emailz

So the thought crossed my mind, that some folks may not have our email addresses... especially Jillian's. So here ya go...

lake time

After having a fun weekend with the McLeod family, some friends of theirs invited all of us to go out on their boat on Lake Travis. So the adults decided we might try to circumvent cancer, and all bought goofy floppy hats to cover our ears :)
We went out on the boat, and Ava was, well, let's just say unenthusiastic about the whole thing. We're hoping it was just first time boat jitters so any others that want to invite us on a boat won't be scared.
I had fun and was able to get out on the 'tube... A guy could really get used to that kind of stuff.

a recap of last week

It's been a busy couple of weeks, but I wanted to post some pictures from the happenings. I was out of town last week, but Jillian and Ava got a visit for a few days from her friend Mackenzie and her mom Cara. They had a good time playing, swimming, and just doing girlie stuff...

my princess and her pink doughnuts

I got some pics from my moms camera when they were here last weekend, and these are my favorites. It's my little princess eating her pink doughnut (her favorite!) And of course, it has to be pink... :)

brownies | playing in the water | & just good times

Overall we had a pretty fun week here at the Collins house. It was nice having all of us here together. Ava spent a lot of time outside on her new swingset. One night I needed to water the trees a bit, and she decided to strip down to her diaper and run through the water hose! The girls met some new friends from church at Central Market for a playdate and had a lot of fun. Ava also helped Jillian make some brownies one night, which were delicious!! We also visited a couple of potential preschools, which were nice, but are making us reconsider our plan. We ask for prayers as we decide what next step will be best for our family and kids... :) I'm flying out to Paradise TX to train some customers, but it sounds like Jillian and Ava have a fun week of swimming, the library and playing with friends planned.
Enjoy the pics below...

helping mommy make brownies :)

playing with the water hose

trying to hide from the water

running through the water hose

'good' tube

So, as a computer professional (and now working for a content filtering software company), I have many a mixed emotions when it comes to sites like myspace, youtube, etc. There is an extreme amount of prevalent filth contained on these sites. So much so, I recommend most people (especially kids and teens w/out supervision) don't be allowed on the sites. (I digress, more soap box on that later)
The problem I face, is that from time to time there is REALLY good content published on them. So here are a couple of links on youtube I discovered this week.

The first is called 'cardboard testimonials,' I think it's pretty self-explanatory, and quite emotional.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RvDDc5RB6FQ

The second is a tribute that was played for Tim Spivey (outgoing pulpit minister at the Highland Oaks church in Dallas). Tim's a great guy and powerful spiritual leader, I don't know all the conditions of why he's leaving, but I chalk this one up to one of the many dark and painful sides of working in the ministry. I think it's sad that a growing church would allow (or force) such wonderful & talented servants like Tim to leave...
http://youtube.com/watch?v=DkgZ3R9Q7eo

I decided to put the link for this one up again. I've seen this one quite a few times; if you haven't it's worth watching. If you have, it's worth watching again. The first time I saw it I laughed a bit at the beginning, I figured it was going to be silly... Then I cried. Yeah, what a man, I couldn't help it. It's a drama of the song 'Everything' by Lifehouse...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cyheJ480LYA

blessed weekend

Ahhh and whew...
Those are the two words I can describe this weekend with.
First the ahhh... For those of you who have been keeping up with our story, the girls and I have been living in separate cities for a little over a month now. Well, that's over and Jillian and Ava are here at our new house with me now in Round Rock!! Woohoo!
Now the whew... My parents made the final drive down with her while I was flying back from the week in Bakersfield CA. They brought her classroom stuff in my dad's truck, which we promptly unloaded, filling the garage once again.
On Saturday my dad and I spent the (whole) day putting together a Swingset/Fort/Slide/Tower/Princess outdoor contraption thingy (thanks to the funding of gama and papa). Ava LOVES it. (see pics below) We then hung lots of things on the walls per my wife's instructions, got some awesome snowcones and crashed.
Sunday we all went to worship at Westover Hills and got to introduce my folks to a few people. We made it back home, the TV installers were there to hang our new plasma TV (love it), I cut the grass, Jillian planted a few flowers, and Ava enjoyed her swingset...
All in all, quite a blessed weekend.

Oklahoma trip pictures

So here's the pictures from the Oklahoma trip last weekend when we went to visit Jillian's brother and his wife's new house, finally... :)

Ava and her 'pinka' cupcake

Ava, Jillian and gama

Ava & Aunt Stacey

And here are some candid videos of Ava... (they may take a minute to load, I didn't shrink them)

the Cinderella song, by Ava Madison

impromptu singing, by Ava Madison