Family Staycation, Houston Zoo

Another fun day trip during our staycation was an outing to the Houston Zoo.


 

Happy cousins at the zoo!  Camryn (9), Doak (4), Brock (20 months), Addie (7), Makynna (7)

 

One of the best parts of our staycation was that Keri had the whole week off, no workouts, no film, no camps!  He and the kids had a drumming session in the African section of the zoo. 

 

Silly kiddos!



Spooky masks!



drum away!



All the kids thought this tunnel in the aquarium portion of the zoo was so cool!  Brock would have stayed here for hours I bet!



Sweet Brock and Daddy checking out the elephants.



Oh, he's so precious!

 

Time for a snowcone break, it was HOT!



Yum!



We were exhausted from all the fun!  Another great day with our great family!

 

a visit from the Bailey family

Chad and Christi have been our friends for so many years. Christi and I met our Freshman year at Baylor when we pledged the same sorority. We actually lived on the same hall that year and become great friends. I met Chad that same spring when he came from Austin College to visit Christi. Christi and I lived together our sophomore and junior years and when Keri came along we would double date with Chad and Christi to Zeta functions. By the time Chad and Christi got married in April 2002, we had all become great friends. Chad and Christi stayed in our apartment while we were on our honeymoon in May 2002 and when we came home they told us they'd signed a lease on an apartment in the same complex. In fact we could see their apartment from our balcony! Back in the 'good old days' of that first year of marriage we would eat dinner together, play board games at night, Christi and I would watch American Idol together, and Keri and I would check email at their apartment since we didn't have a connection at our place! That year of living together really solidified our BFF status, as Keri and Chad got to be best buds too.

Over the years, Chad and Christi have always come to football games, been there for the birth of our kids, birthday parties, and met us halfway for so many dinners.  Although we've never lived as close in proximity as we did back in 2002, we've always lived in the Dallas area, close enough to see them often.  As soon as we found out about the possibility of moving to Houston, one thing we grieved was not being near Chad and Christi anymore.  

We were thrilled when they took Memorial Day weekend to come and visit us!  The kids loved playing together and it was just like old times for all the grown ups-cooking, playing games, eating, chatting.  We visited parks, went for a walk, and went swimming. 



Chad and Christ's son Cooper is so precious!  He had so much fun playing with all the kids and is just as sweet as can be!




Cooper is 6 months older than Brock and in a year or two I think these guys will be best buds.



 

Addie was so sweet to read to Cooper.

 

And Brock was happy to share his toys and books with his friend.

 

Of course I didn't get many good pictures of the adults, but here's one of Keri and Chad throwing a paper airplane into the ceiling fan to see what happens.  Doak loved it, of course!  What fun friends and what a great weekend!



Chad and Christi have a good friend from high school that lives here in our town.  We got connected and have been blessed by the Frazier family's friendship.  They have four boys and Doak loves to play with them all!  So, Sunday after church we all came back to the house for some pizza and playtime. 

 

Day One

Saturday we moved to our new home. We are so blessed to have had so much help back in Dallas and here in Houston too. We have the best friends and family!




Our first night in the new house went great. We were all exhausted and the whole family slept great. The kids slept through the night. Woo hoo! We all woke up for breakfast and then the exploring began.




The kids and I started walking on the hike and bike trails and we ended up at Addie's school. We played at the park behind her school and had the best time!




Brock loved the playground and seeing all the birds, squirrels, trees, ducks, dogs, and people on our walk.




Looking up, still loving the trees!




Doak loves to explore and play.




We got some good use out of our new wagon and had a great adventure today!


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Spring Break 2012

We started off our Spring Break with a Friday showing of The Lorax with some of our favorite friends, the Hubers and the Williams.



Keri stayed home with Brock and I really enjoyed my time with the big kids. After the movie we all ate at Fuddruckers. What a great start to Spring Break!



Saturday Cookie and Papa came to town. My mom had kept the kids for four days the previous week while Keri and I went to
Houston for Keri to interview. But Mom had no problem coming back 5 days later. We love them both so much. We got some serious packing done while they were here. What a blessing!



We took advantage of Keri's time off and met up with some of our favorite friends, the Salyers. Cody and Ashley were really our first friends in DFW when Keri took his first high school coaching job back in 2005. Ashley rode to the first away game with me and became my football game companion and wonderful friend. Our kids have grown up together and we have been so blessed by the true, easy friendships we have with the Salyers. Thank goodness we will spend the week with them at FCA Camp in a few short months!



Tuesday we saw the Bailey family. Christi and I go WAY back! In fact I found an old picture of us from Baylor days.



Chad and Christi have been our best friends for so many years and now Cooper (and soon baby #2) and our kids love playing together. We already have plans to meet up in Waco. Miss them already.



Cooper, Addie, Doak, and Brock had the best time playing together at the Villages of Allen houses.



Wednesday we drove down to Houston. We had plans to meet up with a realtor and find a house to lease.



We got to town a little early an decided to have a picnic lunch at one of the beautiful parks in our new town. What's that in the background, sticking up high in the sky? Oh those are TREES! Houston, I completely judged you wrong. Your trees are beautiful, your grass is green and lush. The trees are definitely one of my favorite parts of our new town.



Doak had some fun climbing.



Addie was so happy to run and play.



And Brock was thrilled to be free and out of his carseat for a while.



After two long days of searching, we found HOME. We feel so blessed! This house has the perfect layout for us, a huge yard with huge trees and a room for each kiddo.



Thanks to our GPS we were able to find Addie's new school and have some fun on the playground.



And here's the walking trail we can use to walk her to and from school! So excited to walk with her and the boys a few times a week.



We crashed at the Bailey's house and these two were exhausted! After a good nights sleep we drove back home.



And as soon as we got out of the car the kids started playing with our neighbors and stayed out until dark.



Keri's Mom, Jack, and his brother Chad came over Saturday morning for some good family time before we leave. Then Amy, Bryan, Camryn, and Makynna came over later in the day. We are going to miss being close enough to meet up with them on weekends!

Overall it was a very productive Spring Break. We got lots accomplished, and more importantly, got to spend time with so many people we love!

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BIG NEWS!

There's no need to beat around the bush, so I'll just say it.

We are moving to Houston!

Keri's boss and head coach resigned shortly after football season last fall. Keri quickly took on more responsibilities and acted as the leader in the absence of the head coach. When it came time for interviews for this position, we prayed that if it was God's will that He would allow Keri to get the job. We have loved our time here in our small town and have been fully committed to the students and athletes, as well as serving in many capacities in our church. We would have loved to continue to minister here, but Keri didn't get the job.

When a school hires a new head coach, the new guy brings in his coaches to be his Offensive Coordinator (that was Keri's job) and Defensive Coordinator. Keri probably would have been able to stay on as a freshman coach but that would be quite a backwards step career wise as well as a hard one since he had been running the program in the absence of a head coach for 2 months.

So Keri made contacts and began to look for another job. He got a call from the head coach at a Houston area school. This coach is a friend of Keri's and has worked the FCA camp with us each summer for the past 5 years. The school's football program is very successful, going a 2-3 rounds deep in the playoffs most years. The head coach is a quality coach and a great man. Keri went down and interviewed last week and was offered the job on the spot. After much prayer and reflecting back on the past 2 months Keri decided to accept the job. Moving to Houston was never in our plans.

Many are the plans in a man's heart, but it is the Lord's purpose that prevails. Proverbs 19:21

I have only been to Houston 2 times in my life-one of which was last week, which is crazy. Moving will mean starting over but we know God has a plan for us there. Keri will start teaching and coaching there on March 26. We will drive down at the end of this week, which is our spring break, to find a home. The kids and I will join Keri in Houston as soon as we can get into a house there. The kids are actually so excited, and we have only had a few moments where Addie shed some tears over leaving sweet friends behind. Again, this must have been a God thing for them to be so excited!

We are excited for this new chapter of our lives, and appreciate your prayers and support!