Winter Sand Volleyball

January sand volleyball has been successful!  Kennedi and Tylee played in Austin and got 3rd place.  Kennedi and Elizabeth also played a tournament and came in 3rd.  These girls keep getting better and better.  Crazy to play sand in the winter.  It's cold.  Their feet are freezing and its hard to move in sweatpants, but they love the game so much!  California here we come!

SOA Basketball

Its football offseason, so Cade decided to play some basketball with his buddies!  Basketball isn't Cade's favorite sport, but you can't tell by watching him play. This kid plays with his whole heart and leaves nothing undone.  He is a fierce competitor no matter if he is on the field or court.  Cade is a great basketball player.  He handles the ball well and has never met a shot he didn't like! #myathlete

Cade is 9!

Ugh.  Slow down time!  I can't believe my "baby" is 9 years old!  It can't be.  This crazy kid is so funny, so athletic, so smart, and so sweet.  He wouldn't want me to tell anyone, but he still loves to snuggle with his mama and I LOVE it!  We celebrated Cade's birthday with one of his best friends, Blake.  The boys had a paintball party.  It was a blast!  A little aggressive, but really fun!  If only time would stand still...

17 years and counting

I love you Jason!  Thank you for 17 beautiful years!  I look forward to the next 17...and many more!

Carson's first deer

Well, it took quite a bit of patience.  Carson definitely has a story to tell.  The first weekend that he went to Nana and Papa's house, he had no luck.  Then, he went back.  This time, he had to battle flooding, a dead hog near the deer stand, and several other obstacles.  But, finally, Carson shot a great buck!  He was so excited!  Thank you Papa for the awesome experience!

Christmas with the Diamonds

This was a tough Christmas for the Diamond family.  Jennifer has been very ill battling cancer.  She is on hospice, but at Stacy's home. Stacy and Jason have been caring for her since just after Thanksgiving.  It has been very hard to watch her decline.  However, we are so thankful that she is still here with us on this day.  We are blessed to have one last Christmas with Jason's mom, Gram.  She is a huge part of our family and we will treasure every minute we have with her until God calls her home. 

Despite the difficult situation, we celebrated family today.  Makenzie, Lexi, Carson, Kennedi, and Cade played, opened gifts and we all ate.  It was meaningful and special.  For today we are together and as I have learned the past couple months, we must take one day at a time and live life to the fullest.

Merry Christmas

Blessed is an understatement.  I pray every day that Jason and the kids know how much I love them. I am SO thankful for our precious family.  We are super busy all the time.  We work hard, we play hard, and we love hard.  I treasure every single minute with these people, my tribe.  The holiday season has been somewhat different this year.  Jason's mom is on hospice and we are doing everything we can to keep her comfortable and relish in the days we have left with her on this earth.  The mood has been more somber, but the spirit definitely is still alive.  Christmas Eve service at church, cookies for Santa, and threats not to come down the stairs too early the next morning  commenced.  Christmas morning is a favorite in our house.  I love the smiles, giggles, hugs, thanks, and love that we share as a family.  This year was no different.  We are blessed and we are thankful.