SMILE

The house was awfully quite. So I went to find the girls who were playing in Ellie's room with the door closed. They were behaving having a picnic on the floor, and I thought it was cute as they both clutched their dolls. I got my camera and asked them to smile. Hadley has this new crinkle your nose, close your eyes, and try to show all your teeth smile.

SUCH. A. HAM.

Up until recently the child would scream when she saw my camera come out. I tried hard to get a Christmas card picture, but gave up and ended up using a picture from Destin for our card. Everyone kept asking, "Are you sure she's your child?" Well, looks like she's finally come around. And she will actually ask me now to take her picture. Not sure what has gotten into her. Guess she's loving her new smile.

Spirit Day

When Ellie first went to Preschool my mom had bought her an Aggie Cheerleader outfit for Spirit Day. Yes, she was 2 that year. It was a little Big that year, but she wore it anyway and looked cute. Last year, we pulled out the SAME A&M outfit and it fit PERFECTLY. This year Spirit day snuck up on me. My thinking earlier in the month was that I would buy Ellie something new, probably a Texan's jersey (as she loves the Texans ever since her Daddy took her to a game). And Hadley was going to wear the hand-me-down Aggie outfit. Well, like I said, it snuck up on me. Actually the night before as I was leaving a girls night, a friend asked what she was wearing. Oops. Well, I only had ONE outfit- the Aggie cheerleader. So I figured Hadley wouldn't even really know if she wasn't wearing a spirit shirt, but Ellie would. So guess what she wore for the third year in a row?!? Yep, the Aggie Cheerleader outfit. One outfit, three years, I'd say that was a GOOD buy. :) You see- these are the benefits of having a child that hardly grows each year. This year it fit, but was a little more Dallas Cheerleader like. She couldn't lift her arms at all without it showing her belly. But she wore it proudly and loved it. Here she is before school showing off her moves:

A Weekend With Robert

This past weekend our nephew Robert was baptized. Scott and Tay flew into town for the weekend and we were able to spend some time with them and love on their little guy. Oh he is getting so BIG, and is just so cute. And our kids could not love him more. I think G thinks of him as the little brother he doesn't have, and Ellie and Hadley just adore him as well.

Ah.... how I wish they lived closer.....

Here are a few pictures from our weekend...

At the Baptism:

Wearing matching outfits:

And Before he left the other day, G just knew Robert wanted him to read him a story. It was so cute watching him be so gentle with Robert and saying things like, "Robert, do you want to turn the page?" And grabbing his little hand to help turn the page. It was adorable. He got two books from Gav.

And if G gets to read him two books, of course Ellie has to read two as well:

They love this little guy. We all do.

We miss you already Robert!! Thanks for coming in town to visit, looking forward to March already when we get to see you again!!!

An Entire Roll... Gotta Love Her..

Guess Who's Birthday Is Today???

Happy Birthday to the man of my dreams. The one who made me a wife, who helped make me a mother, and who truly is my soulmate and best friend. You are such an amazing man, husband, and father. You are a dream come true.

I love you.

Happy 35th Birthday!!

BRRRRR.....

Finally, we got to use our hats and mittens!! And we played outside in this FREEZING COLD weather. We found a few icicles and played chase. Oh, and Mommy took a few pictures too. :)

40 Days For LIFE

Last night I went to a friends house who's entire family is really involved in something called 40 Days For Life. My eyes were opened to what is really going on out there in our world and backyard. I had no idea that women were getting abortions at such alarming rates. I had no idea that late term abortions were even legal. Women who are visibly pregnant are going into planned parenthood facilities and given a pill that causes them to go into labor. They then deliver a baby that could be 26 weeks and when it comes out they give it no medical care to save it. Without oxygen and medical care these babies can't survive. So they are placed to the side and wait to die. Some stay alive an entire nurses shift. My heart was saddened and disturbed.

The Mission of 40 Days For Life, is "to bring together the body of Christ in a spirit of unity during a focused 40 day campaign of prayer, fasting, and peaceful activism, with a purpose of repentance, to seek God's favor to turn hearts and minds from a culture of death to a culture of LIFE, thus bringing an end to abortion in America."

For 40 days they have different people go outside an abortion facility, in hopes to change girls minds. Since this 40 days campaign started in 2004, 2,168 babies have been spared, 5 abortion clinics have closed following 40 days, and 26 abortion workers have quit.

The stories I heard last night were so encouraging. They have seen girls change their minds. Girls walk in with their moms, and return later saying because of the people outside she couldn't go through with it. Most of these girls already have some sort of doubt in their mind, and with people being there in support of Life, they change their minds.

This isn't just for the Life of that little baby God created. This is for the women/girls who are thinking about and may have the abortion. Many of these women will suffer great depression over this decision if they go through with it. Some even suicidal. Sometimes it's immediate, sometimes it's later in life. But there is a high probability of post-trauma. We don't want these women to have to go through this. And if they do, we want them to know that by God's grace, they are forgiven.

You don't carry signs, you don't chant, you don't even have to talk to them. You simply just have to drive there, get out of your car, stand around the facility, and then go home. Just being there makes a big impact.

This February, I will join many in my area and do just that. We say we are pro-life and don't believe in abortion. But if millions of lives are being taken every year, us just saying we're pro-life isn't making much of an impact. We need to get out there, and do something about it. We need to inform others what is really going on.

I had no idea.

If you would like to participate in one of the 40 days, or would like information about the 40 Days of Life campaign, please let me know.

2010 Handbook

One of my best friends Dad shares some pretty good forwards with me and I thought this one was so good I wanted to pass it on. Thanks Bob!! :)

Wouldn't life be grand if we could remember and apply these little things everyday?

HANDBOOK 2010

Health:
1. Drink plenty of water.
2. Eat breakfast like a king, lunch like a prince and dinner like a beggar.
3. Eat more foods that grow on trees and plants and eat less food that is manufactured in plants..
4. Live with the 3 E's -- Energy, Enthusiasm and Empathy
5. Make time to pray.
6. Play more games
7. Read more books than you did in 2009 .
8. Sit in silence for at least 10 minutes each day
9. Sleep for 7 hours.
10. Take a 10-30 minutes walk daily. And while you walk, smile.

Personality:
11. Don't compare your life to others. You have no idea what their journey is all about.
12. Don't have negative thoughts or things you cannot control.. Instead invest your energy in the positive present moment.
13. Don't over do. Keep your limits.
14. Don't take yourself so seriously. No one else does.
15. Don't waste your precious energy on gossip.
16. Dream more while you are awake
17. Envy is a waste of time. You already have all you need..
18. Forget issues of the past. Don't remind your partner with His/her mistakes of the past. That will ruin your present happiness.
19. Life is too short to waste time hating anyone. Don't hate others.
20. Make peace with your past so it won't spoil the present.
21. No one is in charge of your happiness except you.
22. Realize that life is a school and you are here to learn. Problems are simply part of the curriculum that appear and fade away like algebra class but the lessons you learn will last a lifetime.
23. Smile and laugh more.
24. You don't have to win every argument. Agree to disagree...

Society:
25. Call your family often.
26. Each day give something good to others.
27. Forgive everyone for everything..
28. Spend time w/ people over the age of 70 & under the age of 6.
29. Try to make at least three people smile each day.
30. What other people think of you is none of your business.
31. Your job won't take care of you when you are sick. Your friends will. Stay in touch.

Life:
32. Do the right thing!
33. Get rid of anything that isn't useful, beautiful or joyful.
34. GOD heals everything.
35. However good or bad a situation is, it will change..
36. No matter how you feel, get up, dress up and show up.
37. The best is yet to come..
38. When you awake alive in the morning, thank GOD for it.
39. Your Inner most is always happy. So, be happy.

The Big Four-OH!

My sister turned the BIG 4-0! We threw a surprise party for her and she was the life of the party. Guess when it's your 40th, you are supposed to be. :) We love you Shannon!! We are so happy and thankful you were born 40 years ago.

Happy New Year

Wow- It's a New Decade. Weren't we all just consumed with Y2K? Seriously, I can remember that like yesterday, and here we are embarking on 2010. Time really does go quickly. Kind of sad. This is one of those moments when you really realize how fast time flies, and how you should try and not take a single day for granted. Our time here is short, goes fast, and we should really soak it all up while we can.

So I was thinking about what my New Years resolutions would be...and well...I could pretty much copy and paste my list from last year. Guess I didn't do so well. LOL.

Here is last year, and in red my goal for this year:

1. Finally participate in the Chevron Houston Marathon. (should be able to check this one off next weekend as I'm signed up to run the 1/2). Okay this one was accomplished.

2. Get back to eating healthy. Been in a "holiday rut" lately. Too much sugar...need to get back to veggies, fruits, and some raw healthy stuff. Not only for me, but for my kids. Back to my organic co-op. I am definitely in that Holiday rut again. Did good for a few months but then got right back to eating junk. My goal is to give up sugar for a month or two...but we'll see if this sugarholic can really do it.

3. Keep exercising after the marathon...my goal is 3 times a week...we'll see.... Ha, 3 times a week...more like once or twice a week if I was lucky. I think we may join a new gym this year. I definitely want to be more active. A more realistic goal is 2 times a week, with an occasional few weeks of 3-4. We'll see.

4. Drink more water...I can go all day with nothing to drink...and I am NOT kidding. I forget to drink. Apparently it is somewhat hereditary as my sister and Grandma are the same way. Still can go an entire day without any water. My organs are probably all messed up inside. I need to get better about drinking. Seriously...this IS the year.

5. Spend more quality time with the kiddos. Especially before Gavin goes to school next year- Wahhhhh!! Well, Gavin is in school now, which makes this resolution even more important. I just want to cherish this time while they want to play with me and spend time with me. I will be sad when these days are gone and want to soak them all up now.

6. Spend less time on the computer. Do I even try for this? I know it's impossible-what was I thinking last year.

7. Learn how to use my new Mac to the fullest (may make goal #6 hard) Not to the fullest, but I think a Mac is much more user friendly than a PC now so I must not have done too bad. Love my Mac!

8. Get more sleep. Lately I stay up late because that is my only "me" time and my only time with just Frank and I. Getting 7 hours of sleep a night would be a good reasonable goal for 2010, right?

9. Make more time for me I think I actually did do pretty good with this one...so my resolution is to continue to

10. Go on a date at least once a month....(this shouldn't be hard now that we found an awesome babysitter!!) We didn't do once a month, but we didn't do too bad. Some months more than one date, some months none. I think I'll shoot for once a month again this year.

11. Take another Family Vacation with the kiddos. We did it and will definitely do it again!

12. And maybe just maybe...a trip for just Frank and I.... we'll see.... We made a weekend trip, but are going on a longer trip this year. That was our big Christmas gift to each other...now we just need to decide where to go. So I will make this a resolution again this year, because I know I should be able to keep to this one. :)

So, maybe I didn't do so bad after all. I was 5/12 last year. We'll see how this year goes.

I hope that 2010 will be a fun, healthy, and happy one for all of you. Happy New Year!!