Race Fans!

 On April 8th, we headed over to the Texas Motor Speedway to watch the Nascar Race. My sisters and I pitched in and got Dad G. a ticket for his birthday and then we made it a family event. 

It was COLD!! We all got bundled up and brought blankets. 

This was my first race. Amanda and Brian had to teach me all about racing. Amanda is a pro. She actually was a racer, too, and loves to go to the races. 

But the cold couldn't stop the fun! The kids and Aunt Rachel loved watching the drivers come around the track as they were introduced and all of us picked out a driver to root for. 

I was rooting for the Loves Car. It is yellow with hearts...that is how I pick a car. HA!! It turns out that is not the most effective way to pick a winning car, though. 

There was a wreck right in front of us just a few laps in. 

It is so loud when those cars zoom by!

PopPop was rooting for Jimmy Johnson, number 48. Sadly, his car ended up involved in a major wreck, which knocked him out of the race. 

 Many cars had to be pulled off the track. 

The little boy in front of us was having a good time zooming his toy car around as the real race cars zoomed past. 

The triplets were rooting for their favorite driver of all, Kyle Busch. He drove number 18. 

We were sitting near pit row. It was fun watching the pit crew do their thing. 

The kids all had such a fun time!!

 Adrik is a midget racer and really loves Nascar. 

Finally, all of the laps were driven and the winner was Kyle Busch! The triplets were so excited!!

It was fun to go as a BIG family! Faith was so happy to be there with Aunt Amanda, especially. She even let her carry her all the way back to the car. 

The race was fun, but really the entire weekend was fun. We played games and ate lots of good food and just enjoyed being together. 

I have heard that plans for the next family race are already in the works. 

AWANA Bible Quiz for T&T

At the beginning of April, Selah competed in the AWANA Bible Quiz for T&T. 

She and her sweet friend, Davie have been doing AWANA together for many years now. 

They were on a team with a boy from our church. 

They started the quiz out by taking place in a multiple choice round where they answered every question correctly!

After that round, they took a written portion. Selah scored a 90%. 

Finally they competed in the speed round. Selah's team was quick on the buzzer and she was able to say the answers into a microphone many times. 

In true Serna style - she was the tiniest on stage. :)

After the scores were tallied, her team came in 3rd place!!! 

I am so proud of the work this sweet girl and her team put into the Bible Quiz. I have said it before, and I will say it again, we LOVE the AWANA program and the disciples they are encouraging our children to become. 

Bluebonnets

 "The bluebonnet is to Texas what the shamrock is to Ireland, the cherry blossom to Japan, the lily to France, the rose to England and the tulip to Holland." -Jack Maguire

  "It's not only the state flower but also a kind of floral trademark almost as well known to outsiders as cowboy boots and the Stetson hat." 

While we were in Belton we stopped by the most beautiful bluebonnet field near the house where Byron grew up to take a few pictures. Nothing says spring in Texas quite like bluebonnets. 

Happy Easter Fool's Day!

Byron had an awesome opportunity to go to Romania to teach an Old Testament Survey class. He left on Good Friday and was there for a week. 

Since Byron wouldn't be with us for Easter, the kids and I decided to go down to Belton to spend Easter weekend with my parents. 

The kids were excited about their Easter baskets and we had donut empty tombs for breakfast. We even made Resurrection cookies and ate them for breakfast, too. 

After breakfast everyone started getting ready for the day. I had finished getting dressed and was chatting with my mom in the kitchen when Gabe walked in holding the side of his face which was dripping blood. He very calmly said, "The ceiling fan hit me in the head". My mom started going into hyper-drive motion, but my sister, Amanda, and I just stared at him. Both of us thought he made some pretty awesome costume make-up and was pulling an April Fool's Day trick since this year Easter was on April Fool's Day. 

Finally, I looked into his eyes and firmly said, "Gabe, if this is an April Fool, you better tell me right now." 

He replied, "Mom, I promise. I am NOT fooling!". 

Gabe had been on the top bunk in the kids room in my parent's house. PopPop had put a switch cover over the fan switch so that no one could turn the fan on by accident. Well, the ever curious Mig, wanted to know exactly what that switch did and messed with the switch cover turning on the fan. Since the fan is never on in that room, it didn't even occur to Gabe to watch out for it when he was taking his books and things off that bed to pack up. 

Amanda and I sprang into action. Mom guided him to the couch, I grabbed a wet washcloth for his head and Amanda started cleaning the floor where blood had dripped as he stood there. 

After seeing the gash in his forehead, we felt a little better. It wasn't as bad as all of the blood made it seem, but we decided that he needed to go to Urgent Care. I grabbed his shoes, my purse and the keys and Amanda carried him to the van. 

Gabe was scared, but smiled the whole time we were in Urgent Care. 

After the doctor looked at it, he decided that he would need 3 stitches. 

We were in and out of Urgent Care in time for a big Easter lunch! 

When we got home, we had a little Easter service in the living room. 

After lunch it was time for fun!! What is Easter without an egg hunt?!?

The adults had as much fun watching the hunt as the kids did hunting. 

Mig found the golden prize egg. 

After the egg hunt, the kids had a confetti egg war!

The only rule was NOT to hit Gabe in the head with the confetti eggs. Mig very gently broke one over Gabe's head and sprinkled the confetti all over him. 

After the fun, it was time for dessert and presents for the birthday boy! 

Amanda and I made lemon meringue pies for him.

Despite a rough morning, we had a great Easter. It was so fun to spend it in Belton!

My hero for the day was Amanda!! I was so glad she was there to sit with us at Urgent Care. I was trying so hard to be calm for Gabe, though I was completely freaked out. She helped me stay level headed and didn't even make fun of me for forgetting our address as we checked Gabe in! I have never had to deal with an emergency without Byron - let alone him being out of the country. I'm so thankful that she and my parents were there to help us all out.

And here is a sweet picture of the kids and I in our Easter clothes. Thank you, Momma, for getting all of the blood out of Gabe's outfit so fast!! 

It was definitely an Easter to remember!