And This Is What Craig Saw

While we were at home huddled in the bathtub, Craig was at work in Denton, about 30 minutes north of us. After I texted him that a tornado was headed his way, he walked outside to check if the sirens were going off. Sure enough, they were and this is what he saw in the sky.

And it just kept getting closer to the ground...

and closer...

Craig ushered all employees and customers to the back room of the store until all was clear. This tornado was the one the news channels kept showing over and over. So, glad everyone stayed safe!

Tornado Warning!!!

I knew the weather would be bad today. It was extremely hot and humid and we were supposed to get thunderstorms. That is perfect weather for a tornado.

I just got Kaitlyn in the shower about 7:30 pm. My friend commented on my Facebook (don't you love social media?) to turn on the TV and watch the weather because a storm was headed our way. I turned it on and holy guacamole it was coming soon!!! I looked outside and saw that it was still west of us. I was truly hoping it was just some heavy rain. The lights flickered and I got Kaitlyn quickly out of the shower.

We headed downstairs and I turned the weather on the TV again. Tornadoes spotted to the west of us! It was just me, the kids, and the two dogs. Where was Craig? Working in Denton where there was another tornado! I quickly texted him to take cover. Just then our sirens were going off and it started to hail. So, into the bathroom we go.

Luckily, our bathroom downstairs is in the middle of the house and does not have any external walls. I told the kids to get in the tub which immediately scared them. Kaitlyn started crying, Preston couldn't stop shaking, and one of our dogs kept barking. I had friends texting me to make sure I was okay, Craig called and said he was fine, but the kids were still scared. So, what do you do when you are scared? We prayed. That calmed us down. By the way, I never realized how uncomfortable bathtubs were unless there is warm water and bubbles in it.

We stayed in there for about 5-10 minutes. The wind was hard and the hail was loud. When it was quiet, I ventured out. No more sirens! I opened the front door and was amazed at what I saw. I had a Wizard of Oz moment (actually, I had a lot of those moments because that is the one movie I always think of when I hear of tornado weather!).

There was hail covering the lawn.


Here is one of the bigger sizes. God amazes me at what He can do!

Then, I looked up and saw this!

The majority of my neighbors were also outside, but that didn't stop my heart from going into palpitations.

This was so scary to see!

Then, to the west of us, there is some blue sky.

We are all safe. Tornadoes touched down all around, but we remained safe. The kids are now sound asleep and I really don't want to experience anything like that again!

Thank you so much to those that checked on us and said a prayer for us. God kept His protecting hand upon us tonight.

The End Of The World

Well, for it being the "End of the World" on Saturday, we had a very busy weekend planned. It was only the end of the world for one person. My cousin got married! Hehe!!!

Saturday afternoon we took a 3 hour drive to Abilene to see my cousing Jeffrey Garcia marry Miranda Dick. It was a 7:30 pm outdoor wedding outside city limits. After arriving at my parents house, we had a quick bite to eat and got ready for the special event.

The wedding was held at the home of the parents of the bride. It was set up so nicely. I absolutely loved this "Family Tree". The right side had pictures of the grooms grandparents, parents, and him. The same was done for the bride on the left side. Then, in the middle was a picture of the bride and groom. So nicely done!

Here are 2 of my nephews. They are waiting for the wedding to start.

Here comes the bride!

This is my aunt and uncle with their youngest boy. Clearly he wasn't too impressed with what was going on.

Mr. and Mrs. Jeffrey Garcia!!!

These cute custom made guitar picks were on the groom's table. My cousin loves music. It must run in the family.

This specially decorated guitar was placed between the bride and groom's tables. Their initials are on the black stripes.

Here is the groom's table. Chocolate cake with coconut, nuts, and tons of other yummy ingredients made by his mom (my aunt). The cookies had pictures of a guitar with a bird sitting on top. It was part of the wedding's theme.

Here is the wedding cake on the bride's table. The cake was also made by my aunt. One layer was lemon, another was orange, and the rest was white. Yummy!!!! She also made the flower cookies.

As if the cakes and cookies weren't enough, there was a candy buffet too! There were custom-made wooden signs everywhere. This sign said 'Love Is Sweet'.

Here is my goofy cousin and his beautiful new bride. I asked for a picture of the two of them and this is how he poses.

Here is the bride and groom with the groom's 2 brothers. Hard to believe I'm related to these giants! I didn't inherit any tall genes. They get the height from their dad.

Here is my aunt and uncle. My aunt Betty is my mom's sister. So many people say I look just like my aunt.

The bride's parents put in a giant concrete slab for a dance floor just for the wedding. Before the dancing began, the kids were allowed to draw all over it with sidewalk chalk. Smart, very smart!

Tables were placed all around the property. There was plenty of room. Here are my nieces and Kaitlyn enjoying their time together. The girl with the yellow flowers in her hair is my 1st cousin.

Here is Preston with my nephew. Willie is a year younger than Preston, but they are pretty much the same size. This is trouble!

We had a big dinner of barbecue chicken, pork steak, and sausage. There was also beans, potato salad (that my mom made), garden salad, bread, punch, tea, and various sodas and water.

Then it was time to cut the cake.

They were so nice to each other when feeding each other pieces of cake.

Then their first drink!

Meanwhile, the younger girls brought their Nintendo DS so they could chat with each other.

Finally, it was time for the First Dance. The bride changed into a more comfortable outfit and they danced to a song played and sang by the groom's brother.

Now it was time for the mother of the groom to dance with her son. They were both in tears.

Fun was had by all and we left just after 11 pm. We were all so exhausted by that time!

The next morning, my mom planned a big brunch for the family. Here's my brother making his special scrambled eggs.

Here is the spread with my sister and her girls. We had ham, hash brown casserole, eggs, yogurt, granola, fresh fruit, and angel biscuits. It was sooooo good!

That afternoon, it was time to head to my little cousin's 1st Birthday Party (I told you we had a lot planned). It was held at a park and my cousin rented the pavilion. Preston loved climbing on this train.

Here is another cake made by my aunt. The middle layer was chocolate and the other two layers are white cake. Again, it was delicious. She also made cookies that looked like longhorns, cactus, and the shape of Texas. The decorations on the bottom layer and the cowboy on top are also cookies.

This is the birthday boy, Toby. He is also the nephew of the groom.

We had grilled hamburgers, hot dogs, chips, and drinks. Next, time to hit the pinata! Toby gets to try it first.

Preston whacked it pretty hard and put a hole in part of the boot.

After some hits from the other kids, the pinata finally broke open and it was a mad scramble for the candy.

It was a fun, exhausting weekend. We're glad we were able to experience it all before the end of the world actually happened.

Friday the 13th Isn't So Bad

Friday the 13th always gets a bad rap. If something goes wrong on that day, it must be because of the number. But wouldn't those bad things happen no matter what day of the month? This time, Friday, May 13 was a busy and fun day for us.

First, Kaitlyn was invited to attend the Party for the Purple People at her school. Now before you start thinking her school was invaded by little aliens, let me explain. The school librarian has a reading program that starts in September and goes through the end of March. There are 6 different colored reading lists to complete. Each list contains subjects, authors, etc. and you must read a book according to each item. When each list is completed, you can turn it in to get a charm. After all six lists are completed (the last list is purple), you get a reading shirt and are invited to attend the special party in May.

Kaitlyn absolutely loves to read so this was so easy for her. She participated last school year and again this school year. Although they have until the end of March to complete all the lists, she completed all of them by December both years. Like I said, she LOVES to read. She was the only one in her class this year to complete all the lists. The librarian said there were over 100 books each child must read to complete them all. It is quite an accomplishment!

So, the party is a way to reward students that put in the hard work and get them out of class for an hour. Parents are invited as well. This year magician/storyteller Brian Roberts was the guest. He put on a very engaging and fun show for the kids. He showed a few magic tricks and told some fun stories using a lot of visual aids. He definitely knew how to keep the kids attention.

He even brought a friend with him.

If you look very closely, you can see Kaitlyn sitting in the third row.

The kids were mesmerized!

Kaitlyn actually had a half day of school too. So, we picked her up, had pizza for lunch, and then naps. Well, I had a nap. Then it was off to Frisco to see the Rough Riders Baseball Game!!!

Our Children's Pastor, the wonderful John Cruz, organized a group outing for our church. We got discount tickets, a parking pass, and baseball caps. It was a great deal and we had fun.

The Rough Riders are warming up.

We're waiting for the game to start.

Preston was being silly for a lot of the game.

Every time music came on the loud speakers, Preston was "shaking his booty"!

There were other dancers as well. The staff at the ballpark came on the field and danced to Thriller.

Finally, the Rough Riders beat Corpus Christi 5-2 and we had a nice fireworks show.

We don't believe in bad luck. We believe in counting your blessings no matter the situation. God definitely blessed us and gave us a great Friday the 13th.