Marietta Fun!

Will and I took a last minute trip to Marietta while Jon was in California. Needless to say, little man thoroughly enjoyed himself (as did his mom!!). Webb is growing so fast, and the boys "played" together...we think. Our friend Livie provided lots of entertainment, esp at the water table. We took Will and Webb to their first Marietta High football game (for one quarter), but they looked so cute with Mom and Dad and their matching blue devil tshirts. We had a great time!

Prayer

Jon and I were in the guest room playing with Will tonight - we looked away for 10 seconds and found him kneeling, thumbing through Jon's miniature Bible on top of a stool in the closet. It was the sweetest, and we grabbed the camera. Of course, he then threw the Bible at us and started jumping on the ottoman..but I'm sure it was just the excitement of God's Word and not disobedience.

Thank you Jessica and Matt for the large OSU shirt for Will - he loves it (well, his dad loves to put it on him).

(PS - Haircut is already scheduled for tomorrow...no worries grandparents!)

GFFL Draft 2009

We traveled to Dallas last weekend for a Goolsby Family Tradition - the Fantasy Football Draft. Why do online @ yahoo what you can do in person after a 4 hour car ride? Three dads and their 5 sons gather every year to select their fantasy football teams after a day of shopping and dining with their families. (Aren't they nice to include us?) This year, the event began with a tour (guys only) of the new Dallas Cowboys Stadium. I think it was impressive considering the scoreboard alone cost more than the former stadium...recession? And yes, all of the guys now have matching collared shirts with the GFFL logo on them. Nothing is too good for this league. I promise Will and I were there - we were just too busy studying our stats and players to leave the hotel room. Jon's team better bring home that trophy this year! Go Goosebumps!

Back to Reality

Life has returned somewhat to normal with haircuts, dr. appts, scrapbooking and baking cookies for a much needed road trip to Dallas. We miss Olivia and Letitia greatly - they have emailed every day, sometimes 2-3 times, and we are thankful!! Little Will is enjoying having Mom and Dad all to himself. =) The girls left so many gifts, but I forgot to get more pictures of the gifts with them. Jon is displaying the fan from Chengdu and Will is playing with his new Chinese drum. They brought a boy drum and a girl drum and said, "we wish for you a girl!" No pressure! I also received a set of traditional chopsticks, 2 pashminas (sp?), panda bear postcards and beautiful trinkets for my cell phone.

Final Hours of FUN!

Olivia and Letitia will depart from the Church tomorrow morning at 5am, and we are really sad to see them leave. It has been a great experience and one we want to repeat often. It taught me more about the love of Christ than most experiences in my life. God loves His people. We gave the girls a few gifts last night, shared our hearts regarding the gospel and they were in tears. Jon was amazing and we had a sweet, sweet prayer time with them. We were speechless at their emotion and grateful for everything they have taught us this summer.

Last night was a big dinner at the Taste of Texas steakhouse - a must if you are ever in Houston. They enjoyed it and all received a red bandana. After school today, we stopped by cheer practice at Second Baptist School so the girls could see them dance....and take pictures. One last trip to the mall, but the girls had to settle for Payless Shoe Store since their cash flow is diminishing!! HA - welcome to our world, girls! Couldn't resist a few pics of my little man waiting "patiently" at every venue. The kids had a talent show today, but the pictures are too dark...and really, you just had to be there in person to appreciate an interpretive dance to High School Musical performed by Chinese students....or the opening number, We are the World. It made my week! Pray for our sweet girls as they travel one more week in California and head back to Chengdu, China. We are crazy about them! Thanks for enjoying our journey with them.

Shopping and Astros...

Our time is winding down with Olivia and Letitia and we're all sad (I've had the sweetest help with Will for 2 weeks!). We spent yesterday with Jon and Will at the outlet malls and had a blast. Will entertained the girls if we ever lingered too long in a store. Jon helped the girls pick out clothes for their cousins and fathers back home...hilarious! All of the host families and students went to the Astros game last night...and we stayed til the bitter end (thus the empty stands!) hoping to see just ONE more homerun. Everyone had a great time.

Family Lunch & Closing Ceremony Hoedown

We spent the afternoon at Aunt Becky and Uncle Mac's house enjoying a yummy meal. The girls were so curious about the tree face in their yard, so we took pictures...of course. Their friend, Charlie, stopped by to visit with the girls because he has spent much time in China. They really enjoyed his pictures and stories. We ended the night with a fun hoedown with all the host families and Chinese students. We had a BBQ dinner, square dance and closing ceremony. Will is still smiling through it all (except for his new trick of plugging up his ears if it's too loud or if he's bored). Shhhhh...don't tell, we're skipping school tomorrow and having "family day" with Jon and Will at the outlet malls. The girls said, "FABULOUS!" when we told them. Astros game is tomorrow night after they play hooky. No scrapbooking tonight - off to bed early!

Eat More Chicken!

After a great morning trip to the Houston Zoo (and a 3 hour nap from Will AND the girls - yea!) we met some families at Jon's Chick-fil-a for dinner and a kitchen tour. It was a blast and as usual, many photo opportunities were seized. The girls are working on scrapbooks again tonight. Tomorrow is the closing ceremony (aka Texas Hoedown!) after a family lunch at Aunt Becky and Uncle Mac's. We are sad thinking of the girls leaving this Thursday!