Heartbreak

Brett Nolan Collins, 7, our beloved son, brother and friend, passed into the arms of Jesus in Glory on Thursday July 19, 2012 after a sudden illness.

Brett is the son of William and Geri Collins of Houston, born November 14, 2004.

He is survived by his brother and constant companion, Blake; his older sister Mandy, and brother Dustin with wife Natalie from Houston; his maternal grandmother Julieta Benassi and maternal great grandmother Irma Botto Fiora both of Buenos Aires, Argentina, his aunts and uncles, cousins and many others who have shared his life. 

We know that today, our real life Super Hero is in the arms of Jesus.  While we never wanted him to go, there is no better place for him to be. 

Brett will be missed and is deeply loved by so many including family, friends, teachers, parents, classmates at Champion Forest Baptist Church, schoolmates at Ponderosa Elementary, teammates on the Ponderosa Westador Swim Team and Klein Soccer teams.   We will all miss his smiles, his joy, and his laughter.  But we know that we will be with him again one day in Heaven! 

Brett will also be remembered by the many lives he has touched through his LifeGift donation.

Visitation will be held Thursday, July 26 from 9:00am to 11:00am, with Homecoming service to follow at 11:00am in the Family Life Center at Champion Forest Baptist Church, 15555 Stuebner-Airline Road, Houston, TX 77069, phone:  281-440-3800.

Flowers are welcome if so desired, however in lieu of flowers, we would be pleased to have you make a donation in Brett’s name to the Care Net Pregnancy Center of Northwest Houston, 14530 Wunderlich Drive, Suite 150, Houston, TX 77069, phone: 281-444-8554, www.carenetnw.com.

Arrangements are entrusted to Klein Funeral Home, 16131 Champion Forest Drive, Spring, Texas 77379, 281-320-2674.

It as has been awhile! I always on Facebook or Pinterest....no time for "blogging"...
but just in case you actually read up on this...i'll give you a quick (hopefully) update:
it's January 2012 already, what a year we had.....lots of happenings...with kitchen remodels, kids sports, such as baseball and swimming...summer trips..(and a few other little ones sprinkled in there) then back to school for 1st and 3rd grade! Delaney doing well, Deegan, not so much...some tutoring here and there. Swim team year-round...hmm she likes it but it's alot of committment..so we'll see if she chooses another sport next time around? Deegan is going to be on a select baseball team now...they are both finishing up with "Upward" Basketball and Cheer. Not much organization, or even following rules of the game. Not really our favorite, but i applaud the hard working volunteers that make it run. We had fun with Cuzins in San Antonio and going to seaworld after Thanksgiving..and then a LONG Christmas Vacation! both kids were sick at one time or another during the school break. So now it's 2012 ..Summer and I arranged a "surprise" birthday "dinner" for Jon and Mike, i will tell you about it after this weekend. Spring break brings no vacation plans for our family (more in a sec) however Jon has a trade show in Vegas, so Vegas, here i come! Ok, only for 2 nights, but thats a nice little break from kids! thanks Gramma/Papa! We are/have been planning a family trip to Puerto Rico, for a few days on the island, then a 7 day cruise to the southern carribbean islands i've always wanted to see!! If you are reading this, you are invited, and i have special rates!! So...see my FB page or call me:) We are really looking forward to it but have put off family vacas to afford this!

Work for me is surprisingly pretty good! despite the "economy" people ARE taking trips! Jon is busy! so we are just plugging along.

New Kitchen Photos:

I know you lots of you have been asking to see pictures of the kitchen remodel, i have some up here, but they are not of the end product..while we still have some "odds and ends" to finish up....here they are: it was definitely an all consuming project (and i mean that in time AND MONEY!) LOL but it was worth it i think...(other than i cannot go on vacation for quite awhile now!) Darn!!

more progress

the kitchen is now functioning at least. still have lots more to do, but at least we can cook!

progress

Kitchen remodel March 2011: the fun begins:

Oh yes, and we saw STOMP in NYC, it was the kids' favorite part of the whole trip!!

Summer 2010

I know i have not updated this in a long time. We have had a busy summer already. The day school was out, we flew to Oregon (Myself, kids and Mom) to see Kelly and Betty and Baby Kellan. We also had a memorial for my stepmom, Sandy. We visited family and hung out in Dallas with Kelly and family. Had fun! Miss them already. Then returned home for VBS (Vacation Bible School) for 5 days...then DROVE to New York, 3 days to get there....stay Sunday and Monday night at the W Hoboken, and had an amazing time, great city view, high floor, and swanky luxury!!! then off to Edison NJ where Jon worked for a few days, we had fun shopping at the mall, took a drive upstate a bit and had a great Greek Salad. Then ate at HAROLDs (same food as Carnegie Deli, our FAVE) also had fun with Art's family, they fed us and kids swam with their grandkids!! We headed to Philly on Friday, and spent SAturday touring the Indenpendence Hall....very fun. Then on Sat night headed to Gettysburg and toured on Sunday. It was wonderful. They Cyclorama was amazing if you ever get a chance to see it. Then headed to ST. Louis for Jon's appointment....nothing exciting, but headed back home after that! We were home a week then spent the weekend in SAT to visit Troy and Peggy, Lukas is stationed at Ft. Sam Houston. Ben and Ang also just moved there.. Kids and I stayed till Tuesday and enjoyed the Riverwalk, and the OMNI La Mansion! had a great visit. I am staying put for now.

Well....here's whats new: Delaney is getting baptized on March 7th!! Yah God!!
Also we are gearing up for Spring Break, we are driving to Disney! OH JOY!!
Then on my Bday (April 2nd!!) We are going to Tyler to see TobyMAC!!
Camping trip to Inks Lake planned over memorial day weekend...tent camping....but then
September 17th going to stay in a nice cabin on the lake at Bastrop State park!
February 3 (i think?) Kelly and Betty had a baby boy named Kellan!! Plan to visit him in Oregon this summer sometime. Also had Gramma Fawcett visit us for a couple of weeks...we (she) sewed (thanks for the purse!) and we had fun together. Got to take her camping (in a small cabin) at Buescher state park. Kids fished and Delaney caught 5 fish, Deegan, caught 1 but it was the biggest.
My parents are sick of driving back and forth from Magnolia, so they are putting their house on the market and going to try to move in closer.
Delaney had her 7th bday party last month and got her ears pierced as well!! Ok I'll try to post some pictures here...but you can also check facebook!!!

I know it's been 7 months since i've been on here. Sorry Guys, Facebook wins!!

“Jesus said to her, ‘I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will live, even though he dies; and whoever lives and believes in me will never die. Do you believe this?’” John 11:25-26 (NIV)

You are born, you live, you die, and then you go to heaven or hell. There’s more to this life than the here and now. There’s more to this life than what is visible. In light of eternity, life on planet earth is brief. Yet, there is life on the other side of the grave.

Everyone will face God and acknowledge that Jesus is Lord. Those who make that confession before death will go to heaven. Those who fail to make that declaration before death will face God, confess that Jesus is Lord, and then spend eternity separated from God in the literal place called hell.

There’s hope! Because Jesus is the resurrection and the life, you are invited to spend eternity in heaven. You are invited to respond to God’s offer of salvation by placing your faith in the redemptive act of Jesus dying on the cross to pay the penalty for your sin. You are invited to receive the gift of eternal life.

“For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith–and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God–not by works, so that no one can boast.” Eph 2:8-9 (NIV)

Receive the gift of eternal life and then spend your remaining days upon the earth inviting others to receive the gift of eternal life before it is too late. How many people will be in heaven because of you?

NEWS!

Well, it's official now, Kelly and Betty are going to be getting married
July 4th, 2009. Willow Lake Nursery will be the place! We'll be flying to
Oregon then! So exciting, another wedding for the kiddos to be in, they love it.
Better have dancing!!

Easter 2009