When we first moved into our house 3 years ago, we found bunches of rain lilies in the backyard. Jason dug them up and put them in two green box planters whenever he found one. Soon, the boxes were full of these delicate flowers. Sometimes 2-3 bloom at the same time, or even just one. This week we got to enjoy a whole box full of blooms in our front courtyard! 
Our seats were up in the gallery, so we could see well, but not very close. If we had been in the front rows, then I could have taken these photos myself! 
My parents were visiting us for about five days around Memorial Day weekend! We took them to see some sights in Houston, and had a great time! It was a memorable Memorial Day! Not only because of family visiting, but because we discovered that OUR family would be expanding to include a baby! Pregnancy has been an amazing experience for a variety of reasons. It was great to be able to discover that we are expecting while my parents were here, instead of sharing such special, life changing news over the phone. They were completely surprised, because they did not even realize that we were planning for a family at this time!!
The next morning, Memorial Day, we took the p-test...got a positive result!! Jason saw it before me, because I was still peeing...so when he started jumping up and down, I knew we had A BIG REASON TO CELEBRATE!! We were beyond excited!! I thought I would burst when I came out of our bedroom to go make breakfast. My Mom was still getting ready and my Dad was reading on the couch. We wanted to wait to share the news until Jason could get his parents on the phone--then we could tell my parents "Oh, the Sasser's want to say hello to you"...and then break our news to everyone at once.
What a memorable Memorial Day! Thank You, God for blessing us with this pregnancy! We trust You to continue to bless us and our growing baby! We surrender him or her into Your Hands. 
There weren't any picnic tables available, because everyone had already set up their own picnics and barbecues. We had brought a picnic blanket, so we just settled down on the grass.
Mom and Dad helped fold the blanket and put everything everything away after we finished eating.
We had our hands stamped, so we could go back inside the zoo! So, after lunch, we went back to walk around the zoo for about 3-4 hours longer. It was nice to beable to go back to the zoo after eating something!
This unique, flowering plant is called "Bear's Breeches". I thought it was very beautiful, so I snapped a photo of it.
Flamingos are my favorite bird to see at the zoo. They aren't really my favorite bird overall, but when I go to the zoo, I do enjoy seeing them the most out of all the bird exhibits.
Here we are with a baby elephant behind us. It was a really hot day, but we enjoyed our time at the zoo very much! There are several exhibits that are indoors and air conditioned at the Houston Zoo, so we were able to get short breaks from the heat.
This cat--don't remember what type he is--was resting on the very top of his cage on some rocks. He reminds me of our cats, who often find a comfy spot and take a nap all day long.
This shot is a little blurry, but if you look closely, you can see that he is licking himself! This is a leopard. 
Mom, don't put your head in the lion's mouth!? It looks like a trap...I know you're thirsty...but don't do it!!!!! 
While my parents were in town visiting us, we took them to a Houston Astros baseball game! It was the Sunday before Memorial day, so the crowds were huge! It was Houston Astros against Texas Rangers--which are based out of Dallas. We had a great time, and it was the first time for my Mom and Dad to go to a baseball game! They had been to other sporting events, but not baseball. They were excited and enjoyed the experience very much! Unfortunately, the Astros did not play a very good game--however the Rangers scored like 4 homeruns, and the end score was Astros: 0 and Rangers: 5. Yuck! But, it was still a great day and we all enjoyed an afternoon out at the ball field!
Mom and Dad wearing the Astros t-shirts we bought for them!
That green field was very nicely groomed! Jason read online that it takes 5 hours to get this field ready before a game. I guess that's not really all that bad, considering how big the area is.
Batter up! Play ball! Swing battah, battah, battah...swing! Come on Astros hit at least one homerun....PLEEEEZZE! 
This is a train up high in the stadium, and it has "oranges" in the back of it--because the Astros play at Minute Maid Park. We think that the train moves back and forth up there whenever the Astros get a run or homerun, but since they didn't get any...we didn't get to see if it moves. There was a conductor and engineer up in the train, and he would step out every now and then to wave at the crowd.
Yuris and Michael are friends of our from church. We ended up having two extra tickets, because we had to purchase extra tickets when we found out that my Mom and Dad would be in town. So, we sold them the extra two tickets.
I ate icecream out of a little "Astros hat" shaped bowl! It was quite tastey--with caramel syrup on top. 
This is a photo of the completed fence! See below for photos of the fence in process!
Here are two photos of the fence blown over. They were taken the day we returned after the storm. We had been at Jason's family's house during the week-long Hurricane Ike evacuation.
Jason and I rebuilt our fence on the left side of our back yard! This fence had been blown over by Hurricane Ike. The fence building process has taken longer than we expected, because of a variety of obstacles. Mostly, time constraints related to trips, homework for our grad school classes, rain...rain...and more rain, early sunset, and just the fact that Jason did 95% of the work by himself. 
I did some nailing, helped with measuring boards, and was his official carpenter's assistant. He had to dig up all the old posts, which were 3 feet underground with a large ball of concrete around each one. He then had to redig or at least dig a larger hole to put the new posts in. He then had to set all those and make sure they were even and level and in line with the string we put up from end to end. 
Next, we had to frame out the fence with two by fours, which involved measuring and cutting a bunch of boards. In the midst of all the work, we had to run back and forth to Lowe's a few times to get more supplies --like 80 lb bags of concrete, fence posts (a couple were warped like a banana when we got them home--and had to be exchanged for another post), two by fours, and fence boards. 
We also had to get nails, of course, and Jason was happy to need a skill saw--which we also purchased for this project (it will come in handy for future projects, I'm sure)! We really are thankful to have the fence done! 
It was a pretty major project, considering we only had limited Sundays to work on it. 
I like to have cut flowers in the house during the weekend especially! I usually go out on a Friday afternoon and clip off whatever I can find! This time of year is the best!
Fluffy taking a nap on her bed that I set up for her beside me on the desk. She usually tries to take her naps on top of my pile of paper work that I'm trying to work on...so I decided to put a towel out for her to lay on--it's worked well...and she LOVES it...as you can see!
Romeo enjoys her perch on the back of the couch...chin rest and everything...living in the lap of luxury!
Tommy found a cozy spot on a blanket that was partly draped on the couch and partly laying on the floor. He loves to sleep sunny side up!
Fluffy usually goes spalunking in the dish washer once a month or so. Fortunately she does it when the dishes are dirty or if it is empty. I have to keep the door on the dish washer closed if the dishes are clean, or she might try to dirty them for me! She loves this game, and I think it's pretty hilarious watching her try to get in there!
Callie enjoys sleeping on the windowsill in the back bedroom! She can be found here almost every afternoon, taking her nap!
