Christmas 2007 Memories

Christmas this year was really good and I feel so blessed in many ways. I did have daycare kids on Saturday and Sunday but was totally off on Monday and Tuesday! YAY! And John was off Sunday through Wednesday. He had to go to work on Wednesday night. 

Monday we got up early and went to the mall for a morning movie, National Treasure 2. It was pretty good. Then we walked around the mall. My darlin' hubby got me some things for my nails to help them grow on their own since I don't do the fake nails anymore because the chemicals are bad to use. We went to Applebees for lunch with a gift card that one of my daycare parents gave me. It was a great lunch. She got it for me because she knows I am doing Weight Watchers and they have a WW menu. We went to the Candlelight Service at church that night. My sweet little girl fell asleep at the beginning because we had a prayer time and she never opened her eyes after that. I tired to get her to wake up so she could do the candle at the end but not even that was enough to get her to wake up. That night after the service we let the kids open one of the family gifts we bought. They picked the one that contained a Pirates of the Caribbean Scene It. We played that and then they opened the movie that we got them with the third pirate movie in it. 

Tuesday, Christmas day, we got a text message from Sami saying she and her boyfriend, Tim would be here as soon as she got ready. She doesn't have a car so she had to wait till he picked her up. They got here around 6:30. We had a fire going in the fireplace and the Christmas music on. We opened the gifts and then started making breakfast while the kids played with their toys, even the big kids.

John loved his new cordless drill. He was very surprised. I am so glad I found something so cool to get him. I was excited when I came up with it because it is hard to shop for him sometimes.

Jenni loved that shirt! She got some clothes and some toys. I was glad she loved the clothes as much as she loved the toys. I can't say the same about JC He wanted a special Longhorns hoodie. I put it at the bottom of a box that had another hoodie (red) and some camo pants. He opened the box, took out the camo pants and saw the red hoodie and went to another gift. After about 20 minutes I realized he hadn't fully opened that gift and asked him to stop, slow down and look in that box again to really see what I got him. He finally saw the hoodie and has had it on almost the whole time since then.

I was given a Zune for my birthday in November and they got me a speaker for it. It is really neat. I can hook up the zune and you can hear my songs without headphones. Jenni got me a necklace from the shopping she did at school. JC got me an angel necklace. Nick got me the Bourne Ultimatum. And Sami got me a gift card from Bare Essentials, where I now buy my makeup.

Jenni got the 2007 American Girl doll, Nicki, who is from Colorado. She was so excited! She loves the cowboy boots and the puppy she came with. She also got a new Leapster. I got the two younger kids a box full of coloring books, drawing pads, colored pencils and crayons. They love to create.

Sami and JC got DS's. They were both excited. She got the special Nintendo Dogs edition and he got the special Legend of Zelda edition.

Nick got a Zune, like the one I got for my birthday. So he uses my speaker for it sometimes. It didn't take him long to get music uploaded to it. Tim helped him and me to get some things worked out with them.

A special Christmas present that I got was not something I can unwrap but rather something that will be experienced. As we were walking around the mall John asked me if Ben Bridge still had the platinum wedding set that we found a few years ago. On April 2 we will be celebrating 25 years of marriage. I have wanted a "silver" set because I like to wear silver and it is a silver wedding anniversary. So we went into the store to find out if they still had it. She looked it up on the computer and found out that since they haven't made it in a few years they only have 5 left in all of their stores. They are going to get it sent over to make sure it is the right one. While we were there we started looking at men's rings. We found a beautiful men's ring with crosses and lines chiseled in the white gold. I only paid $70 for his original wedding band which was two-toned but it has worn off. This isn't real expensive but more than what his first one cost. They are ordering that one for us too. We were so excited after we left the store. We started talking about a special trip to take in April and then got on the subject of a ceremony to renew our vows and exchange our new rings. So in April we are going to do that! Get married all over again. I am so excited! I am going to go dress shopping when I have lost some more weight because right now I have only lost 12 pounds.

I am not sure how my weight is doing. Christmas kind of threw me off even though Thanksgiving didn't. I weigh in tomorrow. With the kids home from school I haven't worked out, either. When they go back to school I will be back to the grind stone during nap time and will be able to get things going in the right direction again. I do want to be able to shop for new clothes for our trip, too. As far as the trip goes, I want so much to go to Hawaii but the chances of that are very slim. It costs so much and the time isn't on my side right now either. So I am trying to come up with ideas for a closer/shorter trip that will be wonderful for us.

I hope everyone had as wonderful of a Christmas as we did. May Christ be the center of your new year! Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to one and all!!!

Until next time...blessings to you. 

Happy 6th Birthday, Jennifer Lynne!

Happy Birthday, My "Lil' Angel Baby"! You turned 6 years old today. I have been looking at your baby pictures all week. I wanted to post those on here but haven't had the time to do it. I wanted to scrap them in your book but the last six years have gone by so quickly and though I have taken lots of pictures of you, I have yet to put them in a book. I vow to change that this next year so that on September 16 we can look through a scrapbook and see the years gone by of how you have grown into such a wonderful young lady. And next year I will take the time to post those special pictures of you throughout the years that should be on here for everyone to enjoy!

You were born at 9:25 a.m. on Sunday morning. You were 9 pounds 6 1/2 ounces. You were born in 55 minutes of labor. Your 14 year old sister was in the delivery room when you were born. That made it very special. We had lots of friends from church come to see you that day and the next. I can not believe 6 years has gone by already. Every year has been such a joy with you as I watch you grow and change.

Each year we let you pick the "character" theme for your party. This year your favorite thing is Holly Hobbie. They don't make party stuff yet so I went on line and made invitations and thank you notes. I got Ms Cathy to make your cake (as always, she did such a great job). I let you pick where you were going to have your party because last year you didn't get a chance to have a party. You wanted Chuck E. Cheese so we did it. I picked Saturday morning at 9:30 because I knew it would be almost empty until almost noon. We invited your friends from church, school, the apartments we teach at and just friends outside of any of those. You had 25 friends come to your party, plus parents. That is a great turn out.

Your cake turned out cute!

Your 1st Grade Teacher, Ms Kirkpatrick

Your Best Friend, Kamryn

Afterwards, we came home and unpacked all of your gifts. You played with the My Little Pony house for most of the afternoon. Even after stopping and playing with something else you always went back to that. I would say that had to be one of your very favorite gifts this year.

Today you wore your new dress that you got from one of my daycare kids. You looked so pretty! That great smile just made my day, all day. I know this next year will pass just as quickly as the last one did. So lets make sure we take some moments together and share how your day was and what you are thinking about and dreaming about. I don't want to miss a second of your life. I love you so very much, words are not enough to tell you. God gave me a great gift 6 years ago and I am forever grateful!

Love, Mommy

Until next time...blessings to you.

First Day of School

Today was my children's first day of school. They go to a private school. Public school here started last week. Our day started like every other day, only with more excitement because it was the first day. They have new teachers and new routines.

Each year, even when we homeschooled, we take a first day of school picture. This year Nick was too old, I suppose. So he didn't get his picture taken. But the other two had special new clothes and backpacks that they enjoyed taking pictures with. They really are growing up too fast!

JC had a Transformer Theme, even though he hasn't seen the movie yet. He even had a lunch box to match inside that backpack. And, yes, he is posing for this picture! He is such a ham. He thinks he is so cute! Don't tell him I said so but he really is!

Jenni was all decked out in Hello Kitty, including her lunch box! Her shoes where the only thing that didn't have Hello Kitty on it. She seemed to be in good spirits here and seemed very excited about going to 1st grade. She knew her teacher from last year and is in the same class as a lot of her friends.

As we drove up to the school we noticed right away things were different from last year. We already knew the enrollment was quite a bit larger than last year. This is only the second year for this school. But this was amazing. The parking lot was FULL! So that meant the halls would be full of children and the classrooms would be full, as well. And they were. It was wonderful to see.

Nick went right in to his 10th grade classes. JC didn't have any problems, even though he had never seen his teacher before today. She wasn't at the Back to School picnic. His room was full of children and his seat is on the front row! That is him with the blue chair near the board. Last year they had 5 desks in the room at the beginning of the year and now they have 11 students. They will not have more than 12 students in a room. He is in the 3rd grade.

Jenni, on the other hand, broke my heart. She seemed to be fine while we were dropping off her brother. I didn't worry at all because she didn't cry at all last year when she went to Kindergarten. But maybe she wasn't fine. Maybe she was feeling overwhelmed because of all the people she didn't know in the halls. When we got to the room they told us where to put her backpack and we went down the hall to put it there. As soon as she dropped off the backpack she grabbed my arm and hung on. I walked her down to the room and could tell she was feeling nervous. She started crying and I told her teacher that she was just going to have to take her. So she did and talked to her a little bit and I snuck a picture before I headed out the door. I didn't want to stay and prolong the agony on both of our parts. If you can tell from the picture, she is trying not to cry but isn't succeeding totally. It was a different story when I picked her up. She was smiling and happy! Her teacher said she was just shy all day in front of the other kids. I know she will get out of that.

So, as the first day of the 2007-2008 school year comes to a close I am thankful for my children and the school they go to.  I do miss my children while they are gone but I am trying to make sure I spend quality time with them after school and hear all about what they did and what excited them about it. How blessed I am to have 4 great kids and to watch them grow up and learn new things.

Until next time...blessings to you. 

She Is Growing Up

It is hard to believe that almost 6 years have gone by since my little angel baby, (that is what I used to call her when she was an infant), Jenni came into our lives. In one month she will be 6 years old and today she came to a major milestone in her life.......she lost her first baby tooth!

She was very excited a month ago when she realized that her tooth was getting loose. She actually has 4 teeth that felt a little loose, her two top and two bottom. As this one tooth on the bottom got more and more loose, we discovered that her big tooth was coming in behind her baby tooth. So we began to wiggle that tooth to get it out of there. The funny thing about teeth is that when one is coming in behind the other it stops it from being loose as it grows in. So we had to work "hard". I would take her tooth and wiggle it as she and I counted to 10. We would stop and she would wiggle it to see if it got easier to wiggle. Today when she got up I told her she might as well just go get her an apple. Her brothers have lost a lot of teeth that way.

She got a green apple out of the fridge and started working on that tooth. Sure enough, there it came! She was so excited!! She had the tooth in her hand but still asked me "did it come out?" She had to show Daddy when he walked in the door. And all she can think about it telling Bro. Bobby (our pastor) about it because he gives kids $1 when they lose a tooth. So that will be the first person she finds tonight when we get to church.

Congratulations my lil angel baby! You are on your way to becoming a young woman. I know the time will pass faster than I could imagine. You already are asking me daily about asking Jesus into your heart and about baptism. I know that is a scary thing for someone who doesn't like to sing in church with her choir group. But I know when the time is right God will be there to help you feel strong in the face of that fear. I love you so much! Mommy

Thanks for letting me share my joys of childhood growth as I watch my last baby go from a little girl to a big girl. She has been pretty big in a lot of ways but still has some things that are younger about her. As she takes all these new steps I am happy and yet a little sad. She is such a joy to me and everyone she is around.

Until next time...blessings to you.

Thankful Thursday

I love to do the Thankful Thursday's because it really gives me a time to sit down and think about all the wonderful things the Lord has blessed me with. Even the things that seem so small are such huge blessings in our lives.

I am thankful that I have security in the Lord Jesus Christ for my eternal salvation in Heaven with Him and that He is here with me each moment of each day to help me through all the challenging things that come my way. And with four children those challenges come quite often.

I am thankful for the Godly husband the Lord gave me and for the direction He is leading him in right now. I think it is so exciting to see him entering the seminary and ready to see where that will take him on his Christian walk and as he seeks to reach others for Christ.

I am thankful for Sami and how I see her growing into a competent young woman on her own and how she has overcome so many things that could have left her weak but she is allowing God to make her strong through them.

I am thankful for Nick and his music gift that God has given him. He can sit down and play very hard things on the piano after hearing them and printing off the sheet music. He is working on developing his singing abilities and has picked up a new instrument, the bass guitar (which his dad plays as well) and has already learned a very difficult song in a week. He is trying out for the youth worship band this weekend and I am excited to see what God is going to do with him and his music!

I am thankful for JC and his loving heart. He is a climber and loves to play games and do science experiments. He is getting so tall and more handsome every day. I know I am going to have some girl problems when he gets older!

I am thankful for Jenni, my last "baby". She is such a sweet and beautiful little girl, inside and out. She loves to wear pretty clothes and fix her hair. She loves to wear jewelry and lip gloss and dresses. Her favorite shoes are her black boots! She is always ready to climb into my lap or her dads for hugs.

I am thankful for the church family we are a part of and the wonderful summer music day camp the kids are attending there this week. It is a blessing to have that and to have had this family for over 20 years. What a blessing.

I am thankful for Mission Arlington, the mission we work through. I am thankful for the children and families we reach through them in our apartment ministry on Sunday mornings. Our group has grown so much that we even have a room full of youth. God is good to provide who we are to reach when we are willing to do the work.

I am thankful for the home we live in and the room we have in it. It is an older house and yes, I would much rather have a house in Colorado but I know we will in time.

I am thankful for my home based business, my daycare, and the children and families that are a part of it. The daycare allows me to be home for my family and do the things I need to do. The children bring joy to my heart as I teach them and love them. My children have learned so much helping with them and they love them as much as I do. The friendships I have made with the parents is priceless!

I am thankful for the new van we purchased this year so that I would have enough room to get places with all the many children the Lord has provided through the daycare. We have enjoyed taking it on trips!

I am thankful that the Lord is providing new kids for the daycare to help speed up the pay off of debt that we so desire to do. We want to be in His Will in all things and debt free is a big one. We know that will free us up to serve Him in whatever way or place he has planned for us.

I am thankful for the dream that the Lord has placed on our hearts to move to Colorado and the land He provided to do it on. I am so excited to see what blessings the Lord will bestow once we get there because I know His blessings are much more than we can ever imagine on our own.

I know this list could be even bigger but I have to get on with my day sometime. May you receive a blessing today!

Until next time...blessings to you.

5 Reasons I Love Jesus

I have read so many others reasons why they love Jesus and they have done such a good job of putting into words the love they feel for HIM and I can honestly say I second their sentiments. But I have to come up with my own list and not be too repetitive, if I can. I had to finish up my vacation pictures so during that time I thought about how I wanted to approach this topic and found the one that I wanted. It actually came about during a blog conversation with a friend about Precept Bible Studies. The very first one my husband and I did was Lord, I Want To Know You. It is about the names of God. I came to know Him in a more personal and intimate way through that study and my love for Him grew. So here are 5 of my reasons (there are many more than that, as others have stated) that I love Jesus!

1. He is El Shaddai: The All-Sufficient One. God Almighty. When I am feeling like I am missing something or just unhappy I can run to my Jesus and know He has all I need or will ever need. "When I am weak, in Christ I am strong." 2 Corinthians 12:9-10

2. He is Adonai: Lord and Master. He has total possession of me and has my total submission to Him as Lord and Master. "Every knee must bow and confess Him as Lord to the glory of the Father" Philippians 2:10-11.

3. He is Jehovah-jireh: The Lord will provide. He provided for my death. He died for me so that I didn't have to. He provided for my eternity. And He also provides for my needs daily. "My God shall supply all your needs according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus" Philippians 4:19.

4. He is Jehovah-raah: The Lord is my Shepherd. He takes care of me, directs me, removes me from harms way and protects me. I want for nothing because He has taken care of it. I don't need to fear because He is there. "The Lord is my Shepherd, I shall not want" Psalm 23:1.

5. He is Jehovah-shalom: The Lord of Peace. He is my peace. He is the Prince of Peace. In Him I have peace in the middle of a chaotic world. If I keep my eyes upon Him, I will have that peace. I have peace knowing that I have the Prince of Peace in my heart so that I need not fear on that day of judgment. I have peace that I will be in Heaven one day with Him. "Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God. And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus." Philippians 4:6-7.

There are many other reasons and names of the Lord for why I love Him. I could go on forever. But that is not the meme! If you have never done that study, I encourage you to. It can change how you see the Lord and draw you closer to Him as you learn about Him through His names.

Until next time...blessings to you.  

Our July Vacation - Part 4 - 4th of July and Rocky Mountain National Park

This is my final post with pictures of our July Vacation! I am sure some of you are happy about that. I will be glad to get to another subject but have enjoyed sharing this one with you. We did have a great time for those 9 days!

This is a picture of Jenni and her best buddy in Colorado. They used to live here in Texas and go to our church but moved to Idaho Springs a few years ago. We miss them a lot but have gotten to see them each time we make a trip to Colorado. I wouldn't go there and not visit them. Despite the fact that I love seeing them, we have to eat so why not eat at the best place I know while I am there, Hilldaddy's Wildfire! They have super food! We enjoyed sitting there talking with our friends and relaxing while the kids were off playing with their friends. The girls decided they wanted a Popsicle! Goofy Girls!

We went down town Idaho Springs and found a large flat spot to watch the fireworks. We spread out the tarp we put under the tent and everyone piled on!

WOW! COOL!

Do you think they like it?

Don't let this calm face fool you. JC was just as goofy as his pal. It wasn't long before all the boys and then the girls were acting like there were bombs going off and they would hit the ground each time. They had a great time!

We spent a day driving up and around Rocky Mountain National Park. It was breathtaking up there. I took lots of pictures as the van was moving. We did stop at the top and took these few pictures.

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We had a great time, as I said before. We enjoyed seeing all of God's wonders as we traveled around and as we just sat in our room enjoying the cool breeze! Thanks for letting me share a little of it with you!

Until next time...blessings to you.

Our July Vacation - Part 3 - Climbing In Trees & Off Road Paradise Around The Lake

This is part 3 of 4 vacation posts that I will do. I am trying to combine things so I can get them on here but then go on to other things, like the meme I have been tagged with. I will finish up our vacations tomorrow.

JC was always in a tree. He LOVES to climb and this was perfect for him, so many trees everywhere. He climbed as many as he could! He is so like I was when I was a kid. I lived in the tree in my front yard. It was my favorite place to be.

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~This is the map of the lake we drove around that day~

~A wonderful paradise we found while driving around the lake~

~Dad leads the way~

~Nick~

~A climbing we will go, over and around~

~Jenni~

~JC~

~John~

Nick took the camera so I could get in a couple of pictures.

~John and Terri~

~JC looking out at the water through the trees~

~Binoculars in hand~

~A beautiful view~

~And another~

That is it for today. I hope you have enjoyed our day at Turquoise Lake in Colorado. It was a beautiful, cool day. We sat with our feet in the water for quite awhile. It was so peaceful there and beautiful. The water running was so soothing. I never wanted to leave. But it was VERY cold! JC ended up in the water before we took our shoes off, all the way up to his knees. That is him all the way!

Until next time...blessings to you.

Our July Vacation - Part Two - Fishing and Rock Skipping

We found a lovely spot to fish the first night we were at the campsite. We were one mile from Turquoise Lake so we found this nice spot to stop and fish for about an hour before heading back to camp to make dinner on the camp fire.

The two younger kids jumped around in the lake while the older guys got the fishing stuff ready. I spread out a large square blanket towel and took pictures the whole time. 

"Dad, what am I supposed to do?"

Nick went off to the side to sit and fish.

Jenni stayed pretty close to me.

JC was on the other end but not too far from me either.

Here goes the cast.


OK, reel it in!


"Dad, I think I'm stuck again!"


John didn't get much time off to himself. He spent a LOT of his time fixing the kids lines.



The next day we decided to drive around the lake and see what there was to see.

We found a great spot for them to come back and go fishing later that day. Then the rock skipping "contest" began.

Then it was time for John to "show you how it's done".

They really had fun doing that. I just thought it was cute how their dad had his "stance" and that I was able to capture the rings in the photo, too. It was a beautiful day. Tomorrow I will share some of the other pictures of our trip around the lake.

Until next time...blessing to you.