Reuse, Reduce, and Recycle....

...or, just re-purpose. :)

The cross above I made a couple years ago for my craft room.

And while I loved it very much (especially the heart and wings)

it wasn't the look I was going for when I was looking for something to hang over our fireplace.

So, I re-did it like this~ a little more formal, a little less whimsy, a little drama (I love those crystals!~ both those and the paper on the black cross are 7 Gypsies, one of my favorite scrapbooking companies). The iron (metal?) cross on top was a gift from my friend Rhonda. I think it is just right for our family room.

Next I may have to find a new use for the heart and wings.....

Visit with Mimi and Papa

Last Friday my parents drove in to visit us for a few days. We were SO ready to see them! It was such a fun visit~ the weather kind of stunk, and I was disappointed that we couldn't take them out to see more of the area, but we had a great time here at the house. Here's a recap of some of what we did....

Lots of hugging, of course. :)

Last night after bath time~ do you think they are crazy
about their Mimi and Papa or what?

I loved getting to cook with Mom, she is way more organized than I am in the kitchen, and can put a delicious meal together in no time at all. Last night she wanted to make a special meal to have together at our new dining room table, and made roast, carrots, mashed potatoes, rolls, and these really yummy cinnamon/sugar muffins....it was yummo. :)

Love, LOVE this one of Hunter and his Mimi....poor kid doesn't have

any personality at all though. Ha! ;)

He and Papa made up a new game that involved a tractor in this chair and played it over and over again...he is so much like my Dad, it's crazy. They are funny to watch.

For a housewarming gift, my parents surprised us with this table and chairs for our dining room while they were here. It was a great surprise! We love it~ it's exactly the type of table I was looking for for that room. Excited to get the rest of the room decorated now. :)

So very thankful.

Horrible pic of me, but I love my mom, so here it is. :)

H1 and Mimi....love them.

We had one good sunny day while they were here, so we planted flowers. It was fun getting to pick out flowers with my Mom~ there is such a great variety here that we don't have back in Texas. Can't wait until they get bigger and grow in more~ they're going to be so beautiful. :)

Yesterday an order we had placed for some steaks and stuff arrived in a cooler full of dry ice.

Brian and the boys had WAY too much fun playing with that. It's times like these that it feels like I have 4 kids~ but I love that he does all that fun stuff with them to keep them busy and distracted. :) Awesome Daddy.

We had so, SO much fun with Mom and Dad. The trip went by way too fast~ we were all sad when we woke up this morning and it was just us again. :( Thankful we will see them in just a few weeks, and happy they were able to come and spend some time together. :)

First Day of School, Take 2!

Yesterday, these two had their first full day at their new school.

The did AWESOME, and came to the car at the end of the day with big smiles.

I can't tell you enough how very proud I am of them.

They have handled all of these new things we've faced with smiles on their faces, good attitudes, happy hearts....they are an inspiration to me.

I know they miss their old school, their old house, seeing our friends and family, etc. etc.

We all do.

So thankful for the way they have taken a tough transition and turned it into a great adventure.

The Fishermen

One of our favorite things (so far) about where we live is that we are just a couple miles from a beautiful lake. Those of you who know me well know that I'm not exactly an outdoorsy girl. However, I am married to an outdoorsy man and the mom to three very active, outside-loving little boys, so what's a girl to do?

Apparently, she should pick up a fishing pole. :)

You'd be happy (well, maybe more surprised than happy) to know that not only did I fish, but that I have a pretty impressive cast (my Dandy taught me well) AND I managed to put the worms on the hooks for the boys as well. Shocking, I know. :)

Harrison has spent enough time fishing with his dad that he's got it down too. Unfortunately, he inherited my lack of patience, so he got a little frustrated here and there. We both think fishing would be way more fun if the lake was so loaded with fish that they would just jump on the dock. Apparently, that takes away the from the thrill of the catch. Blah, blah, blah. ;)
Hunter was so excited to get to fish. :) This was his first time. He was more excited about the casting part, so we just did that over and over again. :)

I know, buddy....be patient. :)

Our little animal whisperer, of course, caught a fish. Love that big grin!

Ewwwwww....worms.

Love catching these three having moments like this...laughing, talking, having fun with no clue that I'm paying any attention at all.

It wasn't too long before Hunter was ready to move on from fishing
to throwing rocks and sticks in the lake. I have to agree that it is pretty fun too.

One of my favorite views EVER.

It was a good day. Maybe next time we'll catch more fish, but we sure had fun. :)

Hippity Hop.....

....or Resurrection Sunday. At least, that's what we prefer to focus on. Bunnies are fun and all, but not at all what this weekend is about. Our first Easter weekend in our new home went really well~ spent the morning at church, then enjoyed a late lunch with a new friend. We really missed our Texas family,

but were able to enjoy a relaxing day.

H1 went to church early with Brian, so I didn't get the pic of all three of them until after church. Was really hoping to get one of all five of us (needing it for our new address cards) but that didn't happen. Love the way this one turned out though....with all the love in this pic, it's hard to believe these three ever fuss and fight with each other, huh? Never. ;)
Can't believe how grown up this one is getting....he was super proud of that tie. ;)

These two have become pretty tight the past few months. I think Hud is starting to see that Hunter's not a baby anymore, and is a pretty fun guy to play with.

On Saturday we went to an Easter egg hunt that was at the church. Hunter begged to ride the ponies....he was relentless about it, actually. So he and I went and stood in the line and he was SOOOO excited....until it was his turn. ;) Then he got nervous, I got peed on by the lovely pony pictured above (YUCK), and I was really wondering why in the world we ever thought this was a good idea. Until the pony started to walk, and Hunter started to laugh, thinking it was fantastic. ALMOST worth getting peed on. The pedicure I got later that day made up for it. Made me feel better, anyway. ;)

Harrison's post-hunt pic~ with a mouthful of evidence to prove it.

Hud's pre-hunt pic....love that sweet face.

Hunter enjoying the "fruits of his hunt," to quote his daddy. :)
That baby LOVES chocolate.

We hope you had a very happy Easter! We are thankful for a Savior who was willing to give His life to save ours, who loves us with a powerful love that we will can't even begin to really comprehend. It's our prayer that you too know the peace that comes from the love of our Lord.

"In Him we were also chosen, having been predestined according to the plan of Him who works out everything in conformity with the purpose of His will, in order that we, who were the first to hope in Christ, might be for the praise of His glory. And you also were included in Christ when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation. Having believed, you were marked in Him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit, who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God's possession~

to the praise of His glory." Ephesians 1:11-14

Playing catch up....

Our last couple weeks in Texas were FULL of fun and making lots of memories.

The boys had their first of two Spring Breaks

(they are on their second right now~ lucky ducks)

Harrison and Papa spent a couple days at the farm, working hard, having some fun....

....love this picture of them napping in the recliner.

They had worked hard, and were beat.
I took the boys to the zoo....LOVE, LOVE this one of Hud
(a.k.a. The Bird Whisperer.) :)

Love this one too.....Hud and Hunter were both "mid-flap" (their wings, that is)

in this one.

These two LOVED it when Papa would put them on the fridge..

.and so, of course, he did that often.

We celebrated my Mom's birthday....she looks more like my sister than my mom. :) , Love, LOVE her.

The original Hovis family. :)

And last, Harrison got to enjoy a two-day field trip to Log Cabin Village. They had been studying "Little House in the Big Woods" at school, and this field trip was their reward for all of their hard work. They had to dress as authentic as possible, bring their lunch in a pail, and square danced for all of the parents too. Priceless.

We're alive and well here in our new house...

...you know, in case you were starting to wonder if we had fallen off the face of the earth or something. :) We are up to our eyeballs in boxes, packing paper, STUFF that I have no idea what to do with....but slowly our new house is starting to look like home.

Today on our way to my favorite happy place (a.k.a. Target) I pulled over at this little picnic site to take this picture. How cool is it that we have to drive over a LAKE to get to the store? Don't think I will ever get tired of this view. :)

Overall, I would say we are adjusting to life in a new state pretty well. We are homesick for our Texas family and friends, and feeling a little overwhelmed with the unpacking, meeting new people, getting used to a new church, etc. etc. ETC.....but are trusting God's plan. So thankful for cell phones, Facebook, and Skype~ even more than I was before. Makes me feel connected to my people that I miss so much. And thankful that the neighbors we have met have been SOOOO nice. The boys spent the afternoon playing outside with some other kids on our street, and had a total blast. I'm starting to get stuff hung on the walls, starting to choose paint colors (LOTS of painting to do), and starting to feel somewhat settled. Happy to be sleeping next to my hubs again. Trying to focus on what I am thankful for and what is good instead of letting the homesickness get the best of me. Somedays that works well, other days not so much....but I'm getting there.

I was going through photos of the last couple weeks and realized I have lots of catching up to do. Once I pull myself out from under the mess of boxes and such, I will get right on that. :) Hopefully sooner than later.