Texas Snapshots

It is hard to believe that spring is really here, and for real! After this long unusual winter, with its thaw and freeze cycles, it appears that spring has finally sprung!

For spring break this year, our family was blessed to be able to go to Texas to have a family reunion with all of my family.  An incredible blessing at the center of this trip was that we were going to get to see my 85-year-old grandmother again!  This time last year, she was not expected to live much longer due to a heart condition.  She underwent open heart surgery and has had a long recovery through the winter, and is doing so much better now since she had the surgery.  So, it was a wonderful trip in so many ways, and we were blessed to enjoy spring in Texas, and get to see my grandmother too.

Here are some pictures that we took of the beautiful spring in Texas, and some random pictures scattered throughout our whirlwind visit!



When we got off the plane, there was a whole crew of family waiting to greet us!  It was so special to be met by everyone with the "welcome back to Texas" sign!

A field of bluebonnets... they were popping up everywhere, so pretty in blue!

We went to a local park and as the sun was setting, caught this live oak tree with the sunset behind it.

We visited a ranch close to my sister's house where these handsome longhorn cattle watched us from a distance.

Momma wasn't too sure about us!

Lovely pose, sweet lady!

My little niece, who knows no fear.... watching the longhorn cattle.

These gentle cows were patiently standing there while we snapped lots of pictures of them!

Finally, they decided we didn't have any treats for them and moved on down the field away from us.

The bluebonnets in all their glory!





Gorgeous aren't they!





My grandmother sitting out in the field of bluebonnets, while we snapped lots of pictures!

A lovely sunset at the park!

A yucca plant...

My sister and her husband's dog, Bailey... who LOVES to play ball! She loves that ball more than anything else! 

Indian paintbrushes ...

A view of the hillcountry in Texas...

A wild storm that blew through the area while we were in Texas...

This storm brought much cooler weather!

Temperatures were close to 90s, but after this storm, they dropped back into the 50s!

We drove around some of my husband's boyhood tromping grounds.  His family had helped take care of this ranch when he was a boy.  This was a creek he played, and swam in, and he climbed around the bluffs overlooking the creek.

We enjoyed hearing his and his mom's stories about things that happened while they worked this ranch many years ago.

Another beautiful wildflower growing along the banks of the creek... not sure what its name is, but it was lovely!

My grandmother was the highlight of the trip!  We got to visit with her, and had a wonderful time. She loves to play tricks.  One night, she hid this doll in my son's bed, and changed out his pillowcase with a Barbie pillowcase.  We all had a great laugh when he went to crawl in his bed, and pulled out this doll!

We had a family get together at my brother and sister-in-law's place.  They had just built a new home, and it is simply gorgeous.  There is a big pond in the backyard...



My husband and father enjoying the view, and the cool breeze!



My brother has his pond stocked with catfish and bass and the guys had fun fishing!



My brother cooked up a massive amount of hot dogs and hamburgers for all the fun!



My mom and sister played some fun games with the kids while the food was getting ready.  We played "Jump the River" and "Red Rover Come Over".  We had lots of laughs, and good times!

More pictures of beautiful wildflowers...

My brother had planted spring flowers around his home, and it was great to see their cheery faces greeting us everywhere after the long winter!

My parents have a virtual bird sanctuary outside their breakfast room window.  It was so neat to sit and watch the birds, and squirrels play.

The hummingbirds are already back in Texas!  There were about 6 of them fighting over the two feeders!

 So... we had a wonderful time in Texas... it went by way too fast! We have so many family and friends to see, which makes the time fly by very fast!  It was wonderful to spend the time with my grandmother, and even though she has slowed down a lot, her sense of humor, and love of playing tricks was still going strong.  We shared lots of laughs, and great memories together, and we were so thankful to have this time together!  Our God is good, and we were very thankful for the precious time we got to share with her, and everyone we were able to see while we were there!