new chapter

We are excited to announce that David has signed a contract with a practice in Daphne, AL and we will be moving to the Fairhope area summer 2015.

While we still have one year of residency to go in Texas, we have been prayerfully considering where we will go when residency ends. 

For a while we were not sure where we would go when David completed his residency training. We knew we wanted to be closer to home (but anything in the state of Alabama is closer than Texas).  We knew God would make a clear path for us, and that He did.

As He has done many times before, things just began to fall into place and the answer seemed obvious. 

We are excited about raising our boys along the Eastern Shore and the opportunities that await us there. Greenville, Jackson, and Auburn will all be just short drive away. Looking forward to being able to see grandparents and great grandparents more often and Uncle Ben will be just down the road. We can't wait!

Barlow Bend

Barlow Bend has always been a really special piece of land to Grandmama and Pop.

When Pop was in the logging business, a man asked Pop to cut the timber on this property. In those days, logging was a bit different and they could not cut the timber due to the season. It was too wet for the logging operation.

But Pop told the man that he would buy the property from him instead, if he was interested in selling it. 

The man told him people had been trying to buy this property for years. Pop gave him a price and the man said he would consider it. 

The man decided to take Pop's offer and Pop was able to buy the property from the man. He cut enough timber the next year to pay for the land leaving $1000 leftover. 

 He gave 500 dollars to the Baptist church and 500 to the Methodist church. Pop had been a member of the Methodist Church and Grandmama a member of the Baptist Church.

  As you can see from the pictures, Barlow Bend is a really unique place with a different landscape and various types of timber. Grandmama and Pop loved this place. They both spent time hunting turkey in these woods.

We spent one afternoon exploring as a family.

 David and Owen found this deer scrape.

Little violets peeking through.

We borrowed a friend's Ranger for the day to explore as one big family. Not many 2 month olds have had an adventure like Collin did that day.

The property ranges from hillsides to bottoms to riverside.

We took a break and soaked in a riverfront view.

View of the Alabama River.

Then Owen and David did a little exploring of their own.

What a view.

And what a memorable day at Barlow Bend.

a glimpse

Meme flew home today, so we will begin the attempt to get back to normal around here. I think this trip home was a bit different for me at least. I knew in the back of my head, this was it for a while. We most likely won't travel to Alabama before this baby is born. Holidays will be spent here and things will just be a little different during this season of life. Here are a few pics to give you a glimpse of our trip to Alabama. We definitely made the most of our time. 

We traveled all over the state of Alabama visiting friends and family and basically soaking up everything we could, that you can't find in Waco.

Chilton County peaches truly are the best, these were as big as softballs and were truly scrumptious.

I was so happy to meet Kira's new baby girl, Laura Margaret. I appreciate Kira accommodating the birth of her daughter around our trip home!...kidding! Thankful for God's perfect timing ; )

Owen managed to get the "coolest booboo I ever had" while we were there. 

Then before we knew it, it was time to head home. The trip started out great with Gammy's perfectly boiled peanuts and then sidetracked with a little bit of work on our tire. 

I was so glad I had my mom to make the trip home with since David flew back earlier. It would have been too much with me (baby brother), Owen, and Cooper. We did break up the drive on the way home. We loved our time home, just made me miss it a bit more. We have lots more to share and good pictures off the real camera. Stay tuned.

Point Clear

June 2nd through 4th we packed up and headed down to Point Clear, Alabama for the Alabama Chapter of the American College of Physicians Conference.

Daddy created and presented a poster of one of his cases in the hospital. Owen and I tagged along, after all it was a trip to the Grand Hotel!

I had never been to Point Clear or the Grand Hotel for that matter, but was fascinated by the history of this lovely place.

My favorite part was the grandeur of these beautiful oak trees.

...stunning.

So of course we had to climb on up.

Glad I had my little climbing buddy with me.

Checking out a branch for himself.

The grounds were beautiful. As you walk around the property, you can just imagine the ladies and gentleman that once stayed at the Grand in its early years. In their big hats feeling the breeze off the Mobile Bay in the summer months.

The cannon is shot every day at 3:30 in honor of our military.

The pools there are great. There is a shallow area for little ones and deeper areas with waterfalls and big slide for big kids or those young at heart : )

On our way home we grabbed lunch at Fly Creek Cafe in Fairhope. One of our great friends, Brian Hixon (classmate of David's) is a native of Fairhope and made this great recommendation.

Owen was a fan of the fried green beans

(yes, fried green beans...who knew?)

and Daddy a fan of fish tacos.

Point Clear and Fairhope we enjoyed our time with you! Looking forward to a return trip one day.