My Little Bakers

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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!

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!

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!

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!