We had a wonderful get away to the Ouachita Lake in Arkansas. It was a nice relaxing trip spent mostly out on the water in the Crain's house boat. Aubree especially loved riding the sea doos and tubing behind the ski boat. I love to watch her light up when she is truly enjoying herself. She laughed the entire time when I was tubing with her. We enjoyed going out on the boat to beautiful coves where we would dock for a few hours to explore and have lunch or supper. Aubree loved all the shell rock and finding pieces of quartz which the area is known for on the lil coves and islands. There was a beautiful fire works show that Aubree just couldn't stay awake for but it was spectacular. The lake is probably the most beautiful lake I have ever been on. It is surrounded by gorgeous mountains, lush trees and all the beauty nature has to offer. It was a great trip and one that we all made lots of special memories on and hated to see end. Once we were back home we settled back into these scorching hot Texas days. Days where the only way you can bear to be outside is if your in the pool. I have been spending lots of time teaching and practicing Aubree's swimming and she is becoming quite a pro. She loves the water and is a lil fish. I took her to visit with my girlfriends from high school and their kiddos on Saturday. We enjoyed lunch and a pool party at Katy's house in Corinth. There were seven of us that were able to get together and nine of our kids. Only one of the gang wasn't able to make the gathering. It was great seeing everyone and to see our little ones all playing together. These girls have been my closest friends since elementary school. And although we are scattered a lil now we still make it a priority to stay connected. We have a very unique bond and I'm so blessed to have these ladies in my life. I hope and pray God will surround Aubree with a good group of girls and that he will place the type of friends I have in her life too. I am a little sad this week as my doll has gone RVing with Nona. She loves to camp and I know she is having a blast but I'm missing her already. Kerry and I are going to join them on Thursday and spend the weekend at our family reunion so she won't be away too long but still it is long enough. Hope everyone is enjoying this beautiful summer seaon!

Way to go Mavs!! So excited about their long overdue success. It was such a great series and I am thrilled for them all. We have been enjoying our season passes to Splash Kingdom water park. It is a great way to spend these hot Texas days. Aubree has gotten braver this year and will go on almost all of the medium sized slides. It is so much fun to watch her enjoy herself and play. We enjoyed the annual Salt Festival last weekend as much as we could with this heat. Due to t-ball games we missed out on most of the day time activities but we did enjoy the live Texas Country in the evenings. I took Aubree to hear Davis Lane Friday night while Kerry was away at work and then we had a night out with our friends Saturday for some Casey Donahew. It was an awesome concert in the streets of small town Grand Saline. I loved it!! We wrapped up our t-ball season last week. The Lil Indians were such a joy this year and we rewarded their hard work with a swim party and trophy for all the kiddos. I go for my 2nd OB appointment this coming Wednesday. I am very anxious and excited about this baby growing inside me. I am 10 weeks Sunday and the baby is the size of an olive right now. I don't really feel pregnant, except for that I am extremely tired. If it weren't for the access to ultrasound daily I would not be convinced. :) Aubree is definitely ready to be a big sister. She is such a mother hen. I can not wait to see how our family adapts to all the changes of a fourth member and am so excited for the blessing God has given us. Happy Friday!!

The Lil Indians did a great job at their first t-ball games. They were all so cute and such hard lil workers. I am very proud of them all and looking forward to this weeks games. I have been feeling great and am in the middle of the 7th week of my pregnancy. It is already going by so fast! We had a great Memorial Day weekend camping at Whispering Pines RV Resort with some great family and friends. We soaked up a lot of rays poolside and spent lots of time joy riding on the razor and mule. The kids enjoyed riding their bikes all over the park and a few board games to get in out of the heat for a bit. Of course we enjoyed lots of good food off the grill, home made ice cream and even enjoyed a crawfish and shrimp boil. That was my favorite meal, with the huge breakfasts coming in a close second. I loved the shrimp and mushrooms!! I am always a shrimp kinda girl but for some strange reason during my last pregnancy and this one so far I have a huge craving for seafood. :) I am excited about the Mavs making it to the finals and just hope they can get their shots to fall better in game 2 than they did the 1st game. They definitely didn't get off to the start I was hoping they would. But their game was off so I sure hope they have better luck in game 2. I love the beautiful, long summer days and spending lots of time cooking out, swimming, being out doors and visiting with good friends. We haven't made it to the water park yet but that is at the top of my "to do" list. Aubree ask me about it every time we go to Canton so I know she is excited and full of anticipation. Hopefully I can squeeze that in this weekend among the t-ball pictures and games and a couple of her friends bday parties. Never a dull moment around here, that is for sure. Happy Summer!!

Exciting News!!

We have had a very eventful week. I got my thyroid levels checked and they are right on track. :) As if that wasn't good enough news, as we were preparing to celebrate our 6th wedding anniversary on the 14th , we were blessed with the best present ever. We found out that the Kindle family is growing by 2 feet. We are expecting another baby!!! Yea!! We are all very excited, especially Aubree. She has been asking for a baby for a while now and God decided that now is the time. It's amazing to me how time and time again God knows what we need and when we need it. I have been praying for a baby for a few months now and wanted it in my own time. Just at the time when I'm at peace with it not happening, God goes and makes it happen. What a blessing!! Aubree is already telling me all the things I need to be doing and don't need to do with a baby in my belly. She told me no more hot tubbing and as I was in the middle of the Insanity work out Kerry and I are commited to, she began scolding me to stop working out so hard. Lol! I am determined to keep doing this workout. I may not be able to have a complete "beach body" as the program guarantees and as I was anticipating before I found out I was pregnant. But I'm still hopeful to get my legs and arms toned up and do what I can. I am very early into the pregnancy, I found out at this same stage when I was pregnant with Aubree. Which makes for a very long pregnancy but I can just tell with my body and knew immediately what was happening. My estimated due date is Jan. 15th at this point. Wow!! I can't believe our family is about to consist of 4 people instead of 3 in just 9 months. I am already doodling names like crazy and cannot wait to see if its a girl or a boy. I feel exactly the same as I did with Aubree, so at this point I'm leaning towards it being a girl. We would love her to have a sister but are mainly just hoping for a healthy baby no matter what the sex is. Such exciting news!!! We enjoyed a romantic dinner at Villa Montez Saturday evening in honor of our anniversary. It was a great evening and although we tried not to allow the new baby to be the center of conversation, it did keep coming up A LOT. We are both so happy and nothing makes you feel more connected than to be expecting a baby with the one you love. After dinner we enjoyed one of our favorites from back in our early dating days, Marble Slab. I have an intense love for ice cream and nothing ranks higher on my list than sweet cream and cinnamon from Marble Slab. It was a great anniversary and I already have the most precious thing (besides Aubree) that Kerry could ever give me in my tummy. Plus I recently purchased a new brown Coach hand bag and wallet and to justify the expense(as if I needed to do that but its too late now) I said that could be my anniversary present. So I kinda jipped myself there but I must admit I don't need or want for anything. Another very exciting factor in our lives is that Kerry just finished his school and graduated top of his class with a 4.0 GPA. I'm so proud of him and excited for what lies ahead of him. He now has his previous Bachelors degree in Business and an Associate degree in Air Conditioning, Heating and Refrigeration. So many possibilities and such a bright future ahead of him and I'm just thrilled for him and our growing family. Kerry and I recently agreed to co coach Aubree"s t-ball team after her coach had to take another team. It has been a very fun, however, very interesting experience for us. The teams first games are next Saturday so we will really know more about how we are doing then. The kiddos are so cute and really having fun and learning the fundamentals at this point. I guess that's the most important thing anyway. Kerry put together Aubree's playhouse, complete with a stove, sink, telephone, clock and working doorbell from Nona and Pa and Mema on Sunday while I enjoyed a nice lunch in Up Town with my girlfriends from high school. We met at Ashley's and she had prepared an amazing lunch for us. We spent hours gathered around the table laughing and catching up. I am so thankful for these amazing women who I have grown up with and remained very close to. Sunday evening I enjoyed Aubree's Parent's Day Out end of the year program at the church. The class sang for us and recited scriptures they had memorized. It was such a sweet program. I feel so blessed and am looking forward to enjoying every moment of this pregnancy and the warm summer months that are vastly approaching. Til next time....XOXO

Having so much fun that I forgot to blog!

We had a very special Easter holiday. It is so nice having both our families live so close that we are able to spend holidays with them all. After Easter service we ate lunch with Kerry's grandparents, then we went to my great Uncle and Aunt's for the traditional Easter egg hunt with my family. Which is growing by leaps and bounds with all the new lil additions. It was so fun to see Aubree hunt eggs in the same yard and field I grew up hunting in with all my cousins. We finished the day off with dinner and another egg hunt at Kerry's parents with his family. It was a great day spent with all our loved ones. We celebrated Aubree's 4th birthday the following Tuesday(26th). I woke her up singing happy birthday. Then she unwrapped a special present from Kerry and I and got ready for parents day out. I took a cute Hello Kitty cupcake cake to her class so that they could all celebrate with her. She had a great day and when I picked her up from school I told her that since it's her special day she could pick what we did for the rest of the day and if we went out to eat or wanted me to cook something special. The sweetheart said she really wanted to spend the day at home playing with her puppies. So that is exactly what we did. After Kerry got home she requested to have dinner at the Dugan's house with the girls. So Lannie grilled chicken and shrimp and she got her wish. It was a great day spent celebrating my precious angel. That Saturday we threw her a carnival themed party at the house. I rented a 24 foot bounce slide, had pony rides, face painting, some carnival games and a concession stand complete with all the carnival foods. Nachos, hot dogs, popcorn, snow cones, cotton candy, giant pickles, cracker jacks, lemonade and lots of candy. It was a great party and she had a blast. She is still telling me how much fun it was! :) It was a lot of work but worth every second to make her feel loved. This past week was cruising right along but we hit a tough spot on Thursday. Aubree and I were out in the yard playing with the pups and feeding the ducks some bread when Max decided to run out in the road and chase a big 2quarter ton truck pulling a trailer. He ran right under the front wheel and got stuck. I grabbed Aubree up and ran her into the house. Sadly he got hurt pretty badly and we had to learn one of life's toughest lessons: saying goodbye. Aubree was so devastated, as were we all. Max was a great dog. He had such a sweet, soft side to him and such warm eyes. He was the protector of his sister Zoe and of our home. He is missed so much! Thankfully, Kerry was off on Friday and he and Aubree spent the whole day together and I think her broken heart is mending fine. After work on Friday the 3 of us enjoyed a couple of hours of fishing. It was a great stress releaser and I enjoyed spending time with my family in the beautiful, peaceful nature God created. On Saturday Bebe took Aubree and I to Dallas to the American Girl store. Aubree picked out the twin dolls, had their hair fixed in the salon, got the twin stroller and some extra outfits and then we enjoyed a great lunch with her new babies in the AG cafe. That place is amazing and it was great to see her have so much fun. After church today we spent Mother's Day honoring Kerry' family at Cracker Barrel,his Grandmother's choice for lunch and after a couple hour break which I spent relaxing on the deck sunbathing, we spent the evening and had dinner with my family at Mom's. We have both been blessed by amazing women in our lives. We both have great Mother's and Grandmothers who have been Godly examples of what a Mother should be. They are not only our Mother's but our friends and biggest supporters in life. Without them we would both be lost. I am so thankful for the love of both our Mothers and families. Thanks Mom and My 2nd Mom, Bebe, for all you do for us and for being such an involved part of our lives. We love you both dearly. Happy Mother's Day to all the mothers out there. I want to leave you with the closing point of our sermon this morning. It rang true in my ears and I hope it will in yours too. As Bro. Ronald said, after preaching a great Mother's day sermon, " Remember there is no perfect Mom. Every Mom has at some point trials and difficulties in their heart and life so do not try to be perfect. Instead turn to the Lord in your hardships and pray to him and he will help you through the trials. As a mother we do not need to be perfect but only remember to always turn to the Lord for everything. " I am so guilty of striving for perfection and then beating myself up when I fall short. Isn't it good to know our God doesn't expect perfection from us but only wants to be a part of our daily walk. What a great God we serve!!

April has been a fun month for us. Aubree started a coed instructional t-ball league. It is fun to watch her learn a sport that I have so many fond memories of. As a child I spent every summer at the ball fields and it is where I made some of my best friends and even had my first crush. Its exciting to see all the little ones run and play. Kerry informed me after the first practice that one of the neatest things for him about helping with the team that evening was that he was out on the field with five other guys that he graduated high school with. Pretty cool to get to raise your babies with your old buddies I guess. I got to enjoy lunch on the Mi Cocina patio with my old high school gang a couple weeks ago. It was a beautiful day spent with great company catching up. This week we have spent a lot of time at the hospital with our loved ones. Mom and Pa both had surgery and are recovering as I type this. I am thankful for modern medicine and techniques that can heal our bodies. I have been anxiously planning every detail of Aubree's 4th birthday party. She is dead set on having it in our back yard again this year. So I am going to honor her wish, since she is the birthday girl. I can't believe my baby is already four. :( She is growing way too fast! She is so sassy and has a little bit of fire to her too. She is very well rounded if you ask me. She loves animals, the outdoors, playing baby dolls, fishing, shopping, riding four wheelers, and playing with her friends to name a few of her favorite things. Her and Kerry have already caught some pretty large catfish out of our pond. I am hoping to wet a line with them soon! Kerry only has three more weeks of school before he is finished. Looking back it is amazing how fast the years have flown. He is so excited to see an end in sight. We are ready to get our evenings together back as well. While Kerry was at school yesterday Aubree and I enjoyed a fun evening at the Van Zandt Count Fair. we rode with Amie and the Dugan kiddos and we met up with the Stewart family while we were there too. It was so fun to watch the kids run and play and giggle and laugh as they rode all the rides. We had a great night and made lots of memories. I am excited for another beautiful weekend in small town GS. Hope God's blessing pour down on you wherever you are! XOXO

Blessed Beyond Belief

Exactly a week ago today I went into surgery for the removal of the left lobe of my thyroid and the isthmus. I was terrified that the results of that procedure were going to change my life forever. Unable to really let my mind admit to that but being past it, I can honestly say that now. Dr. Abrameit did an amazing job with my surgery and I have had a great recovery. I am still healing but the news we received 48 hours following the surgery made me feel like a healed woman. My tumor was benign. I feel as if a huge weight has been lifted from not only my shoulders but all those around me. I know I had tons of people faithfully praying for me all around the world and I strongly believe God heard those prayers and He answered them. I can not say thank you to everyone enough. I am also grateful for the loving friends and family who stood beside me during this scary process. My husband was the best "nurse" I could ever ask for. He showed me an amazing amount of love, patience and concern during this time and the days following my surgery. He made me one of my favorite soups(his grandmother's broccoli and cheese) and citrus fruit smoothies and even rented movies that he knew I would love(usually we have to do some negotiating when it comes to movies). He took such good care of me and made me so comfortable. I have never seen a man with such compassion and love. Initially I tried to keep all emotion and talk of what was going on away from Aubree. However, the night before my doctors appointment I had a weak momment. All along I had forced myself to think positively and not allow thoughts of negativity and fear to tant my mind. But I was hit hard all of a sudden with all these emotions of fear and the unknown and Kerry sat and held me in the bedroom as I cried. I didn't think at the time Aubree was around or could make out what was going on. Then a few days later she told her Bebe, "My Daddy is strong, he can hold my Momma." Bebe not knowing where this is going said, "Yes, he is" Aubree then told her,"He holds my Momma when she cries about her neck." From the momment Bebe told me that I knew I needed to talk more openly yet age appropriately with Aubree about what was happening instead of pretending nothing was happening at all. It was a very tough time for us as a family. We were all a little fearful of the unknown. Although the majority of the time we did a good job on staying positive and finding hope in what we knew to be true. I must at this time say thank you to my wonderful mother. She had such optimistic and encouraging words of wisdom during the entire process. Never once did she allow me to see the fear she must have felt. But I know it was there, she was just too strong and had enough strength for the both of us. When I called her with the report from the pathologist and told her it was benign, she was so happy and said, " Guess I can cut my hair now." She shared with me that even though I had been a little annoyed with her new, longer than ever hair do and had not only mentioned her needing to get it cut and styled numerous times but I even bought her a gift certificate with a stylist at a salon and at the time she acted as if she just didn't know what she wanted to get done to it. In all actuality, she told me she was growing her hair out because we have the same color(give or take a few gray hairs) and texture of hair so that if I had to loose mine she would be able to have a wig made of her hair for me. What an amazing mother I have!!! Hearing her tell me that not only melted my heart but made me feel like such a horses rear for all the comments I had made about her needing to do something with her hair. What an example my mother has been for me of a mother's love for their children. She has time and time again given her all to me and lifted me up when I wasn't sure I could stand on my own. She is an inspiration to me daily. I know she reads this and I just hope she knows how grateful I am. I love u, Mom! I have also felt a tremendous amount of love from my mother-in-law and have been ever so thankful for her wisdom and comforting words. I have an amazing support system and could never mention all the compassion and encouragement people have given to me but please know every word, phone call, card and flower sent meant the world to me. I appreciate it more than I could ever express! I am anxious for the wound to heal and to allow this experience to leave a lasting impression on my life. I believe everything happens for a reason. I want to use this trial as a testimony of what God can do and how precious every breath truly is. I never want to take this life for granted. I hope I live each day to the fullest and allow God to use me in the way He has planned. Thanks again for all the prayers, love and support!!