The McCathran Family: April 2012

A Heart Walk to Remember

This was our third year to participate in the It's My Heart "Keep the Beat" Walk in Houston. This year Ty played a big role beforehand and did some of the planning and a lot of the setting up beforehand. He was up until 11:00 the night before and back downtown at 5:00 a.m. that morning. Unfortunately, a huge rain storm blew through Houston the morning of the walk but it didn't dampen anyone's spirits! Many people couldn't come with their kids due to the storms, but we still had some of our dear friends there. We had a joint team with some friends from church called "It's Their Heart." Gracie was actually in Ft. Worth for the weekend celebrating our nephew Nash's birthday with her JoJo so Jake got our undivided attention at the walk. Despite the rain, we still had a great time and it was definitely "a walk to remember!"

Ty and I after the walk with our Artey Service Awards from It's My Heart

Ty and his best friend Andy who was a big help at the walk!

Jake and Ty after the walk

Us with our dear friends, Claudia, LB, and Jackson who braved the weather to walk with us!

A silly Jakers when the walk was all over!

Jake with a member of the special ops who was there at the walk

Our team: It's Their Heart

Best Buddies: Jake, Jackson, and LB

Happy Easter!

Easter has always been my favorite holiday and this year didn't disappoint! We spent Easter weekend in Oklahoma and had a family reunion of sorts with my dad's side of the family. My Aunt Tina and her husband Dave from Detroit came down for the first time since I had graduated from high school which was (gasp!) 17 years ago! I had only seen her twice since both times being at one of my grandparent's funerals so it was nice to just spend time together. Ryan's birthday was also this weekend so we got to celebrate him as well and have a big Easter dinner/birthday party. We had planned a cousin Easter egg hunt in the backyard but it rained so we went up to my parent's church and had it there instead. After the hunt, we played in the gym...we shot the basketball, rode scooters, played with my brother's lifesize Angry Bird's catapult, and batted with a pitching machine. It was mass chaos and so much fun.

After a great dinner my mom made, we all crowded in the guest room and watched an old video tape of my Grandpa Wally. It was on a VHS tape so we had to watch it on their old VCR. Grandpa Wally had his own talk show in Detroit years ago and we watched the episode where he took a group of senior citizens to Hell, Michigan. Oh, was it funny! Grandpa had the BEST sense of humor ever and it was great to "introduce" him to all of our spouses and kids. We miss him for sure! Not everyone's Grandpa had his own TV talk show :)

Another highlight of the weekend was taking Ty and the kids to the OKC Memorial. It's been 17 years since the bombing and it was such a pivotal moment of my senior year of high school. The memorial is beautiful and really honors those who died.

I am truly blessed with a wonderful family and loved every moment of the weekend. I love that my kids have cousins they love and that they love Oklahoma so much, too! Happy Easter everyone!

Grace and Jake with Aunt Tina and Uncle David at the OKC Memorial

Cousins! Lauren, me, and Lacey with Gentry and Londyn

Ryan, Crystina, and Morgan on Ryan's birthday

Uncle David with a silly Grace

Me and Lacey

Easter morning!

Ty and me

Family pic (Jake was sad because we were leaving)

Gracie Girl

Sweet Cousins

A Stump family photo!

Spring Break

Ty was able to take off work this year for Spring Break, and we had a wonderful, relaxing week in Marshall. We stayed most of the week out at Ty's brother, Eric's camphouse on Caddo Lake. It was just wonderful to be out where the sky is big, the stars are bright, and the bugs literally sing. It's quiet and just nice. It rained a few nights which made it that much nicer but most days were clear and beautiful to go out on the water. We also spent a good deal of time at Pops and Nonnie's house, and the kids were in kid heaven riding the Rhino and feeding the cows. Casey and Jose were there much of the week and it was great to spend time with them! The kids got to play with Elsie Jane one night, too, and also see Eric and Jill. Both kids wore their cowboy boots everyday and played their little hearts out. Jake did get sick for a few days with what ended up being a sinus infection but he still had fun. I'm blessed that I married into such a great family that always welcomes us with open arms.

The dock at the camphouse

Running in the rain

Going for a boat ride

Helping Daddy drive the boat

Hanging out on the dock

One of Pops' friends invited us out to a fish fry one night. They had a beautiful home on a wild game ranch. Here's Grace on the back porch with Aunt Casey and Aunt Judy.

Feeding the deer at the ranch

My favorite pic of Jake!

Grace with her Tio and Tia

Love this picture of Grace and the big Texas sky

Feeding the cows

"Headed down a dirt road"

Nonnie helped the kids plant some seeds to take home. They're now starting to bloom!

She's 3!

Gracie Girl turned three back in February but I'm just now getting this post on the blog. I interviewed her and asked her the same questions I asked Jake on his birthday. I hope to make this a tradition and then make a book of their responses to give them one day! Here's what Grace had to say:

1. Favorite color: pink
2. Favorite toy: her books
3. Favorite fruit: blueberries
4. Favorite TV show: Mickey Mouse Clubhouse--"Minnie's Rain Showers" (favorite episode)
5. Favorite lunch: PB &J
6. Favorite game: Ring around the Rosie
7. Favorite snack: goldfish
8. Favorite animal: giraffe
9. Favorite thing to wear: her pink "spinny" dress
10. Favorite song: Jesus Loves me
11. Favorite book: Angelina Ballerina
12. Favorite friend: Gentry
13. Favorite breakfast: pancakes
14. Favorite activity: ride on her tricycle
15. Favorite drink: milk
16. Favorite holiday: Spring (her answer!)
17. Favorite item to sleep with: her pink blanket and her puppy
18. Favorite dinner: pizza
19. What she wants for birthday dinner: Chick-fil-a
20. When she grows up, she wants to be a doctor

Grace is truly one of a kind, and God richly blessed us when he gave her to us to be our daughter. She's a fearless little girl with a big heart. She often says, "I want to be sweet, I really do!" That encompasses her character so much. She does want to be sweet and be a good friend to others. She is so opinionated! She wants to choose her clothes, shoes, bows, and even underwear everyday...It's hard to convince her otherwise. She loves dresses and it takes a lot of convincing to get her to wear pants or shorts. She loves her books and recently has been sneaking out of her bed and turning on her lamp after we've put her to bed so she can "read" her books. She is our little ballerina and loves her dance class--we can't wait for her recital in June! She loves her brother so much and even if she doesn't admit it, Jake is her best friend! Here are some pictures that represent her whole personality!

Grace at Sweet and Sassy on the runway. My friend Misty and I took Grace and Misty's triplets the Saturday after their birthdays. She got her nails painted (one of her favorite things!) and her hair fixed and then got cupcakes with Addison, Emery, and Harper.