LET THE GOOD TIMES ROLL!

Thursday Matt, Susan, Natalie and Parker will be coming in for a long weekend! Boy, I hope the rain ends soon...we all like to get out and play on the ranch. I talked to Natalie on the phone for just a few minutes tonight before she went to bed. She has our activities planned. One thing she wants to do is watch the sunset. She said, "Sanni, maybe we can watch the sunset while I'm there. Maybe we can do that on Saturday! It's been a very, very long time since I did that."

This precious little 4 yr. old already has that special memory buried in her heart. It's been many months ago that she was here when she and I were riding around late in the afternoon on the mule. We watched the sunset together and we talked about how beautiful it was...how God had made it. How it warmed my heart to know that she shares my passion for the sunset to be something of wonder and beauty that God made for us to enjoy.

You've seen a few pictures of her on a previous post. What you haven't seen yet, is my sweet little grandson, Parker. His birthday was last week, so we will celebrate with a party while he is here this weekend. Parker hit the big 2! He's such a happy little boy...talking up a storm now. And, he can finally say my name, "Sanni." It evolved from "ganpa" (he associated me with Grandpa). Then it went to "nee-nee", and now I'm Sanni! I can't wait to see how he's changed since I last saw him! Here are just a few of my favorite snaps of my little man.

For those of you who don't know - Matt is currently working on his Ph.D. at Southwestern Seminary in Fort Worth, TX. Yes, my son is a preacher...which means I have to behave when he's around! His high school class reunion is this weekend, thus the trip home. He will be preaching at our home church this Sunday and Susan will be singing. God has blessed her with a beautiful voice and a talent for playing the piano. I usually try to coax her into playing the piano on weekends they are here, to give me a break. But, since she is singing, I'll let her off the hook this time. It does a mother's heart good to hear and see how God is working in their lives! I'm looking forward to hearing both of them!

It will be a wild and wonderful weekend. When Matt & Co. come home, Sarah, Stuart, Spanky and Scrappy usually spend a lot of time over here too. So, we have 6 adults (who act like children most of the time...well, 3 of us anyway - Susan, Stuart and Rick are a little more mature than Matt, Sarah and me), 2 toddlers and 3 dogs! It's a 3-ring circus around here and we wouldn't have any other way! Imagine when Sarah and Stuart have kids to add to the circus! Bring it on!

*Be prepared for family photos next week!