Kaylee Nicole is 13!

Our Kaylee Nicole, from the moment you were born you stole our hearts and we knew that our life would never be the same. You were an answer to so many prayers. I remember thinking I knew how much you would overwhelm my heart but I had no idea. With each passing year our love for you grows more and more. You have been a complete joy since day one and we are so thankful and proud to be your parents.  

There are so many things I could say about your amazing spirit but I will try to sum up some of my favorite things about you at this age...

You have an infectious smile and love of life, this has been a trait you have been blessed with since day one.

You love the Lord and others so well.

You are so well-rounded. Your interests include anything Texas Rangers, hunting, softball, basketball, shopping, you love learning and still look forward to school, Doctor Who, baking, collecting baseball cards, swimming and playing any kind of game.

You love your family and always enjoy spending time with them.

You have a great laugh that I have the pleasure of hearing often.

You are always willing to tell me about your day and I am so thankful that I have a 13 year old who will actually talk to me and tell me their deepest thoughts.

You are always ready to have fun and do not like drama at all.

You are the first one to want to sign up for any type of youth group activity and try to get others on board too.

You have a gift for finding those who are left out and including them in whatever you are doing.

You love little kids and they adore you.

I am so thankful for your heart. You will always be our Princess and we look forward to watching you grow and mature even more over the coming years. We think you are just amazing and love you with all of our hearts. Happy 13th Birthday! May all your wishes come true.

Kaylee is 13!

 Well somehow, despite my trying to slow time down, Kaylee turned 13! How is it possible that we have a teenager in the house? I gave Kaylee the option of having a big party with lots of friends or taking a few friends to the Gaylord Texan for the night and she chose the Gaylord to celebrate her big birthday. It is always a challenge to plan her birthday since it is so close to the holidays but we managed to find a weekend and we painted the town.

Kaylee chose a cake with snowflakes to go with the theme of the weekend.

Mattie, Anna, Kaylee & Maddie
These girls know Kaylee so well...she got a cake frosting lesson, Rangers gear, and a Doctor Who shirt for her birthday. All of her favorite things!

 As we were about to celebrate in the hotel room I noticed our favorite sitter from a few years ago (thanks to her Facebook post) was also in the hotel so she came up to the room for some hugs and cake. We love and miss Sarah so much!

 Here are the older girls in their party favor shirts heading to see the Ice exhibit.

 We could not let the younger girls miss out. Campbell got to bring her friend SJ along for the fun so that she could have a little adventure too.

 All bundled up and ready for the Frosty the Snowman themed Ice sculptures.

 After we viewed all of the amazing sculptures the girls went ice sledding on tubes. It was so much fun to watch their faces as they went flying down the ice. 

 Out of all of the sculptures in the exhibit I am always most in awe of the nativity scene. I love that they always put this at the end to remind everyone of the birth of Jesus and the true meaning of Christmas as well as every day.

While we did spend a lot of our time enjoying the activities at the Gaylord we also went to the Grapevine Mills Mall and did some shopping. I had the pleasure of shopping with the older girls which was fun and hilarious at the same time. We also ate at the Rainforest Cafe before packing everyone up and heading back home. As we were driving back I could not help but think of how blessed Kaylee is to have such precious girls to walk through her teenage years with. They were all such a joy to be with on this trip. 

Halloween 2014

These two girls got to experience two different nights of Halloween fun! Our church did not have a Trunk or Treat this year but their friends Maddie and Ali invited them to one at their church so of course they were more than excited to go. Campbell's official Halloween costume was yet to arrive so we found her old dance costume and made do. Kaylee decided to throw it back to the 1980's this year with her costume. They both came home with lots of candy and laughter too.

 Well, the actual day of Halloween 2014 was definitely a memorable one. I woke up that wonderful Friday morning with a treat of my own, a kidney stone. Definitely not something I wish to experience again or wish on anyone. Luckily I have one of the best friends a girl could ask for in Marci and she took my girls trick or treating with all of the Cole clan while I laid on the couch with some powerful pain meds. As you can see from the pictures below they had a wonderful time and managed not to worry about their poor Mom too much. (hahaha) Also, Campbell's costume came in just in time for her to be a friendly witch.

Pumpkin Carving

Our church had an amazing Pumpkin carving event this year for families to be able to spend time together while creating a masterpiece. Campbell and I went together and had a blast! I love that I have a dear friend in Mendy who plans these kinds of events for the families in our church throughout the year so that we have purposeful times together and wonderful memories with our church family too. 

While Campbell and I were carving away, Cary and Kaylee were taking advantage of the last weekend for youth buck hunting on the lease. It is nice to get a little one on one time like this while making memories doing something each girl loves.

 Cooper getting in on the action.

Campbell's completed pumpkin!

Super Smash 2014

Campbell played in her first Super Smash Doubles Tournament at the country club today with her best friend Ali.

 The first team they were suppose to play forfeited which automatically put them in the championship round. They played two sweet boys and fought hard but ultimately came in second for the tournament. I could not have asked for a better first doubles tournament or for Campbell to have played any better.

 Here are the second place winners...they also got their names printed in the club newsletter which they were pretty proud of.

I love these two girls and the fun that they have together.

Wylie Homecoming 2014

 Homecoming was a little different for us this year...Cary got to take Campbell and Ali to the game while I carpooled some of the sweet girls pictured below.

 I love that most of the girls in Kaylee's grade are all about including others. This group decided to all go eat at Mr. Burger, attend the game, and then go to one of the girl's homes after the game for a party with parent supervision of course. (Kaylee's first official boy/girl party that was not for a birthday.) Each girl here is so different in their personalities as well as their talents and they celebrate that about each other. I love it!

 Kaylee is blessed with some amazing friends which leads to me being blessed by some amazing parents. It takes a village and I am so glad we have found one that choses inclusion and just having fun together.

First Day of School 2014-2015

Ready or not the first day of the new school year has arrived! I cannot believe that a 4th grader and 7th grader live in our house. What happened to my babies? Oh how the time flies once they enter school. Our days are filled with learning, after school schedules of activities, homework, family dinners and a quick bedtime. I definitely have a love/hate relationship with our scheduled days. Don't get me wrong, with every year I love getting to see the young ladies I am raising develop and take on a passion for different things in life. The problem is that with each year that is time gone forever and I am closer to a different stage of life that I am definitely not ready for yet. Enough of that reflecting...on to happier thoughts. A new year filled with new friends, old friends, opportunities, and a lot of fun! Of course, that also means another trip to IHOP for our first day of school breakfast.

Meet the Teacher 2014-2015

Well, just like that the summer is gone and school is starting again. Ugh! Tonight we went to meet the teacher for Campbell's 4th grade school year. (Kaylee will not have one this year since she is in junior high.) The Lord has continued to guide her into the perfect trio for her once again. Each summer I spend time praying for her to be placed where she can best learn and grow. Those prayers continue to be answered. We enjoyed meeting each of these precious ladies tonight and look forward to another amazing year.

 Mrs. McGaha

 Mrs. Donaway

Mrs. Zett

Happy 38th Birthday

Happy 38th Birthday to this awesome husband and father! We are so blessed to be able to call him ours. Life is so much fun with him. He even got to enjoy homemade cake that Kaylee and Campbell made for him. We love you babe!

ACU camps

 Summer is here which means it is time for another ACU camp week for my girls! Campbell is in Learning to Lead this year and Kaylee is in MPulse which means they will both be spending the night in the dorms for the whole week. What is a Mom to do? I am sure I can figure something out.

 It is so nice to drop them off here each year because they are always so excited to go. If you ask them what camp they want to go to each summer their must do is always ACU camps. 

I will be looking forward to pick-up on Friday when they both get in the car with endless stories from the week ranging from Jesus, to humor, to counselors who were their favorites. I am so glad that their are college students who have a passion for this type of ministry and make such a wonderful impact on my sweet girls.

Ski Apache in Ruidoso

 Our next adventure for our vacation led us to Ski Apache. It was so much fun to drive up the mountain and see all the untouched beauty of nature surrounding it. We also got to see the rain coming down on various parts of the mountain which delayed the gondola ride to the top of the mountain for about 30 minutes. That gave us enough time to get Kaylee and Campbell a long sleeved shirt since it was a little cooler than we had anticipated. The views from the gondola were like those out of a beautiful portrait. The ride in the gondola was a first for the girls and they enjoyed the views so much.

 They even had enough energy to hike further up the mountain to the summit with Cary while I hung back at the drop off point for the gondola. It was good for them to have a little Daddy/Daughter time and me to try to get warm.

 A little surprise visitor we saw on the way down the mountain.

Our family at the top of the mountain. What a great day to take in God's beauty!