West Texas Holiday!

This weekend we were able to get out of Houston and head out West to Coleman County, Texas. We joined about 100 or so other members of Joe's family to celebrate Joe's father David and his 90th birthday. If you ask Joe, he will tell you that David is the greatest dad anyone has ever had. He is a highly decorated Air Force veteran, great-grandfather, and Fightin' Texas Aggie. Joe is planning to write a book about him in the near future, so we'll let you know when that day comes.

We had a great time at the party and the pictures below will show a few glimpses of the day, although we didn't take many because we were busy trying to catch up with so many beloved family members that we just don't get to visit with that often. After the party we spent a couple more hours with Joe's parents and a few other members of the family at the Rodden hacienda.
Once the evening began to wind down we hopped in the car and drove halfway home to Austin, our favorite little town in Texas!

After a restful night at the Hampton Inn, we visited Soma Austin Community church, where we always feel like family, and Pastor Jacob Vanhorn. Jacob is an old and dear friend of Joe's and was the man who preached the sermon during our wedding. We are always excited to worship with the Soma family, as the praise and worship is awesome and Jacob always brings the word with genuine clarity and practical explanation. After visiting with some of our friends after church, we drove over to the South 1st Trailer Park and had our favorite meal - tacos, chips, and queso at Torchy's! We then drove over to South Congress to get Lindsay a red velvet cupcake - with cream cheese frosting - and then began our trip home. We always love road trips and we plan on taking a couple more of them before Christmas.

Joe is one of four teachers leading a group of students on a mission trip to Puerto Rico beginning Friday, so keep and eye out for some blog posts about his experiences there.