Wilhelm Family Reunion

"Maw Maw" Katy (Wilhelm) Mitchell (Justin's mom), "Nana" Madalene Wilhelm (Justin's grandmother), Laura Kate, and Justin

Today we attended the Wilhelm family reunion. We really had a great time. It is usually held out at Justin's parents' house. Now that they no longer live in the country, a different location was chosen, Mike and Amelia Bogard's house. The food was great, Mike and Amelia have wonderful shade trees in the back yard to block a little of the sun and heat, fellowship was wonderful, and Keith brought the ponies. Needless to say, the ponies were the highlight of the reunion for everyone under the age of 20. I've included some pictures of the girls on Bubbles (white) and Bingo (brown and white). Anna spent the better part of 2 1/2 hours on one pony or the other. I was impressed how quickly she warmed up to them. That just isn't her nature. But, she is getting to be a big girl, after all :)

Laura Kate and Bingo

Laura Kate and Maw Maw Katy

Anna and Maw Maw Katy

Anna on Bubbles

Anna and cousin Riley

Keeping Busy

Having both girls home is wonderful. However, they start to get a little stir crazy doing the same old thing. We finally bought the girls a trampoline this past weekend. They love it. I'm pretty sure that they've jumped on it every day since Justin and Anna put it together. Since part of Anna's gymnastics class includes trampoline, she has been doing so many fun things that she has learned. Flips, splits, things that she would have been terrified to try 4 months ago. Laura Kate is really enjoying it as well. She would jump around the house before we bought the trampoline. She said she was a frog. Now, on the trampoline, she's a little joey jumping on the bed (from a Wiggles song).

A good friend of mine, Tena, has joined in my quest to find constructive activities for Laura Kate and Anna. So far she's bought them necklace kits and sent several kid's craft links. She owns two dalmations, Misti Blue and Garth, so the girls were treated to a dalmation activity today. Of course, Anna's dalmation is Misti Blue and Laura Kate's is Garth. I'm so lucky to have such an involved friend! I'm not very creative, so I need all of the help I can get!

This girls say "Thank You Ms. Tena!"

Born To Be Wild?

We at Mitchell's Trikes and Bikes guarantee that you will look this good on your new purchase!

The End

Today was Justin's last day of work at Oncor/TXU. His supervisor and co-workers hosted a celebration lunch for Justin. The girls and I were invited to attend. First we ate- the food was delicious- then Justin's boss, Kevin, said a few words of enouragement and congratulations on his new career. I'm so thankful that Justin had the opportunity to work for a man such as Kevin Verrett. He is a good, godly man. Justin has been able to seek wise council from him these past 6 years. His co-workers also gave Justin a card and gift. You could see that his fellow employees enjoyed working with him and that they were going to miss such a dependable and hard-working guy. I felt very proud of my husband :)

So, now we turn the page and enter into the next chapter. Monday morning is trike-building day! I'm excited for Justin. He's looking forward to working with his Uncle Pat and his brother Travis. I'm sure being around Mom and Dad will be ok, too ;)

Justin also has his lawn business to keep him busy. The business seemingly popped up out of nowhere. One day he told me he wanted to mow yards, and it seemed like the next day he was fully outfitted with equippment and customers and on his way. At first, I wondered how a lawn business would fit into our lives. Justin was already busy at work and made enough money to keep us living comfortably. We wouldn't get to see him much once he started doing yards on the side, therefore the money didn't seem worth it.

It turned out to be quite a blessing. I'm convinced that the Lord put the desire in Justin's heart for a reason. He knew that the income from the lawn business would make it possible for Justin to quit TXU and work for the Mitchell's, something that had been coming up quite frequently. Just like many things in life, you don't always understand situations at first, but you eventually see how beautifully the Lord orchestrates events in the lives of his children. His kindness exceeds what we deserve and His provision is endless. Man, is He good :)

Welcome to Our Blog!

Thanks for stopping in to have a look at our new blog. With Justin's new job building trikes and the possibility that we will be relocating, I thought this would be a good way for family and friends to keep up with our faith journey. It really is that, a faith journey. The Lord has been re-arranging things in our lives in such a way that we are in for a ride that will certainly test our faith in Him. Our prayer is that we'll come out on the other side having glorified Him. More to come...