To the Morrows and many more...

Nearing the end of summer, it seems as if weddings are in the air. All around me many of my friends and family are tying the knot. Brent was cleaning out his computer last week and ran across a toast I had given last Christmas at my best friend Liz's wedding. In honor of this wedding season and in honor of the Morrows, I share this toast with you. I hope it reminds you of your own marriage (if you are married) and encourages you to embrace one another and simply enjoy the journey.

Wouldn’t it be nice if life came with directions; if we knew the exact location of every intersection, every turn to make, every bridge to cross? Things might be a lot easier with a map, but then again I suppose they might be a lot less interesting too. A road map for life would probably have given me specific instructions about who to go to dinner with, where and when one evening about 6 and a half years ago. That would have kept me from bumping into this girl named Liz who stood in the lobby of our dorm at Baylor with the same lost look on her face as I had on mine. Interesting is probably an apt choice of words to describe the friendship that would come from that chance happening. A simple set of directions probably would have had us in our dorm beds sleeping comfortably in the middle of night before every test rather than hundreds of miles away finding our way home from a Tim McGraw Concert, but how fun would that have been? A simple set of directions would have told Liz and I not to go in a lot of directions that we went together, but we sure had fun and we’re here to tell the story none the less. We’ve found ourselves inadvertently flirting with Sonic Drive In employees asking them if their bacon is crispy, when really we just wanted to know if their bacon really was crispy. We’ve found ourselves in Houston threatening our significant others within an inch of their respective lives not to make one more U-turn…and somehow that was funny – to them! We’ve been a lot of places together, even the country of Africa, right Liz? Nevertheless, the memories are mine and Liz’s, but the point of the story is for Allen.

You need to know that you’ve married a girl who doesn’t follow directions very well. In fact, she doesn’t even like to hang out with those who do. Nevertheless, there is one enduring truth that I have cherished for 6 and a half years and now you get to share in it. The truth is, the directions are far less important than most people seem to think. Even the destination is worth less than we might realize, but what really matters is who you take the trip with. With a girl like Liz at your side and with a family like the Aldriges at your back every turn is the right turn, even if it is a U-turn!

Take care of her! I love you both!

December 13, 2008

The Haynes Kiddos

From July 2007 to July 2008 I worked as a nanny for the three most wonderful children - Hudson, Avery Anne, & Sawyer. This past weekend I got the privilege of returning to Waco and spending time with them for an entire weekend. We had so much fun!! It was such a joy to be around such lovable and loving kids.

While the twins were at art camp, Sawyer and I went to the zoo. We were looking at the fish exhibit when he looked down and pointed, "Hey, that's my name." I was so proud of him for recognizing his name at the zoo. Explaining to him why it was there was a little more difficult.

That evening we made beautiful pictures at home. We had a lot of fun making pictures for mommy and daddy.

On Friday Storey - aka Toey - and Baby Cambell came over to play with Sawyer and I while the twins were back at art camp. We had so much fun. Baby Cambell has gotten so big. We enjoyed watching her take her big girl steps!!

On Friday afternoon the kiddos, Nana, and I packed up the Yukon and headed to the pool. We had so much fun practicing our swimming in the deep end. We were all very good at taking turns swimming back and forth. After our practicing we ventured to the water slide. And, of course, the afternoon would not have been complete without Hudson showing off his diving board skills.

On Friday evening we spent some time in the backyard playing on the new swing set. We were so excited when Brent and Judge finally arrived!!

I think the kids enjoyed their time with Judge a little more than their time with me (j/k). They enjoyed making judge sit, lay down, roll over, and play dead.

On Saturday morning we went to the new Baylor practice facilities and watched a football practice. We enjoyed finding numbers, watching to see if the kick was good, and watching football players "shove" each other. Hudson was absolutely mesmerized.

On Sunday morning we made sand art. The kids enjoyed pouring the colored sand into their bottles. However, I think they enjoyed shaking/mixing the finished product up the best!

Overall, I had a wonderful time and it was hard to say goodbye. Thankfully, we will hopefully be seeing the whole family at the upcoming Baylor football games. I love them all and I am so thankful to still be a part of such a wonderful family.

Firsts for Thomas

A couple of weeks ago Thomas visited central Texas and accomplished many firsts...

His first trip to Brent & Anna's.

His first time to meet Uncle Brent.

His first kiss from Judge.

His first time to meet his great grandparents - Grandma and Pops.

We sure did enjoy our visit and we hope he comes back soon. We love you Thomas!!

Peace Camp

Peace camp was awesome. I had a wonderful time. It was kinda like attending a baptist support group - who knew there were other baptists out there dedicated to issues of social justice. My favorite part of camp was attending the active non-violent training workshop in the afternoons. Watch out world - Here I come!! Here are a few pics from BPFNA.

It was fun taking a break from Texas and seeing some Mountains. I had never been to Utah.

Beautiful sunset after young adults meeting.
Gotta love me some Heather.

Our active non-violent trainers - they were awesome!

Beautiful Heather - we were on the hunt for coffee (where we were informed Baptists have to hide out in bars and coffee shops).

Overall, I had a wonderful time, met some amazing people, and learned some great tools that will be useful in my ministry (whatever that will be). Looking forward to saving my pennies and heading to peace camp again (w/ Brent). Next year - New York!