December Catch-Up

Ok, I posted I think 5 new posts tonight. So make sure you scroll ALL the way down to see them all! I think next year I am going to try to blog once a week (maybe)!

Mimi and Umpa's House

Here are the pics I promised from Christmas Day:
You won't see any of my mom, because she was quarantined to the back half of the house because she caught some kind of stomach bug! I was very sad she didn't get to see the boys open her presents...but they sure did love them!

I just love this look of his, it's almost like he's saying "Look how cute I am!"

Giving Mimi some luvin!

Umpa helping with the Ipod shuffle headphones (probably for the 10th time!)

Dalton getting down with his Shuffle

Bakugans

More Bakugans

Smothering cousin Danielle

Christmas Eve/Christmas Morning

Christmas Eve we went to candle light service at The Exchange, oh and by the way it was a blizzard outside "Literally!". We had to turn around and get my car instead of Jason's truck, because we were sliding all over the place! We made it LATE! After service, we made chili at home, and opened some presents, then we finished our What God Wants For Christmas nativity set, watched some Christmas shows on TV, then off to bed! Which by the way they (Dalton) took FOREVER to fall asleep!

When they awoke on Christmas morning, they had a blast! After that, we went to my Mimi's house for Christmas celebration there. I will post pics from their house later. We spent most of the day there with family and friends. The kids got way to much stuff as usual, but we are very grateful for everything we have been given!

Opening some presents Christmas Eve

Santa's been here!!!

I absolutely love this picture!

Dalton with his bike

Carson with his bike

Trying for that "postcard" picture

How we really are!

4 Already???????

Carson turned 4! I can't believe it! I mean he thinks he is 9 already, and acts like it too, but WOW!

We had by request of Carson, a Spiderman birthday party. (But with no Spiderman-if you know Carson, than you know he does not like people in costumes! LOL!) Our party consisted of Pin the Bad Guys, a silly string hunt for bad guys, and musical spidermans! The kids had a blast, and Carson got tons of presents!


Yummy Pizza!

Silly String was a hit!

No Peeking!

A skateboard!!!!!

Cupcakes Galore!

Medieval Times

Papa (Jason's Dad) came to visit, and we treated him to a trip to Medieval Times. We had a blast! The boys truly thought it was the "coolest thing ever!" It was well worth the money, and we have a ton of memories from that night.

Visit with Santa

To avoid last year's Santa incident,(click here if you don't know the story) we decided to go to Bass Pro Shops to Santa's Workshop this year. It was pretty cool there, and their Santa is FREE! We did however have to make it a 2 day process. We went on Sunday while Papa was here from Iowa, and the line was so long (and the power went out), that our 4:30 time slot was looking a bit more like 7 or so. We had got there at 1:30 pm! So, I kindly told the elf "We will be back tomorrow!"

So, on Monday afternoon, we waited a whole 30 minutes and got right in! Good Santa too! Enjoy the pics mainly of day 2!

My testimony

Scroll down to bottom of page and pause music player before viewing video.

Who's Your One Person?

Well, after finding out yesterday's news, today was still hard. Of course, I am sure it will be hard for awhile. You can see the post below if you need to catch up, just another crazy day in my life! lol

So today was a great sermon as usual, a pretty decent day at home, I even got a little nap in. (Thanks honey!) We had a night of prayer at The Exchange tonight, and while I had plans for an easy, quick dinner, that is not what happened! After a losing battle with a can of crescent rolls, and a change of plans to McDonald's, we were on our way.

Now tonight was soooo AMAZING, that it was immediately obvious why the 45 minutes before were so crazy! Satan did not want us there at all! Ha Ha to him!

One of the first things we were to pray about, was to ask God to show us one person or family that needs Jesus, and to pray for them and ask God how to show Christ's love to them. Who do you think God showed me? Hmmmmm....my dad! Yep! Can you believe it? Have you ever wanted to get up in the middle of church because you were really convicted of something? Well, I can tell you that I did tonight! (I mean wanted to, I didn't really leave! :) ) While we prayed about several other things, God really showed me that no matter what, no matter how he treated me, that he too needs Jesus, and that he too is a child of God. Uuugghhh, talk about a punch in the stomach!

Another thing they did tonight, was ask people that had a heavy burden that was maybe hindering them from truly worshiping to stand up. Well, guess who needed to stand?! Immediately as I stood, I felt God's presence all over me, all around me, even in my toes I think! Joel then asked to people to go to the people standing and cover them in prayer. WOW! To have several people hugging me, praying out loud to God on my behalf, it was AMAZING! And God showed me right then, that I am loved! I mean, I truly felt so much love, that I can't even begin to explain it! Thank you sooo much to my Exchange Family! I love y'all sooo much!

All of this being said, Who is your one person or family that you can begin praying for, and showing Christ's love too? Be ready when you ask God to show you that person, it may not be who you were expecting!

Wanted?

Sometimes you just need to cry. That was today for me. No, not cry, wail. I received some news today that made me very sad. My grandmother on my dad's side passed away about 2 weeks ago. Now although I had not seen her in a few years, I still send cards, and receive letters from time to time. So when finding out today, I was very sad.

Sad because my Nani had passed, and sad because I had to find out on my own. No one contacted me, I found it on the internet. For those of you that don't know, my dad and I do not have a relationship, he does not want me. I have been dealing with this for years. Last summer, I was finally able to move on. I know that my heavenly father wants me. I know that He loves me unconditionally, and would never leave me. I know that I am accepted by Him.

But today, it hurts again. Really, really bad. I want to curl up in a ball and stay there for a long time. I want to call him and shout "How could you not tell me?" "How can you not love someone that is a part of you?" "How could you break promises all my life?" While reading the obituary, something stood out..."She is survived by son....of weatherford, daughter ...of Austin....and she will be missed by 2 long time friends that she shared a birthday with." Notice anything (or anyone)missing? Apparently according to the weatherford newspaper, I do not exist.

This makes me wonder, has he completely erased me from his memory? Is that possible? And if so, how can he sleep at night? I don't know these answers, and as my friend Suzie put it, I probably won't know them this side of heaven. But I do know that I do exist, my Father created me and had a plan for me. And no deadbeat dad can take that away from me!(Thanks Tab)

I am so thankful for my wonderful, praying friends that got me through today! Thank you all sooo much!

New Venture=New Blog!

I have a new blog up and running to display my new venture. Check it out here!

Today

Today I will choose Christ.
Today I will choose joy.
Today I will choose to follow Him.
Today I will choose to call out for help.
Today I will choose to be obedient.
Today I will choose to breathe deeply.
Today I will choose to surrender. (To God)
Today I will choose to fight. (Evil)
Today I will choose to capture my thoughts.
Today I will choose to put God first.
Today I will choose to give my anger over to Him.
Today I will choose joy.

Tomorrow I will choose to start all over again! :)

What will you choose?

Help!

I need to blog today, to just get things off my chest and to ask for your prayer. My oldest son Dalton is 6, and he is the most emotional child I think I have ever met. Being that he is a boy, makes it even more difficult for me and Jason to deal with. The smallest thing sets him off, and then takes about 20 minutes or more to calm him down.

One thing is that apparently he is a perfectionist. Really? He's a boy! Their handwriting is supposed to look like scribble-right? I am starting to think, that right now we are being attacked, and it is through our children. Jason has been training to be a Life House leader (that's what our church calls small groups-we have these instead of Sunday School classes). He has been in training since January, and his first official LH meets this coming Sunday night. We have both seen God's blessings over and around us these last several months.

Now, as we all know-where God works-Satan attacks. And I think that God is allowing this to happen to see if we choose to handle it through His strength. Sounds easy right? Not so much. Please pray that Jason and I will be able to use the strengths and fruits that God has equipped us with, instead of lashing out of our flesh.

This is my sweet, sweet boy: I know it is hard to believe that I have been talking about him right?
If you have any experience/ideas in how to handle this situation, please let me know! I am really beginning to believe that the phrase "It takes a village to raise a child" is totally true, and I can use all the village I can get! :)

First Grade!

I can't believe it! My little boy is in 1st grade! He had a fabulous first day, and came home super excited! He couldn't stop talking...I have no idea where he gets that from! His teacher seems to be really sweet, and young! They all seem to be really young! He He! Maybe I am just getting older...Naaahhh

Check out my super cute boy on his first day of full day school!


Isn't he adorable!

Women of Faith

This weekend I, along with 15,000 other women, attended Women of Faith. It was AMAZING! I have wanted to go for the past 3 years, but it was always sold out by the time I remembered to order tickets. Thank goodness for the economy this year, there were plenty of tickets remaining when I remembered to check it out this year! I was able to bring some friends with me (about 13 of them!) And my mom got to come too!

We had an absolute blast! We stayed at The Fairmont Hotel, my room had some AC issues, but all in all it was pretty good. We had already decided that we are reserving rooms early next year, at The W! Woo-Hoo!

Do you ever notice how God sometimes put things in your life that He wants you to hear? Over and over...and over.LOL Jennifer, Stefanie, and I attended a small women's retreat in July, and it was about dealing with heart issues. Mainly things that you have buried really deep, that you may not necessarily want to deal with again. Well, guess what one of the things they talked about at WOF was! Marliyn Meberg talked about how we put things in boxes...shame issues, parent issues, abandonement issues, whatever....Yeah, I got boxes!

There were so many awesome speakers there, and the worship was absolutely wonderful! Steven Curtis Chapman was the final act on Friday night-talk about UHH----MAZING! He had everybody in tears, but he and his family are a true example of praising God in their storm.

PS I have pre-ordered 50 tickets for next year! August 20th and 21st are next year's dates. Let me know ASAP if you would like to reserve tickets! First come, first serve. I have 38 left right now.
Below are some pics from our super fun weekend!

Steven Curtis Chapman

Erin &Sharon

Me & Ryndi

Felicia's B-Day at El Fenix!

Ofcourse, I had to wear the hat!

Jen, Lynda, and Kelly

me and Tabitha lounging!

Gulf Shores

We went with our friends Suzie and Nathan and their girls to Gulf Shores, Alabama last week for our family summer trip. Needless to say, we had a blast! I am including the best pictures, but be warned...there are many!

The first 2 days there, it rained-not too bad the first day, but on Tues-it was a downpour! So, we drove to Pensacola and went to the Naval Air Museum there. It was really neat, and the boys had a blast! I also have a little bit more history knowledge now than before I left. LOL




We went on a dolphin cruise (which is really just a boat ride out to see some dolphins jump around). We loved it! Had tons of fun! We did this same ride 3 years ago, and it is absolutely worth every penny! Ofcourse, after we did the cruise, we could see dolphins jumping around in front of our spot on the beach! Both Jason and Suzie were making comments about how we could have saved $50! (They are a lot alike!) Whatever-we loved every bit of the experience!





I love how well the kids played together, I miss being able to say "go downstairs and play in the sand-we'll see you in a little bit"!




If you are wondering about the circling birds, this is what happens when you throw out goldfish crackers around a resting Amber on the beach! Hmmmm...Nathan thought he was funny!



And of course, we had to take the obligatory "Family Beach Pics"!






There's so much more, like the boys boogie boarding, and hermit crabs, but I will have to add those another time...this is way too many photos to expect anyone to look at in one sitting!