The Cross

On I-40 in Groom, Texas, there is a HUGE cross with intricate iron statues around the base that tell the story of the crucifixion. Many of you have probably recieved an e-mail with pictures of this place. It is beautiful and well worth the stop.

Bummer.

The house that we thought would make a wonderful home for our family didn't work out. Bummer. In the inspection, the house was found to have aluminum wiring. This was a deal-breaker for us, and we asked the sellers to pay for the re-wiring of the house with copper. They didn't want to do that, so we're back at square one. It's all good. The right house is out there just waiting for us.
On a much happier note, we are having a ball in Pampa! We haven't stopped. I'll post pictures tomorrow. Get ready.

From One Booming Metropolis to Another...

We spent the 4th of July with Brad's family in Mustang, OK. We had a great visit, and Anna Claire enjoyed the fireworks! Now, Anna Claire and I are in Pampa, TX, visiting my parents. I can't wait to post more pictures of this place. Good times. For those of you who are interested, I'll also post a picture tour of my parents' apartment (or "cave" as my mom calls it!) tomorrow. Disclaimer: Ridiculous amount of photos ahead. Anna Claire tried her first Braum's cherry limeade - the best in the world! When we arrived at Aunt Robyn's house, she and Grandpa McKenzie had a sack of Dora the Explorere surprises waiting for Anna Claire! Here she is enjoying some sidewalk chalk with Aunt Robyn. And for Anna Claire - no trip is complete until she finds a cabinet or drawer to climb in. Anna Claire received a Dora the Explorer backpack that is a little big for her, but that didn't stop her from attempting to model it. Anna Claire is quite the fashion diva in this picture: We're picking up a new stroller in Amarillo, so when we had to go to the mall in Oklahoma City, we rented one of those strollers that I said I would never rent (never say never), and Anna Claire loved "driving" through the mall. The best was the sign on the back of the stroller that read "Do not put child in bag"....Seriously? No trip to OKC/Mustang is complete without a quick lunch at CityBites! Yummy. Anna Claire had an M&M cookie with her meal, but she only picked out the M&M's and left the cookie. Aunt Robyn had an inflatable pool waiting at her house for Anna Claire. It is much larger than the little rainbow pool at our house, but Anna Claire didn't seemed phased. She jumped right in like a little fish. On the 4th, we went downtown to watch the fireworks! We had a great view of the fireworks, and we were a good distance from them, so Anna Claire didn't seem phased by the loud noises. She was very fascinated by all the people. She saw a horse-drawn carriage, and she kept asking where it went, so Grandpa McKenzie took her to look for the horses. Oh, and a trip to OKC is also not complete without eating at Ted's (a local Mexican restaurant). Anna Claire liked having her own bowl of queso! The first time I went to Mustang when Brad and I were dating, I got such a laugh out of the sign that welcomes you to Mustang...The sign claims that the city is one with vision, and for some reason - it just cracked me up! Well, I had my parents stop today on our way out of town to take our picture next to the city sign. When we arrived at my parents' house, they had an Anna Claire space set up with more Dora toys, books, and other fun things! The little orange chair belonged to my mom when she was little, and then Elizabeth and I played with the chair when we were lttle. My mom also had out this little jalopy that we played with as kids, and Anna Claire loved pulling it throughout the house. And, we hadn't even been here an hour, and Anna Claire wanted to go "ouside", so off we went on a rock hunt! She was thrilled to show off her rock collection to Mama and Papa Bear when she got back! If you are still with me...I'm impressed! I told you there would be a ton of pictures! So, I will leave you with a funny video. Yesterday, we were watching the hot dog eating contest held at Nathan's in New York, and the guy that won was the one we were cheering on, so Brad was excited to see him win. Anna Claire quickly caught on and started jumping around and cheering.....here you go:

The Rodriguez Family

Yesterday, we made a ridiculously fast trip to see our dear friends, the Rodriquez family. They are the kind of friends that no matter when you saw them last, you are able to pick right up. Anna Claire played well with their darling little kids as if she played with them daily. They are moving out of the country next week, so we wanted to see them one last time (we also bought their bed, so we had to pick that up!). They've done an excellent job describing their journey to the other side of the world on their blog that you can read about here or by clicking on the link to the left of my blog that says, "The Rodriguez Family". Keep them in your prayers as they embark on this opportunity as we know the Lord has great things in store for them!
We went to a yummy Mexican restaurant in Katy for dinner. Just look at this dessert....coconut sorbet served in a coconut shell. Impressive.
After dinner, we went back to their house to load the bed and hang out for a few minutes.

Brought to You by the Letter "D"

Dora: When we got home from church tonight, Anna Claire went straight for her Dora book. Tonight, she was tapping into her left-hand drawing skills, although she typically prefers her right hand. Dogs: After drawing, she went to say hi to the dogs. She likes Sophie and Holly because they are small, but she is not a fan of Mesa because she is a large dog. Here's a video of her saying their names. She can say Sophie and Holly, but when you ask her to say Mesa, she's quickly says no.

Gone to the Dogs....

Lately, Anna Claire has been into showing off her outfit. She'll dance around and twirl if you ask to see what she is wearing. Well, this morning, I had her all ready for church, and I said, "Oh, you look so cute! You'll have to show your dress off to Daddy!" and she was out the bedroom door on a hunt for Daddy. I told her that Daddy was already at church, and jokingly, I said, "Go show your pretty dress to the dogs!"....Needless to say, she did just that. I heard her saying, "Sosie! Sosie" (for Sophie, our miniature dachshund) and ran around the corner to catch her twirling in front of the dog gate, showing off her dress to the dogs. I'm sure they were thrilled.

Teen Camp....and more!

Brad went to camp this week with our youth group; Anna Claire and I chose to wait until Thursday to go and spend the night. Here's the happy camper on our drive up to see Daddy. Every 5 minutes or so (when she wasn't sleeping), she would point out the window and say, "Daddy! Daddy!" as if she kept remembering that we were on our way to see her favorite person.
Anna Claire often forgets that she is still of the age to ride in a stroller and opts instead to push her baby in a stroller. Here she is on her way to see her daddy!
Here's Anna Claire being a good PK and sitting next to the SNU table for a quick picture:
And then the fun began...Anna Claire discovered the playground:




This morning, while we were waiting for Brad to come back to the room, Anna Claire found great entertainment in the empty paper towel roll.

This picture is just funny. I was trying to get her to show me the rocks she had collected at the campground. Clearly, she was a little annoyed with me.
Before heading back home, we stopped at Dairy Queen for lunch. I sent Brad up to the counter at the end of lunch to get AC's ice cream treat that came with her meal. There were a variety of options and he chose....the patriotic star on a stick! Anna Claire was in heaven. What a mess! She is still sticky! But it didn't seem to bother her any.
And here's our little happy camper on the drive home:

And now for the drum roll......WE BOUGHT A HOUSE! WHOOP! After a year of looking at nearly 75 homes in this city, we have found a house that is wonderful for our little family! Praise the Lord!