Where in the World are the Woods?

That's right we are on our way to Disney World!!!

The entire Purdy gang is going (all 13 of us), and hopefully we are on an airplaine right now headed to Orlando. We have been counting down the days at our house and my kids are thrilled to say the least. I hope you all have a wonderful week and I'll check back in next Thursday-prepare yourselves for photos galore!

Memorial Day 2009

I hope you all had a wonderful Memorial Day. We started our day off slow and that pretty much set the tone for the entire day. We just took it easy and I loved every minute of it. Aren't you proud to be an American?!! The kids had little flags to put out in the yard and finding the perfect spot was a little tricky:-).

Memorial Day is never complete without a little watermelon.

My parents came over for dinner last night and Honey was able to convince Ryan that his top tooth was ready to come out- it has been loose for a LONG time. This is his 4th tooth to loose but without the top one, he looks so much older!!!

Ode to Lila

We were so honored to participate in Lila's Parent Commitment Service at FBC Houston. I just love that they call it a parent commitment service instead of a baby dedication because that's exactly what it is. It's a time for Kacey and Josh to commit to raise Lila in a loving Christian home and introduce Lila Elizabeth Warren to the church. The church only does this service twice a year so there were about 40 babies that were dedicated to the Lord that day. Our dear friend Shannon was there and took these amazing pictures for us. Thanks again Shannon! It was a beautiful service. Here's the program with each child's picture, the meaning of their names, and a scripture that each family chose. Lila means peaceful and quiet and Elizabeth means God's consecrated one. Her name suits her well.

Proud parents. Aren't they a BEAUTIFUL family!!!!

Here they are introducing little Lila to pastor Greg Motte. After each family had walked across the chapel he asked the new dads to come kneel at the alter and the moms and babies stood behind them. Then he said something very profound. He spoke to all the dads and he stated that this is how your family needs to see you-on you knees. Tears were streaming down my face as I watched Josh pray for his sweet family. Pastor Motte continued with-I promise if your wife and children see you on your knees they will follow your example. Such true words. The new families left the chapel and then he spoke a short sermon to the extended families. It was a really great day for all of us.

Precious. Precious. Precious.

Kacey and Lila

The Purdy family minus the Smith clan, they were very missed.

My dearest niece,

Thank you for making my life more joyful. You are such a good baby and I cannot wait to spend time with you and your family. I could just stare at you and those captivating blue eyes all day long! I hope you know how blessed you are to have Kacey and Josh for parents. They are so fun, they love you unconditionally, and you are continually covered in prayer. I pray that you will come to know the Lord at a young age and live life to the fullest just like you namesake did. I also pray that others will come to know Christ because of your joy in Him. I love you so much little one

Hugs and Kisses,

Aunt Angie

P.S. Thanks for convincing your parents to move to Waco!

Is it just me...

Or are you constantly amazed at what you allow to go on behind closed doors? Man I have mellowed!!!!!
We recently got a new coffee table and I have been playing around with different ideas of what to put on top of it since it's pretty light, and I walk in the living room to find this!

They completely took over and moved everything I had put out on the table and were flipping through the coffee table books having the time of their little lives. I have no idea why Ally is wearing a builder's hat...you all know about her knack for accessories:-).

So for now the table is just another playing surface for my monkey children. Note Mark sitting on the couch watching!!! I guess that's why we have very kid-friendly furniture right?

What is something that you never thought you would allow before you had your little ones?

Houston Fun

Hello my little bloggers:-) Sorry for the lack of posts lately. Mark had a business meeting in Florida, so Ally and I went to Houston Wednesday through Sunday to hang out with my sister Kacey and her sweet family. Ryan stayed here with Grandma and Grandpa and then he joined us in Houston for the weekend festivities. Kacey and Josh are moving here-can I get a Whoo-Hoo!!! and they found a really great house here in Sun West. We had grandiose plans of cleaning out her closets and packing up her kitchen but we opted to shop, hang out, swim at the Hilton, play with Ally and Lila, plan a bridesmaid luncheon, attend Annesa's wedding and get ready for Lila's baby dedication. We just had the best time but we got zero packing accomplished:-). Here are some pictures of the weekend. I love Houston but I am so excited that they are moving here July 1st!!!!

Sweet Cousins

Cowgirl Ally Anderson and her Sidekick Lila Elizabeth

Cookie time at the Galleria

This picture is for Ryan (think Paul Blart Mall Cop-Ryan never actually saw this movie but he laughed hysterically at all the previews)

This is a Self Photo at Annesa's wedding. I'm sure her older sister Kylie will be posting some pictures of the gorgeous bride soon, so be sure to check out her blog. It was a beautiful wedding and my kids had the best time running around outside in the courtyard and watching everyone dance.

Pretty girl

Crazy face pose

Who's that smiling, why it's Ryan Wood! It's amazing what he'll do for a cherry sprite with real cherries!

Sunday afternoon movie time at Aunt Kacey and Uncle Josh's house

Our first official swim of the summer. Thanks Honey and GP for staying in a really cool hotel with a outdoor pool. The weather was perfect and we had a blast. I don't know why my kids insist on wearing goggles but they do, and I cannot help but laugh when I see these pics!

What a fun time we had in big H-Lila's dedication post coming soon...

Tigerville

We have been playing a lot of awesome Tball around here! Ryan looks forward to each and every game and he is quite the little slugger. I just adore the Woodway Family Center for many reasons but at the top of the list is the pregame prayer with both teams.

Waiting for his turn to bat. (This smile really made me laugh out loud!)

What a hit! Way to go #8!!! His fan club has been quite extensive. We were all VERY sweaty after the game.

Kacey and Josh (check out Kacey's blog for a precious picture of my sweet niece at the game)

Grandma and Grandpa

Coach Weaver and Coach Wood with their little All-Stars

Ryan LOVES having his Daddy for a coach. These two handsome fellows are quite a pair out on the field. Thanks for making this such a fun season to watch!

Mother's Day Brunch

Today I was honored to attend Ryan's preschool Mother's Day Brunch. He was ultra excited and told me that he had been really busy making me stuff for mother's day:-). We had a fantastic time. Each student had a bag of handmade goodies for the mommies as well as a sheet of mommy's favorite things. Here's Ryan's idea of my favorite things.

He was spot on! I love all the things he mentioned, especially the things that make mom happy! They performed several songs and Ryan actually sang. My video cut off in the middle and for some reason it is really clear on my camera but not clear at all on blogger (tips please!!!) At least you can hear them singing. He's wearing a red shirt and sitting on his knees. This was a really joyful moment for me as a mommy! We have come a long way baby.

Since it was a brunch everyone was supposed to make a brunch item with their child and bring it to share. We "made" Shipleys and he couldn't have been happier. Ryan, I love you and Ally so very much and I am just constantly amazed at your knowledge, sweet spirit and how much you are both growing! Thank you for making me a mommy and for honoring me today. I LOVE YOU!!!!!

I hope all you moms out there have a fantastic weekend!!!!!

Hula Girl and Surfer Dude

The kids had such a blast with my parents and Mark's parents while we were gone but, we missed them SO much!!! This week has been a little bit of an adjustment for all of us :-). Ally is constantly watching my shoes. As soon as I put them on, she's got hers on and she coming with me no matter what. And our sweet son has also wanted to know exactly what the plan for everyone is everyday (which is not that abnormal from any other week really). Here are our little Hawaiians with their souvenirs. Such cuties!!!

Ryan's shirt has Maui surf boards on the back but this was the only pose I could get. At least I caught him laughing again.

Maui

Where to start? Mark and I had the trip of a lifetime this past week. Maui was exactly how you picture it: tropical, warm, friendly, mountainous and gorgeous. The 8 hour flight from DWF to Maui had me in knots before we left; but, after a lot of prayer, tears and a little help from Dr. Myers, I made the trip just fine. We arrived at 3:00 in Maui, rented our car and went to our resort. This is the first picture I took. Doesn't it just scream, "relax, you're on vacation!" Thank you Lord for this sunset. It was majestic and beautiful each and every night.

Our resort, The Sheraton, was located on Kaanapali Beach. We spent most of our time here and at the pool, which is my dream vacation!!! I don't have any pictures of the beach and pool for two reasons: 1) bathing suits and 2) my husband really doesn't enjoy taking photographs so I opted not to fight over pictures and just take a few each day. Just mentally picture me reading Hawaii and Mark playing football on the beach and you got about 70% of what we did on our trip.:-) Side note: Lauren I am almost finished with all 937 pages. Whew... it is actually a really great novel just a little daunting!!!

The view from our room

The beautiful flowers were everywhere and really inspired me to plant a few back in the Wac (I'll let you know if that actually happens).

Front Street in Lahaina. This was an awesome place to shop, eat and enjoy the view. Here we are with our sweet NFIB friends the Paynes from Tyler, TX. Mark and Lyle have both been in sales for about the same amount of time, so we get to hang with them each year on the trip. We really do have a blast when we're together.

We ate here and had the best fish and chips ever.

The Luau in Lahaina. It was ranked the best Luau in all of Hawaii and it was incredible.

Raising the pig

The show

These girls were impressive. I honestly have no idea how they can shake it that fast!

We were so fortunate that some of the best snorkeling on the island was right outside our resort at Black Rock. I saw some amazing fish and coral reef. Interesting fact: I love to snorkel!

I also saw a Green Sea Turtle while snorkeling (this may or may not have been a picture of a picture that was in our Fodor's Maui guide book of a green turtle).

After visiting a time share presentation for $100(yea..I know but it only took 30 min. and it was $100!!!) we ate at the fancy Lahaina Grill and had the best dessert, Lappert's Ice Cream Mud Slide. Lappert's is a local ice cream and it was delicious.

So for Mark's real birthday we went to play golf at Kapalua, home of the PGA Tour Mercedes Championship. When I say we, I did not play but I did drive the cart. I must admit that the views from this course were INCREDIBLE! Click on this collage to see better pictures.

After golf we had Dinner at the Ritz-Carlton. You know because that's the way we roll on vacation. Actually it was a NFIB sponsored dinner-still the Ritz. The president of NFIB, Dan Danner, gave Mark a sleeve of golf balls for his bday. The perfect gift for a golf lover.

They sang and everything and had a candle in his pineapple creme brulee

"Are you from Texas?" was the running question of the week. I wonder how they knew...?

Mark thank you for working your tail off so that we can go and experience such amazing vacations. This one was the best yet! Here's my favorite picture in Maui. Mahalo!