4 Down, 1 More to Go!

We are waiting for my brothers and their families to arrive today so we can celebrate our 5th Christmas! It all started on Christmas Eve with a trip to visit Mark's grandma and his mom's side of the family in Illinois. Then Christmas morning we woke up in our own beds and had our little family celebration. We then went to my parents' house to spend the rest of Christmas day with them. We spent Christmas night in the ER with Lydia who had some sort of viral infection with a cough and high fever. The next day we had Christmas with Mark's family. Tonight we have our final Christmas gift exchange and then we'll ring in 2009 at midnight. It's been a great Christmas despite the fact that Liddy got sick and couldn't wear her Christmas dress to church! The kids got way more stuff than they deserved and we ate way more food than we should have. The boys got a Wii game system and have had fun playing and watching the grown-ups try to play it! It's pretty bad when you wake up with sore muscles from playing a silly tennis video game! I'm posting from Mom's house now so I can't upload any pictures from Christmas to show you, but I'll do that soon. In the midst of the craziness, I hope I didn't forget to take a few! Have fun tonight as you ring in the new year with family and friends. Happy 2009!

Our Star Performers!

Here's a few photos of the kids' performances this Christmas season. Between church and 3 different schools, we were busy!

Lydia's preschool performance. She's in the back row with the black hairbow!

After they sang, they had a birthday party for Jesus. Here comes His cake!

Please hurry with the cake and punch!

Caleb acting goofy before his school choir concert. Thank goodness he didn't behave like this in the performance. Singing is not really his favorite thing to do, but he's in stage choir this year so he can act in the spring musical, Cinderella. Therefore, he had to endure this performance of "Handel's Messiah" for his final exam in the class!

Caleb needed a little help from Dad to tie his necktie before the show!

Here's Levi as King Herod in the church children's play. He had a hard time being mean and telling them "to kill all the baby boys". He did a great job!

King Herod again. Lydia was an angel in practice but didn't get to perform because she was sick!

Pause the playlist to the left and you can listen to Lydia singing "Hark the Herald Angels Sing" in this video. So cute! She's in the back row with the black hairbow!

HELP!!! "I Need a Silent Night"

I can't believe it's been 2 weeks since I've had time to post an update. So sorry to all my tens of readers out there! This time of year, who has time to read blogs anyway? It's too crazy getting ready for the biggest birthday celebration of the year! We've had sickness here again, tons of school parties and performances and now 3 slick snowy days stuck inside and I'm starting to panic about Christmas being a week and a day away. I still have cards to mail, presents to buy and wrap, parties to give and attend. My house is a wreck since Mark is building a mantle for our fireplace so we can mount our new TV we got for Christmas. I'm feeling a little like a new Christmas song I heard from Amy Grant called "I Need a Silent Night"! She talks about how in the midst of all the chaos she needs a silent night, a holy night. The words are perfect for all you moms and grandmas out there who are stressing out right now about getting it all done on time. Pause the music on my playlist, then relax and enjoy.......

Happy Birthday Levi!

Levi is 10 years old today! Wow--he's double digits for the rest of his life! Doesn't seem possible. He's not too thrilled about having a December birthday this year and was asking why he had to born in December anyway. My best answer was because God wanted you to be! We're having a simple celebration with him today and he'll have his friend party in about a month because the pool was all booked up for December! We are in party mode around here with my Mom's birthday last week, my Dad's yesterday and my Grandma J would've turned 95 tomorrow. This year she'll celebrate her birthday in heaven and the kids said she'll probably have an "angel" food cake! Here's Levi now and below are a few old pictures at his 6-year-old birthday party!

Levi at 10 years old, all grown-up and calm!

Levi at his 6-year-old birthday party, all crazy and cute!

What a joy Levi has been to raise. He's a ton of fun and loves life and everybody in it! Levi, you are an incredible kid and we are so proud to have you in our family. Happy 10th Birthday, buddy!

Thanksgiving From a 4th Grader's View...

T--turkey in my tummy
H--heavenly ham
A--appreciative
N--Nana busy cooking
K--kids everywhere
S--shopping spree
G--generations gathering
I--indebted
V--varieties of dessert
I--invaluable memories
N--NO school
G--games of football

Written by Levi on November 20, 2008

Happy Thanksgiving to all our friends and family who take time to check in on us. We are thankful for you!

It's Christmas in the Blog World!

I did it! I switched my blog background to Christmas all by myself--without even one phone call to my computer whiz husband! He will be shocked! Our blog is all decked out for the season. Now I just wish my house was! I still have pumpkins and turkeys sitting around. Oh well, we still do need to celebrate Thanksgiving! We're looking forward to a fun and happy holiday as both my brothers and their families are coming home tomorrow. Lydia is so excited to see all her girl cousins. She told me she wished everyday was Thanksgiving so she would never have to say goodbye to her cousins and they could always be together! So sweet! Today she is having her Thanksgiving feast at preschool. And I bet the picky little thing only eats the cheese cubes she brought and nothing else! We could probably all take a lesson from her this holiday and not eat too much!

Christmas Carols are Here!

Don't you love the new Christmas music playing? And stay tuned for our new Christmas background coming soon! This is the only thing I have done so far for Christmas but I'm encouraged that it's a start! Hopefully, we'll be ready by December 25! Enjoy the tunes!

We're Still Here...But Life's Been BUSY!!!

Beautiful flowers from Mark...just because! I wonder what he's up to?!!

Lydia loves pink--even Christmas trees at this store in the mall. Lately, she's been saying alot, "Mommy take my picture for the blog!"

Shy Lydia visiting Santa at the mall--she would not say one word to him! Guess she won't be getting much from this Santa!

Elf Levi in the green singing with his 4th grade school choir for Santa's arrival at the mall.

Levi and his best friend ever a few days before she moved and they had to say good-bye!

The Snow Princess and King watching Dora Saves the Snow Princess movie premiere!

Life has been too crazy to sit down at the computer and write a post! Sorry about that--I know I love checking in on other blogs for a daily update and I've been terrible about writing lately! We've been busy with scout events, choir performances, flu shots, parent visitation day at 2 schools, mini-Memphis trip, baby showers (not mine), haircuts, a visit to Santa, etc. Here's a few pics of our last couple weeks!

Judgment House 2008

Every year our church puts on a walk-through drama called Judgment House and we just finished a week of it. This was our 10th year and the title was called "Let it Rain". It was a story of a flood and some teenagers who were killed as a result of their car being washed away. One of the teens had invited Jesus into his life after the witness of a friend. He went to heaven with Jesus, but the other 2 girls who had not, entered into eternity with Satan.

We've always been involved in JH before, but this year it was a family affair! Lydia and I were angels in heaven. Although Lydia, the wiggly angel, only lasted for a night! Caleb played the teen in Judgment who went to heaven. Levi was a runner in registration and an angel one night. And Mark presented the Gospel in the last room when our Pastor couldn't be there. It was a great week with many people securing their eternity in heaven, but we are all very tired. Levi's even home with some kind of bug today. Hope he keeps it to himself!

I was wondering...if this were your last day on earth, do you know for sure where you would spend eternity?

"There's No Place Like Home!"

Do you think Levi's having fun yet? This boy needs a haircut!!!

Levi was "Smartie Pants" for Halloween! Nana sewed Smarties candy all over his pants and his wig and glasses made him look like a little nerd!

Levi and his friend Caitlyn at his school party--the little "nerd couple"!

Here's our little Dorothy fr0m "The Wizard of Oz"!

Dorothy and Toto still in Kansas! Her little dress was handmade with love by Nana!

Lydia was so proud of her red ruby slippers!

We had a fun Halloween day passing out candy at Caleb's school to the kids in the halls between classes, then we helped with Levi's school parade and party. We finished the day at our church's fall festival and a little trick-or-treating to some friends. On Saturday, we had Caleb's 13th birthday party with his friends. They went on a photo scavenger hunt around town and had a blast! The weather is perfect here--sunny and 70's. Can it really be November?

Palin Power!!!

We had the chance of a lifetime today here in our town. Sarah Palin came to speak at a rally about 5 minutes from our house! So, we got tickets, let the boys skip school, and waited in line for over 2 hours in the cold just to see and hear our favorite lip-stick wearing hockey mom! And she was awesome! The crowd was huge and super energized for McCain/Palin. Let's just hope the rest of the country will be on Nov. 4. Please continue to pray for God's man to be elected and don't forget to show up to vote. Levi had a mock election today at his school and McCain won by over 100 votes. It's sad when the kids have more sense than some adults these days! We are super excited in our home about this election--I'm even gonna wear my new Sarah Palin button everyday that says, "You go girl!" with lipstick on it and Mark says he's wearing his McCain/Palin t-shirt everyday, too! Enjoy the pics from our exciting day!

Goodbye Grandma J...

We love you, Great-Grandma!

This is 4th of July, the last time we were with her.

Lydia and Ellie with Nana and Great-Grandma J.

Kip, Gina & Levi with Grandma J in her yard.

Caleb, Levi & Lydia with Great-Grandma J.

Three generations--me, Grandma and Lydia as a baby.

My Grandma J woke up at about 5:30 each morning. But on Tuesday morning, October 21 she woke up at about 5:30 in the presence of Jesus in heaven. She lived a long, full life of almost 95 years and we are so thankful she is no longer in pain. We gathered this weekend with many family and friends to say good-bye. Here are a few of my favorite pictures of her with my kids. I'm sure I'll have more stories and memories of Grandma to share soon.

Happy Birthday Caleb!

Caleb turned 13 today! Where have the years gone? We are still in shock that we actually have a teenager in our house now. Although he's already been acting like one for awhile. It was a fun day--I took him Subway for school lunch so he wouldn't have to eat PB & J on his special day. Then we had dinner at El Torrero tonight where they sang "Happy Birthday" in Spanish to him. He didn't like that too much. Then we went to the Jr. High girls basketball game to watch our friend Andrea play. We finished the evening off with ice cream at Culver's! He finally got to open presents before bed and all he got from us was his new cell phone and the first bill--where he went over by 70 bucks! Welcome to the world of teens and texting, huh?

Introducing Twinkle Toes Lydia...

Pause the playlist below to watch this:


Lydia just finished her first ballet/tap class and this is a video of her little class performing for the parents on the last night. This is her "I'm a Little Tea Pot" dance! She's the ballerina in the purple leotard in the front row. After they performed they got princess crowns, pink cookies and juice for a treat! It was so cute! Looks like we may have a little dancer in the family!

Our Weekend in Nashville!

We took a road trip this weekend to Nashville where Caleb played in a soccer tournament. Three of our starters couldn't make it, so the soccer wasn't that impressive--we tied one game, lost the next then finished with a win.

We had a great time visiting with my brother Kevin, his wife Kelly and their 3 little girls, Shayla, Kayla and Layla who live there! We played at the soccer park, did some shopping at Opry Mills Mall and went to Chuck E. Cheese for tons of fun! Here's a few pics of our weekend!

A Must See! (pause my playlist below to watch)

Mark and I had a date last Friday night to see the movie Fireproof and it was so good! Please go see it and encourage others to go too. It's a great lesson for all, even if you've been married forever! It's not just about marriages in trouble, but has great lessons about our relationship with Christ and with our parents or children. Satan is trying really hard to destroy marriages both inside and outside the church today. I think he's working harder on Christian marriages because he can't stand the thought of a couple sold out to Jesus. We have learned that none of us are immune to Satan's attacks in this area of life. So, go see the movie then run out to Sam's and buy the Love Dare book from the movie for 8 bucks! Mark and I are having fun working through it and we are challenging all of you to take "The Love Dare" too! I think the Lord would be pleased! The soundtrack from the movie is great--check out my playlist below where I've added a couple songs from Fireproof! "Slow Fade", "You Belong to Me" and "Love is Not a Fight"!

Lydia's Day at the Pumpkin Patch

WHEEEEEEEEE!!!!!



Lasso-ing Lydia!



At the end of our fun, long day at the farm!



Our little pumpkin!



Not quite tall enough!



Which one will I pick?



The best pumpkin in the whole patch!



I love this place!



Got milk? Last year she wouldn't get close to this cow!