Super Bowl Party

We had so much fun last night with lots of friends in our Life Group! Everyone came over for the Super Bowl party and WOW, that was a fun game to watch. I don't necessarily get into football that much, but if it is an exciting game then I enjoy it. We had 25 people that showed up to watch and hang out. I looked outside and noticed cars lining the street in the front and cars all in our driveway in the back. I feel so blessed to have a home where we can have lots of people over. We had tons to eat: grilled chicken strips (Gregs), Don's wings, fruit tray, veggie tray, chips and yummy dip, crackers and shrimp dip and tons of desserts. Our living room was packed with people staring at our not so huge TV and kids were playing, having a great time. Greg's highlight of the evening was Mason sitting right beside him for 4 hours watching the whole Super Bowl game...a dream come true for a daddy that loves sports.

Fun Time with Emerson

We got to keep Emerson for 6 days while Matt and Tammy went to Los Angeles. We had so much fun with her. She adapted so well and just became part of our family. Mason and Katie Beth were so awesome with her. They took care of her just as much as Greg and I did. They had so much fun playing with her. We got to hear a lot of "HOLD YOU" and "LET'S PLAY". She didn't cry missing her mommy and daddy...praise the Lord...but I know she had to be wondering what was taking them so long to come back.

What a BLESSING to have family in town...to get to watch my neice grow up and be a part of her life!!!

Amazing Kids

I have the best kids in the world!!! Now there are times that I wonder if anything we are trying to teach them is sinking in....but there are even more moments that I watch them and think WOW! THOSE ARE OUR KIDS! I am so thankful for them. They really have wonderful hearts and great personalities.

I have so many prayers for them: their future spouses, their friends...both now and future, their relationship with our awesome God, their physical well being, their emotional health, the way they see others and treat others, the way they feel about themselves, those that have influence in their lives (teachers, family, church family, kids they look up to, etc.), and more.

It's soooo overwhelming at times and then I remember we don't have to do this all ourselves. First of all, we've got God on our side and if we continually ask him for wisdom in parenting and protection for them....He will provide! Secondly, we have so many wonderful people that God has put in our lives to help mentor them, teach them and be good examples for them.

I just take one day at a time...try my best at parenting...and trust God to take care of the rest.

Drive-In

The day after Christmas we took the kids to their first Drive-In Movie with Kyle, Jamie, Jimmy and cousins in Dothan. We saw the new Disney movie, Bedtime Stories. We pulled in, opened the trunks, brought pillows and blankets and got comfy. We also had popcorn, drinks and fruit snacks. What more could you want for...we had a great time. Jimmy had quite the set-up with his comfy chair.

What a Couple of Fun Weeks

We have had a great couple of weeks. Getting to spend time in Dothan with Greg's family was really fun. Then last week it was nice to be back home and have the kids out of school...staying up later, sleeping later, reading The Best Christmas Pageant Ever each night, playing family games on our new Wii, going to play Putt-Putt...just enjoying our family.
Greg had an exciting opportunity to go to Orlando and watch Michigan State play Georgia in The Capitol One Bowl on New Year's Day. Michigan State is his team and they don't get that close around here very often. He had a wonderful couple of days hanging out with his friends and watching his team. The kids and I went to spend New Year's Eve with Tammy and Emerson...we had a night out at Steak and Shake and spent the night in the living room at their house. We had a great time staying up late and watching the events in Rockefeller Plaza, but didn't make it until midnight. We knew Emerson would be starting the day early whether we wanted to sleep or not, so we decided sleep was a must.
Then Saturday we had our dear friends, The Barretts, come to visit for a couple of days. We miss them so much and had a wonderful visit. Sterling, Tina, Greg and I would stay up late catching up in all areas of life. The kids had a great time playing together...Emanuel especially liked MarioKart on the Wii. They left today...the kids started back to school today...so life is back as we knew it before. Greg and I must go back to work tomorrow and our routine will get back to normal. In some ways that is good...in others, I will miss the flexibility we have had. The memories we made will be special!

Christmas Day 2008

The girls showing off their new matching dresses.

Katie Beth was so excited when she opened a present from Mason that was slippers she had really wanted. Mason spent a lot of his own money on them because he knew she would be excited to get them.

Santa left a new ipod for Katie Beth....that is all she really wanted!!! This picture shows her excitement when she sees it.

All the kids waiting patiently to see what Santa brought!

Santa's plate with a note and cookies.

I can't imagine what Christmas would be like without kids. They are the ones that bring so many smiles to our faces! They are the ones that we get excited about shopping for a couple of months before the special day. To them...it is the most amazing day of the whole year!!! We had such a fun day. All the grown-ups watched as the kids opened presents...trying to keep up with who the giver of each gift was. When the kids finally finished we all needed a little breakfast. We then realized no grown-ups had opened any presents yet. We were so focused on kids opening and their excitement and helping them get to the toy that is extremely secured inside each package, that we hadn't even thought about what was given us. It was fun to give all the grown-ups their presents also. After opening gifts and cleaning up the piles of wrapping, we all headed to a couple of nursing homes to visit some ladies and do some caroling for them. We all realized how thankful we should be to have family to celebrate with and a comfy home to be in during Christmas.

The day is drawing to a close and everyone is winding down. What a wonderful, exciting day that reminds me of all that I have to be thankful for.

God Bless and Merry Christmas!!!

What a job!!!

I am a new blogger and have a lot to learn! I can't seem to make time to keep posting regularly. But I have an awesome job!! I am actually messing around with my blog right now at work so that I can learn how some things work for JLA purposes. I created a blog for a group recently that they are using as a discussion board. It's up and going, but I am seeing what all it can do. Learning more about grouping and labeling some things, limiting access, etc.

As much as I have a hard time appreciating winter, our family has tried to look at some positives this week. We have enjoyed a couple of dinners on the living room floor by some warm, beautiful fires that my sweet husband keeps going. I think we have finally gotten up all the Christmas decorations....now to just get all the boxes back up in the attic tonight. The kids always enjoy helping get out all the Christmas stuff and Greg just waits patiently for me to get the mess back up in the attic. Greg and I have enjoyed some hot coffee a lot more recently. And of course cuddling is one of my favorite things about winter!