TAGGED...

I was tagged by Lyniel. I'll try not to have a bad attitude so here goes. Oh wait, did that last sentence reflect my bad attitude?Here are the rules:

1. I have to post these rules before I give you the facts.
2. Each player starts with eight random facts/habits about themselves.
3. People who are tagged need to write a post on their own blog (about their eight things) and post these rules. (if you don’t have a blog, email me)
4. At the end of your blog, you need to choose eight people to get tagged and list their names.
5. Don’t forget to leave them a comment telling them they’re tagged, and to read your blog.

8 random facts

1. One of my biggest pet peeves is to hear styrofoam rub against glass or to pull a cotton ball apart. I don’t like the sound of the rubbing or the fell of the cotton ball.
2. Lord Willing, I want three healthy kids. They will more than likely all be Texas transplants, but still Texans at heart…and Aggies too!
3. I am not a good long distance friend. I love being with people and enjoy my time wherever I am, but I stink at calling and being a close friend to those far away.
4. I have never had a favorite book of the Bible. I have always wanted to say that I had one (strange) but I can’t decide between; Job, The Peters and Ephesians.
5. I have one of the greatest families in the world. Karl and I are so blessed to have all that we have been given and my daily prayer is to keep that long line of love running thick and centered on Him.
6. I am not a big jewelry person. I love my two rings (wedding ring and Aggie ring) and my ear-rings are always the same (my first anniversary gift and my h.s. grad gift). My necklace was a gift this last Christmas/5th Anniversary and I wear the same jewelry daily. I am a very plain person and like life that way (unlike my two older sisters-who I could use a little lesson on changing things up every now and then).
7. I enjoy living/working out/going to church/learning from/laughing with my middle sister. I enjoy going to see/spending time in Mexico/sitting and talking/acting like I know Spanish/going to church/laughing with my oldest sister. I enjoy spending time/playing games/shopping/meeting at the airport/going to church/laughing with my sister Sherry.
8. I want to be just like my mom. I talk way too much and listen way too little. I am already naive like her (so far, my list is short). I need to work on the shutting up portion of being like Lynda. Mom is so giving and PATIENT. She loves everyone and I have not met a person that she can’t find something good about them to share. I love to hear her pray and want to be the Godly mother she is to me daily.
I guess that this wasn’t as bad as I thought…I nearly kept going….So, I tag; Sherry, Heather and Karl. I’ll post Sherry and Karl’s if they ever do it!

Trip to Texas

Karl and I were in Texas a couple of weekends ago to give a surprise birthday party for his mom. This year she turned 50!

Cindy (Karl's mom) is the middle one in flowers.

Sherry (Karl's sister) did a great job of organizing everything and we pulled off the surprise!

Just in case...

Just in case we have missed each other going to and from....Lyneil and Andy are going to parents yet again! Neil is 17 weeks along and 7 weeks tailing me. Needless to say, Christmas and will be an event with our new one and spring break to Paris will be a trip with FOUR kids to Paris!

Look out Mama Z, you'll need a week off after we leave...hehe

Neil seems to be doing so well. She is looking good and running (literally) after Braxton and Brazos. This one came as a surprise, but we are just as thankful. I am personally hoping for a GIRL!

All is well in the Beck / McDonald house hold. Neil is such a hoss. She never stops. So much to learn, so little time!

Mexico Mission Trip 2007

Lyneil wasn't kidding when she said that she had some trouble downloading in Paris. I finally got some of the pictures to work...(Above: This is dad at the church building in Jimenez with Ashlin. She is the youngest of the preacher's daughters. She is 6 months old and cute as a button.)

Karl and the men worked on building a gate for the church. Karl and Sheradon did all of the welding. The gate looks great!

Karl and I after church on Sunday evening in Jimenez.

The men that worked on the gate. At this point, we are packed up and ready to head out of town to return home. I will post more pics later.

We had a awesome trip. It seems that it gets better and better every year. I think it is all in the perspective of the beholder. The mountains were beautiful and the workers were plentiful. Pam and mom and kitchen crew did an outstanding job with every meal and Amy and Jorge pulled off a yet-again fantastic VBS.

Micah Fry, Chad Graves, Karl and Jorge pulled together and orgainized our devos for us every evening. They were the best that I can remember. Our mission for the week (that has continued): I will please God today more than yesterday. I can't say that everyday I have been able to pull this one forward, but it is in my head and I am striving to make things better for serving Him more today than I did yesterday. This is one hard mission. Remember, it takes 21 days to make or break a habit. Join us if you dare....

Which one will it be?

Over the 4th of July holiday, my wonderful sister-in-law and her husband were kind enough to pick us up from the airport and transfer us to Paris. We decided that since we have been a family for FOUR years now, it was time to do some fun pictures. My plan was for us to meet up with our cousin Paige who owns Paige Pearson Photography but I could not get my stuff together and therefore we are saving her for a later date! But, being bound and determined we were going to have our pictures made, like it or not, we did. Karl and I took our camera home and had some other cousins come out and take some pictures of us. Now, my goal is to have some of them framed. I need help deciding which ones will be framed for now. Hopefully, we will make this an event that I can update more often than FOUR years...but for now....

(All of these will need to have some work done on them to touch them up. So, before I pay someone to do just that, let me know which ones we should work with! Thanks for your help!!)

All four of us. Sherry (Karl's sister), Chad, Andrea and Karl

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What's in your envelope?

We don't want to know what's in your wallet but we do know many people that want to know what's in our envelope. I am included in the bunch of anxious ones. Karl and I were able to hear, see and take home pictures of our growing baby. We will be at 20 weeks this Thursday, July 12th!! We are so excited.

Karl wants to be the one in the delivery room to tell me the gender of our baby. So, we have decided that we will not find out until then. Others in our family are not being that patient, so we requested the sonogram tech to find out if possible and place it in an envelope. She was so good. She never gave any hints and this is what she handed us at the end of our time together...The good thing is that she left us with 15 pictures to take home (not counting the one in the envelope). So here are a few. She did some 3 and even 4D pictures/frames. Overall, it was as cool as an experience that I can say that I have had in a long time! Loved every minute of it. Karl was glued to the monitor the whole time. Except when she was getting her gender pictures done and his eyes were glued to mine. He knew that if I had the chance I was going to look, so he watched me like a hawk!

Fun times today. Here are a few pictures.

Look at those fat lips...I think that this kid is going to look a lot like Karl.

After seeing all of the neat pictures and movements from the 3D screen, the 2D pictures don't look as much fun. But, here is a full body shot of Baby K. This one was a bit of a mover. We had a little trouble getting some of the measurements because of all of the moving around.

This is one of Karl's favorite pictures. Baby K is giving us a thumbs up. We have a true Aggie on our hands! Gig 'Em Baby K! WHOOP!!

Was your 4th a blast?

We traveled to Paris for the 4th of July. This is holiday is just as much a favorite in the Rick Zant family as Christmas. It is very important to be with family and while we are together, we have fun. Sometimes we tend to tear things up, but we always have FUN!

My in-laws were able to join us this year and Karl and I were very thankful for that. Here is Sherry and Chad drying off a little before going into the house. Mom is so good. The house is never off limits and always open to whomever should be passing through.

Karl and Travis had the bright idea to play in the mud with the 4-wheelers. Needless to say, Travis flung a lot more mud on Karl showing his moves. Karl was able to strike luck every now and then and Travis ended up with mud on himself as well! We gave them each a toothbrush and told them we wanted them spotless....Good thing they had a waterhose!

Zach decided to play it clean. He took Braxton round and around. Braxton loved it. They got wet here and there when someone was able to sneak upon them with a five gallon bucket of water. Micah and Jennifer: Water dousing culprits. They made sure that anyone that came outside got wet, at least once. Jennifer brought her brother and his wife along this year and Jacob and Amber were fuel to our fire…Great addition!

Chad (my brother-in-law), Andy, Micah, Michael (Amy's brother-in-law) and the hottest man alive...Karl

These were some of the water toting boys that kept everyone soaked. We played a friendly game water balloon toss and then a couple of games of capture the flag (water balloon style) but these boys didn’t think that people were getting wet enough. And, just because you are wet, doesn’t save you from being dumped on again. You need to have eyes in the back of your head for this day. You are not safe unless you are in the house! Zach and David won the water balloon toss...Don't they look so excited!

After a hard day of eating, playing and running for the love of dry pants, we all cleaned up, changed clothes and headed north to go to church. It is always fun to go home to church. I love the song leading, the people that are there everytime and the smiles from everyone. There is no place like home! After church, we all ventured south again and waited for dark so we could get started on the fireworks.

(Left) - The Beck clan. Neither one of the

boys made it through the whole show, but the mom and dad were able to enjoy the most of it!

Amy and Jorge after a long day of fun! This was there 3rd anniversary (July 3rd).


At the end of the night, we had a blast, ate way too much and laughed uncontrollable. Some tore up dad's yard, most wasted a lot of water and all had more fun than should be free. Thanks to all who made this occasion what it is and to mom and dad for putting up with all of the people; big and small and for showing us what family is all about.

Does this look like a man that just had his whole place torn upside down? He is so good. I love my mom and dad!