My Baby Turns 7

Remember when his blog name was Bitty Bantam?

He has different teeth now.

He's looking like an orthodontist's nightmare (or dream come true, depending on your perspective_!

He's a total ham.

At least he's still shorter than his mom--my only son who still is!

(Aside:  This was taken at the Christmas tree farm where the boys worked in November and December.  Those are "kissing balls" hanging from the roof, which B12 may have assembled. He got pretty good at them!)

He's determined.

He's competitive.

He has great focus and energy.

He loves Legos, reading, Star Wars, action figures, soccer, and singing.  In school, I hear, he is well-behaved and focused, and his teacher is really pleased with him. I thought, with all his energy, he might have trouble sitting, but he's doing great!

He went ice-skating for the first time a couple weeks ago, with a family whose kids skate competitively. The mom called me later.  "Is it really true," she began, "that he has never been on skates before? Because I've never seen a kid so young pick it up so fast! And skate so fast, for his age! You really should get him on a hockey team.  He would love it!"

I don't know if we're ready to invest in the equipment and the time yet, but it's okay to brag on him on his birthday, isn't it?

In that spirit, I share part of an email from his soccer coach, at the end of last season:

[B7] is a great person and a great athlete. I look forward to seeing him in a couple of years playing high school sports. I hope it will be soccer but whatever it is, he will be good at it. The best part is even when I get frustrated at the boys, I can look at [B7] and he always has that wonderful smile on his face. It has helped me settle down quite a few times this year.

It does seem like sports are in his future.

And yes, that wonderful smile. It makes my day, every day.

He's such a sunny seven-year-old.

If you set your heart on God
and reach out to him,

If you scrub your hands of sin 

and refuse to entertain evil in your home,

You'll be able to face the world unashamed 

and keep a firm grip on life, guiltless and fearless.

Your world will be washed in sunshine, 

every shadow dispersed by dayspring.

Job 11:13-15,17 The Message

Twenty-First Birthday

Twenty-one years ago today, our lives were changed forever.

B21, you broke us in as parents.  We had no idea what we were doing, but our hearts were all yours, from the very beginning.

And you've possessed our hearts ever since.

You have brought us such joy.  What a privilege to watch you grow from boy to man. You have traveled your own road and marched to your own drummer's beat the whole way.  Looking on, we have delighted in the uniqueness of you.

Your path continues to be a unique one.  What God has in store for the next twenty-one years, none of us know.

But we know He journeys with you on that road.

Happy Twenty-First Birthday, firstborn.  Trust Him always.

Trust in the Lord with all your heart, 

and lean not on your own understanding.  

In all your ways acknowledge Him, 

and He will direct your path. 

Proverbs 3:5-6

Delight yourself in the Lord, 

and He will give you the desires of your heart.  

Psalm 37:4

Twenty-Five Years Today

We already celebrated 25 years of marriage with a cruise last March.

But today is the actual day!

Sometimes, in all the busy-ness, our marriage feels a little like Tevya's and Golda's, from Fiddler on the Roof.  With our anniversary looming, it seemed an appropriate choice for us to perform at the last Light of Christ Talent Show!

A cord of three strands is not easily broken.
Ecclesiastes 4:12b

So grateful for that third cord, Jesus Christ, who holds us together when we start to fray.

And so grateful for my good, generous, faithful, funny, providing, honoring, wise and loving husband!

Update on the Birthday Girl--Blondechick19!

She's a college girl now.

She got a music scholarship, so she's been taking voice lessons, participating in choir, and singing with the worship team in chapel.  She sang recently at our All-Church Talent Show:

She probably wouldn't want me to post this, since it wasn't her very best performance; she was at the Urgent Care the next day for an ear infection AND an upper respiratory infection.  But no one else could tell!

She's planning on switching majors, though.  She can still be in choir, voice lessons and worship team, and probably keep most of her scholarship, but she can tell she's just not cut out for the hours in the practice room that a music major requires.  She's not thrilled about her required keyboard lessons or Music Theory class either.  Music Theory is, in fact, the bane of her existence this semester.

And she's coming home tonight, on her birthday, for Thanksgiving break!  Her siblings are excited.

(I call this "the blonde team." Half our kids have the white-blonde hair, and we honestly can't figure out where it came from! No blondes among their parents, grandparents and great-grandparents. Yes, my husband is half Norwegian, but Grandpa says that out of the 11 in his immediate family, only one sister was blonde.)

Mugging for the camera is one of her favorite activities!

These two have always been close.  Ask either one of them who their BFF is, and they will name the other.

(It is one of my great joys and blessings that my kids all seem to like and enjoy each other.  I don't know if we've done something to cultivate this or if it's just a gift!  I think homeschooling has contributed to a great extent, and it's probably the right mix of ages and genders too.  Recently B16 told me that one of the best things about being home this year has been re-establishing his relationship with B12--they are enjoying each other a lot.  Too much, sometimes, given their school workload--but I am so grateful!)

Blondechick likes hats.

She also likes babies. 

(So does B16.  A few weeks ago, in the car, he said, "You know, Mom, B6 isn't really a little kid any more.  We haven't had a baby around for awhile now, I just realized.  I miss having a baby in the house.  I can't wait to have a baby.")

She's had her trials.  She's sworn off boys for the time being, and she's drawing closer and closer to God.  She's learning new things about Him and about herself.  He is meeting her in her moments of pain and difficulty.  It's clear that He is moving in her life, making Himself more real to her, and she is responding to Him.

What a great "birthday gift" for her parents, to see the child we've loved and prayed for her since before her birth 19 years ago drawing near to her Creator, listening to Him to tell her who He made her to be, what that unique mix of personality, talents and interests is all about.  We've always been curious, with her, to see how God would direct and shape her strong will and personality.  We've done our best to do that, and it hasn't always been easy.  As she grows older, we have to trust God to take over that role for us more and more.  To see her responding to His leadings makes my heart burst with thanksgiving.

Happy Birthday, daughter.  You are a delight, and a source of laughter and great joy to us.  Thank you for being yourself, and for striving to learn who you are in God's eyes.  He made you to be a uniquely beautiful gem!

Afflicted city, lashed by storms and not comforted, 

I will rebuild you with stones of turquoise, 

your foundations with lapis lazuli. 

I will make your battlements of rubies, 

your gates of sparkling jewels, 

and all your walls of precious stones. 

All your children will be taught by the LORD, 

and great will be their peace. 

Isaiah 54:11-13

Happy Birthday, Chicklet9!

She's thoughtful.  And so sweet.

She's friendly...and funny!

She is a joy and a delight.

I always thank God for you 
because of his grace given you in Christ Jesus.
1 Corinthians 1:4

Happy Birthday, Sweetheart!
May you delight yourself in the Lord always,
and may He give you the desires of your heart!
Psalm 37:4

Happy Birthday to My Favorite Man!

I was so happy that my brother-in-law grabbed the camera and took these shots!  PR takes so many fabulous photos, but he's never in them.  I loved this shot of him with our two youngest and my niece (in the orange goggles).

This photo captures something special about my husband, one of the big reasons I married him--he has a gentle soul.

May the Lord bless you this day...this year...my love...as you bless so many others with your care, your love, your compassion and your prayers.  You are a good man, and I am blessed to be yours.

***

In honor of your birthday, apparently, I had a dream last night.  This dream incorporates a Latin expression which you made up in high school.  My subconscious seems to think that you have been just itching to include it in a liturgical service!

We were at church, and you and our deacon and the altar boys were processing in.  But what was this?  In the procession, there was also a young man in his 20's, dressed in a robe of some sort, but underneath it was an inflatable suit that was inflated, lifting the robe above the young man's knees and revealing silky gym shorts.  He definitely needed a longer robe and different footwear than gym shoes, to pull this off.  Who was he? I wondered.  Why the inflatable suit under the robe?

Ahhh, then I knew.  It was the magnum saccum ventorum, the "big bag of wind." A little-known liturgical element you were trying out this week.

You and our deacon conferred afterward and decided that it just hadn't worked.  It looked a little silly and it made the young man uncomfortable.  (It may have been his first time at our church, since I didn't recognize him.  Talk about "seeker-friendly"!)

And that was it.  You were matter-of-fact, and you moved on to another topic.

You big bag of wind. I love you!

Happy Birthday, Bantam16!

Oh, my, these birthdays. They come around far too often.

I can't believe that half our kids are now old enough to drive.  B16 just got his learner's permit about a month ago.  He'll be eligible to get his license in early October, so he should be able to drive himself to school next year.  With Blondechick18 gone to college, that will be a tremendous help! He's going to be a good driver.

This young man has had a good year.  He played JV soccer last fall and added cross country when he realized he could do both; next year he'll probably just do cross country. He has always loved running alone or with his dad, and this year he added some home weight-lifting, push-ups, pull-ups and more to his workout.  He took choir as an elective this year and added show choir as well--at the persistent urging of his sister--and ended up enjoying both.  He's also had a good year in an advanced art class. This spring, he's been rehearsing with B12 and Chicklet8 in his role as Little John in our theater group's musical production of Robin Hood (coming up May 20-22!).

But his first love is guitar! He's been teaching himself chords and strumming patterns, and he's even tried his hand at writing a few songs.  He's in a band with friends--he's the lead singer--and has a couple of "side bands" as well--friends that he plays guitar with and they've written a few songs together.  None of these groups really play anywhere yet besides at each other's houses, but they are learning so much together.  Recently, he's also become more involved in singing at church, and he's about to start playing guitar with our little worship team, unplugged at first, just to learn.  He's also thinking about taking the worship team class and playing in chapel next year at his school.  (So many electives, so little time....)

This summer, he'll be spending a month at Honey Rock, the same camp he went to last year for two weeks.  Even though it's going to be a big chunk out of his summer, he's excited to go back.  He grew so much spiritually at camp last summer, and this school year has been a chance to work out some of those lessons in real life, sometimes the hard way. But he's making a lot of good choices, and he's trying hard to pursue God and follow His leadings.  We can't ask for more than that! 

So proud of you, son. 

Blessed is the man
   who does not walk in step with the wicked
or stand in the way that sinners take
   or sit in the company of mockers,
but whose delight is in the law of the LORD,
   and who meditates on his law day and night. 

He is like a tree planted by streams of water,
   which yields its fruit in season
and whose leaf does not wither—
   whatever they do prospers. 

~Psalm 1:1-3

Lego Building Contest Birthday Party!

So the birthday party was a success!

I admit I was a little worried.

B12's idea of a Lego building contest sounded fun, but didn't it also hold the potential for a good deal of conflict?  I could just imagine the guests fighting over special pieces, arguing over who needs what bricks, complaining that there aren't enough whatevers....and generally working themselves up to the dreaded "This is not fair...not fun...I quit."

I shouldn't have worried.

In the first place, it seemed we had plenty of Legos to go around.

In the second place, our guests not only enjoyed the building process, but they seemed to enjoy helping each other find needed pieces.  A more congenial and helpful atmosphere I could not have imagined!

Eleven boys were invited; nine were able to attend, so we had nine categories which were announced beforehand.  Guests were encouraged to build toward multiple categories, since there would only be one winner of each award category.

Certificates (along with a treat bag) were given for:

Indiana Jones Award--Most Adventurous
Concorde Award--Most Aerodynamic
Bat-Tumbler Award--Most Compact & Sturdy
Pegasus Award--Most Fantastical
Mad Scientist Award--Most Ingenious
Camelot Award--Most Medieval
General Patton Award--Most Militaristic
Suburban Award--Most Realistic
Golden Starship Award--Futuristic

We let the nine builders watch funny videos on YouTube for a few minutes, to give the judges (B12 and B20) a chance to judge the entries in private.  As the winners were announced (with appropriate drum rolls), each boy seemed pleased with his award; there were no complaints over the judging.  The candy in the treat bag may have helped take their minds off any disappointments; however, it seemed the most fun was in the building.  And as one of the guests pointed out, B12 would enjoy playing with all the creations after the builders went home!

Yup, B12 came up with a winner of an idea.  And his guests were all winners in my book.  His golden birthday was truly "golden"!

Happy Birthday, Bantam12!!

No, he's not opening birthday presents in this picture; it's from Christmas. And yes, he's super-excited about getting jeans for Christmas.

(Not just jeans--skinny jeans.  Or "skinny pants," as we like to call them, harking back to "stretchy pants" from El Nacho Libre.)

Anyway, I love B12's enthusiastic personality.  He's interested and talented in so many things--piano, acting, singing, tap dancing, improv, art, writing, graphic novels, the Redemption card game, Legos and soccer.  Papa Rooster and I speculate all the time about what he'll eventually end up doing with his life!

He's also got his endearing little quirks, like really hating to wear a shirt, and loving silky bed sheets and a particular soft fleece jacket.  But he loves hand-me-downs from his big brother and listens carefully to his fashion advice.  Thus the skinny jeans at the top of his Christmas wishlist.  Well, one down from an enormous Lego set.

Such an interesting age.  Still a kid in so many delightful ways...but starting to leave childish things behind him. He told me just a couple days ago that he's not as interested in Legos as he used to be, and he and I both had a moment of mourning over that.

But today, for his "golden birthday" (meaning he's 12 years old on the 12th), 11 other boys are invited for a Lego Building Contest!  B20 is home from college for the weekend, so that he can be a judge for the event.  Every Lego creation will be awarded a prize.  They're also going to play "Creationary" which is like Pictionary, except with Legos.  B12 planned the whole thing on his own.

So, welcome to the Golden Year, B12.  Twelve is a great age.  You're at the top of the childhood totem pole, but there's no pressure to feel or act like a teenager yet.  You are such a delightful member of our family, and we love you so much.  May God bless you, son, today and always!!

Happy Birthday, Bantam6!

There is something about your youngest child turning 6 that signifies the end of an era.  I think I felt this way about him turning 5, too, but last February he wasn't even entering kindergarten for another six months, so I could somewhat fool myself by calling him a preschooler, at the time.

Now, he's truly a big boy.  He can get his own snowsuit on, ride a bike, make a sandwich, take out the trash, sign himself onto Lego.com...and even has begun reading and writing!  I just can't call him my baby anymore.  Out loud, at least.

This is one of my favorite pictures of our son.  There is a quiet focus about him when he's at rest, gearing up for some period of intense movement.  He has so much inner energy, but it's not uncontrolled.  He's a force.

His vitality is such a blessing, especially if you know his history:  He nearly died at 5 weeks of age, of severe pneumonia caused by RSV.  I recently opened a box and immediately found tears springing to my eyes at the sight of his nebulizer, which we had to use so much for that first year.  They were tears of rejoicing, though--at the realization that we haven't needed it since he was two, despite the warnings that he might have respiratory issues for years, even life!

Thank you, Lord, for the gift of this, our son---your child--and his life, his spunkiness, his humor, his abilities, his energy.  Grant us wisdom, love, discipline and energy to parent him...in the particular way that he should go.  Bless him, Lord, as you have blessed us--with him.

Here It Is

 Wrappin' up my love this 24th anniversary...

When they blow Gabriel’s horn
Rip fiction from fact
I want to get caught
In some radical act

Of love and redemption
The sound of warm laughter
Some true conversation
With a friend or my lover

Somewhere down the road
We’ll lift up our glass
And toast the moment
And moments past

The heartbreak and laughter
The joy and the tears
The scary beauty
Of what’s right here

I’m wrappin’ up my love this Christmas
I’m wrappin’ up my love this Christmas
I’m wrappin’ up my love this Christmas
And here it is


From "Here It Is" on Over The Rhine's Christmas album, Snow Angels 

Birthday Wishes and Senior Pictures

My baby girl is all grown up!  Eighteen years old last month.

She's driving, she's busy with a job, she's paying some of her own expenses, she's applying to colleges....

She's full of energy, individuality, creativity and fun....

I miss her already!

These are some of the finalists in the "senior picture" photo shoots she and her dad took this summer when we were visiting the Ohio farm where I grew up.

As you can see, you can't take a bad picture of her.

This one's my favorite, I think--though it's a tough choice! 

Which one would you choose?

Charm is deceitful, and beauty is vain, but a woman who fears the LORD is to be praised.  Give her the reward she has earned, and let her works bring her praise at the city gate. 

(Proverbs 31:30-31)

Hear, my child, your father’s instruction, and forsake not your mother’s teaching, for they are a graceful garland for your head and pendants for your neck.
(Proverbs 1:8-9)

May your beauty always be heart-deep, precious daughter.  May it shine on others to bring comfort, compassion, love and service.  May your life and vitality, your humor and fun be a blessing to many throughout your life. And as your outer beauty fades, as eventually it will, may your interior loveliness grow ever more radiant.  May you resemble your Father more and more! Amen.

It's hard to let go.  She'll always be my little girl!

Blondechick's 18th Birthday Party

Let it never be said that I am an uptight mother.  Or an obsessive-compulsive house-cleaner.  Or that I never let my kids do anything. 

I now have proof-positive to the contrary.

Last night, I allowed Blondechick and B15 to host about 20 friends for a dance party in our basement, in honor of Blondechick's 18th birthday.  And not just your regular dance party.  Of course, we had loud music, kids yelling even louder and lots of groovin' and jumping around.  But to make our dance party extra-fun and extra-cool...we had glow juice.

Glow juice is what comes out of a glow stick--or glow necklace, bracelet or wand; you know, the kind they sell at amusement parks after dark?--when you bend it in half and then break it open.

You can sprinkle it all over your clothes and rub it in your hair.  You can splash it on the walls and the carpet. And when you turn out the lights, it looks REALLY cool.

I know.  My basement walls and carpet are covered with it.

When we discussed this idea, we knew, anecdotally, that the stuff disappears after a few hours.  Like the necklaces that you put in the freezer to try to keep them glowing for another day?  They never work again.

And we knew that the t-shirt that Blondechick wore when they did this at Honey Rock, the Christian camp she went to over a year ago, was fine afterward.  No stains were visible even before it was washed, and it sat around for days while she finished out the time at camp.

So I guess that's why I agreed.  Not to mention that we were at a loss for other 18th birthday party ideas we both liked.  And it sounded like good, clean (or not-so-clean) fun.

I had expected that most of the juice would go on clothes and hair, but when I peeked in the basement and saw how someone had decorated the walls and floor with it...I began to have misgivings.

But at that point, there was nothing to say but "Cool!"

Later when the kids came upstairs, hot and thirsty, for soda and some fresh air, they gave me more reasons to be nervous.  The yellow glow juice barely showed up on their white t-shirts, but the pink...and the orange...looked definitely stained.  Like, it would still be a stain, even after it stopped glowing; although it would probably come out in the wash, judging from how easily the stuff washed off hands.

Two kids told me that if we needed a cleaning crew afterwards, they could help.  I was grateful for their offer, but it did nothing to allay my growing fears about the state of my carpet.

At least we were already planning to paint the basement walls.

Well, it's Saturday morning and Blondechick and her friends are cleaning up streamers and broken glow sticks in the basement.  The regular light bulbs are screwed in again--we had only a blacklight bulb screwed in last night--and incredibly, the carpet looks stain-free.  (Feels a little sticky in places, though.)

The only evidence of the party that the carpet reveals this morning is tiny glitters of glass.  We didn't realize that inside the plastic, there is a glass tube that you break when you bend the glow stick.  Sometimes, as you pour out the juice, some glass splinters fall out too. 

Fortunately none of the kids were seriously cut, but we did stop and vacuum halfway through the evening, after someone realized it was glass that was crunching underfoot.  Ouch.

We also discovered that large quantities of activated glow juice in an enclosed space create fumes which get a little hard to breathe after awhile.  (Non-toxic, I was assured by a quick check on the internet.)

They liked the taco bar and the ice cream sundae bar--more conventional party fare.  The boys left by 11 or so, and the girls slept over.

I think Blondechick was pretty happy with her party.

Even if I had a few nervous moments, myself.

Summer Photo Shoot

When we were in Ohio, we overlapped with both my brothers and their families for one beautiful afternoon on the farm where I grew up. We were all dressed up for my mother's retirement party at the hospital where she's worked as an RN since the 60's. It was a great photo op, and I'm so glad that Papa Rooster got us all to stand still long enough for him to take these photos!

Here's our family...

And here is our traditional "stairstep cousins" picture, from youngest to oldest (with one small, very cute deviation)...  You should click to enlarge this one, as the camera really captured some personalities!

And here is the whole group, including my parents!

Chicklet Turns Eight

Look at that Mona Lisa smile!  My baby girl appears even older and wiser than her eight years in this shot, taken by Papa Rooster at Mount Vernon.  One can almost imagine it as an oil painting, a study in shades of wheat, with the Grand Master symbolically placing her by the harvested but unthreshed wheat to indicate a maturity that is both now and not-yet.

I can't believe how old she is, how quickly she has reached this age.  It seems such a short time since she was born--a second daughter to delight us all.  She has a sweetness and a joy about her that blesses and encourages my heart every day.

Thank you, Lord, for this precious gift. Help me to be a gentle steward, a wise and loving mother, to bring to maturity the gift you have entrusted.  And at the harvest, may the glory be all Yours!

Ode to Bantam 15

Well, we had a birthday back in May...

But we didn't have a good picture of him, since he got his braces off in February...and Mama Hen was barely keeping her head above water to finish out the school year afloat...Bantam19 was accepted at college and we had a graduation....

...and today, he left.  For two weeks at camp.  Back to Honey Rock, where he went last year--quite against his will--but where he had a great experience anyway.  (A rebellious Blondechick came home from the same camp last year saying, "Okay, I get it--I see why I need Christian friends and why you want to switch me to the Christian school.")  This year, although he's been increasingly bummed to discover that he's going to miss out on all the major events of his summer--his good Christian friends have big plans for the 4th of July and for this Christian rock festival--his tune changed as we were packing his bags, and at the church picnic on Sunday, and he sounded pretty psyched to go, now that the time had actually come.

This young man has grown so much over the past year.  Physically, he's added so many inches that most folks don't believe he's not in high school yet, and one of his newest activities is working out, so he's added a little muscle all around as well.  He has always enjoyed running, and he's become quite disciplined about getting in his run, his workout and his guitar practice every day.  Academically, his first year at the private Christian school (that is known for its homework load) was quite a challenge for him, but he showed a dogged determination to keep up, and was rewarded with more A's than any other grade, to his surprise and gratification.  Spiritually, he is growing as well, asking questions, participating in church and Sunday School, manifesting fruits of the Spirit along with all the teenage instabilities.  (For example, he can be quick to lose his temper, but he's just as quick to ask forgiveness and start over.)  He is a favorite as a babysitter, because not only does he play with the kids so that they love him to come, but he always does dishes and even puts away laundry, so the mom loves him to come as well!

So I'm missin' my boy already.  I'm praying for his safety at camp.  I'm praying for a counselor who can really mentor him, friends who will encourage him in all the important ways, challenges that will build him up, and most of all, for encounters with the true and living God.  I pray that his spiritual hearing will be attuned to God's voice, that he'll learn how to hear with his spiritual ears, this boy who loves music so much, for whom listening is such a frequent activity--may he listen and hear during this time, and come home hungry to hear more from his Master, Creator and Friend.

...We have not stopped praying for you and asking God to fill you with the knowledge of his will through all spiritual wisdom and understanding. And we pray this in order that you may live a life worthy of the Lord and may please him in every way: bearing fruit in every good work, growing in the knowledge of God, being strengthened with all power according to his glorious might so that you may have great endurance and patience, and joyfully giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance.... in the kingdom of light.  (Colossians 1:9-12)

[Help us settle a friendly family discussion: Which photo above do you like better, and why?]

And...Pictures!

Papa Rooster didn't have room for his big camera, but he did pretty well with his little pocket size, I thought!

This was one of my favorite pictures--it's of Mrs. E and I enjoying the perfect temps and breezes on the roof of our hotel, and I like the lines, angles and shadows. The only problem I can see with this photo is that it isn't a Dr. Pepper in my hand.

Oh, the many wonderful Tex-Mex restaurants on the Riverwalk! This one even had a mariachi band.

Papa Rooster and I considered this trip a delayed anniversary celebration--since we never can get away on December 20th.

Evening on the Riverwalk...

...and at The Fig Tree, the French restaurant which was our hands-down favorite. (I had Beef Wellington with asparagus and mushrooms, and tastes of Bananas Foster, Chocolate Bombe and Brandy-Poached Pears for dessert!)

Here we are at Texas' most famous landmark--the Alamo! It's a sobering and meaningful place to visit.

And this was the funny little bed-and-breakfast backyard cottage where we spent two nights--and evening and mornings on that delightful porch!

The proprietor served us a beautiful, bountiful breakfast in her charming home packed full of intriguing objects and decorations.

Spring at the San Antonio Botanical Gardens!

A step back in time to Gruene, TX...

And a late lunch at The Grist Mill restaurant there, overlooking the Guadalupe River.

Our last memory of San Antonio is a Sunday morning stroll on another part of the Riverwalk:

See the whimsical flying fish above? (Click to enlarge.)

Looking toward the old Lone Star Brewery, which is now the San Antonio Museum of Art.

On the grounds there...wishing we could stay another week!