My Christmas

Well I have to admit this was the most prepared Christmas I've ever had. I didn't shop any on Christmas Eve and that's a first. I actually enjoy Christmas shopping so it's never been a big deal for me. I love having this time with my family and we did alot of family type things...I do however regret not being close to family b/c we don't have "family gatherings" to go to. Rick's family celebrates Christmas in January or even later sometimes b/c of scheduling conflicts. My mom did come up to watch the kids in The Festival of the King and it was amazing BTW (that's another post) We had Christmas while she was here and she cooked enchiladas, rice, beans, tacos...it was wonderful! I was kinda over the whole traditional meals. I think the kids had a wonderful Christmas here are some pics from the last few days.

Ok so the kids got texting for Christmas and Justin who said he didn't even want texting is using it almost as much as Adrienne. Ok so my dad used to always make me take a pic in front of the tree with our outfits that we got for Christmas so I made my kids do the same thing. LOL They loved it...can you tell? Adrienne went to a friends so I haven't got her yet. Bren didn't really get any clothes but his Mario PJ's as you can see in Jere's pic. Oh yea we got a Wii FINALLY! My kids love it...not to mention Rick and I love it too! We are sore from playing so much. Here Adrienne and Jere are playing Wii golf. Pay no attention to my living room this was Christmas morning.
Bren got his portable DVD player and he's so happy he doesn't want to watch movies on our actual TV anymore. He's so funny. Oh and there are those Mario PJ's again...he wore them for 2 days straight we had to make him take them off and shower last night before bed. He was going to shower and put them back on! LOL He was so glad Santa gave them to him and we were too!

Enjoying this while I still can.

Well Bren was in a good mood last night and actually didn't mind getting his pic made. I was so shocked when I asked him to sit by the tree and he said Yes Maam. He is getting so big and I know I wont have pics like this anymore. He is my Lil Love Bug even though sometimes he's more like a pest. I wouldn't have him any other way. That's Super Boo Jr Bren doesn't go very far without him. If you look closely you will see Super Boo Jr's uniform needs washing...again. I know I have so many things to blog but I just wanted to share this with yall.

My quote of the day! :D

Life is ten percent what you make it and ninety percent how you take it!

This is awesome..don't know who said it but they were obviously very wise.

Psalm 33:22, NLT

"Let your unfailing love surround us, Lord, for our hope is in you alone."

God works in mysterious ways!

I guess being trapped in my house was just what we needed to get the Christmas season really started in our house. Yesterday freezing rain started in NE Arkansas and the schools let out at 1. Rick actually went and picked up the kids at 12 to beat the rush....yep him and everyone else LOL! We ran to Wal Mart real quick and picked up our favorite snack foods (shrimp, rotel, lil smokies, summer sausage, cheese and varietys of crackers) and munched out the rest of the night. We played games and watched movies. We also picked up Disney Scene It 2nd edition. Fun game for Disney fans!

Everyone piled around the chair during game time for a quick pic...yep we are all in our jammies.

Bren and Adrienne skatin in the driveway next door. That white stuff on the roads that looks alot like snow...is not it's ICE a nice 2 inch layer of ice. Oh yeah Adrienne is wearing several layers so no she's not outside in her PJ bottoms only.

This 1 of Rick's fave Christmas foods. His mom makes these for her kids every year. They all love them! Its not actually a cookie though. It's 2 Ritz's crackers with PB in them dipped in white chocolate. Rick's mom puts a M&M on top but I didn't have any of those I drizzled milk chocolate on top. Rick said they were great and I'm sure he will eat most of them. I dont really like them but I enjoyed making them with my husband. Adrienne, Bren and I made chocolate covered pretzels as well but they were all eaten LOL. My kids LOVED THEM. The kids are out of school tomorrow as well but I'm pretty sure it will start thawing once the sun comes up. I hope to get out and get some stuff done. I am thankful for being able to stop and enjoy my family and just relax ...God always knows our needs!

My handsome man

Well today was Jere's Christmas concert for the band. I was amazed at how grown he looked in his tux. In this pic he didn't have his tie on b/c he missed fittings b/c of a doc appt.(those pesky shots) I also wanted to show I actually got a tree up! YAY me. The kids decorated it! I think Rick may have put the star on top and that's really all we did. Well I hung Amelia's Cinderella ornament and my Angel Bear ornament,...basically the ones that are very special to me. You can notice Bren's train for the first five Christmases. Jere arranged it like it was driving up the tree. I thought it was pretty cute. The angels that are on the floor have got to go they are creeping everyone out! LOL Adrienne wont even keep her porcelain dolls out. Well this blog is kinda all over the place I have much much more to post...later. Right now, I'm gonna go to bed and enjoy some peace and quiet b/c there has been little of that this weekend!

Patience

Ok so this is a very sensitive subject for me b/c I have very little of it. Well God informed me this morning that I need to be a lil more like my Mammy and a little less like my Momma. Mammy didn't cry over spilt milk ...what's done was done. Well my husband and I went to lunch today and he said oh I just wanted to say you might wanna consider a little more patience with the kids I've noticed you've been more stressed with them lately. It almost made me cry but it really made me laugh b/c God knows me that well. Its funny my little "nugget" came in the bathroom when I couldn't find the T.P. I automatically assumed well when the boys were getting in the shower they got the T.P. wet. I was immediately angered and thats when God was like how many times have you done the same thing or worse! It's not a big deal. I instantly thought back to the time I wrecked my Mammy's truck. She was not mad she didn't make a big deal about it she was just thankful noone was hurt. She didn't even tell my dad. My kids are learning how to deal with life from Rick and I. I don't want them to be impatient stressed out adults. So pray for me as I try to be more patient. I didn't say pray for patience...let me clarify. DON'T PRAY FOR ME TO HAVE PATIENCE!!! Please and thank you! :D

Basketball

My daughter made the "A" team this year in basketball. I've noticed that she isn't playing to the potential that we have known her to play. I have found myself getting frustrated with her b/c she isn't doing what I know she is capable of doing. She is scared she is going to mess up and I think who cares if she messes up if she's giving it her best. I realized tonight after giving her my speech this is what God wants from us. Of course we are going to mess up. Maybe we don't have any friends on our "team" but he still wants us to go out there and try our best. I haven't been giving my best lately I've been wallowing in self pity wondering why people don't like me. I should be glad I'm in the game and I already know my team is going to win. I know that even if I fail my God is going to prevail. I have got to keep picking myself back up and staying in the game. I have the greatest ministry serving people and being able to love on youth and witness to preschoolers. I get to teach 4-6 year olds about Jesus! I get to listen to the problems of our youth and understand them better and be able to witness to them about Christ. I am so blessed to be able to serve and coordinate meals for people in the cast of this AMAZING production we have coming up. ...very soon I might add. Not to mention I have a husband who is pouring his heart into the children's church. I have children who are plugged in to soo many aspects of our church. I am so blessed with all of that. This game that we are playing will end and I will have Eternal Life in Heaven with all those who went before me.

Life in the Delta

So we went to the Delta for Thanksgiving and as we were driving to Amelia's gravesite we went the backroads and I snapped a pic of this apartment. This is the first place I remember living. I don't recall it looking so small. I almost stopped and asked if I could go inside. That lil bush well that was the bush my mom pulled switches for us. I played in that ditch all the time. Across the road was my Uncle Joes big "haunted" house. I wish I would have snapped a pic of that. I don't remember that pine tree I think it was planted in the last 20 years. Also the bare tree...it was much much smaller. Oh this is just the back side of the apt. Alot of good memories in that house and several not so good as well. I miss it but I really don't want to go back.

This is Parks Elementary where I attended from 1st grade to 6th. Actually we moved to Alabama during Christmas break of my 6th grade year. I loved this school and actually have mostly wonderful memories here. Its always fun for me to go the backroads in Cleveland and see all the same things. Life was different then...some ways better some...not so much.

These are a few of my favorite things...

As the holidays are fast approaching. I thought I would try to remember what I really love about them. You can't walk through the stores without being reminded that Christmas is really right around the corner. Last night at our cell group we played a game and it was so much fun and it's really what I enjoy the most about this time of year. Just being with friends that are like family. To just really laugh til your sides hurt. We have had so much happen during our the holidays since Rick and I have been together that we have not had alot of tradition. I'm hoping to bring that back this year. But, more importantly just get some really great quality time with the ones I love. The holiday season is also the start of basketball season which is one of my favorite sports to watch, but it also takes up alot of our time. So here is my list of favorite things:

Emerson children's Christmas Party (movie and meet Santa)


Tech's Christmas Concert


Drawing names
I don't have a pic of this but my kids get so excited...after speaking with our Pastor's wife, Denise I may add to our tradition of drawing names by borrowing her tradition. She wont mind. When we draw names this year we are also going to put the tree up and I'm gonna make everyone's favorite appetizer. We usually make appetizers and junk out during New Year's Eve and the kids love it.

Egg Nog Milkshakes at Sonic
My son loves Egg Nog and he wishes he could buy it all year long. I remember when I was his age I loved it too and my Mammy would only give me a very small amount. I think that's why I liked it soo much.

Creme Drops
You know those chocolate things that look like gum drops but they are made of chocolate and creme..MMMmmmmmm... Those were my favorite.

My layered pumpkin pie
Prep Time: 15 minutesTotal Time: 4 hours 15 minutesServings: 8
Ingredients
4 ounces cream cheese, softened
1 tablespoon milk
1 tablespoon sugar
1 1/2 cups frozen non-dairy whipped topping, thawed
1 Keebler® Ready Crust® Graham Pie Crust
3/4 cup cold milk
2 packages (4-serving size) vanilla flavor instant pudding & pie filling
2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice*
1 can (15 oz.) pumpkin
Directions
1. In medium bowl whisk together cream cheese, 1 tablespoon milk and sugar. Gently stir in whipped topping. Carefully spread in crust.
2. In large bowl beat 3/4 cup milk, pudding mix and spice with wire whisk for 1 minute. Whisk in pumpkin. (Mixture will be thick.) Carefully spread over cream cheese layer.
3. Refrigerate at least 4 hours or until set.
4. Garnish as desired. Store in refrigerator.
*NOTE: May substitute 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon, 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger and 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves in place of pumpkin pie spice.
My stepmother used to make this and I just loved it. I was very young and wasn't a big fan of pumpkin pie but this made me like it ALOT!

The homemade ornaments my kids bring home from school

Macy's Thanksgiving Day parade. Actually all the parades even our small hometown parade.

Football

The mall- I just love how the mall is decorated during the holidays.

Caramel Pie
It's not my favorite pie but it is my husbands and I enjoy making it for him. There is also this boy that goes to our church who loves it so much I am making him one this year too.

Hot Chocolate with whipped cream or marshmallows

Mistletoe

There are so many things about this time of year but the most important thing is Remembering Our King, this is a time to give thanks to God for sending His son to die for our undeserving selves. I have always tried to remember this but this year I'm going to put forth an extra effort to remind my kids what "Christ"mas is really about! I am so Thankful for everything God has given me. What are you thankful for? What are a few of your favorite things?

Ok to get the full effect I'm gonna have to show a before and after. Lori always cuts Jere's hair and straightens it and really just treats them very special.

Gotta show Bren's haircut too! LOL He's such a cutie. He actually got his haircut Saturday with his dad but the people are so used to be just getting a trim and I actually wanted a real haircut. I took him back and they fixed it free of charge! I love Lori and those girls at 1st class cuts . They take good care of my boys. Oh and about the before and after these pics were taken on different days and yes he is wearing the same hoodie b/c he insists on wearing this hoodie everyday of the week. I'm not joking. He hates jackets and only wants to wear hoodies. 6 year olds shouldn't be this opionated about clothes.

So we got Justin's hair straightened..and he thinks for like a sec that I'm gonna help him do this every morning...if you know my son you know this is not gonna happen! I have to admit it's kinda cool looking. Reason for getting hair straightened? Lori was bored...yep that's right she was just like lets straighten that and see what it looks like.

Nov 4...2008

So my baby is 13 and like several bdays in her life the Election is everywhere you turn. I voted today I think this is the 3rd presidential election I voted in. Maybe 2nd? Anywho I have to say I have a slightly unsettling feeling about this. Mr Obama...is our new president and I will respect that. Its something I have always taught my kids no matter how I feel about the person in charge. I do however get this peace that God is in control and I know he is sooo much bigger than this country's president. I think back to cross when they were yelling "Crucify" I'm guessing people didn't think He was in control then either. I know this is a little different but I think there are many times in our life when we feel like maybe God is busy doing something else but He never is...He is always there. I know ALOT of prayer has been poured into this election. I am going to continue to pray and trust that God is in control. If all else fails maybe God will call us to Canada! LOL J/K I was reminded this morning of Romans 13 I think we should all read it and know that we have a responsibility to pray for our leaders.

Adrienne's 13!!! well almost :D!

As of tomorrow the 4th my baby girl will be 13 years old! It also happens to be a very big Election Day...so VOTE!! Its funny there is always so much in the news around her birthday. She ask do you know what Nov 4th is?...and of course we say oh yeah it's Election Day. We had her party this weekend and it was a blast and the cake was beautiful! I really could write a whole post on just her cake. It was a big hit! I was highly impressed with Mrs Mothershed. The kids seemed to have a blast although over half of our guest list didn't attend. It was a veryyy big weekend and most of her friends were on the Youth Hunt. She didn't seem to let it bother her even though some of her closest friends were unable to attend. She's my trooper and makes the most of all situations. I think all in all everyone had a blast and it was a hit. I'm kinda glad we got it all out of the way. I'm pretty much booked until January now that basketball is kicking off. I was so thankful that Ginger and Q came out and helped with the party and Lisa T for helping with the cake...she was a lifesaver I'm pretty sure I would have dropped it! Also our pastor for bringing the wood for the fire. This party def...wouldn't have been possible without help from our church family.

Adrienne, Blake and Katelyn...these girls keep Blake in line! They also have a tendancy to get him in trouble...with pics like these. I love these kids and its so fun watching them grow up. It amazes me how comfortable they are around each other and how much Blake and Adrienne are alike. People try to match make all the time...I say they look more like brother and sister and I'd like to keep it that way for a while longer!


Well this started out as a pic of some of the girls...at the party and well Andrew a.k.a Fred...aka Peter Panda (thats what Adrienne calls him and I don't even ask why) decided to join in... You gotta love this kid!
The birthday girls with our youth pastor...Josh I think that's his barbie LOL

Merideth, Josh's daughter, and Brendan had a blast and they were filthy! I was so glad she came so Bren had someone to hang out with.

Survey thingy from Ginger!

Thursday, October 30, 2008

31 Random Things
Ok, seen this on several other blogs and thought I'd give it a whirl. So, for your Friday entertainment, 31 random things about me.
1. Where is your cell phone? on my desk
2. Where is your significant other? Just got home from McD's getting me dinner...at 11 p.m.
3. Your hair color? brunette with about 3 gray hairs maybe more
4. Your mother? Alice
5. Your father? Mac
6. Your favorite thing? My family
7. Your dream last night? Don't remember
8. Your dream/goal? I just want my kids to graduate and go to college...my hubby to finish college and do whatever God wants him to do and for me to be the supportive wonderful mom and wife and do whatever God wants from me.
9. The room you're in? living room
10. Your hobby? wow I really dont have alot of time for a hobby. But I do love my life.
11. Your fear? Mice all my other fears have come true
12. Where do you want to be in six years? who knows wherever God wants us
13. Where were you last night? for the 1st time all week i was home cooking dinner and such
14. What you’re not? skinny
15. One of your wish list items? Rebel Digital Camera...new cookware...new car!
16. Where you grew up? first 10 years in Cleveland, MS the rest of my childhood was spent in Alabama.
17. The last thing you did? ate my dinner...before that I spent the last 12+ hours at the church getting ready for the fall festival
18. What are you wearing? jeans and t-shirt...
19. Your TV? is on in the background...If Rick's home the TV is on and its probably on ESPN or some sporting event.
20. Your pet? Gypsy
21. Your computer? Dell and the boys have a dell laptop
22. Your mood?pretty exhausted
23. Missing someone? ALWAYS
24. Your car?Minivan
25. Something you’re not wearing? shoes..or jewelry
26. Favorite store? McRae's or Target
27. Your summer? is over..
28. Love someone? Most definitely
29. Your favorite color? pink...and black and yes black counts even though its a shade also red..
30. When is the last time you laughed? I laughed alot at the fall festival tonight...sometimes itw as to keep from crying...mostly it was b/c I go to church with some crazy fun folks. I think the last time I actually laughed was at Lisa using her serious tone with Micah...she couldn't do it with a straight face it cracked me up.
31. Last time you cried? I can't recall right now but it's been recently I just am too tired to remember right now

Day 1 of the Love Dare take...Oh I've lost count!

Well as I've said before we have watched the movie Fireproof and even bought the Love Dare book which we gave away to someone we felt needed it more than us. I really didn't mind giving it away b/c I kinda knew my husband would "let" me do it first and I've just felt kinda empty lately. Its been an emotional couple of weeks for me which of course means...God's trying to do something to get my attention. Well earlier this week my good friend Ginger brought my the Love Dare book...and I decided to go ahead and try it. Well that was Tuesday and I messed up that day...Wednesday started out bad...and well today I was doing ok and then I just hung up on him. So I said Ok I'm going to sit down and reread the first part of this book b/c obviously I'm missing something. Yep! I was. I have spent the last couple of weeks really have a little pity party for myself complaining about feeling empty and just emotionally drained. What I wasn't realizing was I was tapping into the wrong supply. God doesn't need us to love Him for Him to love us! That's how we are supposed to be! I know this sounds very simple but it really was a foreign concept for me. God can fufill all my needs all I have to do is ask. I'm supposed to love like Christ loves us. He died for people that were crucifying him and I'm having trouble loving someone who loves me! God has never failed to honor my obedience to Him. So why I'm having trouble with this whole submission thing is just beyond me. I will get through day 1 tomorrow. I just have a feeling! ;)

No one falls in love by choice, it is by CHANCE.
No one stays in love by chance, it is by WORK.
And no one falls out of love by chance, it is by CHOICE

I read this in one of those if you love Jesus email this to 37 people in 4 minutes and your phone will ring kind of emails. I really don't like those emails so I usually don't forward them...yes I know shame on me but oh well I doubt I'll get to heaven and God will be like OK so you didn't send the emails...anywho. This message up here really stood out to me. I have said numerous times the last couple of weeks marriage is hard! It is so hard but it really is worth it and does take daily work! Ill blog more later just wanted to share this lil message with ya!

TGIM ??? HA

I bet you've never heard that one before! No I really had a fun weekend. It was just exhausting! It all started early Friday afternoon. Jeremy had a doctors appt that I had completely forgotten about until Thursday afternoon. We had to have a check up with the doc about his allergies/sinuses. They are out of control. He is now on 3 weeks worth of antibiotics, 2 allergy meds, and steriods. He can't even start one med until the steriods start kicking in. I really had a chance to find out alot about why Jere is feeling and acting the way he is. Bless his heart he looked miserable at the docs office. He is also exhausted. We are working on it and praying for the best. He has two specialist appts end of Oct...first of Nov so we can maybe get some relief.

Friday night Rick came home not feeling well freeing me up to go to Jonesboro with Ginger w/o Brendan which is a HUGE deal for me b/c I go no where without Brendan! Justin rode home with Cameron and went to the game with him and Jeremy didn't feel like going to the game he just wanted to read and rest so thats exactly what he did. Adrienne got to go to the game and take her friend Blake (Ginger's son). I think everyone had a fun Friday night...even though Tech couldn't pull off the win over Blytheville. I got to eat dinner with a friend with NO CHILDREN! I realized this weekend I really don't get enough time away for myself.

Saturday we get up early b/c Bren has a soccer game and for some unknown reason all of his games are at 9 in the morning which means we have to get up at 7ish. I love watching him play soccer it's so fun but man I would like a morning where I didn't have to set an alarm clock. One day I will miss it I know...today is not that day. Later that afternoon/evening I had the priviledge of serving the cast/crew and family of our church's Christmas production. Adrienne and Justin are in the play and it's going to be great. I'm excited about it. While waiting for Just and Adrienne to finish I ran the rest of the family some food and got take Ava Jo with me. Ava is one of my students in the preschool class on Sunday. She is a mess and you really gotta love her. Her mother is in the play and I thought it would help her if I took her with me. As you will see from the pics she's not shy! We went to Wal Mart to pick up a game and then got back to the church in time to clean up and pick up Just and Adrienne. We had to get home and get to bed to be back at church by 8 a.m.

Sunday was an all day church event! 8 a.m. service, 9:30 with the youth, 11 preschool class, and a youth meeting to follow right after church. The youth meeting lasted until 2 which was when play practice began again! Play practice ended at 5 which is what time our cell group meets at Ginger and Quentin's house. Oh yeah Ginger and her daughter Mallorye are both in the play so thankfully her son Blake fixed dinner. He's a pretty cool kid. Quentin usually does that kinda of thing but he's somewhere doing something with the military. So after leaving the house around 7:45 a.m. I got back home around 8 p.m. ish... Needless to say I went to bed pretty early last night. It was before 10 I know that for sure. Oh yeah 10 is very early for me.

So this weekend in a nutshell was crazy and chaotic just like every other part of my life but I would do it again. I learned so much about my friends and even myself. I also laughed ALOT which is one of my favorite things to do.

Well back to our regularly scheduled programs....

My mother left today after being here a week. She hasn't stayed a week in quite a long time. We usually argue and she leaves. She really doesn't like to stay a week b/c she thinks I'm "too busy" and don't ever sit down and visit. I really don't sit down and visit alot b/c in our conversations is where the disagreements usually start. I get really stressed when she is here b/c Brendan is a different child. He doesn't listen to me and he wants his Maw Maw to be with him all the time. I get that he doesn't see her much but its more b/c she lets him do whatever he wants. I really thought she was going to leave after I spent "too much" time at church Sunday. Well my Aunt Martha came in on Monday to ride back home with Momma. It was nice visiting with her. I hope she enjoyed it as well. I dont know about everyone else's children but when we have guest mine show out. My house was not where it should have been and I was just stressed. Rick has mid terms this week and it's just been a stressful time for us. Its also Homecoming Week for our school so the kids dress up everyday which is a task for parents. I stayed up last night watching Facing the Giants with my aunt its our favorite movie but I stayed up til 12 30 not a "wise" decision seeing as I have to get up at 6. I have been later than normal every day my mom has been here. I need some downtime and I don't forsee it anytime in the near future. Adrienne's birthday is fast approaching and my brother scheduled my nieces birthday for the weekend I was going to have Adrienne's. Haley was born Oct 17th and Adrienne's is the 4th of Nov. Haley's party is scheduled for Nov 1st. Our youth has D-now the weekend of the 7th so that rules that out. I have no idea when I will do her party now. Of course I have no idea what I'm going to do for her party either. Any ideas will be considered. HELP! On a good note I have the pleasure of serving Saturday night to the cast of our play. I am so glad I get to do this. We have such wonderfully gifted people that are so eager to allow God to work through them. It touches my heart to see them work so hard to please God. My husband has been well over a month without smoking and is just doing wonderfully. Well for now I need to stop but I will post more this week about Spirit Week and the happenings of my crazy chaotic and BLESSED life!

So I had a wild hair

Well it started as every other average day. Then I had a wild hair...I decided hey let me go in the boy's room and rearrange it. Ok so your thinking rearranging a room no biggie right...well You can't rearrange a room without cleaning it. Did I mention 3 boys live in this room? 2 of these boys are teens and 1 is a 6 year old. I got started and thought maybe this wont be so bad...until I moved the bed. I pretty sure scientist could have found something growing under there. I am ashamed to admit how much dust was in there. I sincerely considered tackling the closet but decided I would save that for another day when I go insane. Justin is gone to a friends tonight so he has yet to see the room but Jere and Bren were pretty impressed. I was just finishing as they came home. I was going to take before and after pics but I honestly would die if someone saw the room before. Their sheets are in the washer and dryer now and their beds will soon be all made up nicely with clean sheets. I older boys really get overwhelmed trying to clean up after their lil brother all the time with the lack of space they have in their room. Once the closet is clean it will be a load off them. Bren is now getting old enough to help and clean up after himself and when he's in the mood makes a pretty good helper. On the other hand when he's in the mood he can destroy a room. My mom is in town and offered to help me several times I wouldn't let her I needed to do this for my boys and I'm honestly glad I did. I haven't gotten a thank you yet but the looks on their faces made it all worth it. It really gave me a way to release some energy too. Mom just took Jere to eat at the BBQ Barn. She was going to take both of the boys but of course Justin went to the game in Wynne so he couldn't go. Its okay though Jere needs some one on one time so he can feel special. He has been struggling a bit this year trying to figure out what role he plays in this family and standing out when he has 3 very outgoing siblings. Well I've rambled enough and mom called and said she was bringing us some ribs home so that's a good thing! :D I'll post more and maybe I'll even post an after pic!

Fireproof

Well after waiting what seemed like months but was probably just a few weeks...we finally saw the movie Fireproof. It was an amazing movie and if you are married you should go watch it. Actually if you are breathing you should go watch it! I can honestly say though I go more from the sermon at church that morning than I did from the movie well spiritually that is. Don't get me wrong the movie was everything I hoped for but God really spoke to me during the message Sunday morning and softened my heart ALOT. I realized I really have got to turn from what I knew and learn God's way mostly b/c well its God's way duh but also b/c what I know...what I've seen doesn't work. It's never worked and unfortunately my mother has 2 divorces to prove it. Now let me clarify I'm not downing my mom I know she was not the faulty party in her broken marriages and I'm sorry if I made it sound like that. I'm just saying you know what you see and actions beat words anyday of the week. You can teach your children with your mouth but they are going to do what they see. I don't want my kids growing up to be needy of anything. I want them to be "healthy" well balanced children. I also learned giving my husband respect will not lessen me or what I do in turn it will actually strengthen me. My husband works really hard to support this family and studies really hard in school to make our life better and I am really proud of him. He has a full plate and doesn't complain as much as one might think. He also maintains a pretty high GPA in the process. I am so thankful to God for transforming his life. It amazes me how God works. I remember after Amelia passed away and Rick was so wonderful during it all thinking wow God thanks for showing me the Rick I knew was in there all along. Weeks later of course I was wondering where that guy went. The whole time God assuring me he was still in there. I felt like God was saying Hang on or your gonna miss the good part! I'm glad I held on b/c its starting to get good!

Pretty awesome weekend!

Well yesterday I picked up Jeremy and Brendan and we headed to the movie store to pick up a couple movies. We then went to Wal Mart to get popcorn and candy b/c you can't have movie night at our house without those things. We also picked up a frozen pizza for dinner w/ some extra cheese. Adrienne went home with a friend and of course Justin is gone on his mission trip so I decided to try to make it a fun night with Jere and Bren. We rented Speed Racer and Leatherheads. We didn't start the movies til around 7:30 because Jere got a new game with his birthday money and wanted some time to play it for a while. Every Friday Bren says I'm goin to stay up to see my daddy when he gets off work. Rick gets off work at 12 and gets home around 12:15 or 12:20. Since school has started Bren has never made it. Actually neither Bren nor Jere made it through Leatherheads much less Rick getting home. I was okay with that b/c Leatherheads wasnt a great movie for kids. It really wasn't that great a movie for adults. It was kinda blah. Speaking of movies our church is going to see Fireproof Sunday evening and let me tell you Rick and I are pumped! We have been waiting to see that movie since we heard about it. Today we spent the day at the Emerson Family Picnic. Its our 4th picnic and our kids love it. It was a little different w/o Justin this year. You would think with 4 kids if 1 was missing you wouldn't notice but I DO! Alli Vaughn went with us again this year. I will post a couple pics it was a really great day. I'm exhausted and Rick is snoozing in the big chair beside me but it was worth it! Oh let me not forget today was Bren's first soccer game...he missed his soccer game last weekend b/c of Six Flags which I don't think I've posted about I know I'm a little behind. We played 2 of Bren's former teammates...he was kinda nervous. We won 6-1 maybe 5-1 Bren had an assist and a goal. He plays soccer like a mini adult and its so fun to watch him. He really becomes the captain of the team. He coaches the kids while he's on the field and he's usually the youngest kid on the team but it's very amusing to watch b/c they actually listen! He's not the tallest, fastest or strongest...but he is for sure the smartest soccer player out there. He really has a sense of what he's supposed to do on the soccer field. I know I'm bragging but hey it's my blog I can do that! LOL Well I will leave you with some pics of our weekend. Enjoy!

Busy busy busy!

Well I haven't had time to really sit down and post and when I did I had to post about my boys turning 14 which I haven't quite adjusted to as of yet. Justin just left on his mission trip :( w/o me! I don't know what makes me more upset he's goin to be there w/o us or he's going to be there w/o US!!! Adrienne and I both wanted to go soooo bad. Anyway a week or so ago a friend of mines daughter had a pretty big deal surgery. Well it just so happens to be someone very close to Adrienne and her brother is Adrienne's best friend. They are honestly more like brother and sister. Well in August we decided to make Mal a build a bear to give to her when she went into the hospital so thats what we did. She is home now and I believe she's getting her strength back. I know I had fun watching them build this bear I hope you enjoy! Glad your better Mal We love you!

Blake refused to wash the monkey! Adrienne said fine just push the pedal he agreed.

Below you can he also refused to dress the monkey...and again Adrienne came up with the solution ...fine just hold her then!