Our Life in the Yellow Brick House

Every love story has its beginning, and for Kyle and I, that beginning was the day Tom Rhyne introduced us. Since then, Tom has stuck by us through many ups and downs (not to mention all of the house projects!). We have been lucky to have him in our life, and we were so thrilled when he found his better half in Krystal. They make a great pair, and it honestly feels like they've always been together. We were thrilled to be there when they tied the knot exactly one month ago today.I can't wait to see what God has in store for these two. Congratulations, Tom and Krystal! We wish you a life filled with love, laughter and, of course, plenty of football!   How cute are they?! Kyle was the best man, so his parents kept me company until he could join us at the reception. After that, Patti and I did a whole lot of head shaking as these two were in rare form. Heaven help us!  Tom and Krystal did a great job transforming the gym into something really special. We helped

"There are some people in life that make you laugh a little louder, smile a little bigger and live just a little bit better."  These last few months we have had so many outings with friends. They helped me gain lots of laugh lines that I wouldn't trade for the world! Kim and Trey hosted a little house warming party while Rusty was in town. It was so good to see everyone, and I couldn't believe how grown up Blakely was!  Kyle had a little trouble mastering Kim's hammock, but he got out of it before the night was over!  Kinsey and Morgan are going to be BFFs just like their mommas!  There's nothing like a little Bret Michaels to heal the soul!   And then we strolled down memory lane with...  Gavin Degraw   And SHANIA  We thought we were fans, but my new best friend showed us up. I sat by this 80-year-old man and his wife who had clearly been to plenty of Shania concerts before. It was great entertainment. 

Today is a good day. Our running goal this week was to hit 3 miles, and we did it! My time wasn't great because I'm still having to walk a little but I'll take a 12:50 pace for now. So to celebrate this small victory, I thought I'd share some happy memories from the last month. I'm so glad God gives us reminders of how sweet His love is even in the midst of dark days. On July 18, just ten days before her actual birthday, we got together to celebrate Ella's first year on this earth. The party was at a park in Rose Hill, and it turned out to be a great day. The wind was a little strong but that cooled us all down as we watched the kids have a BLAST playing outside. Ella's first birthday really snuck up on me. It doesn't seem possible that she's already a year old and starting to walk! Where did the baby of the family go? She is a pretty sober little girl most of the time, and she makes you earn her giggles and smiles, but she had plenty of those fo

Two Mondays ago, we were driving to Ponca to pick Oliver up from Kyle's parents when I got a call from Kim. She was packing her bags to head to Hennessey and be with her parents. Her mom's 4 1/2 year battle with cancer was coming to a close and it was so hard to know how to feel. Diane was blessed with many, many good days during her sickness. Most of the time, if you didn't know what she was going through, you wouldn't have been able to tell she was sick. But for the last few months, her quality of life just wasn't the same. My parents visited her the Saturday before and she had one request of them. She said, "Pray me home." She was at peace and ready for the joys of Heaven. Little did we know that God would answer those prayers in four short days. There was much to celebrate at Diane's funeral. She lived a full, joyful life, serving others with all of her heart and soul. The church was filled two times over with friends and family who were im