A Mexican Fiesta

Saturday night was a Mexican Fiesta and we got to go. We were all so excited! Hido and Jonathan - friends of our family - were suppose to be confirmed by the Catholic church. Turns out the powers that be decided they weren't quite ready, but the party had to go on! We all had a blast! The food was A.M.A.Z.I.N.G!!!!! We ate and danced until we all were ready to fall asleep right there at the party.

Sam was a real trooper. When you're 14 months old a Mexican Fiesta provides a lot of stimulation, but he did great. He entertained the crowd playing with a couple of puppies at the party. He loved chasing them around...and at one point he was holding the leash and I think they were pulling him around!



A quick family shot before the party got started.


A rare couple shot...who knew we'd be having this much fun together doing this married gig together...


Clayton and Sam...boy, we're going to miss this kid when he leaves us this fall. He's become a really special part of our family.


Aunt Robin and Uncle John were there, too. Too bad we missed putting the video camera in the truck. John's singing may have been the highlight of the party.

Helping Dad

Scott had some work to do around the shop on Friday afternoon and Sam kept wanting to help. So we loaded him up and let him help with the compost project. He was a little overwhelmed by the bobcat. He sat perfectly still and followed every instruction his Daddy gave. It was SOO cute and I had to snap some pictures.





Sam is quickly becoming Scott's little shadow!

A Man Ceremony

This picture is so silly. Sam is about to jump out of Scott's arms and to get the sippy cup that is on the table and Scott was less than pleased with my insistance that we capture this moment on film. The moment before my boys went off to to their first man ceremony in the woods.

Scott did a bible study this spring about raising Godly knights and tonight is the dedication ceremony. They met in the church parking lot and headed into the woods for the induction ceremony. Dear Lord...all sorts of horrible images come to my mind. However, I think it mostly has to do with hot dogs and smores.

Regardless, I dressed Sam in his hunting gear so that the other boys would know he's tough!

I love these boys!

Update on Sam

No pictures, just an update.

I'll try to bust out the camera tonight.

Sam is rocking along. Our favorite new thing is praying. We pray before we eat and Sam will fold his hands together. We started saying a common meal time prayer..

"Come Lord Jesus be our guest, may these gifts to us be blessed."

I learned this from my cousins recently and I love it. And it's the perfect length for a 14 month old!

Here's the best part though.

After we pray...we all in unison say A-men!

And then Sam smiles.

This huge - ear to ear - smile. Like he's just done the most fun thing in the world. Like he's saying..."Mom - it just doesn't get any better than this does it."

And then I start to think.

I start to think about how unexciting prayer can become for me.

And then I feel it.

Conviction.

It's there. It's a good thing.

I want to be as excited about praying as my son.

So this morning I was walking and I started talking with God.

You know...really talking...the kind of talking where you listen, too. And I stopped talking about myself.

And something amazing happened. I felt so close to God. He was there with me...walking up and down our property line. Just starting the day.

And I found myself smiling. When you realize that your communicating with the very God of the universe...well...that will give you something to smile about.

Warning: Political Talk Ahead

I've been muling over something in my mind and I want to write it out...but it's political so consider yourself warned.

This weekend I heard Barak Obama's comments...who didn't hear them? They were all over the news, which is another rant in and of itself.

I digress...here is the basic information.

Obama said last week at a fundraiser that decades of lost jobs and unfulfilled promises from Washington have left some Pennsylvanians "bitter." He said they were "clinging to guns or religion or antipathy to people who aren't like them or anti-immigrant sentiment or anti-trade sentiment as a way to explain their frustrations."

Huh?

I am a Christian...a follower of Jesus Christ. My faith in God determines my politics. I have a responsibility to vote for the person who I think will best uphold my values in the white house. I believe that with all that I am. It's not a popular view at times, but that doesn't change how I feel about it.

I don't cling to religion because I'm frustrated...I cling to it because it is a part of who I am.

How can Obama say this in one breath and then in another claim to also be Christian. I'm not saying he's not a Christian - only God and He know that - but I don't understand the thinking.

A few years ago I did not understand the importance of using my faith to guide every thing...including who I voted for in public elections. I mean I knew it was important...but I don't think I understood the magnitude of it.

Being married to Scott has changed that. He's encouraged me to consider the connection.

He understands the serious of these claims.

This morning the Today Show was on while we got ready for the day. They were talking about Obama's comments and the fight that has ensued between him and Hilary Clinton. After Clinton challenged his comments, Obama was making fun of her at another rally. He said something like this...

"Hillary is trying to make it out like she is an avid sportsman. I mean when was she out in a duck blind. I can just see her there now...with a six shooter."

Scott's reaction...

"C'mon. You don't use a six shooter to hunt ducks."

There's a man with priorities.

Where to begin?

Where to begin?

We've been so busy...enjoying visits with family...making memories....it's been a great week at the Kenley house.

I've uploaded some pictures here so that you can get a glimpse at the fun. There are more bluebonnetts...it's a gorgeous time in Texas.

Below is Scott with Meemaw. Meemaw is a hoot. She went to the live farm with us. She had some great stories to share and looked cool popping wheelies in the field.


Checking out the way Texas pioneers stored their food. Sam was not so impressed with this stop.


I love these pictures..






Sam's shoes were so dirty...but does it look like we had a good time. I think I love little boy's shoes when they are covered with dirt.


Here's where we picked up all that dirt. Sam got to see the ox working in the field.


Ok...more pictures to come!

Playing with Pops and Nana

Nana, Pops and Meemaw have all come to visit us this week. We love having them visit. Sam, especially, is having a great time with all the extra people this week to hug.

I'll try to keep the blog updated with some shots as we go along AND get us caught up from this weekend. We had a blast visiting a live farm in Washington County...aka the birthplace of Texas.

Here is Sam trying out Dad's new work toy. It's a dingo and it's swwweeeettt! Even I got to drive it on the day of it's arrival. :) It will really help our teams be more efficient this summer and we're grateful to have it. (Mostly Clayton is grateful - this equipment needs far less maintenance than the older model we had!)

Here's a taste of our Washington County trip. Pops should be a professional photographer - he set this shot up. We were in a barn looking at longhorn cattle. And listening to carpenter bees buzz around us. They may not be as dangerous as bumble bees, but it was a horrible feeling to hear them buzzing!