Karate Champ

So B started Karate lessons this month. After watching the first lesson of Benjamin's first day I was sold! What other sport do they focus on self-control and respect as well as personal goals, physical strength, health and the like? I was super pumped about my boy gleaning from this kind of experience! So how this all started is I bought one month of lessons at the TCA silent auction for $1. That's right, $1 for a month of karate and a free uniform! Woo Hoo! So, why not try it, right? At th time I bought it, I had no idea where we would be living. We;; guess what? The karate school just so happened to be at the first major cross street from our house. Literally 1 minute drive. What's even better is it's in th same shopping center as my gym, so Cait and I can walk down and workout for 45 minutes while B has class. Awesome!



So B has been going for about 4 weeks now and he has already earned a strip on his white belt. He is Super cute doing his little kicks and punches! I LOVE it!






Here they get to learn how to break boards with a plastic form that splits in the middle.






He DID it! Very impressive!



Here he is practicing his self-defensive moves with a partner. His "Ha-ya" was a little scary obviously because the boy is flinching! I love that they are learning moves on how to ward of a stranger who might be trying to abduct them! Makes this momma feel better!









So fun to see them grow up and learn new things!

Who is Paul?

Man, if I had a dollar for every time I got that question over the last few months...I'd be RICH! Well, today is the perfect day to answer that question for you.

Six months ago today I went on a blind date. Yep. It's true. No, I wasn't desperate for a date and neither was he. BUT...God ordained the circumstances and looking back neither of us know why we agreed, but we did.

My friend Amy, from church, asked one of her friends named Ashley if he knew of any great Christian guys for her friend Tamra. Ashley said that he DID know a great guy that happened to be one of his clients. Ashley is a financial adviser and Paul was just on of his clients...that he thought very highly of. Ashley contacted Paul in September or maybe early October of 2007 and asked him if he was interested in being set up with a nice Christian girl. This, of course was all without my knowing! No reply came form Paul. Another e-mail from Ashley and still no reply from Paul. This went on for several months. Finally Ashley sent Paul a picture of me and he finally gave in. January 2008 Paul called me for the first time. A little awkward at first, but not too bad. After a little get-to-know you talk Paul asked if I'd like to go out to dinner sometime. I thought, "What can it hurt?" so I agreed.

So, Friday, January 25, Paul picked me up at Trinity around 6:00 pm. When I came out of the front doors and took one look at him I was pleasantly surprised! He looked exactly like what I wanted him to look like...a man. Not a boy, but a man, and a nice looking one at that! So, after a little bit of awkward giggling and uncomfortable introductions, we got in the car and headed out. He took me to a SUPER nice restaurant called Go Fish right down the street in Addison. The food was amazing, but the conversation was a little painful. Seriously, neither of us were acting ourselves and it was just weird. It was obvious that he was a genuinely nice guy that loved the Lord and his family. We even seemed to have lots of common interests, but it was still painful. After dinner we went to the Watertower Theater where we saw "Much Ado About Nothing" by Shakespeare. It was an excellent choice on his part. Lots more laughing and good conversation happened there.

Well, even after a painful date and many embarrassing comments on both of our parts (that we STILL tease each other about today) we are still continuing to spend time together. Tonight, to celebrate 6 months of wonderfulness, we are going back to the same restaurant where we had that first date. We are celebrating what God has done in bringing our paths to a crossing point and giving us the opportunity to grow as friends over these last six months.

So...there ya go. That's Paul. I wish I could tell you all the things that make him so wonderful in my eyes. I wish I could tell you why he is such an obvious blessing from God to me and my kids. I wish I could share with you all the amazing evidences of God's hand in this relationship. But that will have to wait until another time. I'll have to leave you with more to come because right now I need to go get ready for my night on the town!

Tenth and last day of vacation

Our friends, the Bacaks had to go home pretty early this morning of our tip. We had a great time visiting, but more company was on the way. Mom had a "honey-do" list for dad, me and Paul to get ready for our company. All my dad's family, mom, brothers, sisters, cousins, children, the children's children were going to be there. It was going to be a full house!

Mom read a little bit to the kids that morning after we were all set and just waiting for everyone to show up. This is the version of "Cinderella" that I had growing up. Man, do those pictures bring back a flood of memories!











Here's grumpy...I mean, Uncle John



This is Riley, my cousin Michelle's first baby.
She's a dumpling!



Mommy Michelle with her baby


Cousin Angela leaning in over my Aunt Shanon's shoulder.
Aunt Sharon sitting across from them on the other couch.


Benjamin was impressed with Riley's "muscles."
He thought hers were bigger than his.
Seriously!


I SO wish I had more pictures of the family from that day. What was I thinking? Oh well, you'll just have to trust me that it was wonderful catching up with everybody!

After lunch and a little visiting it was back to Dallas for unpacking and getting ready for life back in the real world. I'll end the vacation report with my favorite picture. Benjamin took this picture with my camera. Pretty good, huh? It's not so much the picture that I am fond of though, as it is the person in it.

Vacation Day #9

Day 9 of our trip was a great one. It started out with some boating and riding on th jet skis. It ended with a visit from a very old friend. Well, she's not old, but our friendship is!
Jennifer Seay Bacak and I have been friends since high school. How we really became friends exactly, neither of us could quite remember, but what does that matter? Jenn and I were always and still are in many respects a lot alike! We just thought alike. We had common interests (both loved to sing) and we both loved the Lord and wanted similar things out of life.

Well, after college, our lives kind of went indifferent directions (literally) and we lost touch, save the annual Christmas card! I had seen her babies grow year by year through that Christmas card picture. I loved it! Well, two Christmases ago Jenn got a little bit different card from me in the mail. I signed the card as usual, but this year...2006 I signed it,
"Love, Tamra, Benjamin and Cait Perkinson"

Jenn picked up the phone immediately and wanted to know what was up. Last time she checked there was another member in our family. I remember her saying, "Did he die?!?!"
I had to laugh because in a lot of ways it felt like he had. Ya know, you think you know someone and then you find out that person doesn't exist. He is not who you thought he was. It really felt like a death in a lot of ways.

Anyway...seeing as how she and her husband, Rusty live 30 minutes from my parents' lake house, we invited them up for a visit. We were so blessed to have Jenn and her two oldest kids, Emma and Jax to come and play and stay the night. Oh what catch was needed between the mommies and what fun was to be had between the kiddos! What a blessing to see the wife and mommy that she is today and be encouraged and spurred on.

Instant friends!



Jax and Benjamin after their baths, in PJ's ready for bed. They are snacking on cheese whiz and crackers. B said, "Jax, I don't know about this stuff, but it sure does taste great!" I bought him a can of this cheese whiz today at the store. He'll be so pumped when he finds out!



JAX!!!



Here's the gang with their morning hair! What a crazy bunch!
Cait, Emma, Benjamin and Jax



Jenn and I both decided that we would pretend that this (below) was a picture of two buddies hugging. Well, in actuality Jax is abducting Cait and she was rather enjoying it!



It was a fun time with fun friends! We are definitely planning to do it again in the near future!

Vacation Day #8

No, once again, I did not forget a day of our trip. Day #7 was a super fun day! But for some retarded reason I have no pictures of it. The 7th day was the day we had to leave the beach!! Boo hoo! We packed up and headed up I-45 to the Woodlands. There we met my parents and both of my grannies for lunch. Both of my grandmothers were anxious to meet Paul, I think and give him their stamp of approval. After lunch, the Lewis family headed back to Fort Worth, but mom and dad, the kids, Paul and I all headed to the lake house for the 4th of July.

Day #8, the 4th of July began with a boat parade that morning. Check out these boat floats, would ya? So fun!













Parade watching...mom and dad. So sweet!



Sitting on the boat watching the parade in the shade.









After the parade it was time to get wet! We went over to Dick and Sue's house on the other side of the lake and had lunch and then swam a little. B and Paul were having jumping contests to see who could jump the furthest or make the biggest splash or the best cannonball, etc. It was hilarious! Here are a few shots from that day...










Then some fishin'!



And of course some fireworks that night. What a display we saw all across th lake! SO cool!
















A great end to a great day. I love my family! What a blessing they are from God!

Two more FUN days to go with LOTS of great pictures! Can't wait to tell you about them!

Vacation Day #6

So, the next day of our trip starts out with running downstairs to check on our precious crabs that we caught! Time to say goodbye! Parting is such sweet sorrow!



Next on the agenda was a lesson from Mr. Lewis (Paul). He taught us all how to go crabbing in the back bay. First we got some chicken necks, tied string to them and then threw them out, holding onto one end. When the line got tight you slowly pull the string in. While the crab is busy eating you scoop him into the net and you have supper!
Here we are getting our tutorial from the crab catching expert!





Waiting patiently for a crab to snap at our bait.



Swinging the bait out was an art form in itself!














CRABS!!!!!





After we caught all the crabs we could, then headed out to the jetties. We walked out into the middle of the ocean!









After a full morning of play we had some worn out kiddos!
We headed back to the beach house where we played on the beach for rest of the day!



FUN TIMES on Day #6!!!
More fun ahead!

Lion Hug

You HAVE to go watch this! AMAZING and a little scary!

Vaction Day #5

No, I didn't lose count! I really have no pictures from day #4 of our trip because it consisted of another morning at Sea World and then we all drove down to Surfside Beach where we had rented a beach house for all of us. Again, Paul did an awesome job planning this trip for all of us! The beach house was great! That night we made dinner and hung around the house and did a little resting up for the next eventful day!

So day #5 begins...
We woke up, had a big breakfast as usual and then threw on our swim suits. We loaded up all our gear and walked down to the beach, where we spent all day playing.
Being a good cook runs in this family!




I love theses pictures of the kids. I wish you could have witnessed the sheer joy on all their faces to be playing in the ocean! They were elated!







She had muddy toes and wanted to come show me. She's so funny!


Playing ball with Tyler


Classic beach picture...love it!


We buried Paul in the sand and here's Cait who wanted to be a mermaid


Surfin'!!


Building a castle in the sand. We had more fun than the kids did, for sure!



Adding shell embellishments to our sand castle











What do they see?

Dolphins! They were so close off shore. Very cool to watch!











Later that day Paul, the kids and me drove to West Columbia where my sister and Ryan live. Paul got to see Danyel and Ryan's house and we hung out a little. Then, we met the rest of the Lewis's at a Mexican food restaurant in Lake Jackson. This one was MUCH BETTER than the one on the River Walk! Yummy food!!!

After dinner ice cream

The girls...we look like Christmas!



Mia Beth getting some dessert and after dinner dancing with Mr. Lewis


When we returned to the beach house that night, we decided to take a little night time adventure down to the beach with our flashlights. We brought our shovels and pails just in case we found some treasures. Well we did! We found crabs! I missed out on most of the fun because of a splinter incident with my hysterical and almost always dramatic daughter. But...the boys and Kristi had a great time. Look at the cool crabs they dug up and then caught!








We decided we would wait to let them go until morning. They were just too much fun to let go quite yet!
What a day, I know! Can't wait to tell you about the next day!

Vacation Day #3

Sea World is a must if you are going to take a trip to San Antonio, right? Well, we discovered that the 2 day pass to Sea World was a few dollars cheaper than the one day pass alone. So...this is just day 1 for us, but we had so much fun! Here's the whole gang for our one and only group shot.
Bill, Jimmy, Benjamin, Kristi, Tyler, me, Cait and Paul
What a crew!


The Three Musketeers!


Benjamin feeding the dolphins. Cait wanted nothing to do with it! She screamed when I was trying to put her up on the wall. Guess she thought I was going to throw her over. She has a reason to be fearful of that since I do it so often, ya know!



CHEESE!!


Here we are in line for the Shamu roller coaster. Woo Hoo!!


My pretty girl with her sweaty-smeared face paint


Shamu!



Here's B making the sign for Shamu to splash him. Sadly, we sat no where near the splash zone, so there wasn't a chance for even a sprinkle.



In the aquarium watching the sharks.


After w went home and cleaned up, we all caravaned to th River Walk and had dinner. Can't remember the name of this restaurant, but I don't recommend it. I bet they have better Mexican food in North Dakota than at this place. Sad.



Walking around the River Walk after dinner


Brotherly sisterly love!


The kids and me


KK


Mommy with her boy...bout to be a Kindergartener!







Such a fun day and evening! That night we came home and got in our jammies. We watched "The Chronicles of Narnia" and ate caramel popcorn. Fun times!

Can't wait to tll you about Day #4

Mom Stories

Mom has provided us with lots of opportunities to laugh over the years. For that, we are so very grateful, seeing as we are a family that likes to laugh.

Well, I'll start with a story that occurred many years ago, when I was in the horrible junior high days. We were living in a little rent house that lacked many amenities such as central heat and air, a working septic system and mold-free closets. It was a beloved home that also provided us with many stories to tell today. ("It's a fo buner nigh!" Only my family will get that) This was a very short-lived situation and obviously we have no idea most of those issues existed in the home until we were in it!
Well, because we had to use space heaters, my mom lived with this deep fear of the house catching on fire or one of us being electrocuted. So, one day she was asleep on the couch. She was out cold. She had covered up with one of those homemade crocheted afghans that all grandmas are so skilled in making. Ya know the type? Anyway, she was really wrapped up in that thing good! The last memory she had before she drifted into la-la land was that of my sister ironing. I guess she was having worried thoughts as she dozed off of Danyel killing herself by electrocution.

So, in the back of the house I am coming out of the restroom and my dad jumps out and scares me. I scream like only junior high girls are equipped to do. My mom, in her delirium attempts to jump off the couch to come and rescue what she thinks is her beloved daughter, Danyel, who has just been fatally shocked by the iron with a short in it. Well, unfortunately she was really tangled up in that afghan and she more like rolled off the couch in a thud and began to do all she could think to do...army crawl across the floor, dragging herself by her arms to come to the side of her possibly dead daughter.

Are you envisioning all of this?

So, as she crawls, she is calling out, "Danyel! Danyel!" in that hysterical crazed voice. Do you know the one? Sadly for her, but MOST hysterical to us, as she rounds the corner in her frantic army crawl rescue mission she looks up to see the three of us, Danyel, dad and me all just looking down at her. We have those looks on our faces like, "What...is...the deal?"

Oh, I wish what happened next really hadn't happened, but it did. It's too late to go back now and fix it! Well, we all stood there looking down at her and then we burst into laughter. And I mean BURST!!! Unfortunately, she saw not one bit of humor in the situation and stomped to her room to finish her nap.

Well since then we have had LOTS of laughs retelling that story and mom will be the first to tell it and the first to laugh at herself now! So, that makes what happened a few weeks ago all the more hysterical. Mom and dad were at the lake house with Danyel, Ryan and the their kids. Eli was in one of the bedrooms playing with the karaoke machine trying to bust out a song. Well, he got the mic too close to the speaker and it started to squeal a little. He is so very sensitive to sound and it scared him to death. He started crying. Well, mom was in the other room washing dishes and she heard Eli crying. For some odd reason, she thought he was being electrocuted!! Are you seeing a pattern here? So she bolted for the bedroom to save him. The only problem was, she was wearing those big, fluffy socks that all of us girls have these days and let me tell you...they ain't got much traction! After an attempt to run, which I heard just looked like she was running in place, she fell to the ground. Eli came out of the bedroom and just stood over her like, what's the problem GiGi?

So sad to say that mom had more than a hurt ego this time, she tore the ligament that attaches her thumb to her hand. She said it swelled up huge right away. POOR MOM!!

Here's a picture of Eli with his GiGi and her bandaged hand, along with the infamous fuzzy socks!



And as one of my favorite pastors, CJ Mahaney would say, "The ability to laugh at oneself is a mark of humility." I love that about my mom!

Soapy Love

I know you would just love to cool off by biting into this beautiful and scrumptious looking popsicle, but...you'd have a rude awakening if you did! This is soap y'all!



Precious, huh? I just ordered some today cause I got a coupon for 20% off.



If you are interested in looking at all the different soapsicles they have go to their website here.
The coupon code for 20% off is GOCITY20


Happy sudsing!!!

Vacation Day #2

Day #2 began with this little girl sleeping through it all...we had to wake her up so that we could get going on our day. She was already worn out after only one day of fun!!
Once she woke up, she was up and ready!

If you knew how we ate on this trip...you'd gain weight just hearing about it.
This morning Kristi made cream cheese sticky buns.
Yeah.
Enough said.
YUM!!

Look at those sweet baby faces!

Paul did such a great job planning this trip! Instead of staying a hotel, we stayed in this quaint little house in the woods. Literally, it sat on 20 acres of land, that we shared with no one (except a few raccoons). The kids and I stayed in a room with an iron bed and a bathroom with a claw foot tub. Perfect! And the best part is, it was way cheaper than the 8 of staying in 2 hotel rooms in San Antonio.


So we spent our second day of the trip in San Marcus at the outlet mall and then Natural Bridge Caverns. The kids were thrilled about seeing a real cave. It was fun to marvel at God's creation!


Here are the kids mining for gold and secret treasures. They found a few. I would have labeled them as rocks, but B and C seemed to think that they were treasures worth hanging on to....only be found at the bottom of the washing machine a few days later! HA!!



The natural bridge...thus the name of the caverns



You know that pictures of natural places like this always wow you in person and then your camera just doesn't seem to capture the beauty of it. Any one else ever experience that?



Going down in the cave was scary! Being the dork that I am I wore flip flops. And the inside of a cave is 99% humidity y'all. Yep, makes for great hair AND slippery hills to walk on. I slipped like a bazillion times. That part was not fun!


Paul :-)


We really wore these three out with all the walking!
The adults had to take shifts carrying them!





Kristi and Tyler


The kids and me...these are happy times!




FUN DAY!!! Can't wait to tell you about Day #3 of our trip!

New Do and Some Twirling

Cait, my angel girl is growing before my eyes! It's wonderful and sad all at the same time!
Yesterday I took her to get a haircut. She looked so precious this morning with her new do and her new twirling dress that GiGi bought her. I just had to share.

Oh the JOY!!!

Vacation Day #1

We hit the road...a little bit later than planned...but who cares? We set off on our vacation. Well, I called it a vacation. Cait kept calling it our adventure and Benjamin kept calling it our field trip. Funny. Anyway, whatever you choose to call it, it was going to be fun!

We turned the key to my car at about 10:30 that morning to leave. Well, as must always happen...the battery was dead. Oh yes...seriously. After banging on many a neighbors' doors, we finally got some jumper cables. Paul got the car going and we were off to Walmart. Paul bought me a pair of brand new jumper cables! I was giddy! No, but seriously, it was very, very sweet and I felt so very safe having Paul with me through the whole ordeal. You wives don't take that for granted, okay? Man, it's scary to have car problems or house maintenance when you are single!

Why did I get off on all that? Not sure.


Anyway, here we are stopped in Waco for lunch. We went the ultra-cheap vacation route. That means, we cooked almost all of our meals and had sandwiches everyday for lunch. It was great!


Yummy sandwiches!


We drove straight to San Antonio where we rented a house for three nights. Here are Kristi and me in the kitchen whipping up some dinner. This was one of the most fun parts of the trip...working int he kitchen with everyone. You learn a lot about people by the way they cook. For example...Kristi is an amazing cook, but very messy! She will tell you that herself. She also opens every cabinet door and leaves it open. I felt like the official cabinet door closer. I just tried to follow her lead and learn form her! She could fatten anyone up if you let her. The ironic thing is, she's so stinking tiny!

Anyway, talk about tangents! I'm going in every direction writing this!
Tomorrow I'll tell you about day #2 of our vacation. FUN TIMES, y'all!