Ice, Ice Baby

"It snowed!!!"

That was what all the kids said as they work up yesterday morning. Sadly, I had to correct them. No, kids. It iced.

Somehow, that is not near as exciting as snow. But since there was no school, they made the best of it.




They had fun slipping and sliding. Falling. Riding the Henry's green machine. Playing real ice hockey. And eating icicles. The ice was pretty much gone by lunch, but what a fun morning! Texas snow is not quite as pretty as Colorado snow, but it was just as fun today.

Complete Faith

Sunday was a great day at church! Sunday morning we had a bilingual service with our Hispanic congregation including 2 baptisms. Sunday night after the tex-mex potluck, we had a devotional and communion. It reminded me very much of how Jesus and his disciples would have had a communion meal. It was family gathered together, eating, visiting, worshiping, communing. God was in that place.

During communion, Lily climbed up in my lap. Here was our conversation:

Lily: "Mom, not everyone in here is baptized."
Mom: "Nope."
Lily: (laughing) "Cause baby Vivian is not baptized." (She is 3 weeks old!)
Mom: "Well no silly, she is just a baby. But you are not baptized. Not Logan or Zachery. Even some of the adults in this room are not baptized."

She looked at me like I had grown 2 heads!!! Mouth open - eyes wide. Complete disbelief!

Mom: "It's true. Some adults and teens in this room have not been baptized." We then talked about the adults that had been baptized just that morning and that some people do not go to church. Ever. Who teaches them about the Bible?

I'm so thankful that I have a long line of faithful family members and have been taught about God since I was born. And I love that I am passing it on to my children. Lily's reaction to hearing that some adults are not baptized pleased me. It lets me know that she is confident that she will be baptized when she is old enough. That she has complete faith in Jesus. That she can not imagine life without church. I pray that I always have the faith of this child.

"And he said: "I tell you the truth, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven." Matthew 18:3

Time for Everything

"There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under heaven: a time to be born and a time to die, a time to plant and a time to uproot, a time to kill and a time to heal, a time to tear down and a time to build, a time to weep and a time to laugh, a time to mourn and a time to dance, a time to scatter stones and a time to gather them, a time to embrace and a time to refrain, a time to search and a time to give up, a time to keep and a time to throw away, a time to tear and a time to mend, a time to be silent and a time to speak, a time to love and a time to hate, a time for war and a time for peace." Ecclesiastes 3:1-8

God said it, so it must be true. There is a time for everything. Hunting season is now over.

Everyone please bid a warm welcome to the official start of Honey-do season!

Oh Honey...

Logan's Purr

Yeah for me! I got to hear Logan's purr tonight. You know the sound. The really fast laugh when he is VERY excited about something. Larry and I have always called it his "purr". When he was younger he would purr for food. Then chocolate. Sometimes Grandmother's chocolate cake. Anything that thrills his soul.

Tonight he purred because he lost another tooth. Actually, I pulled it. It was barely hanging on and he was asking so many questions. When will I lose it? What if I am at school? I'll need a kleenex because it will bleed. Where will I put it? Really, it just fell out when I touched it, but now he thinks I am the coolest mom because I pulled his tooth. Hey, I'll take being cool for a while.

As I was tucking him in bed, he kept sticking his tongue in the space and talking about the Tooth Fairy. And purring. I LOVE that sound. Only God could make such a sweet sound for a mother's ears. What is it about those special sounds that just grab your heart and make you want to hug the stuffing out of the poor kid?!?

Well, he survived my hugs and kisses and now he is having sweet dreams about the Tooth Fairy's visit. Hope she is not late.

What do I do?

We have company this weekend. Larry's dad and brother have come to visit. Well, that is sort of true. Actually they came just to hunt ducks. And Larry and the boys are thrilled! They hunted Saturday and they will hunt again in the morning.

Lily is also very excited. She is at a sleepover with Aunt Jen and Allie having girl-time.

Tomorrow morning the house will be completely quiet. No one will be here but me.

So here is my dilemma:
WHAT DO I DO??? A few precious hours all by myself?!? It holds so many possibilities! I could exercise, read a good book, take a long soaking bath, paint my nails, watch an old movie, scrapbook... I was getting dizzy thinking of everything that I could do in the quiet until Larry burst my bubble. He said they would be back quite early. Drat! There goes my quiet time. I will probably just be waking up when they get home. Oh man.

Well, dilemma solved. I guess I will get up and do all of the things that I should do - laundry, dishes, file the bills, make my bed, vacuum, sew a button on Lily's dress...

Why do the shoulds always beat the woulds?

Back to life...Back to reality

Well, Christmas is officially over. Yes, I know that was weeks ago, but I had to extend my holiday by just one more week. I made Larry extremely crazy! But I couldn't help it! I was completely distracted by the Twilight series. I could not put them down. So...all I did last week while the kids were at school was read.

I finished the books, which I loved, then started looking around. Wow! No one cleaned while I was on holiday. Too bad for me. Back to life. Back to reality. This week I have been cleaning, doing laundry, grocery shopping, catching up on PTA work, cleaning out closets, paying bills, etc, etc, etc.

I would love to have another mini-holiday and sit on the couch, reading a book and eating Christmas cookies. But that too must come to an end - since all of the sweets in my house have been banished! Back to eggs, salads and chicken.

It is a new year. Full of promise. I don't know what the year holds, but I do know that life is good. I love the reality of my life. It is nice to have a holiday, but the every day, simple pleasures are what I live for. My husband that still loves me after 17 years. My children that are growing, learning and maturing. My family that is close in miles and in our hearts. Friends that care. Surrounded by material blessings. That's my reality. I glad it's back.

Teaching our Children

We try to teach our children so well.

Say "please" and "thank you".
Chew with your mouth closed.
Wash your hands and face.
Brush your teeth. Again.
Clean up your room.
Pick up your shoes.
Say "excuse me".
Be nice to your brothers/sister.
Share.
Please don't eat that!
Mind your manners.


Why is it that the only thing that they learn to do with absolute perfection is share. Germs.

I took Lily to the doctor last Saturday with strep throat and now the sweet little child has done exactly what we have taught her to do. Share. With Logan.

I know we are trying to teach them to do the right thing, but maybe we have taught too well. She seems very pleased that she gave Logan her strep. Too bad she is not near as excited when she gives Logan a toy, or the last apple, or first player on wii or...

Happy Birthday to Me!

This has been such a wonderful day! Larry began my day by cooking me blueberry pancakes and bacon. I never cook bacon because it is so messy, but I love it - Yummy! Then I opened my presents that included sunglasses, a new gray sweatshirt ( I know that thrills you Jen!) and a new purse that matches my van! I am such a lucky girl to have a husband that spoils me so much.

Then I went shopping with birthday money and found some great shoes and pants. Larry and I went to lunch. Together. Just the two of us. And then mom and I went to see Twilight. I love a good romance. Ahhh.

And all day long I have received phone calls and facebook messages from friends and family. Today, I feel very loved. And very young. 38 is great! Thanks everyone!

Wii are Family

Logan asked Santa for a Wii for Christmas. I'm so glad that he has been a good boy. Mostly. Santa granted his wish. Yeah for us! We have had so much fun with the Wii. It is a great system for our entire family. Logan is great with baseball. Zac drives the best in Mario Kart. Lily's bowling skills rock! They all have something they are best at playing.

Well, not all of us. Larry and I are getting our tails kicked by a bunch of kids!!! We have been playing after the kids go to bed, just to practice. We laughed so hard last night trying our best to figure out how in the world Lily can get so many strikes and spares in bowling. We tried dancing, flipping our feet up, jumping, twirling, twisting our arms the wrong way...we even tried singing her song about a "wearing pink satin dress"! Larry drew the line at actually wearing a pink satin dress!

Did our scores improve to meet hers? Nope. Not even close. But as a consolation prize we got Wii shoulder. It is sooooo sad to say I'm sore from playing a video game!

As another consolation prize, I also received a New Years resolution. To exercise. It sounds so easy, but I don't enjoy it. But I do enjoy spending time with my family and I do not want anything to slow me down. Especially not Wii shoulder.