Kindergarten Graduation

Troy and Kelby graduated from Kindergarten!!  It went by so fast and they have grown so much!!  The first portion of the graduation was a play that they put on to the book The Very Hungry Caterpillar.  Troy was the sign holder



and Kelby was one of the strawberries.



At the end of the book it talks about how the caterpillar changed into a beautiful butterfly and the teachers related this back to the kids and how they changed over the year and now they are ready to fly into the 1st grade!  It was so cute and the kids did so well!



Troy's awards were:
Certificate of Excellence
Reading Certificate
50 Mile club
Presidential Physical Fitness Award



Kelby's awards were:
Certificate of Excellence
Reading Certificate
50 Mile club
Super Hawk Award
Presidential Physical Fitness Award







Each child had their best work displayed around the cafeteria to take home.




There were many loved ones that came to cheer them on and they even received several graduation gifts!!  They had a great day!!



Troy and Kelby:  you are each so unique in your own special way and I know this is just the beginning of your success throughout the years.  Troy, you are so disciplined and alert to all that is going on around you and I know these qualities will serve you well as you grow older.  Kelby, you are so outgoing and laid back and those are wonderful attributes to carry with you throughout your life.  It has been so fun to watch you both begin to learn to read and find joy in learning and excel physically as you begin to compete in different sports.  It has been an amazing year and Richard and I are so proud of you!!

Ink

Amber came into town last weekend to hang out and see the boys. The night before she came she mentioned wanting to get a tattoo. She has been wanting to get a tattoo for awhile but couldn't ever decide on something that she would want on her body forever. Over the last month or so we have been talking about our favorite Bible verses and working on applying them to our daily lives. Phillippians 4:6 has always been one of my favorites and she has really been able to use that verse in her own life as well, so she decided she wanted something around that verse. The tattoo guy created something so beautiful and I think it turned out great! I added to my fish tattoo with a James Avery inspired look.  It was fun to share that experience with her!!




Her brave face!





Our finished products!

35th Celebration

Richard turned 35 last week! We had a small celebration Thursday night with dinner, cake and gifts.  We got him a new Texas Rangers shirt and a gift certificate for a round of golf.






We thought we should light ALL 35 candles!  I thought we were going to set off the smoke alarm!!


Happy Birthday, Rich!

Future Mrs. Hollingsworth

I'm ENGAGED!!! I feel like the luckiest girl in the world!!  I have dreamed about this day for so long and can't believe I actually have a ring on my finger and will be Mrs. Hollingsworth soon!!

Last night, Richard and I had a date night. He didn't tell me much until we got into the car, but then he said he wanted to go visit all the places that were special to us throughout our relationship and take pictures at each place. I love pics and thought that sounded fun, so we were off. We started at the church where he was the Pastor when I first met him 2+ years ago.



Then we went to where I work.


Next stop was the church we have gotten plugged into and LOVE!!


Of course, we had to stop at our Fireworks Store...many long, fun days and nights have been spent here selling fireworks!


Then we were on the road to Georgetown!  Here I am at my old church that I still love dearly and miss so much!!


My old house!


Where I taught aerobics!


My old job!


Richard had started his inflatable company at the beginning of our relationship, and we set up and tear down inflatables almost every weekend, so we had to include the Bouncin' Around trailer.


Richard's current job selling houses!


Our last stop was the Olive Garden, which was our first date!


He asked if I remembered this bench and, of course, I did.  It was the first time we saw each other and sat right there while we waited for our table.  As I set up the camera for yet another auto timed pic and ran to the bench he had the ring out and asked if I would marry him!  I was so excited and happy I just grabbed his face and kissed him!  I love this picture!  I think it's such a pure happiness from both of us with the ring right in the middle!! 










Richard was so creative in making this night special and fun for both of us!  I love that he took into account that I love taking pictures and I love how he stayed true to his laid back, fun loving personality in planning such a memorable night for us!  We are both on cloud 9 and are so happy to be movinge forward towards becoming husband and wife.

Field Day

The boys had their field day on Friday. I wasn't able to get there, but Richard was and he took some great pictures of all the fun they had!  They all came home having won different events so it was neat to hear them talk about where they excelled!  They all are very athletic and great at anything physical! 



They had a huge slip and slide down the hill that both Troy and Kelby said was their favorite event!



















I love how their school goes above and beyond to make each event special for the kids! 

Words

I love the song by Hawk Nelson called "Words".  I try very hard to use my words effectively to communicate good or bad throughout the day, and I feel words are very important in every relationship. 

Very early on in Richard and I's relationship we figured out that his love language was quality time and mine was words of affirmation.  Unfortunately, one of his strengths is not words of affirmation, so for awhile I thought he wasn't that into me and that I wasn't appreciated. I remember having several arguments which ended up being just miscommunication because I felt unloved due to his lack of words.  Over lunch one afternoon with my girl friends I was venting my frustration and Laura mentioned getting a journal; something I would write in periodically and then give to him for him to write in and then pass back to me.  We started it close to the beginning of the year and it has dramatically improved our relationship.   I love the fact that we both can share things with each other and that on days when I am needing more words from him, I can easily flip back and re-read things he wrote.  It has been wonderful and I am so thankful that the idea was passed down to me and thankful that I have a man willing to go outside of the box to speak my love language.