Our Family

Abby's Kindness

2012-01-09T16:26:00.004-06:00

On Friday, I received this email from Abby's teacher.

Mr. and Mrs. Encalade,

I wanted to tell you just what a wonderful girl you have! We have a little boy in class who struggles with behavior and finishing work. On Fridays I draw tickets for prizes. He doesn’t get many tickets and becomes very upset, so Abby told him, a few weeks ago, if her name is pulled he could have her prize. Then today, her name WAS pulled—She is the one who reminded him that he could have her prize. As if this wasn’t touching enough- her name was pulled AGAIN!!!! And AGAIN she gave him her SECOND prize!!!! I was about to cry!:) She is just so wonderful – she is always willing to help others. She thinks of ways to help others in such a way that they really know she cares. I am truly enjoying having Abby in my class this year! Thank you for sharing her with me this school year! She is truly a blessing!

Have a wonderful weekend!

Emily Carr

Hyde Park Elementary

1^st Grade

This email brought tears to my eyes and made me super proud! Abby let me know about this idea that she came up with on her own a few weeks before the break. I am thrilled that she actually went through with it. What a sweetie pie!
We told her how proud we were of her, and that this made us even prouder than all her good grades. We told her those kind of actions made God proud too.

New Year's Eve

2012-01-09T16:08:00.005-06:00

Our church was among a small percentage of churches that were given the DVD of Courageous before it was released to the general public.
The church decided to show it on New Year's Eve. We ate finger foods then sent the kids to another room to watch CARS 2 while the adults watched Courageous. What an awesome movie! I was really impressed! If you have not watched it, be sure to have some Kleenex with you when you do.
After the movie some people hung around to play Minute to Win It under the direction Wes and all his creativity. We also got in a game of Mafia before the countdown to the new year.
Again, I didn't take pictures. Well, at least I have this post to document our good times with great friends.
I don't know what I would do without my church family.

Dinner With Old Friends

2012-01-09T16:01:00.004-06:00

It is not very often that we get to see old friends of ours that were missionaries in Kenya when we lived there. It was such a treat for David and Mary Helen Bush to stop in Denison on their way home from vacation. We had a great time eating together, catching up and playing some fun games.
The Bush family was some of our best friends in Kenya. We got together with them often, even though we lived hours apart. We made lots of great memories with their kids who were our age while at each other's houses, at the beautiful Mombasa beach and on other vacations. We finally got to live in the same town years later in Abilene.
It was so good to see David and Mary Helen once again. The Bushes will always hold a special place in my heart. I only wish we could have seen their kids and their families, too.
Sadly, I didn't think to take any pictures.

Christmas

2012-01-06T15:07:00.024-06:00

Because we spent Christmas Day in Panama last year with Aaron, we spent Christmas Day this year with the Encalades.
We had Dad and Gina over the day before Christmas Eve. We got a few games in before opening presents. We enjoyed watching everyone open their gifts with eagerness.
Our Christmas dinner together included honey ham, sides, and desserts that the girls and I prepared. Following dinner we drove to see the Christmas lights at Loy Lake. I must say that they were pretty impressive. It was especially nice because the line wasn't that long and it was warm enough outside to even have our sunroof open which allowed Avery to poke her head out.

On Christmas Eve we celebrated Christmas with just our family. In keeping with our tradition, we read a children's book about Jesus's birth and why we give each other gifts at Christmas. Then we took turns opening presents. I love watching the girls get so excited each year as they open their gifts.

Later, we finished packing up a bit before driving down to Arlington to be with the Encalades. Katy and Blake and their kids joined us Sunday after church. Of course, the cousins had a ball together.
Before opening our presents we carried out our tradition of singing some Christmas church songs and reading about the birth of Jesus.
This year, Avery and Abby took turns reading it to us. Tripp also helped a little by filling in some blanks or repeating sentences. It was pretty cute.

All in all, we made some great memories together and had a good time celebrating the birth of Jesus together with our family.

Granny's Birthday Party

2012-01-05T22:02:00.005-06:00

On Monday, December 19th we headed down to Maggiono's in Plano for a special dinner with lots of extended family to celebrate Granny's 80th birthday. Wes's parents rented a large dining room there, so we could walk around and visit with everyone. Plus, all the kids could roam around and not have to be seated the whole time. It was great to be able to see everyone and catch up. Avery and Abby especially had a great time with their first and second cousins.
After dinner all the older girls (Avery and Abby's age) were standing near the front of the room. I told them that they should sing some Christmas songs. They loved the idea and immediately put their heads together to decide which songs they should sing. Tripp (our 3 year old nephew) even joined in with them. They did an awesome job and it was a special treat, I think, for Granny (and the others) to be entertained by these sweet kids.
Debbie hired a photographer, so I need to post some of those pictures when they are ready.
Granny was super pleased with the party and mentioned several times how much fun it was. We are blessed to have Granny in our lives, and it was a joy to celebrate her!

My Little Bakers

2012-01-05T21:41:00.011-06:00

One Christmas tradition we have around here is baking together. This usually involves decorating some sugar cookies as well.
This year I decided to help the girls make gingerbread cookies to decorate with icing.

We also made some Holiday Pretzel Treats.

We also tried our hand at some Molasses Cookies that Pat made for a couple different church events and was kind enough to pass along the recipe.
After everything was all made we delivered them to family, friends, neighbors, and some elderly couples at church.
This year was a success, and it was interesting to see how much the girls have grown in their decorating skills. There are no longer globs of icing, but they now better understand that, often, less is more when it comes to decorating with icing.
I love that Avery and Abby enjoy baking for others as much as I do, and I hope to continue this tradition for many years to come.

Avery's New Room

2012-01-05T21:25:00.009-06:00

On the Friday that Christmas break began, Wes and I started painting Avery's room and actually finished it that night. She told us that for Christmas she would like her room redone with new bedding etc. I thought that was a good idea since I was the one who chose her colors and bedding when she got out of her crib many moons ago. Avery was so excited one Saturday afternoon to start shopping that she and I began looking online for ideas. About 45 minutes later she had found what she wanted. And much to my liking, it was on SALE!
We had told Avery that she would need to sleep in Abby's room that night since there was still a strong smell from the paint and her furniture was all in the middle of the room. She and Abby immediately became excited at this news. They have slept in the same room on numerous occasions at camp or at grandparent's houses, but I never would have thought they would get so excited about doing it at home. So, I jumped right on that excitement train and told them that if they got along during the day they could sleep in the same room at night. This worked like a charm during Christmas Break. My hope is that now that school has started back (and we don't really want them keeping each other up or waking each other up in the morning) they will be in a routine of getting along. Is that wishful thinking?

I uploaded the video of her room to YouTube since I couldn't get it to upload on blogger. Does anyone else have this problem?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DYGydnt38lk&feature=youtu.be

LIFT

2012-01-05T20:51:00.009-06:00

Ladies In Faith Together, LIFT, is something my friends and I started back at the beginning of the summer. I actually wasn't much of a help over the summer because I was gone on all our youth trips. Basically we decided that we wanted to reach out to our community and be a light to those around us. We all agreed that one way we could do this was by planning activities twice a month with the Homeless Shelter in town.
We were able to come together and reach out to the people at the shelter. We helped one family that had just left the shelter by providing them with all kinds of donated items: from furniture and bedding to dishes and food. We even got to help them set up their house for their new beginning. Avery and Abby helped load and unload, set up clothes, and organize toys. It is never to early to make a difference, right?
We did other things like make ice cream sundaes at the shelter while we visited with them.
One thing that is especially neat about this group from the shelter is that the children go to school at Terrell where I tutor. It has been a joy to develop relationships with the students. One family in particular has five children, 2 of which I tutored on a daily basis. Another church picks up people from the shelter to go to church. One of the teachers I work with who goes to that church told us that the whole family got saved and was baptized on Christmas Day. Praise God! I have mixed emotions now because the family has moved out of the shelter into their own house in Sherman which I know is a fantastic thing for them, but that means that they have switched schools and I won't see them anymore. I had developed a bond with the oldest girl and boy who were in 5th grade.
One night before Halloween we brought the children from the shelter to our building for a meal and to try on all sorts of costumes that had been donated by our members. It was a hoot watching them try on and act like the characters they were dressed as. At the end of the evening they were able to choose a costume to keep.
During December they were picked up and brought to the church to shop for their siblings, parents, and teachers. Lots of new and used items had been donated by our members. I am always amazed at the generosity of our church family. Each child from the the shelter was able to choose three items for every member of their family and we still had items left over. We helped them wrap their gifts and they left with garbage bags full of wrapped gifts looking almost like Santa himself.
On another night they were picked up from the church by one of our members, Jim Russell, who was dressed like the conductor from The Polar Express. He even passed out tickets on the bus. We watched The Polar Express together while eating dinner and yummy Christmas treats. After the movie they each had a turn on Santa's lap and he gave them each a wrapped present with pajamas just their size that we had purchased.
I have thoroughly enjoyed working with these ladies and I am super proud of all the behind the scenes work that my friends put into making it all come together each time. My hope and prayer is that our new friends from the shelter have seen Jesus through our words and actions, and that we have touched them in some small way.

Project Christmas

2012-01-05T20:43:00.004-06:00

Our church has a wonderful program each year called Project Christmas where small groups choose families from our community to adopt and bless with Christmas gifts.
Our small group decided to adopt one of my friend's precious students as well as a woman and her three daughters who have recently moved out of the homeless shelter. We all donated money and then we got to go on a shopping spree for them. Usually mostly toys and clothes are purchased, but because this family had just moved out of the homeless shelter they had many household needs. It was was such a joy to be able to bless them. Avery and Abby went with us when we shopped. They had a great time picking out things and were a big help. I am always thankful when Avery and Abby get to be a part of something like this where they get to learn the importance of giving and serving others. They were also with us when we delivered the gifts to the family and were able to see the gratitude expressed by the woman we were able to bless.
I am so thankful that our small group gave so generously to bless a young boy who has had a pretty rough life lately and a young family trying to make a fresh start.

Christmas Caroling

2012-01-05T20:14:00.010-06:00

Each Christmas we try to go caroling. Usually we go with the youth group. This year we went with some friends from our small group. We took the church bus which made it extra fun, and it allowed us to practice our songs between stops. We visited two nursing homes where some of our church members stay and two elderly couples who cannot get out much.

We had such a wonderful time visiting our friends and bringing them some Christmas cheer. Wes was kind enough to put some Christmas song books together for us. It is amazing how you forget the words to the songs we sometimes just sing once a year. I think one of my favorite parts of the evening was watching our children share hugs and kisses with our elderly friends.

Abby, Abby, and Avery loving on Nikki.

We ended the night with dinner together at Panda Express.

This is a tradition we will definitely carry through the years.

A Day for Granny

2011-12-12T21:02:00.019-06:00

Granny turns 80 this year, so we wanted to do something extra special for her birthday. We decided rather than getting her one more thing for her house or clothes, we would spend a whole day enjoying her company. We thought we would enjoy a trip together to the Ft. Worth Science Museum. It was just our family and her, so we could really focus on her and not other relatives.

We had such a good time doing all the hands on activities together and watching an IMAX presentation of The Wild Ocean. We ended the day with dinner together before heading back to her house where we spent two nights for Thanksgiving. We made some great memories!

Abby digging for dinosaur bones.

Shopping at the mini grocery store with Granny.

The girls sure love their Granny!

Avery could hula hoop for hours. She gets that from Wes. I cannot do it, no matter how much I try.

Making a pinball obstacle course.

Abby rocking out with the "instruments".

The man on stilts was a little "freaky" but kinda cool, too.

Long lighted catterpillar tunnel outside.

Getting ready for the IMAX presentation.

I have so much love and respect for Granny. I hope when I am her age that I am as loving, caring, and as energetic as she is. She is so selfless with her time, volunteering at the Pregnancy Crisis Shelter, visiting the shut-ins from church on a regular basis, and devoting countless hours in prayer and Bible study. I really do look up to this lady.

Christmas on TV

2011-12-11T15:19:00.008-06:00

Avery had her 3rd grade Christmas program on Monday and it was titled "Christmas on TV". It had cute snippets and songs from famous Christmas movies and ended with the nativity scene and "Silent Night". Avery was Alvin from "Alvin and the Chipmunks" and had two solos. She also hula hooped for part of the song too. She is a pro at that for sure.

She nailed her solos, and we couldn't have been prouder! She was not even nervous. I could have never done that when I was her age. I bet she will enjoy being in theater someday. Who knows?

Fall Retreat

2011-12-10T15:43:00.009-06:00

This year we tried something new. We decided to have a combined retreat with our middle school and high school group. We were all together during times of worship and eating, but we separated the groups for lessons, group discussions, the ropes course, zip line, and games.

I was with the Middle School group. We have a large group of teens in middle school. They are full of energy and have such a zest for life. I especially love how they are eager to add to discussions in Bible class and happy to serve others. They are often bolder than some of our high schoolers. I am excited to see how God is going to use them for His Kingdom.

I brought Gloria, a 6th grader, that has been coming to church with me. I tutored her last year and reconnected with her one day when I subbed at the middle school. She knew some of our girls, but I was impressed with how welcome they all made her feel.

I think my highlights of the weekend were the amazing times of worship and just getting to hang out with these awesome teens. I love working with our youth!

The Middle School group on a big pile of wood chips.

Playing games.

I am trying to explain the straw game.

Straw and tissue paper relay race.

Working together at the ropes course.

Halloween Happenings

2011-12-10T15:05:00.005-06:00

For the second year, Hyde Park Elementary had a Pumpkin Decorating contest. The girls gave us their ideas, I did some more research and bought the necessary supplies. Wes did the majority of the actual work with the girls.

They each got an award. Abby won Most Original and Avery won Funniest. They were very proud.

My favorite part was helping Abby with the baby spiders. We held on to those for future Halloween decorations. Next year, I want to use fake pumpkins so we can keep them for decorations for years to come. It seems like a lot of work to have to throw away the pumpkins after just a few weeks.

The girls enjoyed the church Fall Festival, as usual. Dressing up, a bounce house, lots of games and treats. What more could a child want out of a Fall Festival?

Abby wanted to put her new dress that Nana brought back from China to good use, so she decided to be Mulan this year. Avery decided to be a tiger girl. It was Avery's idea to pose this way.

We were glad Grandpa and Gina got to join us for the fun festivities, as well.

Another Successful Soccer Season

2011-12-10T13:27:00.009-06:00

Avery, Abby and their coach, Wes, had a another great season this fall. Avery's team, the Denison Ponies, won every single game and actually won first place in their division. Abby's team, the Denison Lightening only lost 2 games the whole season. We made some good memories, playing, and cheering each other on.

We are now enjoying some less busy Saturdays until the Spring season comes around.

A Toothless Grin and www. churchsongs.com!

2011-10-14T08:47:00.008-05:00

One day last week, Abby came home with a missing tooth. Mrs. Jackson (known for her great teeth pulling skills) had pulled it for her at school and placed it in a cute purple treasure chest. I told the superintendent who goes to our church that Mrs. Jackson deserved a raise for all the teeth she pulls at Hyde Park Elementary.
Abby's other front tooth was slightly loose when she lost the first one. These last couple of days it has been almost hanging, but she would not let anyone pull it. She was scared that it would hurt. Finally, yesterday she pulled it herself right before getting in the shower. Ha! She was pretty proud of her accomplishment. It's funny how two little things can change the whole look of someone's face.
About a week ago, Abby was outside by herself swinging. This wasn't just regular swinging. Abby was standing on the swing while she was swinging and she was singing at the top of her lungs. I was watching all of this from inside. She sang church songs and also her very own creative church songs about people making bad decisions. (Can you tell what we have been talking about at home?) Anyways it was pretty entertaining. What really made me laugh out loud was at the end of one of her own created songs she said, "For more songs visit www.churchsongs.com" Ha!
Later, I told her that I heard her and that it made me happy that she loved to sing songs about God. I told her our neighbors probably enjoyed her singing, too. She then asked as serious as could be, "Did you hear my website?" I replied that I had. She said, "Do you think the neighbors will visit it?" This girl cracks us up!

Let School Begin!

2011-09-12T11:55:00.021-05:00

After a very busy summer, I was ready for a routine, and ready to be home for a while.

Having a youth minister for a husband makes for packed summers. Don't get me wrong, I do love it, but it is nice to have a regular routine now and to not be on the road so much. I did the math and figured that we were out of town a total of 30 days for camps, mission trip, and our vacation.

The girls were ready for school to start too. I cannot believe we now have a 1st grader and 3rd grader! Time has flown by!

As I write this it has been 3 weeks since school started. So far, so good. We are back into the swing of things, and the girls are enjoying school and like their teachers. I will say, Avery has had a lot more homework this year. She often has a math sheet, spelling sheet, and then she is supposed to read her AR book. She has had a good attitude about it for the most part, but I do feel a little sorry for her.

I don't start tutoring until Sept. 19th, but I am on the sub list until then. The beginning of the year is always slow when it comes to substitute teaching, but I was glad because it allowed me to get lots of projects done at home. One day, I got to be outside in the beautiful weather while I was subbing for a P.E. teacher who said to take advantage of the cooler weather and take the students out for "Free Play". It was awesome! Another day I subbed in my old classroom. It was a little weird, and it brought back some memories of those 3 years I taught before having Avery.

Another day I was asked to sub in a Criminal Justice class at the high school. I was glad I didn't really have to "teach" anything in that class. What do I know about Criminal Justice? Needless to say, substitute teaching is not boring. Each time brings a new experience or adventure.

My schedule is a little different this year with tutoring. I will be spending most of every school day at Terrell Elementary working with 5th graders on Math and Science. I am really looking forward to it. I always say that tutoring is most of the best parts of teaching minus all the stress, grading papers, dealing with parents, and making lesson plans. To top it off, I am done at the end of the school day. I love that I can be at home in the morning with my girls before school starts, and I am done in enough time to pick them up from school.

Soccer has also started back up around here. Wes is Abby's head coach once again and Avery's assistant coach. Abby is playing on a bigger field and now plays 4 on 4. Abby had her first game on Saturday. They were ahead by 1 point most of the time, but ended up with a tie in the end.

Small groups will resume at our house next Sunday. I love this group and can't wait to study Francis Chan's Forgotten God. I loved Crazy Love, so I am excited about starting another one of his books.

So, between school, youth activities at church and in our home, soccer practices and games, church, and small group, we have lots going on around here.

Graduation Number Two!

2011-09-03T13:43:00.003-05:00

HE DID IT! Wes finished his Masters in Conflict Resolution from ACU. The majority of his work was done online which was nice. He had a lot of late nights. Let's just say we are all glad it is over.

We went to his graduation at ACU. The ceremony was special. ACU's president, Phil Shubert, even mentioned Wes and his story of battling cancer while he was going through his classes.

Every time I go to Abilene wonderful memories come flooding back. We walked around the campus like we have done a couple of times before. I was even able to show the girls my old dorm room on the second floor of Nelson. Abby told Avery, "Wouldn't it be cool if you and I were roommates in Mommy's old room?" So sweet!

We also drove around to my old house that I grew up in, and saw one of the houses where Wes and his roommates lived.

Walking in to "Pomp and Circumstance".

All the graduates. Wes and the other two students who were mentioned in the speech are standing in the front .

Wes being hooded.

Abby being her goofy self and wearing Wes's hat.

He looks so prestigious!

We are so proud of Wes and his big accomplishment! Great Job Honey!

Dear Maui, I love you!

2011-09-03T13:06:00.002-05:00

Can I just say that I love Hawaii? Really I love anywhere that has great weather and pretty beaches. Is that too much to ask? The first week of August we traveled to Maui for a fun-filled family vacation for a week with all the Encalades. It was an adventure getting there because we flew stand-by, thanks to Debbie's previous employment with American Airlines. I am not complaining about our little "adventure" because it is very worth it to save the money. Plus, the girls are at a such a good age to travel, it really isn't too hard.
Debbie, Ernie, and Granny got to Maui on Thursday, and Blake, Katy, and their kids arrived Sunday. The original plan was for us to leave Sunday night on a flight to L.A. after the girl's last CTW (Christain Theater Workshop) performance. Then we would leave early Monday morning on a flight to Maui. We got to L.A. just fine and spent part of the night (it was pretty late) in a hotel. We got up early to try to make our flight, but unfortunately a flight to Maui had been canceled on Sunday which meant there were a lot of other people trying to to get to Maui. Since we were flying stand-by we had to let all of those people go ahead of us. We waited in the airport all day trying to get a flight out and were finally able to catch a flight to Kauai at 5:30. We spent the night there at a beautiful hotel then caught a "island hopper" to Maui. Honestly, I didn't mind the little detour to Kauai. It is such a beautiful island.
We were able to stay at Wes's Aunt Dianne's gorgeous house in Wailea. It was absolutely perfect! It was wonderful being all together under one roof. The cousins, of course, had a ball playing together. We ate most of our meals there and enjoyed some great dinners outside since the weather was so nice!
Our days were filled with swimming in the pool and ocean, boogie boarding, taking walks, a little bit of shopping, playing games like Hand and Foot and Monopoly, some golf for the guys, and massages for the gals, and just hanging out. We also spent one whole day at the Grande Wailea Resort. Here is a description of the pool area. "This multi-faceted, 2,000-foot-long, 25,700-total-square-foot, 770,000-gallon pool consists of nine free-form pools at six levels -- beginning at 40 feet and dropping to sea level. The pools are connected by a river that carries swimmers along at varying speeds, from whitewater rapids to lazy currents. Wailea Canyon includes four jungle pools, four tile slides, a whitewater rapids slide, a Tarzan pool with rope swing, the world's first water elevator, a sand beach, six waterfalls, caves, three Jacuzzis, an infant pool, and a swim-up bar, where guests can order refreshing beverages." Yup, it was amazing!
The Grandparents watched all the grandkids one evening so Katy, Blake, Wes and I could go out for dinner and shopping. That was a nice treat!
I was hoping the flights out of Maui were too full for us to fly stand-by, but alas our wonderful vacation had to come to an end.
A HUGE thank you to Ernie and Debbie for treating us to such a FANTASTIC vacation! Also, a HUGE thank you to Aunt Dianne and Uncle Chick for letting us stay at their amazing house!

Taking a nap while waiting in the airport.

These pictures were taken at our "detour" in Kauai.

Aunt Dianne's beautiful vacation house where we stayed.

A view from our bedroom balcony.

The cousins are ready to go swimming!

Hanging out in the pool in the backyard.

We paid a visit to the Maui Ocean Center where we saw all kinds of marine life and were even able to touch some starfish.

Playing games and having fun with arts and crafts.

The Grande Wailea Resort.

Beach fun! Playing in the sand, dancing, playing beach tennis, boogie boarding, and riding the waves.

Family Pictures

Eating a yummy snow cone while out shopping.

Avery enjoyed writing names in the sand. The "?" is for the little cousin Katy is pregant with. I thought that was pretty cute of Avery to think of that.

Our Little Actresses!

2011-08-27T16:23:00.023-05:00

Every summer our church puts on a play for the community. Kids from all over are area are also invited to be a part of these plays. This year we did Rising Son which tells the life of Jesus. It was written by one of our very own talented moms, Kathy Pryor. The kids spend a week going to day camp and practicing for the three performances. The older kids actually practice in the evenings for a week before the day camp begins. This year is the first year Avery and Abby had lines in the play (understandably, most lines are given to the older kids and teenagers.) They were super duper excited and memorized all their lines before day camp started.
Avery was the Littlest Angel and had 3 lines which she nailed every time. Abby played the part of Bethany, a dead girl that Jesus heals. She did a marvelous job of lying 'dead' on the bed while the stage crew brought her out before the scene began. I half expected her to crack up. But, she never did. She was still until Jesus raised her and then she nailed her lines, too.
I got to help with the crafts during the day camp which was lots of fun. Janaga came up with all the crafts that had a special spiritual meaning for each one. That made it much more meaningful than some random fun crafts.
This year they also incorporated a another part into CTW where the kids prayed through out the building about many different topics, went through scenarios of making good decisions, and donated items for a Children's Hospital.

Each day had a dress up theme. This is what they picked out for "Wacky Wednesday".

Avery, the Littlest Angel.

The whole group of angels.

Abby as Bethany.

Abby acting dead before she is healed by Jesus.

Abby hugging and thanking Jesus.

Abby really got into waiving the palm leaves during "Hosanna". She would reach all the way to the floor and then back up again. So dramatic!

Avery also got to play a towns person in this scene.

Kaila blowing the crowd away with her gift of singing.

Our horse even made its acting debut as the colt
the disciples borrowed for Jesus to ride into town.

A townspeople scene.

Each year I am impressed by our talented group of kids as well as adults who make this happen. Our prayer is that it is an outreach to the community and another chance to be Jesus to those around us.

Mission Trip to Philadelphia

2011-07-25T19:43:00.053-05:00

Our mission trip to Philadelphia was a huge success! It was neat to watch God working through the lives of our teens. Many prayers were answered and hopefully lives were changed.

The second day we were there we worshiped with the Folsom Church of Christ. Our teens led most of the service. They were nervous about leading the prayers and songs and serving communion, but they sure did a terrific job. We were so proud!

Staring contest with Robert.

Singing a song they sang in Bible class for the whole congregation.

While we were there we helped with 3 organizations, a pregnancy crisis center, Folsom Church of Christ and CEF. The girls and I worked with an organization called CEF, which stands for Child Evangelism Fellowship. CEF sends groups out into parks and neighborhoods to hold day camps for kids. The camps are like an outdoor VBS with singing, games, puppets, crafts, and bible stories. We did two camps each day while we were there, one in the morning and one in afternoon, in two separate locations. The place we went to in the afternoon had the highest crime rate per capita, we were told. We saw a swat team one day close to our location. We really did feel safe the whole time we were there.

On the first two days the CEF people led the camps and taught the Bible lesson. We helped set up, told the neighborhood kids about the camp and helped keep the kids in line. We also helped with the songs and some of us were able to perform in the puppet skits. A couple of our teens learned how to teach the kids their memory verses and were able to teach that portion of the lesson. Then, on the third day, we got to lead the camp. We led singing, taught the memory verse and did a skit. I was very proud of our teens. They were awesome with all the little friends we met. It was neat to see all the kids come back each day bringing other friends with them. They would report to us that they listened to their songs on the CD we had given them and were even able to tell us the memory verse from the day before. I wish we had a program like this in Denison. Then our teens could develop some deeper relationships with the kids.

Listening to the lesson at CEF.

Avery helping Kaila as she teaches the kids the memory verse for the day.

We learned lots of new songs with cool actions.

Avery holding up the memory verse for Kaila again.

"Who's the King of the Jungle? Who? Who?"

Kaila and Zack's break out group.

This picture makes me laugh. It looks like I laid an egg. No worries, it is just my purse.

All the teen leaders, the girls and I before CEF started one day.

Abby holding the memory verse for Zach.

All of the leaders. It was neat to see them all in action. We learned so much from them.

The group that worked with the Folsom church helped them get ready for a VBS, by preparing props, materials, and by canvasing the neighborhoods to spread the word. They also helped organize and clean up areas of the church.

The group that went to the Amnion Pregnancy Crisis Center helped by transforming their previously flooded basement into a mini store where new moms could get items for their babies for a very cheap price. They painted walls, sorted through clothes that were moldy and categorized everything in a professional way. The finished product was impressive.

The last day we were there we went to down town Philly to see the sights. We saw the Liberty Bell, Town Hall, Christ Church, Love Park, and the steps to the Art Museum (where Rocky ran). I was most fascinated by Christ Church where several of the founding fathers worshiped.

Visiting the Liberty Bell.

Our girls are so strong, they can lift the bell.

City Hall - Where the Declaration was signed.

Sitting in the pews at Christ Church.

We stopped to see "The Thinker" on the way to climb the steps of the Art Museum.

Abby ran to this spot and said, "Look, I am a statue!" Ha!

Uncle Ron got to meet us for lunch and our afternoon sight seeing. Sure was good to see him.

On a side note, Uncle Ron hooked us up with staying at his old college dorms which worked out much better than hotel rooms would have. It saved us a lot of money. It was also nice to be able to meet in the lobbies together and enjoy the beautiful campus. Thanks again for making that happen, Ron. We had a great time visiting with you, too!

Our whole group at LOVE Park.

I always love going on mission trips with our teens. Watching them let God use them brings a lot of joy to my heart.

Cornerstone and Impact

2011-07-25T16:15:00.032-05:00

Zenith and Cornerstone and Impact were right after each other which works out quite well. We just stay at Oklahoma Christian for the weekend. Wes did end up having to take the Zenith kids home since there were some problems with the bus, but he joined us the very next day.

The girls and I decided to head to the Oklahoma City Science Museum Friday afternoon. We have been to the Fort Worth one too. This one was even better. There were so many hands-on activities. We couldn't even see everything in the 5 hours we spent there.

We watched an IMAX production of Legends of Flight first, which wasn't what I was expecting, but we still learned a lot. We should have probably watched Extreme instead.

Seesaw on a log!

I think they are ready for Trek!

After some hands-on learning fun we headed to Science Live! In an auditorium a very lively presenter created explosions to teach about chemical and physical reactions. During the show he asked for volunteers. They were told not raise their hands to volunteer. They had to dance to music. Well, say no more, Abby got into the dancing and was chosen to go on stage in front of 100 or so people. She helped blow up a huge bottle. I got in on video. She loved every bit of it!

Abby, The Scientist - View it on YouTube

The next day we headed to the water park in Edmond with our friends Cori and Jason and their girls Riley and Reagan. Jason is also a youth minister and Cori is a teacher. We have a lot in common. It has been so neat to develop relationships with other families at camp through the years.

Splish, Splash!

Good Friends!

After a fun and relaxing weekend we started Impact and Cornerstone. This was the first year we sent one of our very own kids to camp. Avery was super excited! Abby was sad and jealous. Poor girl! Avery ended up having a wonderful first week of camp and is excited about going next year.

Avery and her roomies, Paislee and Henley. Abby is wishing she could be one too.

These two have been friends since they were just babies.

Avery's whole group.

Impact campers from Park Avenue.

Funny faces!

We checked on Avery and her friends from church a couple of times of day for just a little bit. Each time she was having a ball. I am so thankful that Impact and Cornerstone run the same week, so I could keep an eye on her. She was able to go a year early since Wes and I were there for Cornerstone - the perks of being on staff at camp.

Cornerstone was terrific! The classes, activities, and worship were amazing. Again, like Zenith, my favorite part was when we went to the food bank. We did the same thing, but this time we had cauliflower, which I must say is harder to chop up!

I always enjoy going to classes with our teens.

Horsing Around!

We are excited about our service project!

Lot's of people serving! So proud!

Serving alongside friends.

The Middle School Gang!

Zenith

2011-07-08T21:10:00.015-05:00

Zenith, our high school camp, was awesome this year! Great classes by the youth ministers, wonderful messages brought by Mitch Wilburn again, uplifting praise and worship time, entertaining/meaningful skits by UNBOUND, and many fun filled activities.

One of my favorite times of the week was when we went to the Oklahoma Food Bank to help out one afternoon. I always love working side by side with our youth for a great unselfish cause. Our group got to shovel frozen corn kernels into 3lb. bags, which then had to be measured to exactly 3lbs. and then sealed. I was so proud of our group. I heard very little complaining and everyone worked hard. Our fearless leader led us in chants like, "CORN, CORN, CORN!" or he would yell, "WHOLE KERNEL" to which we replied "CORN!" The group next to us had carrots, and we made it contest of yelling and working hard. Avery, Abby, and their friend, Riley, (also a youth minister's kid) were little balls of energy. They were our main carriers of the bags to get weighed. I heard zero complaints from them. When we were done we had to clean up our whole area. You would be surprised at how corn gets stuck to a cement floor.

The whole group!

The swag. Don't ask.

Funny faces with Kaila.

Buddies!

Kaila pounding the frozen kernels loose while Easton watches.

Abby - a hard worker.

Kaci, our terrific intern weighing the bags.

Sing Song faces, girls. Don't you love the hairnets?

What a hottie!

I am so thankful for the relationships we have built through the years with the youth ministers and other staff at camp. It seems like each year just gets better and better.

Scott's Wedding

2011-07-08T15:29:00.015-05:00

My cousin Scott got married on June 17th in Richardson. I have to admit, his wedding made me feel old. I remember when he was just a toddler living in Houston, Texas. I would ride his big wheel tricycle and play with him and his older brother. Now he is all grown up and married. We are so happy for him and his new wife, Kristin.

Several relatives that we had not seen in years came for the wedding. Aunt Cathy, Uncle Ed, Andy, Uncle Craig, and my 2nd cousin, Yvonne came up to Denison one day to visit before the wedding.

The wedding was beautiful and sweet. The reception that followed was loads of fun. Both girls really cut the rug. Avery especially surprised us by getting into all the dancing. We know to expect it from Abby, but usually Avery is a little shy about it. It was pretty cute to watch!

The happy couple enjoying their first dance.

Mother and son dance. So sweet!

My Uncle Craig and Dad.

My Uncle Ron and Avery dancing.

Abby really took a liking to my second cousin, Yvonne. My mom and her siblings and Yvonne and her siblings were super close when they were growing up.

Busting some moves!

Instead of a guest sign in book, they had a photo booth where you could put on some accessories and get your picture taken. We got to keep one copy of our pictures and the other copy was put on some paper that you could then leave a message for the new couple. What a great idea! This is the girls while we are waiting our turn for the photo booth.

I am bummed that I did not get a picture of my cousin Andy who, as the best man, gave a tear jerking speech about his brother.

It sure was fun to see everyone. I wish we weren't all spread all over the US. My Aunt and Uncle say they will move closer soon, so I am going to hold them to that.

Starting Off the Summer with Cousins!

2011-07-08T15:00:00.011-05:00

At the beginning of the summer Aaron, Janet, Mylen and Aivlyn came to visit for two nights. We had such a great time catching up, playing games, watching the kids and just hanging out. We had not seen them since Christmas, so it was great to be together.

One of the days we headed to the Splash water park in Sherman. Avery, Abby and Mylen went down the big slides more times than I could count. I am sure Aivlyn would have been right there with them if there had not been any height restrictions.

Taking a break for a snack and a drink.

Cousins waiting in line together. I didn't get any pictures of them going down the big slides because so often I was right along with them.

Do you notice the trend here with Abby holding her nose? The girl hates to get water up her nose.

Even Dad and Gina went down the tall slides which of course made the grand kids happy!

The first day we had our own water slide and pool time in our back yard.

Aaron and Janet. Not sure why Aaron wouldn't smile - goofball!

Grandpa and Gina bought these shirts for the girls in Scotland. Aren't they cute?

A good time was had by all. I am so thankful the girls have cousins around their age to play with.

End of the Year Awards!

2011-06-11T15:54:00.005-05:00

On the last day of school the girls had an awards ceremony which is called the Koality Celebration - a play off of "quality celebration". They both finished out the year strong. They each received these awards for all of the nine weeks through out the year.

Koality Citizen
Koality Worker
Koality Reader
A Honor Roll
Koality Attendance (Abby didn't receive this one nine weeks because she was sick for 3 days in a row, which isn't too bad for a kindergartner.)

They each also won the Top AR Reader trophy for their whole grade level for earning the most Accelerator Reader (AR) points by reading and testing on books.

Avery had perfect attendance all year long as well and was given a T-shirt!

We were extremely proud of them! We are thankful to God for their eagerness to learn as well as their great behavior. Our prayer is that they will use those talents and gifts for God's glory.

Another Wonderful Weekend of Camping

2011-06-08T15:19:00.022-05:00

Over the Memorial Day weekend we went camping with several of our friends from our small group. By the time we all decided on a date there weren't many options available around Lake Texoma. We finally decided on Grandpappy Point. Wes and I went out there Thursday morning to reserve our spots since we knew it would be a very crowded weekend.

Most of us headed out there on Friday after school. After dinner and setting up our tents we played a game of volleyball. We will probably never forget our friendly camping neighbor buddy, Cory, who played with us. This 12 year old was full of stories/lies. He made us laugh with his stories of going to state in volleyball and his tales of his winnings in the game of washers. He was a character! By the way, my team won both times in volleyball. Woo hoo! We spent the rest of the night talking, singing, and just hanging out.

The next day the kids woke us up bright and early, which is usually the case when we are camping. We tried our hand at Cara Miller's camping donuts recipe. The yummy donuts were enjoyed by all. Next time we will have to remember not to shake the donuts up in Ziploc bags. I sure didn't think the donuts would melt the bag. We will definitely be taking paper bags in the future.

The kids all had so much fun together playing in the sand of the volleyball court which was right next to our site. I am sure we left some Polly Pockets buried alive there. Ooops!

After lunch when it started to get super hot we drove a very short distance to a cool beach area. I was surprised how much cooler the water was from last year when we went on the same weekend. It didn't stop us from getting in, and it definitely cooled you down.

That night we roasted hot dogs and marshmallows, and we had another great night of hanging out. We played several hilarious games of Mafia. Mafia can get pretty interesting when half the people are exhausted.

The next day was Sunday, so Wes got up early to head to church. The rest of us slept in until around 8 which is pretty late when you are camping. We started off with a breakfast of pancakes. I packed up most of the tent while it was cool outside then we hung out. After lunch it got hot and we headed down to the beach. Soon after we got there poor Avery cut her foot on something on the beach. There was a ton of blood, so I couldn't tell if it needed stitches. I was thankful that our friend Nikki was there who is a physical therapist. She assured me she didn't need stitches. I ran to the car to get our first aid kit. (I am sure that was a lovely site, seeing as I was in my bathing suit.) Thankfully, after we got her bandaged up she was much better, although we didn't allow her to get back in the water the rest of the day, since it was a pretty deep cut and we didn't want it get infected.

Around 4:30 other people from our small group joined us for a devotional. We sang children's songs and Wes did a lesson for the little ones. After that we sent them to play in the sand so we could have our own devo time.

We all enjoyed one last dinner together. During dinner we heard a loud crash from the campsite next to us and then a truck peeled off down the road. Turns out a guy had hit a van which then hit another car. The guy must have been drunk or high because he just peeled off. Two of our friends along with Wes chased him down as he drove through the camping area. I will never forget the image of Jesse running with a hot dog skewer with a hot dog on the end running after the guy. Our other friend, Kyle, was chasing him and ran straight into a tree and fell down. The guy never did stop, but Wes got his license plate. We never did find out if he got caught. We were there for another hour and the police had still not come out to get the report. I was so thankful none of our kids were on the street or close to it when all this happened.

Abby, Ava, and Kylee.

Barry, Jennifer and their new baby Ellie. This was a first for her and she did great!

This is how I found the girls when I went to bed. This is proof of how much Abby moves around in her sleep. Her head should be on the pillow next to Avery. Instead she has her feet on my pillow. Thanks Abby!

Justin and Kyle playing washers.

Hanging out with the gals.

Wynn and Carrie.

The kids spent hours playing in the sand of the volleyball court.

Barry on his maiden voyage with his new kayak.

Jesse and Rachel and their horse...oh, I mean dog.

The McAlister clan. We were thrilled they spent the night this time. Usually, they only come out for the day.

The Bounds family joined us at the lake.

Justin and Wes soaking up the sun.

Kylee and Avery.

Abby and Sybil.

These two were excited to be together. Sybil's family moved last summer. So glad they got to join us for this weekend.

Abby wrote this on the picnic bench. Can you tell how she feels about sweet baby Ellie?

Ellie is all smiles! What a cutie!

I am so thankful to God for this group of friends. We have laughed together, cried together and grown closer to God together. What a blessing they are to my family!

New Grass and Sweet Prayers

2011-04-30T20:38:00.001-05:00

Recently, we decided to lay new St. Augustine in our back yard. What an undertaking that was! Since we moved in this house 5 years ago we have not been able to get the grass to grow very well in the back yard. We had lots of very poor grass along with weeds and dirt. Wes spent two days shoveling out our old sod/weeds. We rented a sod cutter from Home Depot, but it was still a huge chore! Blake came one day and was a huge help digging! Wes ended up taking 6 loads of old sod on a flat bed trailer to the dump. Thankfully, during the month of April you are allowed to bring us much debris as you need to for free. I was only able to help dig for a couple of hours because it was during the week, and I was tutoring. I did get to help lay some of the sod which is much easier than digging out the old. Some friends from church also helped us lay the new sod, which was made the task much easier. Thank you friends!

Hard working brothers!

The new sod.

8 1/2 pallets later. Yay for new grass!

Now we have been watering daily except for the days we had the storms, which we were very thankful for, even though they gave us quite a scare at times. During one particular storm there was a tornado warning, so we rushed across the street to our neighbor's house who has a cellar under her garage. We watched the weather on the news and thankfully we did not even have to go in her cellar. While we were there the girls had to use the bathroom. When they got back Avery told me they said a prayer together for God to keep us safe. That sure made this mommy proud! Later, when we headed back across the street, I ran behind the house to our garage where the key-less entry is. I told the girls to stay by the front door, and I would let them in so that they would not have to get wet from the rain. They told me they said another prayer then, because the lightening, wind, and thunder was still scary, despite the fact that the tornado warning had lifted. It sure warmed my heart!

Later that night after the storm passed we thought the worst was over. Little did we know there was more excitement to come. The wind picked up, and all of the sudden I kept hearing loud popping sounds from our backyard. When I looked out the window I say sparks flying as if someone was setting off fireworks in our backyard. We knew it had something to do with our electrical lines and decided it would be best to call 911. They came out and basically told us they could not do anything. It was caused by two electrical lines hitting a tree at the same time. They told us not to worry about anything catching on fire because everything was too wet. Well, about two minutes later one of my friends called to tell me that her tree caught on fire from the same thing a few minutes earlier. As we were talking she realized her tree had caught on fire a second time and the fire appeared to be getting bigger. She quickly called 911. Thankfully, it finally went out. Sadly, her whole street's electricity was out for about a day! Needless to say, I was a little worried about what could happen at our house. I have since put a call into our electric company.

Miscellaneous Musings

2011-04-30T16:05:00.004-05:00

My girls crack me up! The other day Abby said, "My favorite substitute would be Nikki." I replied, "Nikki is not a teacher." She answered, "With a little bit of magic she could be!"

Later Avery said, "I tasted air today, and it tasted TERRIBLE!" Abby asked her why she tasted it, to which Avery replied, "Someone dared me to at school, and I figured it was an easy dare. The air tasted really bitter!"

This past week was the TAKS test. I helped give the test for 3 days in a row at Layne Elementary. I was impressed that the principal wrote notes to each of the students and made her rounds with a basket of peppermints each day. My friend told me that at another school the principal prayed with her daughter who was nervous about the test. I love our school district!! We have so many wonderful, Godly teachers and administrators.

Easter Happenings

2011-04-30T15:38:00.002-05:00

Our Easter weekend started off with soccer games. Only two of the five players showed up for Abby's game. Three players play at a time. We were a little worried, thinking they were probably going to get creamed. Believe it or not, the score was 4-4. Abby and Reagan played the whole time and were still able to tie with their opponents. It was amazing! Avery played her last game of the season and won. They did not loose a game all season long! I am impressed!

After the girl's games, we went straight to the Easter Egg Hunt at church. We had several visitors from the community, which is always great. Besides the egg hunts, there were crafts, finger foods, and a bounce house.

The next day, I went in the kitchen to make breakfast and there was a card for us on the kitchen table. Avery had woken up early and made us a sweet Easter card. How thoughtful! We all went to church and then we had Dad and Gina over for Easter lunch. A few hours later we drove to Blake and Katy's house. Avery, Abby, and Tripp had a good time hunting for more eggs.

Rough Rider's Game

2011-04-30T15:11:00.006-05:00

This was the first year to do the Titus Project, and I think that everyone involved would say it was a success. Our youth made us so proud. Hopefully, they have learned several ways they can serve in our church and in our community. To celebrate our Titus Project at church we ended with a lock-in. We started the evening with a trip to watch the Frisco Rough Riders. The weather was great and we all had lawn seats. The tickets came with an all you can eat pass and Rough Rider hats. I can't say I watched most of the game. It was a lot of fun just watching the kids play and hanging out with everyone. What a blessing these people are in my life!

Go Rough Riders!

Some of the gang!

Our family.
Can you see Abby trying to get in the picture behind us?

Nikki and sweet Ansley.
Too cute!

Fun Chandler!

Aren't we cool?

Ladies Retreat

2011-04-28T21:27:00.013-05:00

Earlier this month we had our annual ladies retreat with about 65 ladies at Pine Cove. I love, love this time with these ladies from church. It is always such a great time to get away from our busy lives. It helps me to refocus and remember what is truly important. This year we had lots of time to go off by our self in the beautiful surroundings, to just be alone with God. I thoroughly needed this time. The worship times were touching, and Jeanene Reese did a wonderful job as our speaker. I truly feel blessed to be a part of such a loving, caring church.

I love you, friends!

Getting ready for our zip lining adventure.

Let's do this, Amy!

Over Spring Break...

2011-03-30T15:12:00.008-05:00

... we had some soccer games. Abby's team won 9-2. Abby scored 2 goals. Avery's team won 1-0. On a side/updated note, Avery's team remains undefeated and in the last game, Avery scored the first 3 goals in the first 5 minutes. Abby lost their first game. :(

... we had another successful Titus Project. The group I am working with is practicing puppet shows for our younger kid's classes.

...the girls went to spend the night with their good friend, Sybil.

...we went to dinner and then bowling with the Payne family. Eric is the assistant coach with Wes for Abby's soccer team. Their daughter, Reagan, is on Abby's team. They have two other daughters. Our girls all have a good time together.

...we went to church on Wednesday night, where I got to teach a sweet group of 5th graders. Can't wait to have them in our youth group!

... we went to the Dallas World Aquarium with several families from church. A good time was had by all, and we were blessed with a beautiful day to enjoy lunch outside after the DWA visit.

...we had Paislee and Preslee over for a sleepover. Our girls have been friends with them since birth and they always have a blast together.

... we had the Payne family over for dinner. We ate outside and played outside the whole time. The adults played washers. Thankfully, I got to be on Wes' team although, I don't know if he feels the same way.

It was a nice break! I am thankful I get to be off of work when the girls are out of school.

Book Character Day

2011-03-30T15:08:00.003-05:00

Hyde Park Elementary always has Book Character Day where the students get to dress up like a character in a book and bring the book to school. Avery decided to be Fancy Nancy and Abby decided to be Pinkalicious. We went to get some ice cream after school, and we got some funny looks.

Happy Birthday to Avery!

2011-03-11T15:19:00.000-06:00

Avery turned 8 today! Here are some things I always want to remember about our precious gift from God.

1. Avery is very creative. She can make something out of anything. She tapes paper together to make chairs, houses or other objects. She has made up several T.P. roll crafts all on her own. She also put together her very own scrapbook.

2. Going right along with her creativity, Avery is quite the artist. She loves to draw. She has accumulated many coloring books over the years, but she would much rather draw her own art. She has even won some art contests and recently some of her artwork was on display at the DISD administration building. It is humbling when your daughter is a better artist than than you. (It has been that way since she was about 5.)

3. Avery is thoughtful. She likes to make things or write notes or cards to people. A couple of months ago she even wrote a poem for my friend, Jennifer.

4. Avery can be shy at times. This is especially true if she doesn't know someone very well. Recently, Wes had taken her to the public library to get some resources for her gifted and talented class. He asked her to find out where something was from the librarian. She immediately began to well up with tears at the thought of having to do that.

5. Avery is a great reader. She can read on a 5th grade level and has won the award every year for having the most Accelerated Reader points in her grade. Sometimes she can be seen reading to Abby (who she helped learn to read) or even her dolls or stuffed animals. It is pretty cute to watch her really get into the story with voices and enthusiasm.

6. Avery can be sneaky. She likes to "spy" on people. She also was punished a few weeks ago for taking cookies and eating them behind a chair in the game room.

7. Avery is her sister's biggest fan and cheerleader. When Abby and her friends put on "shows" for us she encourages her and does all her introductions. Abby often likes to put on dance routines for her friends, family, or the youth group. Avery is always on the side encouraging her.

8. Avery can be motherly/bossy, which I suppose is part of being the first born child. She not only likes to tell Abby what to do, but I have heard her on occasion try to tell other little kids what to do. In fact, after a small group meeting at our house last year when we had over 40 people at our house she informed me that the next week she had a plan: the little kids would be separated into her and Abby's room, and she would read to them and play with them. If they were too loud or misbehaved then she would send them to time-out in the corner. Ha!

9. Avery enjoys playing soccer. She has been playing since Kindergarten on the same team, the Denison Ponies. They have held a great record. The first season they did not lose any games. Since then, they have only lost one game each season.

10. Speaking of her soccer playing ability, Avery is one competitive little girl. She's generally the smallest girl on the field, but that phrase, "it's not the size of the dog in the fight, but the size of the fight in the dog" totally applies to her. She'll get in there and mix it up with the biggest of players - bouncing up every time she's knocked down.

11. Avery understands technology. Laptops, iPods, video games, DVRs and more just come naturally to her, and she's been known to teach her sister or even other adults how to operate certain electronics.

12. Avery is a people pleaser. For the most part, she likes to please her friends, school teachers, Bible class teachers, and even Wes and I which makes life a lot easier.

13. Avery is sensitive. Sometimes all we have to do is look at her sternly and she changes her behavior. Other times when we are vocally correcting her, she will begin to cry out of remorse.

14. Avery is insightful. She picks up on things easily. She has often related something that Todd said in his sermon or something she learned at school or in Bible class and applied it to another situation.

15. Avery entertains herself well. She does not have to be entertained or played with all the time. She is happy playing by herself.

16. Avery is a great eater. She eats almost everything that is put on her plate. She understands that we can't always eat our favorite foods all the time, but that we need to eat certain things to keep us healthy.

We are so thankful for this precious gift. She is one of the greatest blessings God has gifted us with and our lives are touched daily by Avery Nicole.

Titus Project

2011-03-04T17:29:00.010-06:00

The Titus project is a 12 week activity designed to teach service and leadership to our 3rd - 12th graders. It has been going on since the end of January and it has been amazing! My friend Nikki and I are huddle leaders for a group of 8th grade boys. I have thoroughly enjoyed getting to know these young men even more. It has been a joy serving and learning along with these guys.

Each night begins with dinner and and ice breaker questions. We then move on to discussion questions regarding a certain Bible story. After that we move on to another activity. For the first four weeks the middle schoolers participated in different service projects. I especially enjoyed our trip to the local homeless shelter where we picked up kids and brought them back to our church to join us for our meal. After eating and hanging out with them for a bit we went back to the shelter where we learned more about the shelter itself. The next week we made baskets filled with games and toys to take to the shelter. It was heart warming to watch our teens love on the kids.

Zak and Nikki

Hunter and Brandon

Hunter, Hunter (who we have nicknamed Jorge), and Hayden.

These guys keep us on our toes, for sure, but I am really excited about the next several weeks. My prayer is that these young men will get a taste of how they can use their God-given talents to bless our church and community.

Birthday Celebrations!

2011-03-03T13:52:00.031-06:00

Avery and Abby wanted to have a combined slumber party this year for their birthday. They each chose a friend to spend the night. We took the gang to Cheddar's for dinner. We ended our dinner with with Cookie Monsters complete with candles and a birthday song with some of the waiters and waitresses.
From there we headed to the movies to watch Gnomeo and Juliet in 3D. It was a pretty funny show and the girls really enjoyed it. I would definitely recommend it.
When we got home all the girls enjoyed playing with one another, and Avery and Abby opened their gifts. We sent them to bed at 11:00. They all wanted to sleep in Avery's room. I don't know why we always think they will sleep in longer if we let them stay up with friends, because the rarely do. This time was no exception. Sybil is used to getting up at 6:15, so sure enough at 6:15 they were all up. Thankfully, they watched some cartoons for a while before Wes went to get us all donuts for breakfast.
Soon after breakfast we broke out some jewelry making kits and made necklaces, rings, and bracelets.
Later in the morning they pretended to be spies and called themselves "The Black Cats". They dressed themselves in all black and spied on me. I didn't know I lead a life worth spying on, but whatever. Wes was their "director" and would send them on missions. He even helped them come up with a special written code to communicate with each other in secret.

Best Buds!

Friends forever!

Can you girls eat all of that?

Abby is licking her lips!

Super excited girls ready to see the movie!

We are sporting our 3D glasses.

The movie was a success!

A great time was had by all. The girls enjoyed an afternoon nap to help them catch up on their missed sleep.

The next weekend we celebrated their birthdays with our families. They also got to join us for the girls' first soccer games. Both teams tied. The cousins had fun playing outside where the weather was awesome! The girls requested pizza for the meal, so we had pizza, salad, and fruit followed by cupcakes, brownies, and ice cream. (Actually, Avery's first request was her favorite meal, beans and cornbread, but that is definitely not one of Abby's favorite meals so they compromised on pizza.)

Soccer players and their supportive fans!

Hanging out in the backyard.

Indoor fun!

Thanks everyone, for helping us celebrate these two precious girls!

Valentine Cookies and More Snow Days

2011-03-02T15:15:00.006-06:00

A few weeks ago we had even more school cancellations due to the snow/ice making it a total of six days of missed school. That's alright, we enjoyed more free time together.

One of the things we did was make some Valentine cookies for friends and family.We decided to walk in the snow for over a mile to our friend Nikki's house to deliver some cookies to her and her neighbors, the Pughes. Nikki fixed us some yummy hot chocolate and we hung out for a while at her place before starting our trek home. The snow was really coming down hard, but it just made it more of adventure. Plus, we had been going stir crazy cooped up in the house. We witnessed a car wreck which made me even more thankful that I had stayed off the roads.

Yes, the girls wore their pajamas all day on most of those days! Why not? I am thankful that the girls had each other to play with during all these cooped up days. Thank you God for sisters!

Koality Celebration

2011-02-09T13:10:00.007-06:00

Nope, that is not a typo. Koality Celebrations are what Hyde Park Elementary has twice a year to help celebrate the student's accomplishments and awards. This was Abby's first.

Avery and Abby received awards for being Koality Citizens, Koality Workers, A Honor Roll, and Koality Reader. Avery also got an award for attendance. She has not missed a day. Poor Abby was out sick for a couple of days.

On the day of the celebration they get to wear charm necklaces with all the charms that represent their awards. It really is pretty neat.

We are super proud of their hard work and great behavior!

Happy Birthday to Abby!

2011-02-03T12:24:00.017-06:00

Today is Abby's 6th birthday! Yay! We are spending it snowed/iced in for the 3rd day in a row! It is neat that we get to spend the whole day together when normally she would have to go to school.

These are some things I want to remember at Abby at this fun age:

1. Abby is super cuddly. She loves to snuggle in church, while reading a book, while watching T.V. or just talking. I hope she never outgrows this.

2. Abby often volunteers to pray. She even volunteered to pray in front of several teens and other little kids at a church in Panama over Christmas break. One of the things she often says in her prayers is, "Please help the people who don't know about God to learn about God."

3. Abby is hilarious. She is our family clown, for sure. She keeps us laughing with her facial expressions, jokes (which she often makes up), her dancing and just her everyday comments.

4. Abby is spunky! Although her teachers at school don't always see this part of her, at home and around people she knows well, she does not mind being the center of attention.

5. Abby wants to be a missionary when she grows up. She even wrote about this on a school writing project a couple weeks ago. Our prayer for the girls is that they will do great things for God, even if it means they will be miles away from us.

6. We are told that Abby is often quiet and serious at school, which is hard for us to believe, because we don't see that side of her much at home.

7. Abby talks like a baby A LOT. This tends to drive us crazy.

8. Abby is pretty good about sharing. She does this better than her 7 year old sister. She will even share her new toys.

9. Abby is a good reader. She constantly surprises us with the words she can read. She has the most AR points out of all the kindergartners at school. She is supposed to read for 20 minutes each night. She brings 2 library books home every day that she has to read 3 times each. She usually chooses to read both books 3 times each, even though it might take her more than 20 minutes.

10. Abby cleans up well. She sometimes even cleans her room without being told.

11. Abby is a crazy dancer. Those of you who have seen her know what I mean. She has some funky moves that will keep you laughing.

12. Abby plays well by herself. She doesn't have to be entertained or played with. She is content to play by herself.

13. Abby is a picky eater. I must say she has gotten better about this, but it is still a struggle at times. She can be a very slow eater too. She is usually the last one at the table.

14. Abby's emotions are easily seen. They are written all over her face. While this can be cute and funny at times, at other times it can be down right frustrating! The worst is when she is pouting in public. Then everyone starts asking her what is wrong or they try to cheer her up. The best thing Wes and I have found to do in this situation is to just ignore her. She does not want people in her face. Eventually, she chooses to snap out of her attitude.

15. Abby is a girly girl but also doesn't mind getting dirty playing in some mud or sand.

16. Abby loves being in the water. I can't wait for warmer weather so we can go swimming.

17. Abby enjoys playing soccer. She may not score that many goals, but she can sure guard her goal with an intensity like you have never seen.

18. Abby loves the big kids (the youth group) and our small group. She gets super excited when she finds out either of these groups are coming to our house.

19. Abby is a thinker. She will often stop in the middle of a story or Little House on the Prairie show to ask about a certain situation.

20. She is a great artist. She enjoys drawing, painting, and other little crafty things. Her teacher has been teaching her to add details to her artwork. She also likes to give her artwork to other people which is nice, since we can't fit them all on our refrigerator or her bulletin board.

21. At times Abby can be a perfectionist. This is a good thing most of them time because she will try really hard to do things well, but it can sometimes lead to frustration which can be no fun at all.

22. Abby is a good student. (Or so we have been told... Don't you wish you could be a fly on the wall in your kid's classroom?) She has made all E's in all subjects and in citizenship. She is proud of herself when she does well. It is pretty cute to see her reaction to her grades or awards.

23. Abby can be a good helper. She helps dust, sweep, clean bathrooms, fold and put away laundry, clean away dishes and more. For the most part she doesn't complain when asked to help out.

24. Abby enjoys giving hugs. Whether it is a friend, cousin, big kid, or an elderly person at church, she is not afraid to share her hugs. Some of them can be sweet and gentle while some of them can knock you right off your feet.

I am so thankful for this gift that God has blessed us with. At times she has kept us on our knees praying, but I wouldn't trade her for anything. I can't wait to see what God has in store for her this year.

Six years ago, this little gal came into our lives and things have never been the same. Who would have thought this content, fairly easy baby would turn into the spunky girl she is today.

I love you bunches!

One of those big hugs!

Your sister loves you, too.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY ABBY!

Snow Day!

2011-01-10T16:45:00.009-06:00

On Sunday morning it began to snow while we were getting ready for church. During church it really started coming down. I love to watch it. It looks so peaceful and beautiful. We had a youth lunch and meeting after church and by the time we were done, everything was white. That afternoon the girls and I bundled up and headed outside to play. We tried to build a snowman and snowdog (Avery's idea), but the snow was to powdery. It just wouldn't stick. We tried several times. We even walked up to the church but didn't have any luck there either. It was really too soft and powdery to sled down the hill at church like we usually do when it snows. Nevertheless, we still had a great time playing in it.

Playing in our backyard. Abby enjoyed sweeping the tree house.

In our front yard. They really enjoyed laying in the snow.

Abby's hat kept slipping down, but she didn't mind at all.

Avery, snowball in hand.

These are pictures I took at the Prayer Garden behind our church. The girls loved throwing snow in the fountain. We decided it looked like a big slushy.

The girls were so excited when we got the call last night that school would be canceled today. I have to admit, I was excited and giddy, too.

This morning we all slept in, ate a big late breakfast, played in the snow, and had a little hot chocolate tea party with the girl's little tea set (a tradition around here after we play in the snow). We also had plenty of time to play inside, and I was able to even get a few things done. We ended the night with a couple of episodes of Little House on the Praire.

I sure do love snow days!

Christmas in PANAMA!

2010-12-30T16:05:00.077-06:00

The day after school got out we headed to Arlington to celebrate Christmas with Nana, Paw Paw, Granny, Blake, Katy, Tripp and Grace. We have had the tradition for several years now where we sing some Christmas songs and read or tell the Christmas story. This year Avery read us the story from Luke. It is always a special time to reflect on what Christmas is really all about. Then we have we watch each other open the gifts.

The next day we went to church with Wes's parents and then quickly got ready to go to the airport. Our plan was to fly stand-by to Panama to visit my brother Aaron and his family. We are able to fly stand-by cheaply thanks to Nana who has retired from American Airlines. When we first started looking at flights they looked fairly open. As our departure date grew closer the flights started filling up, which was rather unnerving. We began to pray that things would work out so that we could go as planned. We decided to try for the Sunday afternoon direct flight to Panama from DFW even though all the seats had been purchased. When we arrived we waited patiently. At the last minute, we were told some passengers did not make their connecting flight which opened up seats for us. What an answer to prayers! Tears came to my eyes as we rushed to board the plane. There were even three seats together which allowed me to sit with the girls.
Abby was only 2 1/2 the last time we went on an airplane so it was a great adventure for her to be on a plane. She was very scared when we took off, but was good to go after a while.
On the four hour flight we had a great time playing UNO, Go Fish and War. Wes enjoyed sleeping. We joke that he has a button on his bottom that when pressed allows him to sleep anytime, anywhere.

Lucky!

My little hams!

Thank goodness for Nintendo DS's.

We arrived in Panama and went through customs where the agent stamped our VISAS into our passports with such vigor that I was surprised our passports were still intact when he handed them back to us. I think they must go to special training to learn how to scare the crud out of everyone as they stamp your passports. Aaron and Janet said they noticed the same thing the 3 times they have gone through customs. He also yelled, "Abigail" and "Nicole" when he was checking out the girls passports. I don't think he wanted to attempt saying Avery correctly. I think the girls thought they were in trouble at first.
Aaron was the only one who picked us up at the airport since it was pretty late. He drove us to the Summit Radison Hotel where we spent our first night. Their house is a good 3 hours from the airport and they do not like to drive at night. Plus we wanted to check out a few things in Panama City.
The hotel was amazing! It is set in the jungle. The grounds were beautiful and it was fairly new. After a great nights sleep we awoke to see the rest of the family and eat breakfast together. The cousins were so happy to see each other. The complimentary breakfast was divine. It wasn't your typical complimentary breakfast you get in the U.S. The table were set in a fancy manner and there were was so much food to choose from. My favorite item was the fresh pineapple. It is my favorite fruit, but I refuse to pay an arm and a leg for it in the states.

The cousins at the fancy breakfast table.

After breakfast we headed outside to the perfect weather for a walk around the grounds and on a trail through the jungle.

Laying on a bench before our hike.

We had to walk fast to keep up with these munchkins.

Don't you see the excitement oozing from these faces when I asked them to pose by this gorgeous view of the golf course below?

When you can't play the real thing, you can always pretend, right?

After playing around a bit we packed up our things and left the Radisson. Aaron took us to the Panama Canal. What a sight! It is a very well run system. The museum was informational -telling us all the history behind the canal. They showed us a neat video that told the history and how the locks all operate. There were some hands-on activities for the kids as well. We were impressed, to say the least. While we were there we even got to see a ship go through the locks which was pretty cool. We were told it was a smaller ship than normal, but we were able to see much larger boats as we drove by the canal on other days.

The kids are in small replica of a typical house of a canal builder.

Outside the museum. Behind Mylen and Avery is the canal.

The kids could open and close this replica of the locks of the canal.

Abby pretending to drive a boat through the canal. There was a screen in front of the captain's chair that simulated and actual trip through the canal. You even felt like you were moving. It was pretty cool.

Watching a ship go through the locks system from the deck of the museum.

The locks are opening to allow the ship to pass through. These gates are 7 stories high!

Here comes the ship!

Abby gets a great view of the ship going through the canal.

Both our families on the top deck of the museum which overlooks the canal.

We were getting hungry at that point so Aaron took us to their largest mall which puts a lot of malls here to shame. We had a huge array of food to choose from at the food court.

This friendly gorilla was at the food court.

We piled into their car for a two hour drive to their house in El Valle. On our way the air conditioner went out and it started raining which made for an exciting adventure. The closer we got to their house we discovered that you really don't need an air conditioner.

Avery, Janet and Mylen are behind me. Wes and Aaron are in the front. It was convenient that the 8 of us fit in their car, so we did not have to rent a car.

Their house is located in a quiet town in the valley of a very old volcano crater. It is lush and beautiful! I can see why they chose to live there instead of the bustling Panama City. There house is nestled in all kinds of beautiful trees and plants with the backdrop of the mountains filled with thick jungles. Wes and I shared the guest quarters and the girls slept in Aivlyn's room. Mylen was kind enough to share his room with his sister.

A view of their house from their long driveway.

A closer view. Yes, that is a little bridge over a creek bed you have to cross over to get to their house. Isn't it lovely?

Their U shaped house had a wrap around porch in the middle of the U with three tables and some couches and chairs. The four hammocks swinging from the porch poles were icing on the cake.

They have a round-about in front of their house.

See the awesome mountain behind their house?

The next day we took it easy and mostly hung around the house with the exception of taking a walk to the nearby soccer field.

This swing on their porch was a hit for all the kids.

A little foot bridge that crossed over the creek just steps from their house.

The cousins on top of the bridge.

Avery, Abby and Mylen playing in the creek bed which fills with water during the rainy season. How fun would it be to have a little creek by your house to wade in?

The kids wanted to pose here outside their driveway gate to take a picture.

Drawing in the dirt at the soccer fields.

Notice the view of the side of the crater in the background of the soccer field.

The next day we went to the beach which is a about 45 minutes away. We rented a thatched roof covering which had a table and chairs and hammocks too. We enjoyed playing in the smooth black and tan sand. We also collected several beautiful sea shells. Mylen was nice enough to share his new Christmas present, a boogie board! We spent the majority of the day there. We had packed a lunch and several snacks. You know how hungry the beach makes everyone.

Avery waiting for us to get lunch out.

This boy looks hungry too!

These two cutie pies are looking out over the water.

This 3 year old is having fun. Can you tell?

The kids had a lot of fun digging this small hole and stepping in it.

Playing in the sand.

Couldn't resist taking this picture. Senior slide show?

Everyone in the water.

Woo hoo!

Abby loved running in the waves!

A view of the beach.

The other side.

Avery going for a ride!

Surf's up dude!

The next day we went on a hike behind their house through the jungle and then into town. We stopped for homemade ice cream before heading home. It was "muy delicioso"!

Wait for us, kids!

Can you smell the ice cream yet?

Yummy!

During our stay at their house we adults went up the rode 5 minutes to a 600 foot long series of zip lines. (The kids stayed at home with a babysitter.) We had to hike up the mountain with all our gear on before zip lining down. One set of lines crossed in front of a breathtaking waterfall. It was an experience I will never forget! God's creation sure is amazing!

Crossing over the river on a wooden rope bridge before hiking up to the top of the zip lines.

Thankfully, we weren't too high, some of the planks were kinda questionable.

I am ready for the adventure!

A view on the way up.

Waiting for the group in front of us.

Janet starting her journey through the canopy of trees.

Go Janet!

Aaron's turn!

You made it!

Wes's turn!

Nice job!

Easy, don't knock me off the platform!

My turn! I am stopping to look at the river below. The waterfall is on my other side.

What a rush!

I am glad I don't have to know how to get this gear off.

Awesome waterfall!

It was fun, sweetie!

Glad we got to do that with you all!

Aaron being goofy on the path back to the car.

One day we visited the small zoo located in El Valle. We were surprised just how many animals they had there.

This ocelot (dwarf leopard) was the biggest hit. When we walked up, it was in the middle of dinner - a cute little bunny. He had fur hanging from his jaws and he was not happy to see company. He gave us a deep growl and would not continue his meal. The kids didn't seem to upset by the whole ordeal. Ha! Now we know why there were so many rabbits in cages to look at. Poor things!

The kids and their new friend, the raccoon.

What are you looking at?

Not a great picture with the monkey in the cage.

There were tons of birds!

The tapirs would not wake up no matter how much we yelled. Boring!

The cousins had a blast playing with each other every day. We adults played cards every night and had a great time hanging out!

The kids had fun building this car ramp which ended in a bowl of water (the car wash). So creative!

Wes reading for his grad class in style.

On Sunday we got to worship with the Metro Church in Panama City. In Bible class Abby volunteered in front of 10-15 children to say the prayer. Several of them were even teenagers. Aaron had stayed in there with them and told us about it. I was super proud of her! It was special meeting with these other Christians who worship the same God. We sang songs in Spanish and English.
We went to lunch with a missionary couple at a Colombian restaurant overlooking the ocean. After that we headed back to the wonderful hotel for some swimming.
Our flight left early the next morning. We were sad to go, but thankful for the 8 wonderful days we got to spend with family in Panama!

Our little fish.

The kids are trying to push Uncle Aaron in.

The other pool. The rain is coming!

Helping in Some Small Way

2010-12-25T13:08:00.025-06:00

I have been extremely proud of our small group and youth group lately, and really, our church as a whole.

We have been trying to live in such a way that brings glory to God. We realize that it is not all about us, but that it is all about God and furthering his kingdom. We are trying to look more outside of ourselves to see the needs of people and to be Jesus to them, even if it is in just some small way.

Our church has been a part of some projects and activities that blessed my life and reminded me of what is really important in this world.

The first project was something we did with our youth group last year. After participating in it last year, we decided as a family to make it an annual tradition. I was proud this year when our 4th and 5th grade classes challenged our church to pack shoe boxes full of toys, school supplies, or hygiene items to send to children all around the world. We did it though Samaritan's Purse whose mission statement is to demonstrate God's love in a tangible way to needy children around the world, and together with the local church worldwide, to share the Good News of Jesus Christ. Last year 8 million children received a shoe box.

Just like last year, the girls chose to pack a box for a girl that was their age. They even used some of their money to help pay for the items. They had a great time picking out all their special treats.

We had a middle school retreat the second weekend in December. I was glad that a large group of middle schoolers signed up to go. We had a great time learning from Wes and the other youth minister, playing some fun games, and hanging out together.

On the ropes course learning to depend on each other for help.

Listening to some instructions. Avery and Abby are ready to participate too.

Zack and Bowen. Zack was two or so when we moved here to Denison.

The second project was going to the Grayson County Shelter here in Denison with our middle school and high school girls. We made cookies to take to them along with some milk. We also brought supplies to make some Christmas crafts. We sang Christmas songs with them and listened to Cina as she read us a Christmas book. I love watching our youth serve and love on others.

Sierra holding her new little friend who was happy to go from one gal to the next.

Working on some crafts together. Poor Abby did not get to join us. She was sick.

This little guy was a character. He kept us laughing and on our toes the whole night!

Every year our church participates in an activity we call Project Christmas. Each small group adopts a family or two to provide Christmas gifts for them. We decided to help Radiant's family. I think I have written about her before. She had brain cancer and is now recovering from several chemo and radiation treatments. She has 3 other siblings that we were also able to bless with clothes and toys. I was so very proud of how much our group donated to help make Christmas a special time for this family who is struggling to make ends meet. We had a fun time picking out everything, and it was special to see their excitement when we delivered our gifts. Our prayer is that this family will see Jesus through our love and actions.

Our small group is also planning to help out another family who is struggling financially due to medical bills. Watching our group respond so quickly and generously to these situations has warmed my heart.

Picture Time!

2010-12-25T13:04:00.012-06:00

Nana wanted some pictures for her Christmas card, so we asked my good friend, Jennifer, to take our pictures down at our prayer garden at church.

Jennifer is extremely talented. It is always hard to photograph large groups of people, especially when four of them are young children. She did a terrific job!

Here are some of my favorites.

Thanks again Jennifer!

Thanksgiving

2010-12-25T12:49:00.020-06:00

I realize I have not blogged in quite some time, but it is never to late to catch up. This Thanksgiving we had a great time with our families.

My sister, Heather, and her family, David, and Caleb came for a couple nights. The cousins had such a good time playing with each other. We played lots of card games, went on a long hike through the forest near our house, and had fun just hanging out. Time with them is precious since they live all the way in Nashville, and we aren't able to get together very much. Dad and Gina were over a lot too. It is nice that they live so close.

Waiting for the adults on the bridge.

Abby with Uncle David.

Taking a break on our hike.

Yes, we are all climbers!

Dad and Baby Girl in the cave.

Showing off our muscles.

Heather recently finished as valedictorian of her class AND another graduating class of massage school. Impressive! She gave us all a wonderful massage which left us feeling totally relaxed.

Avery's turn for her massage.

David finished as the valedictorian of a his graduate work as well. We are proud of these two! I am sure they are glad to be done with school!

On Thanksgiving Day we headed to Arlington to spend two nights with Nana and Paw Paw. We had our Thanksgiving meal at Granny's house down the road. Blake and Katy joined us the next day. It so fun watching all the little cousins interact with each other.

The cousin's table.

In the hot tub with Paw Paw.

The girls helped Nana decorate their tree.

Nana, put it there.

Thanksgiving is yet another reminder to stop and remember all we have to be thankful for. God has given us so many blessings. My hope and prayer is that we will continue to use these blessings for his glory.

Halloween Happenings

2010-11-26T18:25:00.011-06:00

This year, we got to use the new building at church for our Fall Festival which gave us more room for all the games. The girls had a great time playing the games, eating hot dogs, and jumping in the bounce house.

We were all a little tuckered out from our weekend of camping, but a good time was had by all!

Grampie and Gina joined us for the festivities.

Avery, Paislee, and Skylar - Bee Buddies
Great minds think alike.

Abby, Cord, Beth Anne, and Avery,
enjoying the bounce house.

Amy and Ansley - two cute bananas.

Jessie did a great job painting Abby's ladybug.

Avery at the ball toss.
I am thinking she should stick with soccer.

Easton, thanks for being a good sport
for the sponge throw.

Our Home Away From Home

2010-11-14T20:37:00.042-06:00

-OK, maybe not, but we sure do enjoy camping at Eisenhower State Park!

We went again with several friends in our small group at church. A huge plus of this state park is that it is 15 minutes from our house. We had just four tents on the campgrounds, but we had a couple of other families join us for the days and not spend the night since we were so close to Denison.

As usual, we had a blast hanging out with one another. We went on walks/hikes, watched the kids play, roasted marshmallows, carved pumpkins and more.

Friday night was pretty cool – about 35 degrees. It was fine around the campfire, but it was pretty chilly when we headed to our sleeping bags. All the kids slept fine and were nice and cozy. Most of the adults stayed pretty cold through the night. I was even in Wes’ nice sleeping bag meant for 10 degree weather that he uses on Trek, and I was still cold.

The next day we had breakfast around the campfire. I made pancakes for our crew. There are little jugs with pancake mix that you just have to add water to, which makes it super easy.

After breakfast we went on a little hike with Sam, my friend Jennifer’s dog. Wes and I had to leave during the day to go to the girl’s soccer games. We also grabbed a quick shower afterwards at home since it was on the way.

Wes went to the Ranger game that evening and just slept at our house afterwards since he was getting back so late. He also needed to be at church the next morning. He was able to come after church and bring us all lunch and help us tear down camp.

Saturday evening we carved pumpkins, roasted hot dogs, and marshmallows. Don’t worry, I got some healthy food in the weekend too. I gave the girls lots of V8 Fusion (vegetable and fruit juice – they just don’t know about the vegetable part) and lots of grapes.

We slept much better that night mostly due to the fact that it was about 10 degrees warmer. I also had Wes’s empty sleeping bag to cover me.

On Sunday we had another breakfast around the campfire. Cara, our camp cooking queen, made donuts for us over the fire. The kids got to shake them in powdered sugar which was a fun treat. Cara taught us all kinds of meals and treats to cook over the fire.

After breakfast we had a nice little worship service around the campfire. We sang lots of children’s songs led by the kids. Then Barry led a little devotional for us with one of the girl’s devotional books. There is nothing like praising God right in His beautiful nature.

A huge thanks to Jennifer for taking some of these great pictures! She is talented!

Jennifer and Barry, it was fun being neighbors. Wish you lived next door, for real.

Avery climbing a tree, again. She loves doing this!

Abby cleaning a rock! She is concentrating hard!

Love this gal and her "natural" smile she is sharing with us here.

Having fun!

Preslee holding Abby - sweet friends.

These girls are planning something.

The kids had so much fun playing with this water faucet, creating waterfalls, and just playing in the mud.

Rocks + mud + water + sweet girls = hours of fun

Hanging out around the fire.

The Milner family.

Jana and Alyson - we sure love you both!

Sweet Jamison. Not sure what she thought about the whole camping thing.

She wants to climb much higher like her sister.

This girl loves to give kisses!

Thank you God for our friends!

Avery is not enjoying this, can you tell?

Abby think Jennifer needs help, I guess.

I do not pretend to be a great pumpkin carver. This is the best I could do. The girls did not want to help get the "guts" out of it. These are the same girls who played in the mud and dirt all day. Whatever!

They all looked pretty neat when it was dark.

Cara was so sweet to let the kids help cook and eat the donuts.

Abby dancing/shaking the donut in powdered sugar.

Abby eating Cara's amazing donuts!

Good stuff!

Abby giving Sam some water.

Alyson and Abby picking out a Bible story for our devotional.

"If a brother is in the way, we will stop and pick him up..."

The girls leading us in "This Little Light of Mine".

We had a great time and made lots of memories. I can’t wait to do it again sometime soon. I am so thankful to God that I get to walk through this life with such great friends.

Past and Future Wildcats and Lots of Weddings...

2010-10-25T21:23:00.021-05:00

After our stay in Dallas we headed to Abilene. The girls and I read books to each other in the car. Abby is amazing us with how well she is reading. She is able to figure out some pretty long words. I love that both girls love reading!

We got to ACU in time for lunch but were disappointed that the food court in the campus center was mostly closed. Because we were pressed for time and we wanted to give the girls the experience of eating in The World Famous Bean, yes, we ate in the school cafeteria. If you haven't been in a while, they have remodeled it, and it looks, well - FAMOUS! Seriously it looks a lot nicer than when we were there. The food really wasn't that bad at all. I was impressed that Abby got to eat for free. Woo hoo!

We were also going to go to the Bookstore, but it was closed due to the Fall Break. Bummer!

We purposely got to campus a couple of hours before the wedding so we could show the girls around. We had been there a year ago for our 10 year reunion, but we had not gotten to show them around as much as we had liked. We took them to our old dorms and pointed out the windows to our room. (Amy - Remember "242 me and you"?) When we were at Nelson dorm, we showed them the exact spot where Wes and I had our very first kiss. We replayed the moment for the girls, which of course, tickled them up. We also toured the Bible Building and Business Building. In the Bible Building they were fascinated with the ginormous globe. We also showed them where Grandpa's old office was and where Grandma's desk was.

Posing on a rock at the Jacob's Dream sculpture on ACU's campus.

Jacob's Dream sculpture.

Waiting for Daddy to get changed before the wedding. Sisterly love!

After walking around campus for a bit it was time to change and head to the wedding of one of our past youth group members, Katie Howerton. She was in 6th grade when we first started here. Katie and Stephen's wedding was at Lytle Cove Cottage, right outside of Abilene. It was a gorgeous outdoor wedding and the weather was perfect! Katie's dad, one of our elders, performed the ceremony and did a terrific job! I always like to watch the groom's face as the bride walks down the isle. Stephen was definitely tearing up and cried during the vows as well. It was super sweet!

I think God knew what He was doing when He gave us girls. This wedding was our 6th wedding since April and we have one more in 2 weeks. Wes will have performed 4 of these seven. I am always proud of the job he does making it memorable and personal. He gets lots of compliments. 5 of these weddings were girls who had gone through our youth program which is very special (and make us feel old). It is really neat to have witnessed them mature and grow into godly young women. I am thankful that we got to share in those momentous occasions. We know each of their parents prayed for their future spouse, and to see how God's plan was revealed is pretty special.

Katie and Karla - We sure do love these ladies!

The girls had fun playing with Annabelle and their new friend the flower girl.

I will end this post with two quotes from the girls:

One morning last week while I was brushing Avery's hair she asked, "When do you think Jesus will come back?" I replied that the Bible tells us we don't know when He is coming back. She then said, "It would be cool if He came back while I was alive." It warmed my heart!

At the dinner table the other night Abby starts chanting, "Uno, dos, tres, cuatro, cinco, seis siete, ocho, nueve, DS." Then she proceeded to tell Avery,"You say DS because you have a DS." (As in a Nintendo DS.) Ha!

Is Big Tex Real?

2010-10-24T16:49:00.024-05:00

Last weekend we made a trip to the Texas State Fair. Wes had been before, but the girls and I had not, so we decided to make use of their free (you know me) tickets from school.

We enjoyed some fun rides, yummy food (funnel cake is my friend) and petting all the different kinds of animals.

I wanted to go on the HUGE carousel, but at the last minute Avery and Abby changed their mind about going on it. I am not sure if it was because it was incredibly tall or if the thought of waiting in a long line discouraged them. We will definitely have to try it again some time.

The excitement is building! Their poor driver!

Ready to take off!

Brave little girl bouncing around way up high!

Riding the sky ride as a family.

Our favorite part of the fair was the Children's Barnyard area. We bought a few cups of food to feed the animals and really enjoyed petting them and watching them. There were pigs, sheep, yaks, gazelle, camels, miniature horses, dogs, cats, kangaroos, ostriches, donkeys, cows and even a giraffe. We were surprised how many animals they had. Several of them were born during the fair. Avery and Abby learned that baby pigs have squishy hooves. They petted the little piglets for quite a while as they just laid there asleep. I was amazed that all the animals let so many people touch them.

Cute kangaroo!

The sheep were so soft!

I felt sorry for the giraffe being all cooped up there.

When Abby saw Big Tex she asked if he was real. Wes explained that he was not and proceeded to tell her how his social club in college, Galaxy, stole Big Tex and took him all the way to Abilene to be in the homecoming parade as part of the Galaxy float. (This was years before Wes was in the club.) Hopefully, the girls will not get any bright ideas from this lovely story.

That evening we stayed the night in Dallas. When we first entered our room we could hear what sounded like a heard of elephants above us. Keep in mind it was about 10:00. After the girls had showered the noise (or pounding, I should say) had not subsided. Wes called the front desk who let him know other complaints had been called in, and a manager was on his way up. 20 minutes later it had not died down at all. Wes went upstairs to check if out. Turns out, it was a coach staying with 9 players. Not a brilliant idea in the first place!!! The manager was still up there and told Wes we could change rooms. Another family was already moving, too.

We got to move to a large suite plus we got $20 taken off our bill, since we had to move our stuff and tired girls at 11:00 at night. The girls slept in until 8:45 which was quite nice. I love those thick curtains that hotels have that block out the sunlight and keep it nice and dark. I wish we could have hung around for a bit and enjoyed the suite, but we needed to get on the road to Abilene for a wedding after a stop at ACU.

What have I been up to?

2010-09-28T21:07:00.029-05:00

The first two weeks while the girls were at school I did not have any sub jobs and tutoring had not begun. I kept busy doing the normal necessary things - grocery shopping, preparing dinners, making school lunches, paying bills, cleaning the house, sorting through closets, doing laundry, running errands, and other exciting tasks.

I also got some projects done around the house that I had been saving for these weeks. I painted all the outside doors, part of the trim and all of the front porch ceiling. Thankfully, we had a cold front come in which helped make it more enjoyable. I'd like to call that a "God thing".

During those two weeks, I did research and made numerous calls in preparation to change our health insurance. The church doesn't provide health insurance so we have to get an individual plan which is super high (don't get me started). With all of Wes's medical bills dealing with cancer and all the required check-ups things have gotten progressively worse with our insurance plan. We plan to switch in January which should help a bit.

My friend and I are PTO Vice Presidents again which means we are in charge of 3 fundraisers throughout the year. It was easier this time around than last year, but it still takes lots of time.

We host our small group from church most Sunday nights, and we still have our weekly High School devo at our house. Keeping my house clean and in order for these keeps me plenty busy too.

Speaking of our small group, I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE it! What a blessing it has been to Wes and I! Last semester our group studied Crazy Love together and now we are studying Coffeehouse Gospel. These are both AMAZING books, and I highly recommend them. Our group is going to go hear Francis Chan (author of Crazy Love) speak down in Dallas soon. I can't wait. Our studies and relationships have helped me grow spiritually. We have challenged each other, laughed with each other, served with each other, and shed tears together. Together, we are being reminded that this life is not all about us. We should care less about the latest gadgets, latest fashions, and bigger newer houses. We have a purpose on this earth. What matters is what we have done for God's kingdom. Are we being Jesus to those around us? Are we making the most of the opportunities around us to be a light for Him? Throughout these last several months we have tried to find ways we can serve others and be a light to others. A special highlight for me was getting to take a family from our community, whose daughter has battled brain cancer, school supply and clothes shopping before school started. Since then we have been able to minister to this family in other ways. I am praying for God to open even more doors so that we can share His love with them.

After those first two weeks the calls started coming for me to sub. So far I have about 25 jobs lined up through out the year. I only signed up to sub in the 7 elementary schools here and one middle school for now. I also started tutoring at Terrell Elementary where I tutored some last year. I am there Wednesday afternoons and most of the day Thursday and Friday. On occasion, I sub for the other tutors, too. On Wednesdays, I help 4th and 5th graders work on certain Math and Reading skills. On Thursday and Friday mornings I provide enrichment activities in Math to a group of about 22 second graders for an hour and about 23 third graders for a hour. There are a couple of other tutors in there to help out as well. They call this time, "Brain Lab" and it is for the higher level students. The rest of the morning I work with 1st graders building their fluency in Reading. In the afternoon I work with the 4th and 5th graders on Math and Reading skills. Terrell has a room for tutoring, full of supplies, resources, 15 computers, and tons of hands-on manipulatives. It is really a great set-up.

I have really enjoyed tutoring. I enjoy it more than subbing. It is nice to see the same students (even though it is many students across 5 grade levels), develop a relationship with them, and really feel like I am making a difference in their lives. I know what I am doing each day unlike when you sub and each class is different. I also get paid about twice as much as subbing, which is an added plus.

I may also be doing some tutoring at Hyde Park later on in the year and it will be neat to be on my old stomping grounds and at the same school with the girls.

I really like my schedule. I know I am really blessed! It is not stressful, my afternoons after school and evenings are free to devote time to our girls and have some quality family time. All my hours are not filled with tutoring and subbing, so I can get other things done while the girls are at school.

I often get asked if I will go back to full time teaching soon, and my response is, "not for a long time". I enjoy being able to spend a lot of time with the girls and being able to devoted time to youth group activities. Being a teacher is super stressful and takes a lot of time. (Can I get an "AMEN!" teachers?) I remember those days, and I have a lot of respect for teachers.

Soccer season has started - meaning two practices and two games a week around here. So far the Denison Lightning (Abby's team) and Denison Ponies (Avery's team) are undefeated! Woo hoo! Wes is Abby's coach again and Avery's assistant coach. They have both played well. Avery is playing on a larger field this year. It makes me tired just to watch them run all over it.

I want to end this post with a few funny quotes from the last several weeks.

When Avery hurt her lip she very sullenly asked, "If my lip gets infected will they have to cut it off." I am pretty sure she was thinking about one of the Little House on the Prairie shows where someone ended up losing their leg due to an infection. Poor girl!

When Abby came home from school the day Avery hurt her lip, Avery was quick to inform her, "Abby you can kiss me anywhere else, but not on my lips." I don't blame Avery for warning her. Abby is known to be pretty rough when it comes to "loving" on people.

A few days after school started I asked Abby is she felt like her school day was long. She replied, "Yeeeeessss, like as long as all the days I will be on earth!"

Several times lately, Abby has prayed this, "Thank you God for my BIG, BIG sister and thank you for my BIG, BIG, Daddy, and thank you for my little, little, Mommy, and thank you for my little, little, Lexi." It is pretty cute. (The first time, I have to admit, I was afraid she was going to say BIG, BIG, Mommy.)

And just tonight, during our devo which included a lesson on God being our Abba, one of the questions was, "Why is the name 'Abba' so special?" Abby chimed in, "Because it's so close to MY name!" Love it!

Beaver's Bend

2010-09-28T10:41:00.033-05:00

On Labor Day weekend, we took a mini vacation with Nana, Paw Paw, Katy, Blake, Tripp, and Grace. We picked up the girls right after school and made it there by dinner time. The cabin we stayed at was a cabin we had stayed at before - twice with two different groups of Seniors. It was neat to go back and read what we had written in the guest book. They had a hot tub, which was a nice addition. The girls, of course, wanted to get in it right away.

On Saturday morning we enjoyed an interesting breakfast by Wes. On one of Wes's guy's trip they made chicken and waffles and he loved it. He wanted us to try it out too. Basically, you just take a waffle and put a Chic-fil-A chicken breast on top and cover it with syrup. I have to admit, I was skeptical about this, but it was actually pretty good.

After breakfast we had some time to relax and watch the cousins play. We also spotted a couple of deer right outside our window. (We saw deer about 3 different times the whole trip.) Nana also took the grand-kids on a nature walk.

Abby getting some cuddle time with Aunt Katy.

We all loved holding sweet baby Grace. She was so content and peaceful. Before we know it she will be running around with her brother and cousins.

That afternoon we rented a boat from the marina. We had a great time tubing and water skiing. The girls were cute as they kept signing for Paw Paw to speed up. They would also try different tricks like dancing while riding or raising their hands up quickly and not holding on. They thought they were pretty cool.

I also got to enjoy some water skiing. I hadn't skied since last summer, but I was able to get up and stay up until my muscles could no longer take it. (It's like riding a bike.) Can I just say that I LOVE skiing!

We love boating!

I believe we are singing, "I like to move it, move it!"

Wes and Blake went tubing together and were trying all kinds of goofy tricks (trying to play airplane - with Wes lifting up Blake on his legs - like you do with little kids). Thankfully, no one was near us to see their embarrassing tactics.

They are planning something silly, for sure.

Blake and Tripp tried to go tubing for a bit. There was a short moment where Tripp actually looked like he was enjoying it, but then he began to cry. We certainly weren't going to torture him so we pulled him and Blake back to the boat. Tripp did enjoy riding on the boat and even got to help Paw Paw drive. Next year, I bet, he will be ready to join his cousins (Abby and Abby- That is what he calls them.) on a tube.

"Let's go faster Paw Paw!"

Cousin fun!

The next day we had another big breakfast and a lazy morning. The cousins wanted to venture into the woods and explore. I am pretty sure this is where our wonderful little friends, "the chiggers", met up with us. I HATE those things! I was in the woods the least, yet I got the most bites. UGGGG! Dabbing bleach on the bites seemed to be the best remedy. Has anyone had luck with something else?

The cousins enjoyed playing in the water at the cabin. They filled up buckets, tried to teach some bugs to swim, shot each other with water guns, and even captured a grasshopper with Nana's help. The next day I convinced Avery it did not want to come home with us. It needed to stay with his family and friends. Tripp loved spraying the water hose. Who knew that something like that would be such a great form of entertainment for the little guy?

That afternoon we went swimming in the lake for a couple of hours. The weather was perfect for us!

Pondering important things at the lake.

All that swimming made them hungry for a snack.

That night we ate outside. Paw Paw grilled some delicious hot dogs and hamburgers, and we ate Paw Paw's yummy homemade ice cream for dessert. We also made a campfire and roasted some smores.

Paw Paw had some fans while he made home made ice cream. Was it because he would give them some licks of ice cream? Hmmm...

Some good things take time.

Our family sitting around the campfire.

"Is it done yet, Daddy?"

Yummo!

Bliss!

After we put the kids to bed we played Things in a Box and had some good laughs.
The next morning we packed up to head on back home.

We sure had fun with everyone and made some great memories. We all wished Granny could have been there. Thanks Paw Paw and Nana for making the trip possible!

I Love My Lips!

2010-09-21T21:00:00.008-05:00

Thursday, the first week of school, Avery gave us quite a scare. I was home painting our outside doors and porch trims (taking advantage of a cold front that had come in) when I got a call from school. The lady said, "We have Avery here in the office..." Immediately my mind starts thinking, "Oh no, what did she do?" But then the lady continued, "She had an accident in the cafeteria at lunch. She fell off her seat and bit through her bottom lip." I immediately called Wes who was just finishing up with a youth minister's meeting in Sherman. I told him to rush to school. I needed to at least change my paint stained clothes and wash the paint off my hands.

Thankfully, we live about 4 minutes from school. I felt much better when I saw her. It seems like you always imagine the worse. She was sitting in the office whimpering a bit with some Kleenex over her mouth. The office staff recommended I take her to the minor emergency clinic first. As I was pulling out of the school parking lot, Wes arrived and followed us. The receptionist at the clinic quickly got the doctor to come look at Avery. She reassured us that she could glue it, and that it would be no problem. About 5 minutes later Avery was being cleaned and then quickly glued. She was a trooper through it all.

As we were leaving the room, I felt extremely light headed and weak, like I was going to pass out. I told Wes who quickly motioned me to a chair. Then, of course, the nurses and doctor start coming to my aid. I was thoroughly embarrassed! But, I knew if I got up I would pass out. I passed out once in high school on a mission trip when I had been out in the heat to long and didn't drink enough, so I knew the feeling. They moved me to a room and had me lie down. They gave me some crackers and water. I think it was all the excitement from everything that happened with Avery, and the fact that it was 1:15 and I had not had anything to eat or drink since breakfast. Plus, I had been doing all that painting. Anyways, I felt pretty ridiculous. After 10 minutes or so I felt much better and was able to drive home.

Poor Avery's lip swelled up pretty bad. The outside did not look too bad. The cut where a bottom tooth went through was about 1 cm wide, but then it was really red for about 2cm past that. The inside of her lip looked very bad. It was all mauled up from her teeth. She is lucky more teeth did not go through. She had to gargle salt water or peroxide several times a day for a good week and a half until it healed up inside.

Eating and talking were hard for several days. You would think soft foods would be good, but harder foods were actually better. She drooled a lot because it hurt too bad to close her mouth, so soft food would just run out of her mouth. She couldn't suck on a straw because it hurt her to bring her lips together. Needless to say, we went through lots of napkins and laundry. She was tough though. She went to school the next day. The other students were sweet and caring to her. Now she just has a little red dot under her lip that I am sure will disappear soon.

I did not take pictures until a few days later because I didn't want to make her feel like some sort of freak show.

Our Kindergartner and Second Grader

2010-09-05T10:45:00.012-05:00

Yes, I am just now blogging about the first day of school. Sorry, blogging is towards the bottom of my priority list. Ha!

School started August 24th. Wes and I both took the girls to school. We stopped at Abby's room first. She has Mrs. Mackay for a teacher which is the same teacher Avery had. We loved her! I taught with her at Hyde Park before the girls were born. Anyways, Abby was very excited, but quiet. I was excited for her, but my heart was breaking inside. This day had come way too quickly. I held back the tears as we got her settled and took some pictures, but I couldn't hold them in any longer as we left the room. Parents and teachers empathized as I boo-hooed my way up to Avery's classroom.

We got Avery settled in Mrs. Watson's room. It was a little strange because this is the first year that we really don't know her teacher. The first year she had Mrs. Mackay who I had taught with, and last year she had Mrs. Pughe who is a member of our church. I have heard great things about Mrs. Watson, but it was just strange dropping my kid off with someone for about 8 hours a day, 5 days a week that I really didn't know personally.

Wes went off to work and I headed off to many errands I had been saving for this day with no kiddos. All day, and for several days it was just a weird feeling having both girls in school. In some ways I am ready for them to be this old, but in a lot of ways I am not.

I am glad that they are at Hyde Park. Because I taught there for 3 years I know the principal and several of the teachers and staff pretty well. This helps me feel more comfortable and at ease.

Alabama

2010-09-03T21:42:00.045-05:00

Two weeks before school started we set out for Anniston, Alabama to see my Grandma (my Mom's Mom), my Aunt Cathy and Uncle Ed. I love road trips! This one took us 12 hours. The girls did amazing! Abby enjoyed watching videos. Avery read a book, watched videos and played Barbies with Abby. They are at a good age now where traveling is so much easier. They entertain themselves so well, they don't get fussy or cry, they can feed themselves, and their bladders are bigger (although Avery wins the award for needing more potty breaks - I think Abby must have a gigantic bladder).

We arrived around 8pm and had a good time catching up with Cathy and Ed. The next day Cathy and I ate breakfast with my Grandma. She is in a nursing home now. She suffers from Alzheimers and needs the help of trained professionals. She stayed with Cathy for a while, but now her Alzheimers has gotten so bad that she needs the extra care. Her nursing home is close to Cathy so that is convenient. It is a beautiful facility with gorgeous grounds. Most nursing homes have that gross smell and the people staying there look so sad and depressed. This place had a pleasant smell and cheery atmosphere.

It was sad to see Grandma in the state she was in. She was happy and content and would laugh from time to time, but it was clear that the disease has a strong grip on her. She sees Cathy almost every day and can't remember that she is her daughter. I have such good memories of Grandma. She was a wonderful artist and painted several pictures of her grandchildren. She even got paid to paint to paint pictures for people. She was also very crafty and made all kinds of things. She always had big doll houses in her yard that we could play in. The rooms had pictures of her grandchildren that she painted. She had dolls and dishes and would often play along with us. She always had a stash of dress up clothes for us too. When we were older she would bring costumes to our week long family reunions and would help us put on skits for the rest of our family. When we stayed at her house in Modesto, CA we always enjoyed going down the street together to swim in the community pool. I shared with Avery and Abby how my Grandma used to be. It was neat to show the girls pictures of Grandma and to show them her paintings and some of the crafts she had made. Cathy even gave the girls a pony Grandma had actually cut out and painted and another sculpture she had painted.

After breakfast we brought Grandma with us over to Cathy's house where we enjoyed watching some old home videos. One was of us and the Bushes (our good family missionary friends in Kenya) at Christmas when I was about 8 years old. The girls got a kick out of seeing me as a little girl. It was neat to see Mom in the videos. One of the hardest things about her being gone is the fact that the girls don't get to be around her or get to know her. Avery was 3 and Abby was 1 when she passed away.

In the afternoon we went swimming in Cathy and Ed's pool. The girls, of course, loved this. Cathy, Wes, and I all helped Avery learn how to dive. We all also had fun playing with their dog, Cisco who would get in the pool.

Avery enjoying her favorite fruit.

Nothing like eating some juicy watermelon around the pool.

We loved hanging out with Aunt Cathy in the pool.

After swimming we went to see Despicable Me. It was easily one of the best kid's movies we had seen in a while.

Sporting the cute 3D glasses.

The next day we did more swimming and we all went and saw Ramona and Beezus. I read all the Ramona books when I was younger so I really enjoyed the movie. We visited Grandma and told her good-bye.

We love you Grandma!

The next morning we headed back to Texas. A fun highlight of the trip back was our sing-a-long. We would take turns choosing a song off of Wes's IPOD to sing at the top of our lungs and dance to (as well as you can all strapped in). It was a blast!

Abby in the middle of her dance moves. Sadly Avery would not let me take her picture.

We also stopped by Bryant Denny Stadium in Tuscaloosa. Wes's favorite team is the Alabama Crimson Tide, so we had to make the stop. As we were walking to see the statues of some of their coaches, Abby asked why we were doing that. I replied, "To make Dad happy... lets go." They were actually about to put in the new statue of Nick Saban the day we were there, which made Wes's day!

Wes and the girls with Gene Stallings, coach of the 1992 National Championship team.

Posing with Bear Bryant. Abby is quick to comment about his "Horsetooth" (Hounds-tooth) hat.

The soon to be site of Coach Saban's statue.

I was so thankful that we made the trip. It was good to see Cathy, Ed, and Grandma and catch up with each other. Cathy, I am still rooting for you all to move to Texas. Thanks again for a great time! We love you all!

High School Lock-In

2010-08-15T17:31:00.013-05:00

Staying up all night used to sound so fun. However, now at 33, I can't say I look forward to the lack of sleep. I feel miserable the next day, and it is not easy to sleep in or nap with a 5 and 7 year old. All that to say, since I have had kids I only stay part of the night at the youth lock-ins.

The first part of this year's lock-in was spent down at the Main Event where we enjoyed bowling, pizza, laser tag, and arcade games. My team won at laser tag! Woo hoo! Avery and Abby played for the first time in their life. The vests were pretty heavy, but they sure did look cute running around guns in hand.

Ready for some bowling!

Easton and Brinlee. Whacky!

Ariel and Sierra - sweet sisters.

Wes helping Abby out.

We are going to miss you girls when you go off to college!

Ashley and Jake riding a roller coaster ride.

Avery and Abby's turn on the ride.

We had a large group (lock-ins are always a big hit) and it sure was fun hanging out with everyone.

Haircuts by Gina

2010-08-05T16:37:00.008-05:00

I should have taken pictures of Gina in action in her cool salon, but here are the girl's new haircuts. Gina is an amazing hairdresser. Avery wanted her hair as short as mine, but Gina and I agreed that it just wouldn't look the same. Her hair is simply the wrong texture and not as thick. I was flattered, and I think it is darn cute that she wants her hair to look like mine. Abby loved her trim and especially her Laura Ingall's braids that Gina gave her.

THANKS GINA!

Christian Theater Workshop

2010-08-05T15:24:00.014-05:00

For 12 summers (the first one being the summer we first got here) our church has been having Christian Theater Workshop (CTW). Basically, kids and teens from our community, as well as our own youth, put on a Bible musical. Three of the plays we do are written my Jeff Walling and one is written by one of our directors. Two weeks before the production the principal characters practice every evening. The week before the production there is a day camp where everyone else learns their lines and the words to all the songs. They also rotate between a Bible class, (where they learn in depth things about the particular Bible story the play is on), games, and crafts. We usually have about 130 kids involved in it.

This year we did the story of Noah and I helped in the craft room. Each day we made part of a paper bag scrapbook, and at the end of the week each child got to take it home. It was a lot of fun helping out and being with all the kids that came through.

Sybil spent 3 nights with us during the week since her family has now moved. The girls loved spending time with her and were sad to see her go.

Avery and Abby were townspeople and pigs. They loved every bit of CTW. Avery was quick to learn the lines and the songs while Abby cracked us up with all her gestures and facial expressions. She is such a ham!

They did three performances and needless to say, the girls were tired when it was all said and done.

This year we got to use our new building. It isn't totally finished. They still have to pour the special mondo flooring in the gym and lay the carpet in the classrooms.

Singing townspeople. Avery is in the light blue and Abby is in the navy and pink making a funny face.

Noah talking with all the animals on the ark.

Waiting for the curtain to open.

Noah's wife dancing with Abby along with her daughter-in-laws.

More singing and funny choreography.

Rian, Robert, Zack, and Easton, our very important sound and light crew. Nice glasses Robert.

The girls working on their paper bag scrapbook.

Our little pigs!

With their masks on.

Tanglewood Resort

2010-08-05T13:47:00.009-05:00

Last year marked 10 years here at Park Avenue. Last summer one of our elders called us to come to the front during church and said some sweet things about us and gave us a gift certificate to Tanglewood Resort. We finally got around to using it this summer.

We got there around noon and were able to check in to our villa right away. It was super nice with a large living and dining area, kitchen, and master bedroom with a jacuzzi bath. The place even had two bathrooms.

We first ate lunch then headed to the tower which overlooks the lake. Then we headed down to the pools. They had 3 different pools an a large hot tub, and we took advantage of them all.

We ate dinner right by the pool at Barnacles. We discovered that they have the best salsa and some pretty yummy pizza.

After dinner we went back to our villa where the girls enjoyed the jacuzzi for a bit before we watched some Little House on the Prairie DVD's that I had brought.

The girls slept on the fold out couch in the living room. It was nice to be able to stay up later in our own room.

The next morning we ate a little breakfast before heading down to the pool. We ate some more chips and salsa for lunch and then headed home.

There was a small dance floor in the tower. Abby had to take advantage of it.

Daddy's girls.

My sweetie pies!

Nice ferocious smile, Abby!

Avery spends most of the time underwater when she is in a pool.

Abby and Avery taking advantage of the jacuzzi tub in our room.

All in all it was a great little family getaway and it was only 20 minutes from home.

Thanks Park Avenue for a fantastic gift! We love you!

Reunion with Friends

2010-08-05T12:38:00.008-05:00

Two weeks ago, (yes, I know I am late posting all of this) the girls and I met up with Alexis and Kendall at Blake and Katy's house. We had a little visit there with Tripp and sweet baby Grace. Then Alexis and Kendall rode with us to Lauren's house in Shreveport.

We spent three nights there. We always have plenty of catching up to do when we get together. We also enjoyed swimming, going out to eat, watching a movie, going to Lauren's children's church activity, and just hanging out watching our kids interact with each other. The girls doted over cute Kendall and had a blast playing with each other. Poor Cole tried to play along, but wasn't always welcome. Poor guy, it is hard being the little brother sometimes.

Avery and Emie = 2 little fish

Abby, Alexis, and Kendall cooling off.

This boy will not drown. He's got floaties and a noodle - double protection.

I am not sure how comfortable this was for Kendall, but it sure looked cute.

Lauren helping Kendall out.

All the girls got to sleep in the same room each night. This was a highlight for sure!

Lauren and I purchased these night gowns when we were together on our girl trip earlier this year.

I am so thankful for these relationships. They are truly a gift from God. I am also thankful that our kids have so much fun together.