My Daddy's 58th Birthday!

Yesterday we celebrated my Dad's 58th birthday. We invited of course Mom and Dad, Matt & Candy, and GG (my dad's mom) and my uncle Jerry over for a cookout. Candy & Matt brought guacamole...(mmmm, mmmm Candy makes some good stuff), veggie tray, & Candy made a cheese ball. It was her first attempt at a cheeseball and I would say quite a successful one at that. I have always wanted to make one of those but just have not made time to do one. We cooked out steaks with potatoes and Meemaw's green bean casserole with salad. We topped it off with cheesecake from The Cheesecake Factory.

We talked and played around in the front yard first. Clara has been very slow to share her love with everyone other than Mom, Dad, Christian, and Cullen. To be honest, she has just now started sharing kisses and hugs with us, but the flood gates have opened and she is more than willing to share on most occasions (unless you beg). Well, she is slowly warming up to share with other people too. Yesterday, Clara warmed Uncle Mattie's heart by sharing a good long hug with him. She just cuddled up with him and enjoyed it. By the look on Matt's face he was even more pleased than Clara. Candy is still trying to worm her way in there....it is so funny to watch. The harder Candy tries the farther Clara goes in the opposite direction. Don't worry Candy...it will come!! She is the clingiest so far out of our 3 kiddoes. I have to admit....I like it!! I love that she just wants to share her love with us but when I see others working so hard to get her to cuddle in and share kisses with them....I wish she would share more with them too. I know how it feels to want your nieces and nephews to gush all over you!! =) She is opening up though and it is happening more and more with others. Here are some shots of our hanging out in the yard and then the wonderful cuddly moment Clara shared with Matt.

Mom and dad were sharing a story of how a roofer had accepted Christ at their house! How exciting is that!! God is just AWESOME!!

We have the best PawPaw ever!! You can see the joy his grandkids give him and that is a treasure for me! My dad is a wonderful man and I never thought I could do as good as him for a father for my children. God is Great and truly blessed me with Clay. Clay and Dad are very good if not best friends (along with Uncle Mattie) and hang out regularly together on the golf course. My dad is a very mellow, laid back man and enjoys his time with family. The love for a daughter's father is just unexplainable!! I love my Daddy!! Isn't this the best picture!!! You just gotta love that face....."Hmmm..what can I get into next??"

We then went to the backyard to talk and play some more while Clay cooked some steaks up!!! Yummy!!!

We ate dinner and enjoyed the company very much. We ended the evening with Cheesecake Factory cheesecake. It was delicious!

There is nothing like having your dining room purpose as the schoolroom too. We are blessed with the home we have and we do love it but man it has been shrinking lately!! We have been looking at larger homes that might inclue more space/land, pond, etc. but with no luck so far. We will just keep looking and pray the economy holds in there too. So all the lovely school material you see is our lovely "formal" dining room. =D At least we can enjoy family time while learning the Fruits of the Spirit, Presidents, digestion tract, respiratory tract, bones, cardiovascular system, maps, and white board work we have been doing.....LOL But it works!!

I am going to steal a couple of pics from Candy when she gets some posted. She got a really good one of Jerry and Clara. I am sure she got a few from today at Brennan's birthday party. The kids were invited and it was at Pump It Up. Brennan is Candy's nephew. He was turning 5! I am ready to see them. I will share more when I can.

Happy Birthday PawPaw!! I hope you enjoyed your day! See ya tomorrow for Easter!