would be a great time to getaway and see our sweet friends The Bayers who moved to Texas a month after we did.. As most of you remember Peyton and his bff Jackson in St Louis well , that is his family who moved.. It was definitely a GOD thing and I think that is why moving was easier for both Peyt and Jackson because not only are they 2 hrs apart but they were going through the same transitions at the same time and leaving all their friends and times behind in STL.... We are all so blessed to say that they both are doing great and love living in Texas..Our trip was so much fun! We left early Saturday morning and like I said it is only 2 hrs away so we dropped Chuck off at his destination and headed to The Bayers where we spent the afternoon visiting, playing and just catching up.. Our friend Jess Hess who was Peytons Para in St Louis moved to San Antonio about a month ago so she drove up with her hubby and sweet baby girl Lilly who I could just eat up and came for the afternoon and evening so we all got to catch up and reminiscence about St Louis and what we missed the most of course my answer was all my sweet friends who are there,, I miss yall so much.. I love living here and I love all my new friends but there is just something about my friends there who have a very very special place in my heart and I have to say it is still hard when I know I just can't pick up the phone and say meet me for lunch.. or come outside for a while and visit with me:) That is what makes me miss St Louis the most so anyway we had so much fun catching up.. We decided to go downtown and have dinner so I picked up Chuck and we met them at a restaurant there on Barton Springs Road in downtown called Uncle Billies Que and Brew... it was so much fun and yummy yummy food!! and then off we went to the bridge that is known as the world largest bat colony, we all sat with at least 100 other people and at dark they all flew out, it was really cool but also very creepy~~It was very cool though and a MUST DO if you are in Austin... Peyton spent the night with Jackson and so we went to our hotel where they had Heavenly Down Beds, can I just tell you they are one of my very favorite things in this world, I just see them and fall asleep.. instant relaxation... Chuck said I could have knocked the walls down I was snoring so loud:)lol!! I just love them!!! So the next morning we took Chuck and dropped him back off at the Parade of homes which were very interesting... I went thru them on Sunday afternoon, they were all at least a million dollars and they were all GREEN... Austin is Big on the Go Green.. the houses were very cool, very modern and very contemporary, it had cool things like Cork floors, cork walls, concrete floors, all the stair pieces were recycled metal or wood,, It was cool but again very different!! anyway back to Sunday morning we met them at Church, they go to Fellowship of Austin SW.. very very cool church, my boys loved their youth group and the sermon was awesome..The Praise Band was incredible, the girl singing was unreal and of course the drummer was amazing ( our friend Mark):) After church we decided we would take the kids to lunch and of course they all agreed on one of our old STL favorites "Culverts".. We have them here in Houston but it is not close at all so we never go but boy was it good and made us miss STL just a little more:( The boys ended up hanging with them while I went to get Chuck and then we came back and visited with Mark and Pam for a little while and then it was time to head back South ( SE actually) to Houston.. It always so hard saying Goodbye to friends especially when you have a great time and when they are so close to our hearts... But we already have another trip planned, they are coming here in July for a Astros vs Cardinals game and of course we will all be in our Cardinal Gear.. I would love for Jess and her family to come too but its a week night game and her hubby can't get away:(.. I hope all of you who are reading this have started your summer off with as much fun as we have!! Thanks for reading our blog and sharing your day with us~~

School is officially OUT

2009-05-28T21:19:00.010-05:00

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Well school is officially out and we have 2 happy boys! This has been a great year for both of the boys and once again in a new state and in a new school God has truly blessed them with wonderful teachers and good friends... Next year will be a new setting for both of them, they will both be at different campuses but will take their friends (most of them) with them... We have a fun summer planned with lots to do so I am sure it will fly by but, this is my favorite time of year that I get to spend with my boys and enjoy them without a routine.. This is the time of year where we spend lots of time together doing things,talking and really getting to know each other.. I have been so blessed with these 2, they are now 15 and 12 and I know that pretty soon they will be grown and doing there own thing in the summer so as a Momma I encourage each one of you to spend time with your kids and really treasure each minute you have with them.. ( I know! I know! remind me in about 3 to 4 weeks and see if they are still alive)LOL!.Enjoy them and really get to know who they are!! Have a great summer!!!

Count Down is ON!!

2009-05-20T16:33:00.010-05:00

Well The Count Down is On here at The Ray home... Count down til schools out~~~ We are all so ready for summer! We have already been swimming everyday and acting like its summer all except for going to bed early and getting up for school early! I LOVE LOVE LOVE not having a routine and I LOVE spending time with my boys... We have several plans for the summer with travel plans and lots of friends and family coming to visit so we will probably blink and feel like its time to go back to school.. But we are counting down and can't wait!! If you don't have plans to come visit us.. Come On Down~ We would love to have you.. There is always a Party going on in the backyard:)

Happy Birthday Chuck!! 5-9-09

2009-05-10T22:49:00.022-05:00

Happy Birthday to My Amazing Hubby~~ I feel like I just bragged on my anniversary blog about him but I am here to tell you I can not brag enough!! He has to be the BEST husband in the WORLD! He does everything for me and the boys and always has, he put us first before anything he has or needs to do~ He is a incredible man with a heart like no other and loves us so so much and we love him so so much too! We have been married for 20 years and we dated for 4 before we got married, he has always just been so good to me and for me and I am incredibly blessed to have him as my husband!It is has been a awesome journey, we have known each other since 5Th grade and to watch him grow and change into the man that he has become has just been unreal.. He has grown into such a strong christian man and I am so excited that he has the heart for God that he does, he is a amazing example to our 2 boys and again I feel so blessed! Happy Birthday to My Husband, The Love of My Life, My Best Friend and the Best Daddy to our 2 boys~ We hope that you have a great day and we hope you know how much we love you , appreciate you and adore you~~~ YOU ARE THE BEST!!!!

Happy 15th Birthday Phillip Taylor Ray!!!

2009-05-02T19:53:00.030-05:00

I can not believe our baby is 15!Where did time go?? I remember when he was a baby and a little boy and I would hear someone say their child was 14 or 15 or even 16, I thought wow! they are old..lol:) and their baby is not their baby anymore..And now here we are and we are old:) but he is still our baby! He always will be!! We are so proud of Phillip, he has blessed our lives so much.. I remember praying daily that God would give me a baby.. I prayed and Prayed on my knees I prayed and he blessed us with our sweet Phillip on May 3, 1994', he was the most beautiful baby I had ever seen:) When he was 8 days old he became colicky... OH NO! My sweet beautiful baby boy did not like me..lol so I thought.. ewww weee those were some hard days but when he turned about 5 months he turned into a dream baby, he was so sweet and just so good! He just loved everybody and everyone loved him~ and he is still like that! He is just a good good kid, with a BIG heart and a sensitive soul... of course we have our days who doesn't with a teenage boy with raging hormones.... but for the most days he is great!! God truly blessed us when he decided to trust us with Phillip and he blessed Peyton when he decided to make them brothers.. They have their love/hate relationship but they would not trade each other for anything!!We PRAY that GOD has awesome plans for Phillip's life, we pray that Phillip will continue to seek God and look to him for guidance and direction. We pray that Phillip will be a blessing to all he knows and that in all he does that he will GLORIFY the Lord! Happy Birthday sweet boy.... Don't ever forget how much your family loves you!!!! Thank you Lord for blessing our lives with this child~~

2009-04-21T22:04:00.001-05:00

Happy Anniversary.... 20 Years xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo

2009-04-21T09:52:00.006-05:00

20 Years of Marriage to Chuck Ray! Wow! I am incredibly blessed and can not Thank God enough for this man! April 22, 1989 we got married and I knew then just as I know today that he was the Love of My Life... God has truly blessed our marriage and we both are so thankful! We actually started dating when we were 18 and have known each other since 5Th grade.. Of course I thought he was the cutest boy ever! I moved away and moved back and met up with him in high school and we liked each other then too... so many stories but we actually did not get serious until the summer of 85" It was all over after them:) We were both hooked!!!We of course have been through many valleys in our marriage like most but with God we have conquered them all.. We were married for 5 years when God blessed us with our first baby boy and I saw Chuck in a whole different role and what a incredible one that was and then 2 years later he blessed us again with another sweet baby boy!!Chuck is not only a wonderful husband who is EVERYTHING to me but he is a awesome Father and role model for our boys!! I am so proud of the man that he has become, he definitely puts GOD first and then US.. He always puts his self last and thinks of others before himself.. He is a wonderful provider,helper and truly the meaning of what GOD intended a husband to be! Happy Anniversary Chuck! I love you very much and still get so excited to say that my name is MRS CHUCK RAY!! You are the Love of My Life and always will be!! I look forward to many many more anniversary's shared with you!! xoxoxoxoxoxooxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo
We chose to get married on my parents anniversary so we celebrate this special day with them too so we want to wish them a HAPPY 48Th Wedding Anniversary today, we love you both very much and we thank you for setting a wonderful example of what TRUE LOVE truly is!!! Happy Anniversary!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

The Frazzled Female Bible Study

2009-04-16T19:22:00.016-05:00

AS MOST OF YOU KNOW I LED A BIBLE STUDY AT MY NEW CHURCH CALLED THE FRAZZLED FEMALE, ACTUALLY I CREATED A BLOG CALLED WWW.DEFRAZZLE.BLOGSPOT.COM.. I HAVE NOT UPDATED WEEK 5 AND 6 BUT I WILL FOR THOSE OF YOU WHO FOLLOWED THAT BLOG.. IT WAS ONE OF THE BEST STUDIES I HAVE EVERY DONE... IT REALLY SPOKE TO MY HEART AND HELPED ME REALIZE WHAT IS IMPORTANT AND WHAT IS NOT AND THE NUMBER ONE THING I HAVE CHANGED IS THAT I MAKE GOD A PRIORITY IN MY LIFE, I THOUGHT I ALWAYS DID BUT WHO WAS I KIDDING??, THERE WERE DAYS JUST LIKE EVERYONE ELSE WHERE YOU JUST GET BUSY WITH YOUR DAY AND YOUR MIND IS CONSUMED WITH THOUGHTS 100 MPH AND THEN YOU LAY DOWN AND GET READY TO GO TO SLEEP AND YOU REALIZE OH WOW i HAVE NOT EVEN SPOKEN TO GOD TODAY... SORRY BUT MOST OF US ARE GUILTY AT SOME TIME OR ANOTHER IN OUR LIFE.. SO ANYWAY THAT HAS CHANGED GOD IS THE FIRST CONVERSATION I HAVE IN THE A.M. AND THE LAST I HAVE IN THE P.M. AND USUALLY ALL DAY.... HE GOES SHOPPING WITH ME TOO.. WE LEARNED THAT TO INVITE HIM ALONG ON YOUR ERRANDS HE WILL BE YOUR #1 FRIEND WHO NEVER SAYS THAT HE IS TOO BUSY!! not ONLY WAS THE STUDY GREAT AND CHANGED MY LIFE BUT SOME WONDERFUL FRIENDSHIPS WERE MADE THAT WILL BE LIFETIME AND THEN ETERNAL FRIENDSHIPS.. SO MANY OF US SHARED OUR HEARTS,OUR FEARS, WE PRAISED GOD TOGETHER, WE QUESTIONED? WE ENCOURAGED AND WE GAVE IT ALL TO HIM! THIS GROUP WAS FILLED WITH INCREDIBLE WOMEN WHO ARE GROWING IN THEIR WALKS EVERYDAY AND WE WOULD JUST ENCOURAGE ONE ANOTHER, IT WAS JUST AWESOME!! I AM ACTUALLY LEADING IT AGAIN WITH MY JM FRIENDS AND CAN'T WAIT! IT WAS JUST ONE OF THOSE STUDIES THAT I COULD DO OVER AND OVER AND LEARN MORE AND MORE EACH TIME I DO IT!! WE WILL BE HAVING ANOTHER STUDY OT OUR CHURCH STARTING NEXT THURSDAY NIGHT 4/23 IT WILL BE A BETH MOORE STUDY ON THURSDAYS AT 7 ON ESTHER.. IF YOU ARE INTERESTED IN DOING IT WE WOULD LOVE FOR YOU TO COME!! THANKS AGAIN LADIES FOR TOUCHING AND CHANGING MY HEART WITH YOUR LOVE, WISDOM, PRAYERS AND FRIENDSHIPS.. I LOVE YOU ALL AND PRAY FOR EACH ONE OF YOU DAILY!!

Our Golfer!!

2009-04-16T18:08:00.018-05:00

Well What can we say except that we are so proud of our Phillip.. He decided he wanted to go out for his school's golf team so he tried out a few weeks ago with 126 other boys and out of 8 boys he made it!! We were just thrilled so of course I had to go out and buy him some cute golf clothes and shoes:) I know I know!! I hear all of you now! Anyway he had his clubs that his Papa and Nana bought him and he was ready to roll.. I had him all ready to go and then we when we got up there he had to put his school shirt on,, but at least it matched his hat:)lol!! Anyway he did really well, he didn't think he was doing as good as he should have been so he hung his head a little and got down but after pumping him up and praising him for trying his best, the head came up and the smile back on his face and he started playing like a pro! We were on the 6th hole and the sky became dark and the thunder and lightening started so we were told to try and gather as many kids as we could and get them in.. The players had to walk and we ad thought about walking with them but we ended up getting a cart so Thank God for that because we would have been drowned rats.. It even started hailing so we would have looked like pelted drowned rats:)Anyway Pray that Phillip keeps his head up, he is always so hard on himself and is truly is a great golfer.. You just never know you may see our boy on the Masters some day wearing the Green Jacket.. $$$ would love that!!$$$ Remember who loves ya baby?!I will keep you updated at the tournament continues and the rest of the season goes! we are so Thankful that he made it and that he is really feeling like he belongs here but, most of all we are so THANKFUL to God for giving us a healthy child who is able to walk, and play golf!!

Just Moved Luncheon

2009-04-01T17:30:00.010-05:00

Well, most of you know that when I moved here I last summer I signed up for a bible study called "Just Moved.". the book was "After the boxes are unpacked" by Susan Miller.. It was the best book and study I have ever done,it helped me not only make some wonderful friends but also helped me feel like I was not alone in this journey called "Moving" and all the feelings that you have good and bad sad and depressed are normal! It was the best study ever and I highly highly recommend it!! If you move to another Country, State, Town or around the corner you will be able to relate... It is awesome~ So anyway I was in the class last fall and made some lifetime friends that I feel like I have known forever, you have seen them on my blog a few times and will definitely see them again! Well, they asked if I would help lead the study for the new Spring class and I am so glad I did! I have been here for 8 months when the class started and I truly could relate to their newness and their feelings but, also I have come "Full Circle" and could give them HOPE!!This was a small class with 5 girls and they were all so sweet. I hope that we can all stay in touch like my class has and let God grow these friendships like he has with the other girls! God is so Good! I love how he allows certain people to come into our lives! This week was our last class so we had a luncheon and it was a blast! The New and the Old class came together and it was such a fun time with lots of yummy yummy food! I pray that God will continue to guide all of us and put the right friends in our paths! We talked about seasons of our life and this season I pray will be blessed for all of us! Thank you ladies for sharing your hearts with us and know that I will always be here for you so call me or e-mail me or stop by for a visit anytime!! xoxox Love you all! xoxoxoxoxox

Happy Birthday Evelyn!!!!

2009-03-29T22:22:00.015-05:00

Today is our sweet friend Evelyn's birthday~~ So we decided we wanted to make a special dinner for her and celebrate her tonight... My parents are in town and my Mom made it all which is alot better than I could ever make:) We had so much fun!! Evelyn and I have been friends for about 6 1/2 years but it sure seems like it has been alot longer than that! She is my friend who I feel like I have known all my life.. We first met in St Louis, Mo at church and we became friends through a home group which was one of the best things that ever happened to us! We have had some great great times together and have made some wonderful memories and we have been through the deepest pain that anyone could go through.. As most of you know she lost her oldest daughter Sarah 5 years ago and that was the hardest thing I have ever been through with a friend!But she is one of those friends who have been there for me and my family for everything happy times, sad times and difficult times.. She is far more than a friend she is like my sister! Well a year to the date after Sarah passed, Gregg lost his job and found one in Texas so they moved and I was heartbroken!! I was just so sad and so was Chuck b/c him and Gregg became very close friends and my boys both cried b/c they loved them like family! I promised her that I would never ever let her be without the support of this friend on the toughest day of her life so that first year I went to Texas and surprised her and spent a few days and realized how far away she was from STL and that just brought the heart ache again... The next year on the date, we were in Texas house hunting.. Chuck got transferred and we were moving to Texas... We could have lived anywhere in the state but I knew that God was bringing us back together..There is only a few friendships like ours in the world and I knew that this was Gods plan.. She is one of the Best friends I have ever had in my life! She is just one of those if shes your friend she always has your back no matter what! she always is there for me, she always helps me in anything I choose to do, she gives me words of wisdom sometimes when I don't want to hear it:)lol!!She is just one who makes my life better and brighter by being in it!! Ev, I love you bunches and I am so happy that God gave me you as my BFF!!!!! xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxooxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxooxoxox Happy Happy Birthday!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Beautiful Boys in the Blue Bonnets

2009-03-22T22:13:00.015-05:00

The Texas State Flower in the Beautiful Blue Bonnet... it is a wild flower and they are just beautiful, there are fields and fields of them and they are just breath taking! They usually bloom in March and are in season til the first of May.. I can not even tell you how beautiful they are and no picture can tell you either.. You just have to see them in person so come on down!!! I kept telling the boys I wanted to take their picture in the flowers and some of the comments that I got were "No Way!" "That is Gay" "We are Not" Well, guess what I won!!! yeah!! with a little bribery I won!! I wish they would have cooperated a little bit more but... I can not be choosy!! I would have had them posing and they were not having it.. So some of the shots you see of the wrestling well, What can I say? That is just them!! I got the picture and that's all that matters.. Its not like it is a professional portrait.. all though I wish it was..:)Look how BIG my boys are.. it makes me so sad how big they are but we had a great conversation today and no matter how BIG or how OLD they get, they said they would ALWAYS love their Momma.. awww !! I am so blessed and I am so Thankful to God that he blessed Me with the 2 precious boys that call me "MOM" sometimes"Momma"...

Spring Break 09"

2009-03-22T21:36:00.017-05:00

We had a great Spring break... At first we had travel plans.. we were going to visit family and friends and that changed! Then we had family and friends coming to visit us and that changed so we just hung out here and played and slept late and hung out with friends and played golf and went fishing, went to a few party's and stayed up all night (whheeewwww) and then we decided it just would not be a spring break if we did not travel somewhere.... so we decided we were going to the beach and no it was not Florida, we decided we were going to the beach at Galveston which is only 1.5 hour away... So we took the top off of the jeep... packed a cooler of cokes for the ride and took off... we had a blast! Of course we have never been there and had no idea where to go or what to do but we had fun!!The Ocean is the Ocean and the beach was nice too but if you remember Hurricane Ike last September did some MAJOR damage down there and there was still alot of damage but I must say they have done a outstanding clean up job and the rebuilding is incredible!! We want to go back now that we know where to go and we want to spend more than a few days, we have decided we want friends to go too so if any of you want to go with us say the word and we will start making travel plans!! We went out on the beach and went out to eat and the boys even fished in the Ocean, they didn't catch anything but it was fun!! I love trips like this because as I say my favorite line" We are making memories" Can't wait to go again!! Hope that you all had a great Spring Break!!! I don't know about you but I am now ready for Summer.... 8 weeks of school left!!!!!

Girls Chick Flick Night at Teresa's

2009-03-22T19:40:00.006-05:00

We had been talking about having a Chick Flick night over at Teresa's house in her amazing theater room so we finally planned it...We all decided that we needed a girls night out and a good movie and a good cry and a good laugh and a good glass of wine... and we did it all.. Last Thursday night we went over and watched" P.S. I Love You.." awwwww it was so good and he was so good lookin..( did I just type that thought to self..lol) We had the best time but, we really missed Pam, she was out of town for Spring Break.. Hopefully, we will do it again and she will be able to come.. I am so thankful for my sweet friends and I just love them all so much!! We met last AUGUST/SEPT and I feel like I have known all of them for years.. We have so much fun together.. we laugh together, we cry together, we pray together and for one another, it is just truly gifts from God!! I love how we can be so real and not afraid of being judged... I love how we can all laugh at each other and not feel insecure about it..I truly love that I can tell my friends that I am addicted to Little People in a Big World and they can laugh hysterically about it and I can just encourage them to watch it!! I think the next outing will be here for a few episodes of The Roloffs..... Thanks T for a great night and I want you all to know I love you bunches!!!

Happy 1st Birthday Ford

2009-03-16T15:13:00.010-05:00

Wow! This year truly flew by!! Our sweet little nephew Ford turned one this past Friday...We were suppose to go to Jackson for his birthday but, we let the brothers (Chuck and Brad) work out the plans and needless to say we did not end up going!:( My boys were attending a church all nighter lock out on Friday so Chuck was afraid that they would be exhausted which they were and be like zombies all weekend.. which they were.. and they also thought that it was going to be a rushed trip with not alot of one on one bonding time.. Little did they know that once Aunt Shannon walked in it would be instant bonding because I sure would not have let anyone else hold him not even his Momma and Daddy:) Maybe they knew that! His Momma sent us all the pics from his b-day and his b-day party and a slideshow and it looked like he a BIG TIME!! I can not even begin to tell you how special this baby is to us.. He is truly a blessing to all of us and we are so Thankful to God for him! I feel like he is mine! I can honestly say there has only been one other baby besides mine that I have loved like this and now add him to my heart! If you know me, you know I am a baby freak and I love babies but this one just throws me over the top! He hung the moon and the stars in my eyes and can do no wrong!:)I can not wait to watch him grow up ( note to self and Jennifer! Lets make the plans from now on, so I can!)I pray everyday for him just like I do for my own that God will just watch over him and put his hedge of protection around him! That God would just continue to bless his life and let him grow in to a Man of God who has the burning desires to know Christ more and more everyday!! I thank God for Brad and Jennifer and I just thank HIM for blessing their lives with this precious soul! We are just proud of them the way they are bringing him up! and I thank them for letting us love Ford like our own!! Ford, Don't ever forget how much we love you and I am so sorry we were not there to celebrate with you but when we see you we will have our own party~~ Happy Happy Birthday!! Love you Love you Love you!!

Opening Day 2009

2009-03-07T14:24:00.016-06:00

Today was Opening Day of Baseball 2009 in our little town and it was such a fun fun day~~They really went all out and had all the teams and their coaches dress in their uniforms and all were called out to the field and announced.. They had the Mayor and even Miss Magnolia come to the ceremony! Of course all those little boys from the age of 4 to 15 were all in awe of her:)I tried to get Phillip to take a picture with her but he threatened to kill me if I even suggested it in front of her.. lol) I love embarrassing my boys...They have 65 teams in this league so you can imagine the crowd of parents and Grandparents and Aunts and Uncles, it was the place to be today...I tell you when we moved here the end of June one of my constant prayers was and still is that God would just make us all feel like we are a part of this community and not only that but, that he would just use us in this community to Glorify him! We were so involved in St Louis in the schools and in our church and in the baseball organization so it has been hard to come to a place where no one knows you and you don't know them.. we have really jumped in feet first in all we can and have really met some precious people and have made some wonderful friends.. Today I do not know what more I could ask for... here we are at opening day and here are both my boys laughing and talking to their new friends both of them healthy and in ball uniforms, here is my husband surrounded by people who tell me that they think the world of him and how happy they are that he is board member of the league now and they are all out on this ball field being announced and then they ask for the first pitch to be thrown out and it was a little boy who threw it who will be 4 tomorrow our youngest player and they picked Phillip to catch it for him.. WOW!! How AWESOME is GOD?? I could not have asked for me and my family to feel more part of a community than we were today! So when you pray you better be sure it is something you really want to happen because he will make it happen if it is the true desire of your heart so Thank you Lord for hearing me and answering my desires:) Thank you for making me and my family a part of your day today by reading our blog!! Have a great day!!

2009-02-21T20:03:00.001-06:00

Our Basketball Star

2009-02-21T19:41:00.004-06:00

Peyton is playing basketball for a league here which is very well known UPWARD.. It is a christian league who teaches scripture and they do devotions every week.. Every player gets a award at the end of the game and it is a colored star like red is best defense, green best offense, white CHRISTlike and so on it is so cool!! It teaches good sportsmanship- which sometimes is not always seen like today. One of the players on the other team was just really a good example of what NOT to be.. It was unfortunate but, also good for the other players to see so they don't act like that~~~But anyway, Peyton has always been a good basketball player but today his true colors really came out... He scored 22 points in the game woo hooo.... He had lay ups, he had jump shots, he had block shots, he had 3 seconds remaining and just threw it and made it... He did so good and needless to say we are so PROUD of him.. We all had so much fun cheering for his team but the people that were watching definitely knew who Peyt's family was:)Baseball season has started as well so he is practicing 4 days a week for that and 1 for basketball and then 1 game a week for basketball.. Baseball season starts in March and Basketball is over the day it starts so we all have bittersweet feelings about that! Peyton has met some great kids and made some awesome friends on his basketball team but hopefully after basketball they will all stay in touch!! You just never know about Peyton you may just see him on the NBA one day.. He amazes us when it comes to sports, it just seems like whatever sport you ask him to do he is just a all around natural.. I wish I could say that for myself!!:) Anyway just needed to brag on our Peyt for a minute and of course we are very proud of our Phillip too~~ Stay tuned for the next brag session on Raising The Ray Boys:) xoxoxo to my boys!!!

Phillip's First Date xoxoxoxoxoxo

2009-02-13T23:00:00.001-06:00

Ok Can I just tell you how old I feel tonight!! Phillip had his first date tonight and I just feel so old!! Wow! All the memories that came rushing back to my first date.. All week long I have been saying now do this and do that and don't forget to say this and say that and DO NOT DO this and he has just been like ok mom enough! and then Chuck I am sure has had his memories as well and since he is a guy he totally has different do this and do that...Phillip has been so excited since he asked her out and has text and talked everyday and so tonight was the night! He asked me after school if we could go and buy her flowers for the date and for Valentines Day so I said yeah sure, that is a sweet idea.. so off we go and I am going to tell you I was very impressed with him he knew that her dress was pink and brown so he found a bouquet of spring flowers and the name of it was pink and chocolate and he said he wanted that one:) yeah!! that was a proud momma moment! so we took them over and delivered them while she was not home because he wanted her to be surprised..lol love this moment as we are driving away here she comes with her Mom..:) Phillip was like awwww crap:) love it! as Peyt is saying busted busted!gotta love little brothers.So they were going to the Valentines dance at their school so her parents brought her over here so we could take pics and you should have seen his face when he saw her it was priceless.. he was like youuuuuuu loooookkkkk pretttttyyyy:) with a bright red face!(sweet baby) so we took 100000000 pics with my camera and her momma took that and much more, needless to say they both were like ok thats enough!We just couldn't help it, they were both so cute and just looked so cute together!SO they took off to the dance and had a great time and danced and hung out with their friends.. When I picked them up they were both smiling and laughing and told me story after story it was so cool just to see them having so much fun together.. They both were starving so I took them to Chick fil a and then now they are here at our house hanging out playing video games and watching t.v... They have the best time together and are such good friends which is such a blessing.. I can honestly say and Chuck and I talked about this we could not have picked a sweeter, cuter girl for Phillip.. She is one that knows what she wants and knows what is right and wrong and loves her Lord and is not afraid to tell you! She is precious and we just love her!!We are so thankful that God brought her into Phillip's life and into ours too.. Peyton has already said that if Phillip decides he just wants to be friends he wants her to be his girlfriend, he just loves her too!! We hope that she is around our house for a very long time!

Longest Stretch

2009-02-07T21:40:00.003-06:00

I think this has to be the longest stretch that I have gone since I started blogging... So sorry, I am still around just seem to be crazy busy lately... I had decided before the New Year that I need to lose weight and get in shape... I am not going to be in my 40's and be fat and out of shape so I enrolled in a Boot Camp at the Gym, it is a 4 week , 5 days, 3hours long strenuous workout... honestly it is like the Biggest Loser.. We have to do things I never ever dreamed... Oh my goodness!! What am I thinking? I guess if I die theood thing is People will say " She was working out" "She was at the gym"lol.... that's good right? We have a few trainers, nutritionist, nurse(lol) that are all in our class. I am in a private class with 6 other people that I just love!!so it is nice that we all have each other to talk to and encourage one another and of course we Thank God for the nurse:)lol!!I love everyone who is in our group even our head trainer "OTIS" he is such a nice guy who wants the best for us and really makes us work for what we came in asking for!! I can tell you now, I confessed that I had a piece of king cake and one doughnut a few weeks ago and I promise you I will never want another one of those in a long long time... He told me it was ok to have those things in moderation but, my goal was to lose some weight and get in shape so we walked and then we jogged and we jogged some more and jogged some more until I thought I was going to throw up and die.. a total of 3 miles...uggggg I am not a runner.. but like I said I will never look at King Cake or a doughnut the same... After I caught my breath I said it wasn't even a jelly doughnut, I thought Otis would die laughing..lol ! So that is what I have been up to. On top of that I am leading a bible study and helping lead another one and then there is my boys.. Baseball has started and we are gone 4 days out of 7 and then we have basketball 2 days out of 7 ... So that is where I have been and I promise to be better at blogging on this blog! I started a new blog for my Bible study it is www.Defrazzle.blogspot.com. Check it out, it is going to be a great blog!! Hope that you have a great weekend!! keep me in your prayers as I have 2 more weeks with my friend Otis!:)