Graham Wedding Weekend

We enjoyed a weekend in Kingwood celebrating the wedding of Grant Graham and Britany Eaves. On Friday several of the Onya Sisters headed for Kingwood to prepare the rehearsal dinner venue (husbands joined us for the wedding on Saturday). Teri had put together gorgeous flower arrangements for the tables, so it was just a matter of putting out the arrangement and candles. You would think it was a simple task, but somehow it took us three trips from the hotel to the restaurant. We had a great time of fellowship, food and laughter. The wedding and reception were beautiful and our prayer is for a long and God-honoring marriage for Grant and Britany.

Mmmm Blue Bell

Over spring break Heather and I, (along with Betty Ruth, Tiffany, Noah and Darlene) took the boys to Blue Bell Creamery in Brenham. It was a beautiful day and we were glad we got there early to escape the huge crowd. It seems everyone had the same idea for an outing with their kids. As we were leaving the line awaiting the tour was extremely long.

We enjoyed a brief tour of the creamery and the special treat of a bowl of ice cream of our flavor choice at the end. The kids enjoyed donning their ice cream worker hats, the tour, bouncing in the Blue Bell ice cream carton (see photo), and taking photos on the Blue Bell cow statue and train. The wildflowers on the trip down to Brenham and back were spectacular...I would love to take a trip there again to capture some photos of the flowers.

A Day in the Life of Austin

For about the past 10 months, Austin has been receiving IVIg (intravenous immunoglobulin) infusions once per month at Texas Children's Hospital in Houston. These infusions have been very successful in stabilizing his lung infections and he has not been hospitalized since last summer! Steve and I offered to give Heather and Kevin a break (and save sick leave), and we took Austin down to TCH this month. He spent the preceeding night with us and we left about 6:30am. He was also on IV antibiotics so he had those on the trip down to Houston.

We arrive a little past our appointment time because of rush hour TRAFFIC in Houston...traffic in all caps because you have to experience it to know how congested it can get!

Everyone in the Pulmonary area seems to know Austin, I guess since he has been coming there regularly since he was six months old. Austin has the routine down and knows exactly where to go and what to expect next.

At Texas Children's, as you might expect, they know how to keep children distracted and happy so they offer video games and movies during his infusion, which takes roughly three hours to complete. The pulmonologist will be writing the insurance company again soon to request another six months of IVIg therapy. Please pray that the insurance will continue to pay for his treatments....it is no small request....the infusions are $10,000 each, but worth every penny for stable and improved lung function! Just a note, if you think this photo layout looks a bit strange, I used an effect called "gritty" for these photos--it seemed appropriate for Austin.

Happy Birthday Andrew!

We joined the Alexander family and all Andrew's friends for a 5th birthday party at Chuck E. Cheese in Austin last weekend. We had a great time, especially seeing how much Andrew loved his party, friends, cake and gifts. It's all about the cake. Shauna would not admit it, but she is extremely talented at cake decorating. This year Andrew wanted a "Mario" cake and Shauna created this fantastic cake. People were coming over at Chuck E. Cheese ooing and aahing over the cake. The photos do not really do it justice. It was unbelievable and tasted great as well.

Andrew is a sweet, sensitive boy and we have so enjoyed watching him as he grows. He is very imaginative, loves music, video games, and anything in nature and outdoors. Can't believe he will already be going to Kindergarten next year. We love you Andrew and look forward to many more years of celebrating with you.

Prospective Teacher?

Kylie is an 8 year old with extraordinary imagination. She couldn't wait to show us what she had purchased for her room with her saved allowance. Surprise! - it was an overhead projector. She loves preparing her lesson plans, daily calendar and seating charts for the class she pretends to teach. It is great for art projects as well and anywhere her imagination will take her. She informed us that it was portable so she could take it to a friend's home or elsewhere in the house. Papa and Nanie love your imagination and creativity....we look forward to where it takes you in the future.

Onya Birthday Celebration

Diane and her Sudoku-mind figured out there is a two week period each year when each of the ladies in our Bible study is a different age. Therefore, the "First Annual All Onya Birthday Celebration" was born. This year is also Teri's 50th birthday and since she is the last in the group to turn a half century old, we decided surprise her at the party. We all met at Pebble Creek early for Sally to put black netting over our faces which added just the right touch to our all-black apparel. The chairs and table were adorned with black and "over the hill" balloons to add to our festive moods. We all enjoyed dinner, group photos, watching Teri open gifts and fellowship together. We then headed out to Barbara's beautiful new home to enjoy cake, housewarming gift for Barbara, sharing hilarious birthday cards and serenading Teri with an Onya rendition of "Teri Lou" (lyrics by our own Salpal). All in all it was a memorable evening and we will look forward to a repeat celebration next year!