Prayerful

Hi friends, how does this day find you? Exhausted, prayerful, blessed, stressed, happy, sad? Not coincidentally (since today is National Day of Prayer in America), I've found this week to be bountiful with prayer. I've had some issues of my own to work on, like being more patient and seeking God's will over my own. Thankfully He doesn't give up on my stubborn self!

I'd like to ask that you guys keep a sweet lady I was acquainted with here at Nellis through Chapel and Mommy group. Her name is Tina, and her hubby Kenny is active duty Air Force. They have a son who is 4, and had a precious baby Gabi who passed away this week. She was just shy of her 5 month birthday, and she never woke up from napping. I think at this point it can be assumed SIDS was the cause of her passing. I cannot fathom anything much worse than losing a precious baby. What heartache and pain they must feel. It's times like this that I sit back and analyze my impatience with Ethan and Evan, and realize that I only have them for a short time and then they will be grown up, or who knows...maybe with the Lord. Each day is a ticking clock full of potential. How did we use this time? Did we enjoy what's most important or did we flub it away on nonsense? I'm ready to get rid of the nonsense in my life and focus on what God has blessed me with--my family and friends!

I hope this finds you prayerful, blessed, and hopeful!

**I included a pic of the boys at Red Rock Canyon this past Friday. We took and mommy and boys trip to go hike in God's creation!!! As always, a fun but tiring time followed by a trip to Whole Foods!

Happy Mother's Day to all the momma's out there!!!

Bonnie Springs & Mickey D's

Yesterday was a wonderful day!! We took a family excursion out to Bonnie Springs, an old western themed town in the beautiful Red Rock Canyon area. For my out-of-towners, RRC is a recreation area west of Las Vegas. Though living in "Sin City" may not be the greatest, God has provided an abundance of recreational areas to enjoy. When I drive out to this area, I thank God for making such wonders to enjoy!


Anyway, once at Bonnie Springs, you pay $20/car for entry, though there wasn't anyone there to take payment. This puzzled us, and I felt guilty for meandering around without paying, but no one seemed to care. Anyway, more on that later.

So, we walked in and fed the ducks and swans at the pond area. Then on we went to the petting zoo. The petting zoo area was full of all different types of animals, from pot-bellied pigs to wolves!! It is smelly and at times crowded, but would one expect a petting zoo to smell like roses? Anyway, our boys enjoyed the animals, and most of the animals (not contained in cages) were friendly and wanted to be petted and fed. Note: bring plenty of pocket change in the form of quarters to purchase feed for the animals. We then meandered around some more and looked at the other petting zoo area where some horses and longhorn steers were.

Then it was off to ride the train. This is were payment time finally arrived. The train conductor (it's not a full-sized train) then asked for our tickets. I told him we didn't have a ticket, and could we pay him. Alas, someone who could take payment and give us tickets for entry! We enjoyed the 10 minute (give or take) train ride, and saw beautiful views of the canyons. Evan seemed to really enjoy the ride, and the smile on his face made this very evident.

Then is was off to the old western town part of Bonnie Springs. We took a gander here and there, looking in at the shops scattered throughout. Of course, there was an American-Indian themed store adorned with nothing other than...you guessed it, wind chimes! For those that have met Ethan for little more than 5 minutes, you know the kids loves his wind chimes! We made our way to the very end of the town, where there was a saloon with an 1800's melodrama. The boys weren't interested, as they prefer to explore, so it was off to see all of the different sites. One place they loved was the "lean to the side" house. It was kind of like one of those fun houses at a carnival that throws your equilibrium off!! We walked through there like 2 times--the boys loved it!!

Then the absolute highlight of the trip occurred!! Josh and the boys wanted to check out the old-fashioned fire truck (though not sure why it was there...don't think they had those back in horse drawn carriage days). Right by the truck was the school house and a merry-go-round. Josh and I commented on how you never see those on playgrounds anymore. And I guess what happened next is why. So at this point it's just Ethan and Evan on the MGR and I'm pushing it ever so carefully so they don't get too dizzy. An older kid (he was well-intentioned) came up and offered to push the kids. At this point there was like 5 kids on the MGR, and they were going SUPER fast! Ethan and Evan has been on there longer than all of the other kids, and I knew it was TOO long. Evan starts to get a sick look on his face, almost as if he was getting ready to pass out. His head started to wobble and then he went face down. I of course freaked out and stopped the MGR and got him off ASAP!!! He was disoriented for a couple of minutes, but then was up and running again fast. Needless to say, I was a bit worried and nervous, but Josh reassured me he was going to live. LOL Thank the Lord Evan didn't get sick to his stomach and projectile vomit all over everyone!! What a sight that would have been!

We ended our old western town excursion with being temporarily locked in jail for having unruly boys!! Just kidding! We thought it would be fun to pose in the jail and take a family portrait.

We then drove back into town, had lunch at McDonald's (this is a big deal as we eat fast food maybe 10 times per year, and that's if we're on a road trip, otherwise it's like 5 times a year). I have to say that my quarter pounder with cheese, fries and Dr. Pepper were delicious!

Yesterday was a blessed day, a time of family. These are the days that I live for, and the days I will treasure for years to come.

Until next post (which I hope is sooner than later), I hope you are abundantly blessed by God! Take care. :o)