Answered Prayers

The Brannons have some new adventures in the works! First of all, Mark started a new job this week with Lockheed Martin in Fort Worth. Yay! Enterprise was a blessing when it came along and it really taught Mark a ton about the business world, but the stress and long hours were starting to take their toll. This new job is SUCH an answered prayer because it means a much more family-friendly schedule! That means, however, we are in the market for a new vehicle. Thanks to Pawpaw Charlie for lending us his truck til we find what we want!

Another answered prayer is Hannah Smith! She is another friend from church and has volunteered to keep Nash once Spanky's day-care closes down. Our good friend and owner of Spanky's, Jill, is having baby #2 in November and then moving to Italy in the spring. Jill has taken care of Nash since he was 3 months old and has loved him like he is her own. We are so sad they are leaving, but excited for their new adventures! We will certainly miss Jill and we were so anxious about finding someone who will take care of Nash as well as she has. That's when Hannah volunteered - phew! Such a relief to have someone else we trust implicitly! Hannah will keep him at her home with her her her 2 girls on Tuesdays and he will go to Mother's Day Out at McKinney Bible (where Hannah works part-time) on Thursdays and then go home with Hannah til we get off work. I'm really excited about the MDO too - it will be good for Nash! I'm just wondering how the sleeping on a mat thing is going to go.

We went to the lake house for some R & R before Mark started his new job and it was, as always, fabulous. Below are some pictures of the lake and some recent ones of our not-so-little Little Man.

We went to the zoo last week with Stephanie. It was the first day below 90 in months and it was beautiful! However, I think that tiger wanted a snack!

Mr. Mischief

He is constantly climbing - here he is stealing wipes off the kitchen table.

He LOVED the rhino - practically would not get out of this seat when we were at Pops house

Beaver dam

The lily pads in full force

Blowing his own bubbles

My brother, Eric, Mark and Nash adding on to the dock

Mark and Eric - the master engineers

Finished product

Taking Mom for a spin

Nash and Daddy - we went on boat rides twice a day and Nash was in Heaven - it's so cool since he has starting naming all the wildlife

Lily pad flower

Girls Gone (not so) Wild

I am SOOO blessed by the incredible women in my life! The 3 ladies in this post certainly make the top of that list! Last weekend the 4 of us met at Hollie's lake house in Cisco (yes-there is water near Abilene. Shocking, right?) and had a fabulous reunion. I ALMOST backed out this year b/c Nash had a virus, but my wonderful husband insisted that I still go and he would stay home with the sick toddler. I'm so glad I did! (And Nash recovered quickly, Thank God!And thanks to my Mark!)
I knew Shaye from growing up together in Conroe. Then, we met Deb and Hollie our first day of college orientation b/c they were a couple of doors down in the dorm. We were pretty much inseparable throughout LCU days. We started doing girl weekends a few years ago and it is always a good time! We've all known each other so long now that our friendships are just easy - we can say anything and act any way we feel and know that it's safe. What a blessing!

First of all, we ate and ate very well. Hollie is pretty much a gourmet chef in the kitchen. In fact, we nicknamed her "The Machine" b/c of her mad home-making skills. This is her beautiful strawberry shortcake she was taking a picture of for her Hungry Oven Bake Shop website. Look her up in Abilene if you need some baked goods - she's seriously legit!

Look - "The Machine" did the table up all purty! She even turned down our beds at night with a note and little gift. Other peoples' gifts amaze me b/c it would never even cross my mind to do something like that! (Don't everyone start fighting over staying at my house, now!)

This is more my style.

Deb and me - she had good intentions of starting Twilight, but we were talking too much!

Cutie Patooties: Shaye and Deb soaking up the sun

All 4: Me, Shaye, Hollie, Deb

Deb waiting for the rest of us to jump in

The dock - pretty much my idea of Heaven

Lake Rats

I had to test out the new waterproof camera. You can just imagine us trying to swim close enough together without hitting/kicking each other so that my short little arms could capture this pic.

Ooops! Locked out. We were looking for open windows. Turns out the door was just jammed so all ended well.

Me, Deb, and Shaye enjoying the view

A Couple of New Tricks

"Goodness! He's getting so big! " - I hear that almost every day lately. And - he is! It seems like he learns a new word every day and he keeps us on our toes being ALL boy. His fascination with remotes and cell phones still continues and I miss the days when he couldn't distinguish between which ones work and which ones are just posers. Reading books and playing chase are the favorite activities (well - climbing, playing in the toilet, and head-butting also make his list, but these are certainly NOT included on mine). Nash is still a constant source of joy in our lives! Here are some of his new tricks:

"Cheese!" He has learned to smile on command.

He is quite the composer

He found the Bubba teeth pacifier one day and learned quickly that Mom and Dad are an easy audience - we laughed all afternoon.

Cuddling with his bff, Tootsie, after nap time

I was trying to pack away the changing pad, but Nash thought it was a good trampoline