Duck Bill

This is the result of too much coffee, a very long day, and friends that can set off laughing spells. :) We were attempting to take a duck bill pic. You know that face when your lips look like a duck...yep, it's late and that's what it has come to people. ;)

Go dean-work that duck bill! I don't know why his eyes close??

So at this point, I am about to pee my pants....for real!

Oh, 2 out of 4! Nicole and I just can't get it together......

Aaaahhhh.......... and there you have it! "The Duck Bill" pic!

Our Christmas PJ party

We had a super, great, amazing Christmas! Thank You my Lord for coming here to this fallen world to save us all. Here is a "run down" of how our day went!

Kiddos were up at 7 ready for presents......

OOhhhh, I got a new coat~from Buckle, my favorite store. ;)

Attention All: we have a train lovin toddler...

After presents and breakfast our bestest friends came over and we:

~cooked so much food-way too much. :) the way it should be. :)

~watched a ton of Christmas movies

~played games

~ate

~read the real Christmas story out of the Bible

~laughed a whole bunch

~chris and trace shot and chased each other (nerf style)

~ate some more

~drank lots of coffee

~took funny pics

~ate a little bit more......

Thank you Jesus for putting Godly friends in our paths. We love them and could

not imagine spending Christmas any other way!

Nicole was doin her snuggie dance! :)

Cute friends...paige, kate, aubrey, and kade

Chris, Nicole, me, and Dean

Celebrating our Savior's Birth

Heading to worship on Christmas Eve!

Bowl o' Snow

It's a couple of days before Christmas, it has just snowed about 6 inches, Trace is getting over a virus, and we are making the best of today! While the other kids are out wrestling in the snow, Mr. t has to improvise a little. So he didn't have to miss out too much, I grabbed a bowl and scooped some snow off the back porch so he could put his "big guys" in it. No tears here! Just fun, good, wet, melty, fun!!!

Angel Tree

I don't know how many of you have heard of Angel Tree ministries but I had the opportunity to be involved in it this Christmas. It gives prisoners a chance to sign their kids up to receive gifts from them. A group of us were assigned a family, went out and bought presents for them and then we delivered the gifts to them. We had 4 year old twins, and a 16 year old.



I have to admit, this morning I was a little nervous and it was definitely out of my comfort zone. Me and a couple of other ladies met at church, loaded up our cars with gifts, and headed to this families house.


We introduced ourselves, and proceeded toward the living room where the twins were anxiously awaiting. We, of course, let them open their gifts, and told them that they were from their daddy. It was so cool. And their mom was so thankful. We sat and played and talked for over and hour!!


Then the phone rang and it was their DAD! I couldn't believe it. The kids were on the phone telling their dad thanks for the gifts and we were all full of smiles!! God's timing is perfect. I wanted to curl up and cry my eyes out BUT, we had more playing to do. :)


Toward the end of our visit we got to invite the family to church and pray with them. We told them that we wanted to share God's love with them and the greatest gift was Jesus. It was great!! They are coming to our Christmas Eve service. It was an experience I will never forget!

Trace, oh Trace

Mom, can I go outside?
No, Trace, it's 10 degrees.
I just want to take a bite of snow.
Oh, ok. Hurry up!

Oh what fun to a 3 year old. I love him!

This is my Town...nah nah nah, nah nah

Sing it Bloggers! I love our little town. Every year there is a cute little Christmas Carriage Parade. Our high school bands march and play, lots of businesses come by in horse drawn carriages, it's super fun!! There are also ice sculpting contests, pony rides, pics with Santa.....We have made this one of our CO traditions and I have to say, it is one of my favorites! We have the cutest "Mainstreet"! Here are a bunch of pics that I took.

Santa and Mrs. Claus!

cutest lil elves.

These were carolers, aren't they cute lil old people. I like em'!

Me and Paige waiting for the parade to start.

Just a couple of pics of how cute Mainstreet is decorated. I LOVE it!!

Oh and don't miss our ever present back drop of the Rockie Mountains! We have an amazing Creator!

Dean and the kiddos.

Christmas Tree Hunting....

Drum Roll ................... Ta Da! Here is our tree! All crooked and goofy. We are so proud and LOVE it. Just started a new CO tradition.

Dean and Kade sawing away!

THE ONE!

We had the best time last weekend! We drove to Pikes National Forest, got a permit, hiked around the forest, and found our perfect Christmas tree. Only thing is, when you get your tree out of the REAL forest, it's never perfect. :) We love it more than any tree we have ever had. We call it our Charlie Brown Christmas tree. (It's crooked, and gapped up. :)

The 4th

Well, I don't know what to say about this.....he is our 4th. So if you have had more than 3, you realize that some things you just have to let go of.....I guess on this day, we just let him run around in his favorite shirt, p.j. bottoms, socks, and sandals. It is CO and it has been extremely cold. Oh well. (Good thing you can't see the marshmallow creme smeared across his little cheeks.) :)

Another CO Adventure!

YaY for more CO adventures with fun families that we love. Kroger's and Vallee's and Williamson's all took a drive to South Platte River for some fun. We brought lunch, games, and a ton of kids. :)


Ty are Jordon are Best Buds....and they are T-R-O-U-B-L-E when they are together. We are always keeping a close eye on them, you just never know when their little 6 year old minds will come up with a crazy plan. Oh the stories I could tell you.....
The Vallee Family! They are some of our very close friends here in CO. We love them so much, oh did I mention they are also Texans...that may have something to do with it. ;0)

Just us.

The cute Kroger girls... sweetest sisters.

Mr. Ryan and a bunch of kiddos.

The Kroger's! Oh, we just love these guys. We haven't known them very long but we can't seem to go a whole weekend with out spending time with them. We have grown up worlds away from each other but have so much in common that it feels like we have known them forever.

Thanksgiving Day Pics!

Started off my day with a "Turkey Trot", 5K run. Anything to justify eating more....mmmm....It was super fun! Ya like my socks? :)

We spent Thanksgiving with our church family. Lots of people are from other states so their families aren't here. We gather at church and eat together.
This is Kade and his friend Collin!

Paige and her buddy's!

Trace and his lil toddler friend were playing Operation. :)

AWWWW....dean and i

My favorite girls, Nicole and Jen. (try to ignore our pastor in the back....)

Pastor B and Jen doing some serious Wii Bowling. shhh...don't tell-Jen beat him. :)

And we have a Wii Tournament every year with brackets and everything....my Kade won the whole thing and gets to keep this bowling ball till next year. Oh, and he has to put his awesome signature on it. SO FUN! Go Kade! (his bud collin came in 2nd)

Hope you all had a blessed Thanksgiving! I am so thankful for my family and my Jesus!

I am Fearfully and Wonderfully made!

This week I went to Lifetime Fitness, my gym...THE gym! I love it! I go around 4 times a week, and work my booty off. :) I was on the stair master, dripping sweat, breathing hard, wishing I had enough balance to grab my water and take a swig when I look around and I see a tiny lady...WALKING...on the treadmill. This is nothing unusual here in CO. EVERYONE is skinny. I mean seriously people. I work so hard to just look average. UGH!! I get discouraged thinking how in the world can I work so hard and give 100% in every workout and not look like that???

Then I was reminded....of what my God thinks of me. I am fearfully and wonderfully made! and we are not to conform to this world....

So I try to focus on how good I feel, healthy, and happy. I do think it is very important to be healthy and look cute for your hubby. He thinks I look cute, so ladies-don't be discouraged! Be happy! God made you perfectly and just the way He wanted you to be! The world says skinny is pretty but we are not here to conform to what "they" think. RIGHT?!

Now it's almost time to eat!! HA! Happy Thanksgiving!! Oh, did I mention, I like to eat. ;)

How He loves us!

This past weekend at church, a friend of mines husband shared his testimony in front of us all. (the church) Then sang "How He loves us", by David Crowder Band. It was seriously emotional and amazing. He was addicted to drugs and alcohol-2 years ago he sat in a hotel room alone,with out his wife and kids, completely broken for all of his mistakes. He asked God for forgiveness and restoration. Of course God was so faithful!!! Scripture that he clings to and we all should is Psalm 30:1-3. Get your Bible out and read it. :)

The song is on my play list if you want to hear it!

Praise God that he is faithful when we turn to Him. He WILL hear our cries! He WILL save us! No matter what your past may look like, no matter how bad you have messed up......HE LOVES YOU!

OH HOW HE LOVES US ALL!

My Hunting Men

Bringing home the bacon! Every year in Nov., my husband and oldest one go hunting on my
father-in-laws property. This year was no exception. Dean shot and 8 point. Hopefully next year Kade will have a chance to shoot one. We barely trust him with a B B gun. :) We are expecting our meat next week! I LOVE deer sausage. No really, I do....

The Little Things

Lately I have been trying to remember to be thankful for the little things.
Some little things that come to mind are...

~chocolate milk before bed - preferably Ovaltine
~My little ones praying voices
~My family's health
~Living in America where I can freely worship my Lord
~cute blue jeans - Big Star are my favs
~Uggs in CO
~my ipod filled with songs i love
~singing out loud
~tickling my kids - especially the big ones ;)
~my amazing church and church family
~the cute little old ladies that live next door and across the street from me
~my husbands desire for our family to stay in God's will
~GAP socks
~my running shoes
~my friends that love me no matter what
~Lifetime Fitness - keeps me sane. :)
~Hubby's job!

I really could go on....what are you thankful for this Thanksgiving?

Resting In the Lord

Recently I have felt completely exhausted. Emotionally I just wanted to cry at the drop of a hat. Those of you who know me well know that I do not like crying.....at all. I do occasionally but I am just not a cryer. I have been praying that the Lord would give me rest and renew me. I started searching for scriptures that talked about rest. If we keep giving and pouring out to everyone in our lives but never run to the Lord for rest and rejuvenation we will crumble....

Here are some scriptures I found:

~Joshua 21:44a The Lord gave them rest on every side, just as he had sworn to their forefathers.
~Isaiah 32:18 My people will live in peaceful dwelling places, in secure homes, in undisturbed places of rest.

Here are a couple on what can prevent a person from entering God's rest:

~Hebrews 3:18-19 And whom did God swear that they would never enter his rest if not to those who disobeyed. So we see that they were not able to enter, because of their unbelief.
~Hebrews 4:6 It still remains that some will enter that rest, and those who formerly had the gospel preached to them did not go in, because of their disobedience.

I hoped this has helped some one other than me this week. Love y'all!

A Child's Prayers

Before school every morning, the kids and I get together and pray. After I finished praying this morning, Trace wants a turn.....so he says in his adorable toddler voice:

"Dear God, Thank you for a brand new day. Please help Ty not to get a pink slip and help my mom to work out. Help us to not get respectful. amen!"

Sweetest moment of my day so far. ;)

I'm Lovin It

Occasionally I like to have an iced coffee and it's usually when I have had a rough morning and this morning was rough. After cooking breakfast, getting dinner ready, lunches, and trying to at least jump in the shower for 5 minutes, then breaking up numerous fights all before 7:30-I was in for a treat. :) After a friend told me about the Iced, non-fat, vanilla coffee at Mc Donalds, I must say...It's Delicious!!! MMMMM...... I'm lovin it! And it's much cheaper and bigger than Starbucks.

Little Boy Conversations...

Trace: When I was 4, I had a mullet.
Ty: No you didn't and your only 3! What is a mullet, Trace?
Trace: It's what you put on your bras.

Never Replaced

I am really missing my TX friends! They know all the good, bad, and ugly about me. It's easy, I don't have to work at it and sometimes I don't even have to speak for them to understand me. It's the best but we are worlds apart....or really states.....so I talk to them on the phone every day just about, to get my fix of the way friendship is supposed to be. I pray all the time that this amazingly beautiful place that God has me will some how bring comfort to my sometimes lonely heart. I know that this is the time in my life where God is saying, "I'm right here". I want and am depending on God to fill that void in my life and maybe that is why I am here.? hmmmm.....

"Do not grieve, for the joy of the Lord is your strength." Nehemiah 8:10

"Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day." 2 Corinthians 4:16

Halloween

Kade-drummer, Ty-football player, Paige-80's girl, Trace-army dude. :)

We don't celebrate this day too much! I admit that it is fun letting the little ones dress up and getting more candy than anyone needs in a whole year. I looked up and copied the history of Halloween from Wikopedia.

The festival of Samhain celebrates the end of the "lighter half" of the year and beginning of the "darker half", and is sometimes regarded as the "Celtic New Year".

The celebration has some elements of a festival of the dead. The Celtic peoples of the late iron age are thought to have believed that the border between this world and the other world became thin on Samhain, allowing spirits (both harmless and harmful) to pass through. We should note that there is little or no evidence of the beliefs of these people, however, ancestor worship and belief in malevolent spirits are common themes for humanity and ancestor worship at ancient tombs has some archaeological support. On this basis the family's ancestors may have been honoured and invited home whilst harmful spirits were warded off. It is conjectured that the need to ward off harmful spirits led to the wearing of costumes and masks; much as it seems to have done in many tribal cultures. In Scotland the spirits were impersonated by young men dressed in white with masked, veiled or blackened faces. Samhain was also a time to take stock of food supplies and slaughter livestock for winter stores. Bonfires played a large part in the festivities. All other fires were doused and each home lit their hearth from the bonfire. The bones of slaughtered livestock were cast into its flames. Sometimes two bonfires would be built side-by-side, and people and their livestock would walk between them as a cleansing ritual.
Another common practise is said to have been divination, which may have involved the use of food and drink, though it has been said that Druidic rites also included more sinister forms of divination.

The name 'Halloween' and some of its present-day traditions derive from the English Medieval Period or possibly earlier.

WOWSERS!! Who Knew? Who Cares? I do!

I think for our family we'll stick to a fall fest somewhere in town and maybe trick or treat at our cute lil neighbors houses. I have 2 neighbors that I just love, they are grandmas and who doesn't love a grandma that has goody bags for every holiday for all 4 of your kids. :)

Blast from the Past!

Featuring Teen Wolf and Kris Kross!!!

This is my Kade and his good friend Caedon. They had a lock - in at church this past weekend and had to dress like their parents when they were in Middle School. The theme was A Blast From the Past! They had a great time.

Aahhh yeah the tight roll! You know you did it! haha! He felt so uncomfortable having his shirt tucked in and you can barely tell that he had some serious "wings" workin in that hair do. :)