Burger's Lake

On Wednesday, July 21, we took the kids (minus Olivia, she stayed with Brandie) to Burger's Lake in Ft. Worth. It was a blast!
The drive there was easy, for the most part. It's a straight shot from 80, which becomes 30, and takes you straight into Ft. Worth. Once we made our exit, we had a few minutes of drama, but that was short lived (Craig doesn't like to be lost and my directions weren't clear enough for him). But, we arrived on schedule and our day continued without a hitch!
Burger's Lake is beautiful! It is a spring fed lake with sandy beaches and a sandy bottom. It's the best of both worlds, the lake and the beach, without animals swimming in the water with you! The lifeguards were amazing! There was never a big rescue, but they were diving in the water left and right to help kids and whistles were blowing to warn kids to stop running, etc. The bathrooms were super clean. There was someone assigned to keep the bathrooms hosed out (to wash the sand away), toilet paper filled, and room spray sprayed. I was very impressed!
The kids didn't know what they wanted to do first! They finally agreed on the trapeze. Tay watched them from the comfort of the water below as we took pictures. Craig swung the trapeze bar out, picked up Collin and Caleb, and they grabbed the bar when it swung back towards them. They did fantastic on it! Noah's big enough to grab the bar himself, and he loved it, too! Taylor wanted to try it, but decided she should wait until next year when she's bigger.
After that, we built sand castles, went down water slides, jumped off diving boards, and swam for hours! We buried Noah then Collin in the sand, found shells and special rocks, and watched some of the lifeguards do diving tricks from the high dive.
The kids were exhausted when we left! They were all asleep in the car just a few miles down the road! Burger's Lake is our new annual summer spot! We can not wait to go back next year!

live, laugh, love

We've all heard the familiar saying, "live, laugh, love". I think most of us have some form of the saying hanging around our house, thanks to Kirkland's. Instead of looking at this today and thinking how cute it was, I looked at it today and thought how true it was.
Craig's best friend, Dave's, father passed away suddenly today. The cause of his death is still unknown. My heart is in pieces for his family. He was a wonderful man. He was a huge part of Craig's upbringing.
I can not wrap my mind around the fact that no one was able to tell him goodbye. Not a final goodbye, anyway. I realize that death happend every day. And I realize that many times it is unexpected. This is just the first time that I have sat and really thought about how quick it can happen, and how so many things are left unfinished when it happens that way. The questions and things that will never be answered or said are just there....there's no conclusion to those.
I have no doubt that his family will be at peace with all of this in time. He was a man of God and I know the angels are singing today as they welcome him home. That makes me smile. I hope it makes them smile, as well.
All of my rambling brings me back to my original thought...live, laugh, love. We must live every minute to it's fullest. We must not waste time worrying about petty things, arguing for the sake of being right, and holding grudges because we're too proud to move on. Life is about living for God with the people you love, doing the things that honor HIM and make you happy.
We must laugh. The sound of my children laughing is my favorite sound in the world. It is the sound of happiness. As with all parents, if my children are happy, I am happy. Laughter is a must. Laughter is essential to our well being.
We must love. We must love one another as Christ loves us. We must love our spouse, we must love our friends, we must love our family. We must teach our children how to love through our examples and we must love them with every fiber of our being.
I thank God daily for the many blessings in my life. Today I have had a wake-up call that has reminded me that I am blessed beyond my wildest dreams and that in a second, it can all be taken away. My job is to be the heart of my home. I must see that all members of this home are living, laughing, and loving. My prayer is that I can set an example to each of my children that they will carry with them forever on how to live life to its fullest. When it is my time to go home to Christ, I want everyone that knows me to be able to say I lived, laughed, and loved.