Riley experienced two "firsts" today. He rode in a swing for the first time as he was visiting the state of Pennsylvania for the first time (outside the womb!). My parents, brother, sister-in-law, nephew C.J., Riley and I went to Lancaster, PA for the day. We ate breakfast at Willow Valley and then headed out to their playground for a short photo shoot with the boys.
The cousins swinging
Me and my boy
"This is fun, mom!" If we hadn't been hurrying to get to the outlets to shop, I think he would have enjoyed swinging for longer. We're going to have to see about getting a swing for our backyard... The boys
It's still hard for me to believe sometimes that my brother and I both have children. What a blessing these two boys are!
And because every blog is better with a little live action, here's a short video of the swinging experience...
Well, Daniel survived his class in New Orleans and is currently on his way back to Texas. Riley and I sure are missing him! Riley hasn't said it in so many words, but I know he's wondering where in the world his daddy has gone. I'm so thankful for this time we can spend with my family, but I will be SO relieved to see my sweet husband again! He truly is my other half, and I just don't feel complete when we're apart. I mean, I know I'm always complete in Christ, but you know what I mean... :) I think being apart every now and then is good for a relationship, though, because it reminds you just how much you appreciate and love the other person. I've had a lot of time to think about that this week, and I really can't imagine wanting to spend my life with anyone else besides Daniel Riley Bramlett! I know you never read this blog, babe, but on the off-chance you decide to one day, I love you forever! See you in 75 hours!
Riley and I made it to Maryland safely! As I type this, he's asleep in the pack 'n play and my parents are asleep in their recliners...he's already worn them out! :)
He slept almost the entire flight, and for that, I was a very thankful mama! Before leaving Hughes Springs, I walked through our house and did a short video tour for those of you interested in seeing what it looks like full of Bramlett stuff. Warning: the video is almost 8 minutes long, so if you're not really that interested, just move along to the next blog you wanted to catch up on. :) Click here to view the video.
As I was feeding Riley a bottle yesterday afternoon, I decided to watch the local news (well, "local" is relative...our news comes from Shreveport, LA) to see what was going on in the world. During the weather report, we were told that severe thunderstorms were on their way and to be watching for possible hail. I'm pretty sure the last time I saw hail was when I was around 5 years old and we were visiting Mt. Rushmore in South Dakota. Anyway, about 30 minutes later, this is what came from the sky...
Riley and I could not believe our eyes! I have never seen hail that big! I got a couple pictures of the yard afterward.
From snow to hail, we've had some crazy weather in the past month since we arrived in East Texas! After seeing the report today about this years predicted hurricane season, I sure hope we're far enough inland now to not be affected by those!
So can you believe I've posted twice in one week?! Don't get too spoiled by it... :) However, I do plan on posting more next week because while Daniel is in New Orleans taking a class, Riley and I will be visiting my parents in Maryland and I'll have internet access whenever I want it! Maybe I'll do some "catch-up" posting then. I hope you all have a great weekend!
So, I didn't intentionally lie in my last post. I have really meant to update the blog more than I have since we moved, but it's pretty much been impossible. I'm still having to come to the church to get internet, and I have to plan those trips around Daniel's meetings, Riley's sleeping schedule, Daniel's sermon prep, etc, etc, etc! :) So, unfortunately, the blog has been at the bottom of my "to-do" list when I do actually get to use the internet. I did want to share with y'all another video of the Riley-boy. Daniel's dad got an exersaucer for him, and he absolutely loves it! He's just recently learned how to jump in it, and now every time I put him in it he jumps up and down almost the entire time. Too cute! I hope you enjoy!
Happy Valentine's Day...a few days late! We don't have internet at the house yet, so I haven't been able to get online much in the past week. I have to begin this post with probably my favorite video of Riley so far...
Now that you've been able to enjoy the cuteness of our son, Hello from Texas!! I thought about beginning with a hearty "Howdy Y'all!", but that's just not me. So, hello it is! :) We made it to Hughes Springs safely last Monday...thank you so much for all of your prayers! We definitely felt them! We left New Orleans at 8:30 am and pulled into our new driveway at 6:30 pm...whew! What a day! 10 hours in a car with a 6 1/2 month old is not always the easiest thing, but I will say that he was an excellent traveler. He adapts so well to new situations, and for that we are SO thankful! This is what we saw when we pulled into the garage...
This is just a small way they've welcomed us so far. When I walked into the kitchen, there was food all over the counter and in the refrigerator. They gave us a love offering this past Sunday night that blew us away! I'm convinced that some of the most generous and hospitable people live in Hughes Springs, TX! We are so thankful for where the Lord has led us. What a privilege it will be to serve with and among these sweet people!
There were about 25 people waiting to help unload the truck...what took us two days to load was unloaded in about an hour!
Needless to say, it hasn't taken Riley long to make friends! Here he is with a sweet 7-year-old named Casey.
First family photo taken in our new home
There are MANY more pictures, and please feel free to go here to view them all. We still don't have internet at home, yet, so I have to come to Daniel's office to get online. Hopefully I'll be able to be a little more regular about posting. It's actually a pretty good set-up. The church library is right across the hall from Daniel's office, so when it's nap time for little man, I just put him in a pack 'n play in the library and I can work for a little while. Speaking of him, though, he just woke up and is ready to eat! So, I better sign off for now. I hope you're all doing well! Thanks, again, for praying for us during this transition. God is so good and faithful...but we definitely need your prayers! :) Much love!
It's official!!! My husband is the new pastor of First Baptist Church, Hughes Springs, TX! This past weekend was completely exhausting, but amazing! We met just about everyone in the church, I think, and they were all so welcoming and kind. Daniel was constantly on the go, but he did an incredible job of answering all of their questions (and their were some difficult ones!) with a big smile the whole time. I was so proud to be with him! His first Sunday will be Valentine's Day, so we're packing as I type this and will be heading out of NOLA on Monday morning. We wanted about a week to get settled there before he started. We are both SO excited about where the Lord is leading us! We began seeking the Lord regarding what was "next" in October '08. We really had no clue then what we were praying for...we just wanted to go wherever He led. We didn't hear about FBC H.S. until this past September. The Lord made it clear pretty quickly that we needed to send in Daniel's resume, and the rest is history! :)
This is the sanctuary. The church takes up a block, with the sanctuary on the far left corner of the block. To the right of it is education space and the office, then there's the fellowship hall (old sanctuary), and then the Christian Life Center (gym). Behind the Christian Life Center is this...
Our house! I can't believe I just typed that...after living in apartments since I was 20, I can finally say that I'm going to be living in a real, live house! As you can tell, it has a good sized front yard, and there's also a pretty big back yard that is completely fenced in. It's 3 bedrooms 2 1/2 baths. Everyone at the church kept asking us what we thought...needless to say, we're elated! We're not going to know what to do with all of that space! :)
This is "downtown" :) Hughes Springs has a little over 1800 people in it. For those of you who don't know me as well, I grew up in Jacksonville, FL where there are over 1 million people. So, this will be a bit of an adjustment for me. I am very excited, though. The people take a lot of pride in their town (and their state...it IS Texas, after all!), so I think we'll really enjoy getting involved in town activities. Also, look what is only 2 blocks from the house...
SO dangerous!!! I'm going to have to give myself a Blizzard limit...1 a day should be good...JUST KIDDING! More like 1 every 3 months or something. :)
You may be wondering what this is...the town has a couple of parks, and in this particular park there is a large screen and amphitheater where they show movies outside during the summer! How fun is that?! I can just picture our family walking down the street to the park and enjoying movies with others.
I had to end with this one because I just love these two so much, and I am so thankful for what the Lord is doing in our family. He is such a faithful God! I'm not sure that I'll get a chance to blog again before we move, so the next time you hear from me may be from the large state of Texas! If you remember, we'd really appreciate your prayers this weekend as we finish packing and load the U-haul. We'll be pulling out Monday morning...a three-vehicle caravan (Daniel driving his truck, a friend, Michael, driving the U-haul, and Riley and I in the car). Please pray for safe travel, too! Thank you all so much, and I can't wait to tell you all about the trip and our new home! Many blessings!
The cousins swinging
Me and my boy
"This is fun, mom!" If we hadn't been hurrying to get to the outlets to shop, I think he would have enjoyed swinging for longer. We're going to have to see about getting a swing for our backyard...
The boys
It's still hard for me to believe sometimes that my brother and I both have children. What a blessing these two boys are!
