Birthday at the Ballpark

Caden and I had a great time in Dallas last weekend!

This was shortly after we got to the Rangers stadium and if you look close enough you might be able to see our seats! Just look to the very top right of this photo. See the blurs of white? Well those are blurs of people, and they are sitting in our searts!! Just kidding.. They are sitting next to our seats! Lol! I was hoping to sit a little closer..If I had known this game was going to be a sell out I would have gotten our tickets earlier. :)

 

MercyMe Pre-Game Concert!

It was so wonderful to see lot's of people singing praising the Lord!

The one good thing about it being 100 degrees outside at 7:15pm...

You can have the yummy, cheese notchos..

Soda...

and cotton candy!

 And never once have to get up to go to the restroom!! Lol!  Yes. Even if it is all junk food, your body needs every bit of it to survive!  :)

Caden said, "Mom this is awesome, best birthday present ever!"

Cool, that's Nolan Ryan!

 Mercy Me singing the National Anthem!

The Rangers played an exciting game which was fun for Caden, and myself! ;)

And here we are at 11:30 pm swimming at the hotel after the game. It looks though he is the only one in the pool, but don't let this photo fool you.. the pool was crouded with Rangers fans! 

And here we are yesterday, relaxing at the pool once again!

“Those who listen to instruction will prosper; those who trust the Lord will be joyful.” Proverbs 16:20

Back to School Prayer

Today was the first day of School! I was so glad to hear that both boys had a good day!  Jared was excited to find out that he has Band, P.E. lunch and recess with his cousin! This is the first time in 7 years that they have had a class together. Should be fun only if they behave. I'm sure that they will. ;) Caden was excited to  have a few friends from his football team in his class this year. He said, "Mom, Garland said today he's not going to call me Caden, he's going to call me "Red" just like in football." I said, he is!  "I don't mind!"  I know you don't mind in football, but just remember everyone else doesn't know your name yet. So they may also start calling you "Red."  "I know, that's okay, I like it!"  I personaly think it's cute..but if he knew I thought that he would probably hate the nick name. ;)

 

This morning I took our traditional "First Day of School Morning" pictures.

I am not sure what my problem was..I could not take a clear photo to save my life.

They are cute, but everyone of them turned out blurry. :/ Not sure if it was me or my camera.

So, lets try again. This time of the three of us with my camera phone, just before Jared gets out of the car.

Well, MY STARS!! That is ridiculous. I am way off today.

So, we try again. This ones better. It's still blurry.. but at least we're all in the pic!

Next it was Caden's turn to be dropped off. Before walking him in, we took this quick pic. Yay, I got us all in the picture on the first try!

We couldn't leave her out. She wouldn't let us..lol!  When we got back to the car she said, "My turn, take a picture with me!" She's a mess. She's afraid she is going to miss out on something. I can't believe on this day next year she will start Kindergarten!:( Wow they grow up so fast..where does the time go??

Our prayer to them every day is that they show Gods love to others at school by helping out any way that they can. That others see Jesus though them. 

I don't remember blogging a story that happened to Jared toward the end of the school year last year, so I will journal it today before I forget.
 For several days he would come home talking about a boy in his class. He told me, Jr. said a cuss word today and I told him to never say it again. I asked him what did Jr. say? He said, "G.O.D."  Oh really? Well what did he say when you asked him not to say the Lords name in vane? "Mom, he didn't know who God was. He has heard other people say that word but didn't know about Jesus."  Oh wow!.. Jared, what a awesome time to witness to him! He said "I know, it was a little "weird" him not knowing about HIM already." It's sad isn't it? "Yea." But that's awesome that you were the one to tell him about Jesus Christ. "Yea.. That was cool!"

We pray that you will lead a life that is worthy of the Lord. We pray that you will please him in every way. So we want you to bear fruit in every good thing you do. We want you to grow to know God better. Colossians 1:10

Summer Fun

We have done our best to keep cool this summer! It has been a HOT one for sure. I believe it got up over 110 degrees at one point. We haven't had temperatures like this since 1998! I'm so thankful I got pregnant with Jared in December of that year. Hew..not sure I would have made it through that one being HUGE pregnant. ;)

The boys are getting older and they asked if they could set up the pool this year. We said, SURE go right ahead! Love this one of Jared! Ha!

Jeff and I did end up giving them a hand. But really, they did a pretty good job on their own! The hard part is making sure the pool is level.

First swim of the summer! Hehehe..too funny Caden!

Who is walking who again? Caden was trying to walk Ginger, my parents "puppy" Lol!

Having fun with Nana on the Rino!

Here's Jared with his good friends Ethan and Andrew at his first over night summer camp! He had a BLAST!

Here's Caden also at Rockin' C Ranch...need I say more! He LOVED it!

We're riding my favorite ride at Six Flags! The Roaring Rapids!! Yes.We.Got. SOAKED!

0 o O oO oOo   jared & caden   0oO 0 oOo O o

We had fun siting in the car waiting on the storm to pass.. (this is the last time I remember getting any rain) and ready to watch the fire works show!

Jared and Caden

  Grace watched from the inside the car...she said it was beautiful but too loud.

Sun Screen is one thing we used plenty of this summer. It has gotten to hot to swim. :( I know that sounds crazy but the pool at one point felt like a hot tub...ugh!

This happen to Jeff on the way home from work one day.

So... Note. To. Self. Never leave a soda can unopened in your vehicle when it's 110 degrees out side. Caden was on the phone with him when it exploed and he started laughing so hard he had to repeat himself several times so that I could understand what happenend. He said, "Dad said he almost peed on himself while driving down the road!!! He said a soda can exploded in his truck and it sounded just like a gun shot!"

 

This is what I did one day to help keep cool. Yumm..I haven't had one of these in years! Thank you Aimee, for the dipped cone and for a fun day with you guys!

We adventured back to the Civil War.

This was so much fun! When the photographer said "Okay now give me a serious look" the boys took that to extreem. I love it! Speaking of the heat, I can not imagine living back then and having to wear these clothes. Bless their hearts. I thought 10 minutes was bad enough.

And last but not least.The beautiful sunset while driving home from Meet the Teacher tonight. Wow..it was so beautiful. 

Jesus spoke to the people once more and said, “I am the light of the world. If you follow me, you won’t have to walk in darkness”... John 8:12

Birthday Party Pics

Last weekend we surprised the kids with a Birthday party at the Jalapeno Tree! It was nice having the help of the restaurant! It made the party a lot less work for Jeff and I and a whole lot of fun this year!

Thanks Laura for the wonderful idea!

The yummy cookie cakes & cupcakes!

Happy 12th - 9th - 4th Birthday!

Jeff walked around the room most of the evening taking pictures of the guests. He took lots of candid shots, which are really kind of neat to look at. I like looking at what other people are doing in that moment.

This one is precious so I couldn't pass it up! He took this one of Steve and their foster child playing "I got your nose" Adorable!! Wish we could show his face but trying to keep this little man safe. Laura if you want me to, I can send this to you and with out the extra little smiley face!

So sweet of Charity and baby K!

Grace walked around the room trying to give hugs to everyone, thanking them for the gifts. Here she is with our neighbor Chris.

Grace giving Uncle T.J. a hug and kiss.

Uncle Scott showing her the cute little monogrammed bag they gave her.

This year we did something we had never done before. We had just loaded the car and I said, This will be the last year for balloons they are such a hassle. And then it hit me, "Lets let the balloons go, on the count of 3!"
Eveyone thought that was a neat idea!

We just stood there and watched. We talked about how lots of other boys and girls could see them and we wondered where they would eventually land. So I guess I'll be getting balloons again next year, that was really kinda fun! ;)

Thank you Mom and Dad for the party!!!

This year was the first year in 12 years that the Akin family has missed our children's party, but for good reasons! You guys were truly missed! So thankful Eric and Chelsea make it home safe from China!

Children are an inheritance from the Lord.They are a reward from him. Psalm 127:3