adventures in Austin

the view from my hotel room

our typical face together! 

in Gruene, TX

in Gruene Dance Hall

Tom- my nephew

Last weekend I had to go to Austin for business (I feel so old!) and I got to go a few days early to see Amanda and Maureen. It was so great to see them again. We went to lunch, hung out in Gruene, Texas, went to a movie, had tea at a coffee shop, cooked dinner... just had a great girls weekend! I miss those girls and am so thankful for them! I also got to see my brother, Sally and my nephew Tom on Monday night fro dinner. 

For my "business trip" I got to rent a car and get a hotel room all paid for by ARAMARK! It felt like I was playing "grown up"- the only thing missing was Chase. 

so much to be thankful for...

 Friends,

 family,

a loving husband,

sisters,

and yummy food!!

"be joyful always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for us in Christ Jesus." 1 Thes. 5:16-18

more pics..

he's in trouble.. already watching football at such a young age.. at least it was the Red Raiders he was watching!

pre-game nap time with uncle chase!

trying to figure him out.. 

i love being their auntie! 

precious...

we finally got to hold him...

he loves to giggle!

the littlest Red Raider I ever saw!

Well, Bennett is about as sweet as he is cute! It has been such a joy to be in Dallas with my new family and to get to hold the newest addition. Bennett truely is a gift from God and such a blessing. This weekend I have been reminded of God's abundent grace and love for His people. I have seen what it means to be without hope, lost, abandoned and left for dead, but then redeemed, loved, cared for and adopted into the kingdom of God. Bennett has taught me that we do not deserve any of this, that it is all a precious gift from God. I want to live my life believing this and sharing it with my community, my family and friends. Adoption is such a beauitful picture of the gospel. I am so thankful to get to join in this journey with the rest of the McGoughs to pray, care, and bring Bennett, Colt, Hannah, Haley, Hagan, and Collin up in Christ. I pray that we all remember God's never ending grace and find rest in it today and always.

more pictures from the weekend to come! :0)

it's beginning to look a lot like Christmas!!

Our first annual Christmas decorating party... with "Love Actually" in the background and hot tea! I just love Christmas time. 

Bennett Update...

Below is an email that we recieved this morning from Glenda, Chase's mom, about Bennett's status:

Well, our little BAM finally arrived in the USA on Wed., Nov. 5. What a joyous occassion it was. I had to leave town the next day due to a death in my family in Tulsa. We arrived back home on Sun. evening and then left again on Wed. for Austin for a wedding there. While we were in Austin we received word from Scott and Sher that Bennett was going to be put into the hospital in Dallas because our Dr. Harpavat, after reading his records from Uganda, saw that they had not treated him with the type of antibiotic that is used here in the states. She said that what they used would have made the symptoms better but would not have cured him, just plain old penicillin. Anyway, he was put in on Fri. night and after many tests, including a lumbar puncture that showed it in the spinal fluids, they started treatment last night. IV port in his little foot with penicillin being administered every 6 hrs. Our understanding is that this regiment will be followed for 10 days. We are hoping, and praying, that they will be able to have Home Health come and not have to stay in the hospital for the whole 10 days. But, whatever is needed will be done. They are also running a full battery of tests again, from sickle cell to HIV (again) and on and on. Cecil and I finally got to spend time with our new grandson on Sat. to give Scott and Sher a break. What a beautiful boy he is. He is now taking 4 ozs. of formula and is gaining an ounce or two a day. He now weighs 12 1/2 lbs and is 4 1/2 mos. old. He has a long way to go, but God's hand has been on this little boy from the beginning. You all have been such wonderful prayer warriors for this little guy, thank you so much.....keep it up for a while longer.

Just thought you all would want to be updated! We'll let you know if we are making the trip on Friday.

prayer

Bennett in Uganda! 

We ended up not making the trip to Dallas this weekend to meet little Bennett ;0( Friday, Scott and Sherry took him to the doctor and they found out that he still has syphilis.... he was diagnosed with it in Africa and the symptoms were treated but not the actual disease. Because of this the doctor wanted to submit him into the hospital to run some tests to make sure there was not anything else wrong with him. So we decided to wait until next weekend to go meet him. I was quite sad last night about it, but we just want Bennett to be healthy and taken care of, so we will just have to wait till next weekend to get our hands on him! 

I just spoke with Sherry about his status and he is doing well. They ran some blood tests and are going to hook him up with penicillin to get rid of the syphilis. Now they are just waiting to get the blood test results back. Please be praying for him and their family. The kids (hannah, colt and haley) are not excited about mom being away from home again. We will update you as we find out more. Thanks for all your prayers.  

welcome to America

Our Precious little newphew Bennett Adai McGough arrived in America yesterday afternoon along with Sherry and Bre. They had a safe flight and are so glad to be back at home. We can't wait to meet the newest little addition. We will be heading to Dallas next weekend to hold him and kiss him. We will post pics and more about him after that trip! Thanks for all your prayers!

wreck 'em TECH!!

TECH beat the #1 team last weekend (Texas) and moved from 7th in the Nation to 2nd and is still undefeated!!! Pretty amazing.... we can't wait for this weekend when we play OSU (#9 in the nation). 

In honor of our Red Raiders I am going to post the fight song:

Fight, Raiders, Fight! Fight, Raiders, Fight! 
Fight for the school we love so dearly. 
We'll hit'em high, we'll hit'em low. 
We'll push the ball across the goal, 
Tech, Fight! Fight! 
We'll praise your name, boost you to fame. 
Fight for the Scarlet and Black 
We will hit'em, we will wreck'em. 
Hit'em! Wreck'em, Texas Tech! 
And the Victory Bells will ring out.

GO TECH!!

J & J

anja, leighann, janna, cary

the future Mrs. Smith & I 

the decor! 

the cookies Jord & I decorated

two of my favorite girls! 

Janna & James

some good ol' Texas BBQ!

the decor!

The last two weeks have been crazy busy for us, but super fun. The two main events we had were James and Janna's engagement party (we stayed away from calling it a "couples shower" for the sake of the boys) and Janna's lingerie party. 

Janna and James are two of our really good friends from Redeemer. They are getting married in two weeks. We can't wait to see what God does in their lives once they are united. Thanks for your friendship guys- we love you! 

3 wonderful months!

July 19, 2008

"it's like ra-in on your wedding day!"

I can't believe how fast time flies! Chase and I have been married for three months today! It has been such a wonderful adventure so far. 

Some of the things that WE love and have learned about marriage so far are:

• We never have to say good bye at night
• He/she is always there when I wake up
• It is sanctifying (reveals our sin & shows us our desperate need for our Saviour)
• It is encouraging
• You always have a best friend around 
• You can sit around in your under ware and it is ok! 
• You way is not always "the way"
• Chase likes his ketchup out of the fridge- i have learned to submit to this :0)
• "Things run more smoothly in the evening, if I make the bed in the morning." - Chase

I am so blessed to be married to Chase- we both have a lot to learn and lots to grow in, but I am confident that with Christ as the center of our marriage we will be just fine. Here's to 3 months baby! 

homecoming

Amy (larling) & me!

bff... me, bonnie, amy

watching the 2nd half with Chase! (we won by the way!!) 

Last weekend I got to return to the field and dance/cheer the first half of the Nebraska vs. TECH Homecoming football game. Amy and I came out of retirement and quickly realized we needed to return! ha ha We had a great time. I still miss dancing, but I think I am finally ok with no longer cheer/dancing on the field. Last weekend did make me realize that I want to start working on getting my flexibility back and look into taking a dance class somewhere- anyone want to join me? :0)