Friday

Update on Bass Construction and Soccer Swim Party

You ever realize just how much gets stuffed into one little life when that life is attached to that of a husband and 4 children? Gone are the days of lazy day reading, present are the days of driving people here and there, lunches, getting up earlier than you meant to because someone needs to take snacks to school today and they forgot to tell you last night when you could have done something about that at a reasonable hour... all that being said, you know what I have found in the last few days? That the more I am needed, the more exhausted I am at the end of the day, the more I love my life.

We are so close to the new office being done. Can I tell you how happy I am about that, or are you already assuming that? I have seen precious little of my husband during this last week. But I do have pictures of the work that they have got done at the office.


Sharon, rockin' out a fantastic vacuum job with the shop vac. Notice the tower has walls and paint! The main room~ in blue...

I show you this wall and Ken's backside for one reason...I, yes I, painted that wall. And yes, I do know how far away from the ceiling and door frames I was. There is good reason for that. The only way to ensure that it will not be blue is to stay far, far away from it! LOL

And now on to the soccer swim party.


Our soccer season ended two weeks ago, but the swim party was just this evening. The kids had a blast, and I have to say that it was a nice touch having it the night that school got out for the year. It ended up being a super way to kick start the summer. And boy do they have a lot going on this summer. Just in the next two weeks the kids will be going to camp, Madison will be flying in, my friend Melanie, and her family from New Mexico will be coming to stay for a week...Mikey will attend a soccer training camp and Rye will leave to spend the summer in Minnesota. Stay tuned for more tired momma stories.

A fun fact for ya...when the kids leave for camp, I am kidnapping my husband and taking him to Dallas to spend two nights in a hotel...all by ourselves. I could not be more excited about this little endeavor. I can't wait to get him away from here, hide his cell phone from him and just spend some time alone! He does not know that I asked his boss if he could have Friday off, this is going to be so fun.

Monday

Memorial Weekend

I did not realize how much we needed a little break until we got one this weekend! Did we ever need a break! We were thinking about going camping this weekend, but when they started talking about how it might rain, we changed our plans.

It ended up not raining, but that was okay, we had an awesome weekend anyway. We went to Hurricane Harbor in Arlington on Sunday. We had such a good time. The boys spent most of their time riding the thrill rides, while the girls spent their time in the wave pool and the lazy river. The best part of the trip though came on the way to Dallas. We had had to make a stop on the way out of town to get ice and drinks, and when we were putting the stuff in the cooler, Brent set his wallet down on the bumper of the truck. And there it sat. As we loaded the ice, as we put in the drinks, as we got back into the truck, as we left the gas station parking lot, as we drove over the bridge and out of town. We obviously had no idea it had been left there, until about 45 miles out of town when some guys pulled up next to us and motioned for Brent to roll down his window.
Phew.

As we got back into the car we quickly thanked God for how awesome he is! When you really think about it, what are the chances that the wallet would have stayed on the bumper that whole time? Probably not all that good. But, when God has your back, what are the chances that it would have slid off the bumper.....

I love it so much when God just does something so awesome like holding Brent's wallet on the bumper for 45 miles, and the kids get to see how present God is in our lives. How they get to see how much he wants to do for them. What an incredible experience to have!

Friday

Update on the new Bass Office

Wow, there have been a lot of things happening over at the new office since i posted earlier this week. There have been walls going up and electrical wires being run. Paint being put onto the walls of the production office and the breakroom. The "tower" is beginning to take shape. It is so awesome to watch all of this taking place.

Brent has been running back and forth to the new office all week making sure that things are coming along and working out the details of any problems. He is tired, but it is going to be so worth it to see the new office come together.

They did two inspections today. Lots more work to be done to make it workable, but it can be done...
the framing of the tower~ taken wednesday night
the tower taking shape
another angle of the tower
walls (woo hoo)
conference room pre-wall
conference room starting to take some shape
painted walls in the breakroom
the production office painted!!!

Teenager #2

Today is Madison's 13th birthday. We are now the proud parents of two...count them two teenagers. In honor of this wonderful occasion I am going to share my most cherished memory of my life with my incredible daughter.

Madison is my bonus baby...she is the child that I got through marrying Brent. When he and I got together Madison and Mikey were 2 years and 4/5months old respectively. Our family blended nicely together, but my deepest desire was to let my relationship with Maddy chart its own course. I did not want to push my presence as a mother figure on to her. So, to that end, I was Shannon or Mommy Shannon for a long time.

Until one wondrous winter night when our whole famliy was in Loveland, Colorado visiting one of the sets of grandparents. We had all decided to take the kids to see the movie Rugrats in Paris. By this time Madison was 5. In this movie one of the characters, Chucky, gets a new mom. His mom had died and his dad remarried. It was a cute movie, but up until the ride home it was just that...a movie.

But then, we went home. On the ride home, out of the clear blue, Madison says to me, "I think that I am going to start calling you mom now." I must tell you that my eyes welled up (as they are right now even thinking about that moment), and I turned around and looked at her big beautiful eyes and she said, "Well, Chucky got a new mom and he called her mom. So I figured it would be okay for me to call you mom too." It was just a simple moment for her. Something that made sense in her little girl mind because at that age Rugrats make everything make sense. But for me, that moment, that will forever be my moment with her. My most special moment. And as we celebrate her life today, I like to remember the moment when she changed mine forever. Happy Birthday, Madison Alise.

Tuesday

Bass is Moving!!

I am so excited!! Brent's office is moving from downtown. The new office will be 2 miles from our house. I can't wait. Due to my heightened sense of excitement about this awesome change, I have decided to blog about it, so that you can join in my excitement. To that end, here are the pics from Tuesday.

framing for the managers' offices went up today!
how many cups from McDonald's does it take???
hmmm....

Some fresh paint starting to hit the walls in the production office...


Future conference room...


Monday...at the new office.

in the beginning...


future home of cubicles...
back wall will house two managers offices... framing for the conference room...
Jimmy's new office, filled with insulation...

Saturday

Farewell to Soccer

Well, today was the last game of the season. It ended in a loss 0-1. But the kids played their little hearts out. I was so proud of them and the effort they put into their last game. Congrats to the kids for an outstanding season of soccer.


In the pic are Melissa, Mariah, Nate, Coach Mala (Nate's Dad), Mikey, Alyssa, Alexia, & Andre.
Thanks Coach Mala for an amazing season and a wonderful environment in which our kids could learn. You're the Best!


Friday

Prince Caspian

We just got back from seeing Prince Caspian. And all I can say is that you need to see this movie!!! Just go see it...it will be worth whatever you have to pay to see it. And get some popcorn...maybe a coke...all movies are better with popcorn!

Wednesday

Random Things

Well, I was checking out my friends blogs this morning and thinking about the fact that I have not posted anything in a little bit here... and that is a situation that must be rectified. So, to that end I have compiled the following (not so important) info for ya...

We have had game 6 and 7 since I last blogged, game 6 was a time and 7 was a loss. Funny how people are quick to tell about the wins, but not so quick to tell about the losses. Well, sorry. Our last game of the season is this Saturday. I have mixed feelings about that. I am sad to see the season go, because it will probably be the only time that the 3 kids will all play together on the same team, but on the other hand I am happy to see it over because they were on the same team. lol Anyone with kids that do not see eye to eye all the time will totally understand my sentiments on that.

In other news, we got the results of Brent's last x-ray on his lungs...dun ta da~ it is all good! I was so happy about that. I am glad to know that he is coming back together. Speaking of coming back together...his belly button is almost back to where it used to be. :) I did not know how much it would make him upset that post surgery his belly button was off-center. But I can tell you that it did, but this morning it was noticeably closer to where it belongs!! Woo Hoo

As I was floating through some of those previously mentioned blogs this morning I came across something I did think was blogworthy and I am going to share it below, it is a quote from Nate Saint.

"And people who do not know the Lord ask why in the world we waste our lives as missionaries. They forget that they too are expending their lives... and when the bubble has burst they will have nothing of eternal significance to show for the years they have wasted."

As I have thought long and hard about that today it has led me to feel even more certain that the choices that we make in this life are not to be taken lightly. How the battles that we face with our children are not just about tv and bad attitudes, but so much more about who they will become in Christ. I pray so much that when my bubble bursts and this time is all over and people look at what is left of the life that I had here, they will see 4 of the most amazing people that I will have ever had the privilege to know~ living their lives abandoned to Jesus...and in that I will have accomplished one of the most important things in life. To know that my children walk in the truth. For that is what I want above all else.