The Worleys

The Wedding was awesome! Too much to tell in one posting! So, I am just going to post my favorite Bridal Portraits for now. Our photographer was Sarah Reale Worley. It was just so awesome to watch Sarah work. Very professional. However, without Jenni's maid of honor, Melissa Reeves, and another one of the bridesmaids, Kristin McClure, these pictures would have been much harder to pose for. (Mother-of-the-Bride note -- always take the bridesmaids with you! They made sure the dress never touched the ground! And we had a white sheet under the dress, too.) So, first, the official portrait. You should see this enlarged and matted! Next, my personal favorite, the Audrey Hepburn pose. And another favorite that really shows off the gown. And, lastly, the picture the Father-of-the-Bride has chosen for his desk. " The bride , a princess, waits within her chamber, dressed in a gown woven with gold." Psalm 45:13

Hostesses and Jenni and Rod Jenni and Rod were treated to a shower at church on July 13. Such fun it was! Above are all the hostesses. This was a sandwich supper/couples shower. There was lots of yummy sandwiches, chips, dips, etc. The shower cake was awesome! They decorated with pictures of Rod and Jenni and the beautiful flower arrangement you see. Jenni's 3 year old cousin Emylie got to help! Jenni's family and friends were all there. We had the Althoff's, Alan and Barbara Tappe, Aunt Joy Boyar, cousin Patty Crowley, to mention a few. Jenni and Rod appreciated all the gifts. They are now safely stored away waiting for them to get an apartment. And what would the blog be without a picture of Miss Ava! She is actually pulling up and cruising around now. Couldn't resist this shot. Isn't she cute? Giving a gift works wonders; it may bring you before important people! Proverbs 18:16

Hard to believe, but looking back, it seems like all we talk about is Ava and eating! And we have lots of pictures of her in an eating environment. Just wanted you to know that she is actually up to other things! She can now pull herself up! She crawls, she sits, she loves to walk with you if you hold her hands. So, above you have a picture of Ava standing. Aunt Jenni is right there, don't worry! And she is actually at our house, not at a restaurant! Now we have new problems to think about. Like getting rid of stuff on the coffee table, mostly books. Like baby-proofing all the cabinets. We don't have a lot of little things around anyway, because our dogs tails sweep those around if we do. I said Ava could crawl, but I have not actually taken a picture yet. So far, I have just been on the floor clapping my hands and saying "Good Job!" I just watch in amazement. In this picture she seems to be saying, "Just what can I do now to amaze Grammy!" When...

Ava in her high chair Ava is a true Worley. Or, if you use her mom's maiden name, she is a REAL WORLEY. She loves to eat! I guess all the Worleys love to eat, because there are some pretty amazing cooks in the family. I have lots of pictures of Ava around food. Mostly taken at The Raven restaurant, because we eat there a lot! (I am NOT one of the amazing cooks in theWorley family!) Ava loves her Cheerios! I know she looks like she is yawning, but she actually just put a cheerio in her mouth. She doesn't really have the thumb to forefinger ability yet, so she just uses her whole hand. She slaps her hand down on a cheerio, folds her fingers around it, and then heads for her mouth! However, she misses a lot, too. Under the chair was covered in cheerios that night -- we tipped extra! This is Ava's signal that she wants more. Always accompanied by a sound or two, and the slapping of the hand on the table. Look at the cute little double chin she is getting. Her docto...

I know Mother's Day has come and gone. But I wanted to celebrate again, all the reasons that I love being a mother. But I wanted to start from the most recent reason and go backwards. So, the most recent "genetic" reason would be Ava. Here she is at breakfast with all of us at The Raven Grill. Our family tries to meet there every Saturday for breakfast. Ava started out a little 5 pounder. She is now almost 12 pounds at almost 8 months! And she has learned to do so much! She can now grasp her "puff" and put it in her mouth! She talks a lot, mostly says "Da Da" when I am around. And she loves to eat! If we are eating, then she insists that she eat. Mike and I really look forward to these times. Next reason -- Sarah. She is so special. So kind. Loves Jay, puts up with his parents! I don't have any funny stories to tell you yet. But I will be watchful for one! This was her first Mother's Day. Jay fixed her breakfast! They spent...

Now the 5th of May will forever be remembered as the day Jenni and Rod received approval for their fiance visa! For the details of the day, go to Jenni's blog. On our end, we asked everyone we knew to pray for this to happen. Thanks be to all of you for your continued prayers! God continues to bless Jenni and Rod. This whole process took about half the time they anticipated. Our God is awesome! Mike and I began the day praying, and each sent Jenni an email for our respective work emails. And then the waiting began. We waited, and waited, and waited. We were feeling like the Everready Bunny. The interview was 1230 Texas time. Mike and I called back and forth several times to see if we knew anything. It was time to leave work. I had still not received any information. This was beginning to make me anxious! So, I decided I would call Jenni on my cell as soon as I got in my car. As I am walking down the surgery hallway to clock-out, my cell phone rings (terrible reception ...

There is no doubt about it! Ava is our favorite granddaughter! Watching her grow up and learn new things is one of our favorite pastimes. Just look at her in the picture above. She is pulling Pop's tie out and examining the pattern. She looked at it for quite a while. Pop looks like he is encouraging her, doesn't he? Here she is looking at her book that teaches her colors in english and spanish, along with the names of animals. See her little hand holding the book? Doesn't she look extremely intelligent? But then, Sarah and Jay BOTH have very intelligent parents. Here is Ava with her first toy at Grammy's house. My friends kept telling me we needed a toy or two at our house for Ava. Mike and I chose a piano with moving instruments on the top. It is really fun to watch Ava with this. She really likes it. She of course wants to put it in her mouth, too. But she can bang on all the keys as much as she wants. It produces some fun music. And when she is olde...

Our first Easter with Ava! I love this picture. She looks like she is smacking her gums! Like a little old lady without her teeth. Make up your own words to describe this face! Jay, Sarah, Ava, me, and my sister and her husband -- Nancy and Greg Althoff, all gathered at our favorite Easter Brunch at The Texas Star in Euless. Ava was amazed at all the stuff we had on our plates and our table. We watched Ava while Jay and Sarah went to the buffet. We had the privilege of feeding her some mashed potatoes. Her first bite was something to see. No camera handy though. It was like she was thinking--"Oh my goodness, what is this?" And then -- "I think I like this stuff!" Ava talked a lot during lunch. She is definitely a cutie. We didn't eat as much as usual, because we were watching Ava. She could be our new diet plan! But never fear, we managed to eat more than we should have. I did not want dinner that night or breakfast the next day! And the end of...

Look at that cute face! Her pacifer is in a flower now that has a clip so we cannot lose it. So, no more Maggie Simpson. We now have Flower Girl (which is appropriate, since she is going to be in Aunt Jenni's wedding if we have to pull her in a wagon!) We have been having lots of fun lately -- we have been babysitting Ava! She is so cute! We thought we had lots of experiences raising children. It never occurred to us we might have to learn new tricks with Ava! She has always been great. But when she does cry, it takes both Mike and I to figure out what she wants! Or if something needs changing! Jenni was with us the first time Ava came over. We all had a lot of fun. Looking at the picture below, you do have to wonder if she was squeezing Ava too hard. Look at those eyes! Ava is definitely growing up fast! As you can see below, we are already teaching her to read! Doesn't she look like she is reading? Teaching her Spanish is next! Another picture of Jenni with Ava....

Hooray for Bridesmaid Day! Let's start with the youngest bridesmaid. Here is Ava with Aunt Jenni. Jenni and her friends all gathered at the bridal shop and began some serious shopping for their dresses. Below, Jenni with Brittney Snelson, and Laura Maurisch. Jenni went to Ft Worth Christian with Brittney, and met Laura at UT Austin. Next, we have Kristin McClure, one of Jenni's roommates from TAMU. Somehow we only had one dressing room for 5 bridesmaid! Kristin was the first to try something on. Next came Melissa Reeves. She is Jenni's Maid of Honor. She and Jenni met at TAMU. They were roommates the whole time they were in college. Next, Laura, in another possible choice of dress. She drove in from Austin for the day. And now we have Sarah, with the last choice. Don't be fooled, she is not that excited about the dress! Miss Ava was performing in the audience! A fun day was had by all. Jenni has six bridesmaids. Her friend Lindsey is in Tennesee and could not be here....