Blazing Tidbits of August

Hello to all! :)

August's blazing tidbits were busy, fun, a tad crazy, with beautiful still moments strewn along the way....

.....heading to KS, but split it up into two jaunts...stayed overnight in Oklahoma City....

 ...Upon arriving in Oke City, we went to White Water Bay Water Park...fun once, but all of us got pretty tired of elbow-to-elbow people....there is definitely NOT a plan to go back to one anytime soon or at all:P....this wave pool was the funnest, but was on only 5 minutes at a time.

 We swung through Pawhuska, OK after heading out the next morning and visited the Pioneer Woman's Mercantile Store...fun to see and the Grab-n-Go salads/sandwiches were scrumptious!

 Janessa falling in love with one of our dogs, Jesse!  Her exuberance over him wasn't exactly reciprocated-lol :)

 Jesse dog doing what he loves to do...hunting and catching frogs in the pond!

 Got it!

 One of the first mornings back, the boys heading out to the swing set and zip-line with Janessa!  

 Love this!

 Two pictures of the SAME sunset and the SAME time, just different angles...Kansas skies and weather can be so diverse!

Loves playing the piano...having to peel her away out the door to church...it also was SO cold when we arrived in KS and didn't come prepared...thanks to Papa Meyer for going shopping for us and for a friend who loaned some warmer clothes ;)

 "Sprouting" a mustache :D...

 Fun at our favorite library-Mary Cotton Public Library!

 Emma and Myra letting Janessa get to see a real "horsey"!

 These kiddos, sporting these sun-specks so sweetily...love these three!

 ...just helping my Daddy figure out how to install the second garage door opener....maybe NOT SO much help, what do you think?  Lol ;)

 Pond swimming...love it...so much fun!

Pie Face...

 Kara and Janessa just getting back from a walk :)

Janessa LOVING the morning snuggles with Trio...um, yeah, but I don't think she is the only one lovin' it-lol!

And her PJs became a fur coat in the process :D

 Missy has started showing us she also loves things with 'wheels'!  

 Love these early morning snuggles...

 Janessa lovin' on Slate...he doesn't find it so enjoyable as Trio ;)...

He is getting ready to bat her hand away-lol!

We thoroughly loved spending time with our two families in Kansas and some of our friends we were able to catch up with!  Each and everyone and friendship is such a blessing and as each day passes we realize how relationships are so much more important than 'things'...we wish we could of spent more time with everyone and caught those friends that we didn't catch up with...time always seems to be on the short end of the stick ;)...

An evening of playing with the pigs, riding the go-cart, playing with the kittens, etc at the Beyer's...

...she kind of liked the pigs, but so did everyone in this household ;)

 She really liked the go-carts...more 'wheels'...the faster the better and the bigger the tail spin, the bigger the grin--Eeks, and she has NO fear!

An evening wiener roast at Mom/Ma and Dad/Papa Meyer's house with siblings and cousins...

 Mmmm...bring the food on...

 Those two smiles...just make one smile :)

 Game huddle of cousins...

 3 of the younger ones :)

 Papa and his chickens...

 Hhmmm, that water isn't to bad...

 ...keepin' up with the 'caw-caws'...

 ...giving the chickens treats...

 The Americanas are so beautiful and the eggs are SO fun to have in the kitchen...

 Papa and Janessa heading to the orchard :)

 These two are quite entertaining :)

They each can dish it out to each other...although these pictures maybe would imply otherwise-lol!

Swimming pool fun at the new aquatic center in Sabetha...

So fun, and enjoyable!

 Completely tuckered out!

Solar Eclipse at Mom/Grandma and Dad/Grandpa Rokey's house...with siblings and cousins...

...this pic, as totality is starting to wane with a small sighting of the 360 deg sunset in the background...

 Totality with the 360 deg sunset...looking to the north-east...

 Before totality...you can see the shadows are starting to change...

 Time with Grandpa Rokey...

Royals game in KC against Cleveland...

...it was enjoyed by all!

Doing some fishing...

 10 catfish in the stock tank...waiting to be butchered...:)

Swinging with Daddy...

Back to TX after 3 weeks in Kansas...

 Our Tower Garden is growing...loving the fresh greens out the back door and the convenience of this!

 Cooking an omelet, using Swiss Chard off of the Tower Garden...

 Um, yes...she just figured out that chairs can be steps to get to higher places...

 So, since she has NEVER slept well...this gives you an idea how restless she is and sleeps during the night...this shirt was put on properly when we put her to bed the night before...Jason and I were up/down all night with her this particular night(she is working on her 2 year molars-so sleeping is really bad right now)...neither one of us touched her shirt during the night.  She woke up with it like this though...we are not sure how she did it, but we all got a good laugh and it at least made up a bit for the majorly sleepless night :)

One Saturday morning, we decided to take a quick trip to Abilene and check out this museum...very neat...

 So, um yeah, I think we cut this 'LOW' tank almost too short-lol!!!!  We were coming back from Abilene and realized we were 'about' out...so found the next gas station to pull into...this picture shows 1 mile left to go...but with the wind we were driving into...it was probably less :P....

We have covered the miles in these August blazes!  After getting back from KS and being back in TX for about 4-5 days, God very clearly showed us His next step in our life....

We have prayed, fasted, wrestled with God since being asked the first of January, whether we would stay in Brownwood, TX on more of a permanent basis.  We have felt that God has been very silent for many months, even with us taking steps of faith and seeing if God would 'part' the waters-so-to speak....but still it seemed He was very quiet.  We included the boys in on it from the beginning on everything--prayer, discussions, etc.  When we returned to KS this last time, we still felt rather confused as to where God would lead us: return to KS or remain in TX...after returning to TX, it was an overwhelming sense of peace that came to every single one of us, that for now, TX is where God is asking us to step next...so we are embarking on a huge journey for us, of letting go of a community, of everything familiar; family/friends around, church, etc....

For some this wouldn't be a big deal, but for us it has been a big step of faith.  We are trusting God and look forward to what He has in store and how He will grow us.  

So, this fall will be a bit crazy with everything that goes into getting more established in TX and sorting through everything we still have in KS.  

Hoping this finds y'all well until next time.  We will see what September brings our way, as we swing on into it and fall.

Love and blessings to all!