Much needed R&R

I again forgot to charge my camera battery so we have virtually no pictures to go with this post, BUT our trip to Austin without munchkin this past weekend was really fun and much needed! My parents (Gram and Grandpa) came in from Abilene to watch Korben while we were gone. They arrived on Wednesday night and Josh and I left the house Thursday afternoon. Our goodbye's took a while mainly because I really didn't want to say goodbye to Korben for so long. But I made it through it and Korben was such a trooper! He barely fussed at all when we left, which I thought would be bittersweet for me b/c ya know, I want him to miss me, but it really made leaving easier knowing that I wasn't leaving him sad!

We didn't do much Thursday night... my aunt and uncle cooked some yummy steaks for us and we visited for a while and headed to bed. The main reason for going to Austin was to see the musical "Wicked" which was Friday night, but Josh and I also wanted to go bungee jumping... we're spontaneous like that! We searched for hours for a place we could go and got nowhere. We only found one place to call and nobody ever answered the phone.... so much for being spontaneous! So no bungee jumping that day. :( We ended up going downtown and eating lunch at a cool place called Opal Divine and then we went to the movies and saw G.I. Joe which was actually a pretty good movie.... all a little boring after what I THOUGHT we would be doing on Friday, but still fun! That night, we saw the Wicked musical and it was absolutely fantastic! I highly recommend it to anyone who enjoys a good musical!

Saturday, we were very "tourist-y" and went to the state capitol. Uncle Steve was a great tour guide and showed us all the cool stuff that recently got renovated. There was a big protest going on right outside the building too which was interesting. My favorite part of the day though was kayaking! We went up river and then docked by the dam and did a bit of swimming and visiting and then headed back down stream. It was gorgeous and so much fun! Afterwards, we had some delicious Mexican food at Maudies.... truly a great day and a great trip all together! Thanks Lori and Steve!

Sunday we headed home. Korben was sleeping when we got back but had a huge smile on his face when he woke up and saw Mommy and Daddy! It was so sweet! He immediately wanted his daddy and gave him a big hug and kiss. Mommy got her turn with the hugs and kisses after Korben and Daddy both got their fix. :) It was so good seeing that little guy and hearing his sweet voice again! According to Gram and Grandpa, he did super the whole weekend and wore them out! :) He stayed busy swimming in frog pool, learning to spell his name with sidewalk chalk, chasing Sam, and being his regular wild self! Thanks so much for taking such great care of Korben while we were gone!

all about Him

So the subtitle of this blog is "The stories of Josh, Cassi, and Korben." The thing is, I don't give enough credit for the stories and lives of those people to Him. So today, it's all about Him. Him...God, the Creator of the universe, the Savior of man. The Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit all wrapped up into one completely perfect Being.

I'm not on a mission to beat anyone over the head with a Bible or try to convice you to believe the same things I do or anything like that. It's just that quite honestly, there have been too many "Cassi's" for far too long. Out of selfish fear, I have sometimes avoided the words, "Jesus Christ," "God" or any other of His names. Selfish fear of what others will think of me if I dare to think of uttering such words. But the truth is, the first part of my identity is being His daughter and if I'm too afraid to be myself, then really, what's the point? And the point is, God is every good name that exists and He deserves credit for the "Chaney's stories!" He is the reason for every good thing in my life and the reason I have made it through all the bad times!

Just wanted to make that clear! :)

Catching up a bit....

So I joined facebook and it's taken over! But after a few weeks, I'm finally rejoining the blogging world and posting some updates!

We actually had some good rain for about a week in the middle of SUMMER! Hard to believe in Texas, I know. One night, the storm was really rough and it had it's way with our backyard

Sweet Alex turned 2 and we went to his birthday party. It was all about Mickey Mouse!

Korben loves jumping and was thrilled when Morgan wanted to jump with him :)

Korben and Nathan shared a very deep conversation about life of toddlerhood!

Checking out the horsie

We went out to Grapevine Mills Mall to eat at Rainforest Cafe. It's a really neat restaurant set up just like a rain forest with life size "animals" that move and sound just like the real thing. Korben loves animals so we thought he'd really enjoy it but we didn't get to sit next to any of the cool stuff... oh well

After we ate, we went shopping in the mall... there was a train store and Korben got to go on a ride
then we got to ride the carousal... by that time Korben was ready for a nap and didn't want to sit on a horse so we all sat in the spinning tea cup

I actually got to enjoy a girls night out! We went and saw the Legally Blonde musial and had an absolute blast! This is a group picture with the girl who played Elle Woods

And of course, Korben has been into mischief.... he did this to our floor with a Sharpie.......and was so happy to have done it! I couldn't even get mad when I saw it... I just started laughing! Thankfully it came up with nail polish remover

And if you're wondering what Korben was doing here.....

...he was doing this! Apparently toilets aren't complete without a few accessories!