Where has the time gone?

With school starting at the end of August, all the stresses of life begin again. Emma started school, turned six and became a big girl seemingly overnight. Josh is loving second grade and new friends, and Aaron is learning to balance two schools, tennis, Webelos and friends as he begins the second decade of his life (gasp...!). Anna and Leah are quickly becoming the best of friends as they spend endless days together without Emma to function as activities director. Tod and I struggle to keep up with it all. Okay, there are a few minutes for distractions like Football, reading Twilight series, video games, church callings, bookclub, etc..........
We celebrated the birth of John and Shelly's daughter, Lucy on October 5th! She is beautiful of course, and we cant wait to see her in November! Baby fever............I'll have to live vicariously through them:)
We are anxiously anticipating Josh's baptism on the 20th and the family we will see then. Of course you're ALL welcome- come on over!

Movin' to Texas

It is done... Mom and Dad are officially residents of Texas. Papers are signed, and Greta and Woody are enjoying their new, greener surroundings.
Tod and Jared went to Las Cruces to help pack and load, and then drive the ridiculous caravan across the state. Lots of hard work, and sweat, and stress later, there is a beautiful new home in Bastrop that we call "Grammy's forest".
After spending a few days with Catherine and the boys in Round Rock, the kids and I went to see the new house, and retrieve our exhausted Tod. We were so happy to see their new ward taking such good care of them, and working so tirelessly to unload the trucks. We cant wait till our next trip out there so we can really enjoy the new house and see it without all the boxes. Congratulations Mom & Dad!

We just finished a very busy weekend! Saturday night we had a company picnic at the ballpark. We ate all-you-can-eat barbeque, cheeseburgers, hot dogs, drinks and any snack you could want, and watched a Rockhounds game. It was a great game with free Rockhounds hats and even a grand slam! We ate ice cream out of mini helmets, and laughed and joked with the other guys and their families. It was good to see everyone, and watch the rockhounds beat the San Antonio Missions 16 to 8. A late night for us all, but the kids we thrilled to come home full of sugar, wearing their hats, signed by Rocky Rockhound- the team's mascot and personal favorite of Anna.

The next day we made a trip to Hobbs- our old stomping grounds. We went to church and saw people we haven't seen in years. Then we drove by our old house. It was a bittersweet sight; we had so many great memories there, but we are so happy here. The house has changed a lot, which I think made leaving it a little easier. We had a great visit with the Newey's, and the kids played for hours. Emma and Claire were like peas and carrots! We are looking forward to seeing our old friends again when they come to our house later in August. We were so grateful to pull back into Midland, and our lives here. We are so blessed!

The bathroom is finished!

Those of you who have been to our house in the last 18 months know that we were remodelling our bathroom. After finding mold, holes and other shameful things under the wallpaper, we stripped the whole thing down to the studs, and now, with a lot of imagination Tod (and a little Rebecca) has rebuilt it. He is turning out to be an amazing DIY man and boy am I grateful. Prepare yourselves- the next project is the dining room!

Leah's Birthday

This past Friday we celebrated Leah's 2nd birthday. We went to ToysRUs and picked out presents, and she ate her Sonic Kid's meal for lunch. We had a barbecue with the Cunninghams, and played with new toys. A Cake topped with barbies and a new "big girl" bed topped off the night. We can't believe our baby is 2 already!
Leah is a sweet, loving and affectionate girl. She is quiet, but silly and chatty at home. She has always been really well behaved, and we look forward to all the years of her beautiful smile!

Weekend in Las Cruces

This past weekend The kids and I spent 4 days in Las Cruces. We picked up Elisa at the airport in El Paso and we were so excited to see her. She loves to spoil the kids, and I love to laugh and joke with her like we were kids again.
There wasn't much time for fun, as we were busy helping mom and dad get ready for the move. On Saturday we had the most exhausting garage sale I've ever been part of. It was bittersweet for mom and dad both; they were able to make a little money to help with the move, but parting with some of their treasures was hard.
We enjoyed eating at some of our favorites before we left, knowing that this would be the last time. (sniff, sniff)
On the way home, we had a blowout just outside of Van Horn, Texas. With no road-side assistance for 90 miles, I decided to change the tire on my own. No small task considering we drive a 4 wheel drive Chevy Suburban! It was hard, hot work in the 95 degree heat, and I quickly lost all femininity. Just as I was putting the new tire on, a truck with two men pulled up behind us. My first impression was "Oh great, we have just become a plot line for CSI!" Two tattooed, grungy men jumped out and volunteered to tighten the lug nuts for me, to make sure it would be safe. As they worked, they told me they were mechanics from San Antonio on their way home from a job in El Paso. One didn't speak English, but the other told me his name was Enrique. They finished their work and I shook their hands. I told them I wish I could give them something for their help, and Enrique said, "We were happy to have a break from driving, your blessing is all we need." Needless to say I was grateful, and a bit humbled. We arrived home safely to a very relieved Tod.
We are so happy to be home and get a rest from our vacation!

Summer begins

Here we are at the start of another summer, and lookind forward to all that it brings.

Josh's baseball team placed second. He was proud, but also relieved that they didn't have to play another game. I guess even kids have their limit?

The boys both got straight A's all year, and were given a plaque at the end of the year. Aaron got into the GEM program (Gifted Education Midland) and will be travelling to a special school two days a week next school year. He is beyond excited, and a little boastfull too! Aaron also earned his Bear in cub scouts and was happy to stick the pin in his mom today- he's getting so old!

We are excited about my mom and dad moving to Texas. At last Texans are the vast majority! Anyone else care to join us? We are especially looking forward to a shorter drive to Grammy's house, and a big lot to run around on. We know they will miss their Las Cruces friends very much, but they are moving to their dream house, and it's a long time coming!

The kids look forward to many trips to the pool, and hopefully a lot of lounging around.

A good year for baseball

We have mixed feelings about the end of Spring Ball. It is a marathon of games and practices, sometimes every night of the week. I think we've all had enough Sonic, Pizza Hut and concession hot dogs to last us till Fall Ball! So tonight we play our last game.
Aaron's team was eliminated in the city tournament, but we are happy to report that he gets better each season. He even got to pitch this time, and loved it. We have been officially informed that he would like to make a career out of it. I may get a Hummer yet...Go Aaron!
Josh has his last game tonight- the championship. He is in coach-pitch this year, and has also improved a ton! Unlike Aaron though, he would like to try something new in the fall, and of course we are supportive.
But for tonight it's LET'S GO TWINS!

Hey there friends and family of the Midland-Lindners! In order to keep everybody posted as life becomes increasingly busy, I decided to follow the lead of so many others and do a blog.