The "Dayly" News

Smorgasbord

2009-07-06T21:56:00.000-07:00

This may quite possibly be the longest picture post ever! I do not have much on my mind to share, but have tons of pictures to show what we have been up to.

We were able to make a quick trip to Alabama to surprise Tim's dad for Father's Day, and he was most certainly surprised! We had a good visit with Tim's parents and one of his brothers and his family. We missed you John!

I hope your fourth was filled with fun memories. We spent the day/evening at my parents house with my brother and his wife and son, and my sister and her 3 kids. Her husband is still overseas defending the very freedom we all celebrated! We love and miss him and cannot wait for his safe return!

Well, without further ado, here are the pics...enjoy!

Here are all the Day cousins

Anna and Grandpa on the boat. They have a fun pond in their back yard.

We took a day trip to Atlanta. Here is a water show at the Centennial Olympic park.

We also went to the World Of Coke Museum.

Here is Anna with Grandma and the Coke Polar Bear

Inside the World of Coke

This was a fun room where you could taste Coca Cola products from all over ther world!

Tim and Anna waiting for the subway tot take us back to Atlanta Underground for lunch

Lunch at Johnny Rockets in Underground Atlanta. She made it fit!

I love this girl!

The kids waiting for a few fun fireworks.

They are wearing the 3-D fireworks glasses Grammy got for them!

Dillon and Grammy lighting the fireworks

Sparkler fun

We lined my parents back walkway with these giant sparklers.

This is what they look like through the 3-D glasses

The kids around the fire waiting to roast marshmallows

Ben and Drew

Brenda and Drew

The girls Anna and Megan

All the grandkids

Uncle Ben, Dillon and Shane

Darla and her Shane, Brenda and her Drew

My sister and I always take our girls to get pedicures when they are in town.
Here is Megan getting tickled by her pedicure!

Girly time!

Anna is so relaxed!

He Is Exhausted!

2009-06-17T21:20:00.000-07:00

What a great week this has been! I have to say that as much as I miss my husband since he still has to work this summer, I have had a GREAT week with Anna! This is the first summer Tim has not been off in the summer like he has as a teacher since we were married 11 years ago! I am so proud of all of his hard work, but we miss him!

I was not worried about it being just Anna and me since we are together all the time anyway, but I was worried that we might get stir crazy now that school is out! She has been so great! She wakes up in the morning and goes into the living room and turns the cartoons WAY down to let me sleep in a little, and then when I get up, she pauses the TV (DVR - best invention ever!!!!) and asks me how I slept and if I noticed that she was being quiet so I could sleep longer! She has been a helper without complaining, and decided that she enjoys doing laundry...His love endures forever!!! I am serious, I hate laundry and it is nothing short of a God thing that she is loving it and that she really does it well. On Monday I needed to get the dishes done but also had been wanting to make a pan of brownies, so I asked Anna if she wanted to make the brownies while I did the dishes...you guessed it...she made them BY HERSELF. The only thing I did was pour it in the pan and put it in the oven.

I hesitate to even write this post at the risk of jinxing the wonderful time Anna and I have had together, but 1) I am not superstitious, OCD maybe, but not superstitious, and 2) I am so proud of what a sweet girl Anna is continuing to be and I want her to read this in the morning and know that I am so proud of her that I had to tell all of my friends about it! (she has already told me I can stop thanking her!)

OK, I am done. I will post later on what an amazing husband I have and all the craziness he puts up with, but for now I will finish with a conversation me and Anna had on our way to VBS tonight. We were listening to the radio and the song "He is Exalted, the King is Exalted on High" came on and we were just singing our little hearts out and then Anna said: "Mom, I think they should change the words of this song to 'He is Exhausted' because I bet He gets SOOOO exhausted putting up with all of us sinners!" HA! How true!

I want the years back!

2009-06-05T20:33:00.000-07:00

Ok, so maybe I don't want them back, but I want them to slow WAAAAAAAAAY down! It seems the older I get the faster the years are going by! Anna graduated from Kindergarten today! I am so proud of her and am SOOOO proud to be her momma! Here are a few pics that make me want the time back!

Here is Anna on her first day of Kindergarten! I hate that her eyes are shut, but it will be a sweet memory!

This was her as she went into her classroom for the first time! She was so excited to see us go and leave her to her busy Kindergarten year!

Here is Anna getting to be the claendar helper one day. I was up at her school helping out with some other activities and I got to be there while she helped the teacher. This was her favorite thing this year...getting to help teach the class.

And here she is today getting her doploma from her Principal with her teacher right behind them.

After graduation they went back to their rooms and the teacher gave out individual awards. This is Anna getting her reading award.

OK, so since this is my blog I get to brag a little on my kid, right? Well, my sweet Anna left with a reading award because she LOVES to read and she is reading on a 3RD GRADE LEVEL! OK, this may not be a big deal for some, but coming from a momma who hates to read, it is HUGE! I knew she was ahead of the game early on in the year as we met with her teacher and decided whether to try to test her for 1st grade(we chose not to), but my biggest prayer was that she would have a love of reading like her daddy because I DO NOT! God is so faithful even in the little desires of our hearts! Don't you just love how He cares about the little things that are BIG to us? I could go on and on as I know many of you could too, but I will just say that I mean this now more than ever before...I AM A BLESSED WOMAN!

Over the past 6 1/2 years as we have tried unsuccessfully to have more kids, I have enjoyed my time with Anna. However, there was always that glimmer of hope that there was more on the horizon for our family and that we would have more kids. Not to say that God is finished growing our family, but I can say that if this is as big as our family ever gets, I have no complaints. I have a husband who loves me and his daughter second only to the Lord, and a beautiful, healthy, smart little girl who is blossoming into a lovely young lady. I am sorry THE lovely young lady! HA! We went out to eat tonight and the waitress brought Anna her drink and said, "and here is a drink for the young lady" All Anna heard was THE not A she talked about it all night long, "Momma, I am not just A young lady...I am THE young lady!" What a sweet girl!

Thank you God for the gifts you give us and every moment you allow us to be together! May we NEVER take that time for granted!

Let's Shoot for 11 More!

2009-05-23T11:57:00.000-07:00

Eleven years ago today I married the man of my dreams!

He has proven to be more than I could have ever dreamed of!

I thank the Lord for giving me my perfect match and for bringing our hearts together.

Tim is such a hard worker and it seems like these days I just cannot tell him enough how much I appreciate how hard he works for our family.

I can honestly tell you that in 11 years of marriage, he has NEVER ONCE complained about going to work everyday so that he can support my wish to be home with Anna.

He is quick to encourage and slow to criticize.

He loves unconditionally and never judges me for my faults (there are many.)

He is a wonderful daddy to our Anna bug and teaches her how a young lady should expect to be treated by taking her on dates and being as much of a gentleman to her as he has always been to me.

If I could have handpicked my dream guy, I would not have been able to make a better choice. God sure does know what He is doing!

Babe, thanks for filling in the gaps of my heart and for always loving me unconditionally. You have brought joy to my life and showed me the true meaning of commitment. Thanks you for all of the hard work you do on a daily basis to make life better for me and Anna.

I love you!

Seriously????

2009-05-07T21:36:00.000-07:00

OK, we knew when we walked Anna into Kindergarten on her first day that this was just one of many "firsts" she would have in public school. She has been exposed to a lot of "worldly" things, and not all of it bad. Most things have been pretty uneventful. This week, Anna came home and wanted to tell me about something that happened at school that day...

Anna: Hey mom!

Me: Yeah Bug!

Anna: You see this red mark under my chin?

Me: Yes.

Anna: I bumped my chin at school today.

Me: I am so sorry. What happened?

Anna: Well, we were sitting on the floor at carpet time and I was leaning over C***** to talk to R***** and C**** raised his head and called me sexy and when he did, he bumped.....

Me: Hang on a sec. What did you just say?

Anna: I said that C**** raised his head and bumped my chin.

Me: What did you say he called you?

Anna: Oh yeah, he called me sexy. Momma, what IS a sexy?

ARE YOU KIDDING ME? We know she is smart for her age, but sexy? Ha! REALLY?

Let's just say that the conversation that ensued will be kept between momma and daughter, and I think I handled it very well (if I do say so myself). I am one of those mommas that does not feel it is necessary to lie to my child to guard them from the ways of the world or to prevent an uncomfortable conversation (which it was), So we discussed it and I will tell you God really came through.

With all of that said, we really are big supporters of public school, and though it was a tough pill to swallow, it was a teaching moment for me.

***Let me pause for a moment and make a disclaimer here for all of my home school friends. I AM NOT AGAINST HOMESCHOOLING! I think God gives us discernment to do what is best for our families, and if God has led you to home school, or to do the private school thing, more power to ya! I have very dear friends who have chosen not to do public school.***

Public school has given Anna some amazing opportunities to share her faith with others. I feel like mine and Tim's job as her parents are to equip her to shine her light in a dark world, and she has truly done that! I got an e-mail from her teacher not too long ago that told me about an incident that happened in centers. A little boy had been ugly to one of his friends and before the teacher could get over to him to make him apologize, Anna swooped in and began to tell him that Jesus is so disappointed when we choose to treat others that way. The little boy looked at her and said "Who is Jesus?" Her teacher said that her eyes got really big and she said, "You don't know who Jesus is? He is God's son, and let me tell you what he did for you! He died on a cross so that we could live in heaven with Him some day, and He would not want us to treat each other badly." Her teacher said that at that point the boy apologized to his friend and they continued playing like nothing had happened. Don't you just love that? That, to me, is what it is all about! Our hearts just overflowed with joy!

So, can I handle a "sexy" conversation every so often? You bet! Is it always going to be easy? No. Will I always like it? Not on your life. But it is her little mission field and I am so thankful for her willing heart and love for the Lord. Her daddy and I have a big job ahead of us, but I know that the return on our investment will be great!

I hope this was not too much of a jumbled mess, but it was on my heart.

I would LOVE to hear your stories and what road you have chosen for your kids and why. I truly feel like there is no right or wrong when it comes to what is right for our families, as long as we feel the Lord leading!

The Obsession Continues!!!

2009-04-28T14:24:00.000-07:00

OK, so I know I have posted recently about cake balls, but c'mon, can you really post TOO much about them? In my little cake ball fantasy world, the answer is loud and clear...NO!!!

So, without further ado, here are some of my latest creations. These ones I made for our "Friendly Friend" getogether. I wanted my Friends to ~~eat them until they were comatose~~ enjoy these little treats. Just ask my sweet friend Charity what she thought! LOL

Mmmmmm!!! Don't you just want to...well, for lack of better words, EAT THEM UP?

OK, my BFF (I would add a link to her blog...IF SHE HAD ONE! Ahem!)and I decided that we were going to make cake ball bouquets for our church's annual Make, Bake, or Grow auction to raise money to help our youth group with camp this summer. We each decided on a design and helped each other pull it all together. Here is Cindy's Design. Double chocolate cake balls dipped in chocolate and peanut butter flavored candy melts and a few chocolate covered strawberries to bring it all together. Mmmmmmm!

I decided for my design that I wanted to go springy! So, here are double chocolate cake balls dipped in colored candy melts. Even though they are not technically ball shaped, the flowers are also cake ball inside. We just formed them into flowers to add to the bouquet.

And last but not least...here are our three beauties all wrapped up and ready for auction! It was a long day, but they made money for a good cause and I got an order for a birthday party out of it. I guess you could say it was well worth the time spent with your BFF!

I cannot promise that this is the last cake ball post, because I will probably post some pics of the birthday party ones I will do in May, but hopefully you are enjoying them too!

Calling all chefs!

2009-04-27T14:37:00.000-07:00

Hello to all of you faithful readers! I have not disappeared, I have been swamped with a few commitments, but I have posts to share. For now, I need some help. I have to have a Cinco De Mayo dish for Anna's school luncheon, and I do not have ANY Mexican food recipes. I know I could go online and find some, but they lie and tell me it is easy, and then I mess it all up! With that said, I would love for you to send me your yummiest, easiest Mexican food recipes. I am open to any suggestions. I will post a picture of the one I choose. If you are on facebook I have already sought help there, so I may choose on from there, but I have a feeling you girls will knock it out of the park! Thanks in advance, and I look forward to cooking!
Posts to come:
*Bow the Knee(Easter Presentation)
*Three dead...er...uh...blind Mice!
*Snakes? Seriously?
*Words of wisdom from a 6 year old

Can you tell it has been fun around here?

And the answer is......

2009-04-05T20:00:00.000-07:00

Ok, thank you for waiting. Here is the answer to the previous post. Ready....set....

RED VELVET CAKE BALLS!!!

Can you say YUUUUM?

These are so easy to make and a pleaser at ANY getogether or birthday party! I am hooked! The best part is that by the time I get through making them, I cannot bring myself to each them because I have been smelling them the whole time. It is a beautiful thing really! I get to make what I love and not feel guilty by eating them!

I will share the recipe later, but for now, I am off to bed!

My New Obsession!

2009-04-02T19:56:00.000-07:00

Here are some pictures of my newest obsession.

Huh? What was that? You want to know what they are? Hmmm. Well, they are pretty, easy to make, a hit at any get together.....

Take a closer look.....what's that? No idea?

Well, I am curious to know what you think they are.

Let the fun begin. I want you to start guessing. After I have checked out what you guys think, I will post the answer. If you have been around me recently enough to know what my new obsession is, you are not eligible to tell! Ahem! Darla!

Happy guessing!

Back to the Land of the Living

2009-03-29T13:23:00.000-07:00

This has been a crazy couple of months in the Day household. Anna had the fun opportunity to be Gretl in The Sound Of Music at a theater near our home, and as you can tell from my lack of posts, it has been a busy time for us.

However, after

~90 hours of on stage practice

~130 costume changes

~28 hair braiding sessions

~14 make up sessions

~4 pairs of tights

~2 pairs of shoes

~22 meals in the car

~980 miles driven

~54 hours of on stage performances with an audience

~42 new friends

~48 PRECIOUS friends & family coming to see the show (thank you)

we can say that the Sound of Music experience is now over. But, with all of that said, she wants to know when the next show will be! I never in my wildest dreams would have thought to take her to a play audition, but I can truly tell you that the reason she is in this is because of God's hand.

I will share more about that later, but for now, know that if you prayed for her, came and saw her, encouraged her or had a sweet word for her during all of this, I appreciate it more than you know!

I want to end by telling you about our conversation last night after the last performance. After each of her plays (this was her 4th) we have taken her to get a Build-A-Bear as a special treat for all of her hard work, but also to remember each of her shows. Anyways, this week she asked if instead of getting a Bear if she could get a Barbie that rides a Bicycle that she has had her eye on. Tim and I decided that that would be fine(the traditional/sentimental side of me was so sad she did not want to Build a Bear) and so we had it waiting for her when we got home last night. She was SOOOOO excited and the following conversation ensued...

Anna: Momma, Daddy, thank you sooo much! I love her!

Dad: You are welcome bug!

Mom: You are welcome, we are so proud of all of your hard work!

Anna: (giggle, giggle)

Mom: Anna thank you for doing all that you were asked during the play, you really made me

and daddy so proud of you! You know that?

Anna: Yes m'am, but I did not do a good job so I would get this Barbie or just to make you and

daddy happy.

Mom: oh no?

Anna: Nope, I did my best so that God would look down and be proud of how I behaved and

acted. I did this for Him.

Ok, can I just say that the pride I felt because of her hard work in the play paled in comparison to how I felt when those sweet words spilled out of her mouth! We know as Christian adults that we should live a certain way in order to bring honor God, but to hear my 6 year old speak those words, well, I was just reminded of how lucky I am to be her momma.

I will post again soon! Here are some shots from all the fun!

Notice me Maria, I am Gretl!

When you read you begin with ABC

Maria and the VonTrapp kids after a LONG Saturday practice

Busted for playing and wearing curtain clothes!Who doesn't love the Lonely Goatherd?
So Long Farewell
The sun has gone to bed and so must I

Gretl's final song at the concert before they escape

"Holey" Mouth!!!

2009-02-24T21:12:00.000-08:00

Ok, so Anna has had this loose tooth for....well, what seems like FOREVER! I am a firm believer that it will come out when it is ready(i.e. when the tooth behind it pushes it out) but she came home from school and was ready! So, I let her give it the good old college try. Here is "Take 1" Be warned that if you are queezy about loose teeth, you may want to pass on this first one!

After the disappointment of "Take 1" she went and played in her room until her daddy got home. He gave her a pep talk and then told her to let ME pull it! Oh my word! Here is the end result. She was so excited!

You Gotta Love Her!

2009-01-26T20:32:00.000-08:00

This is the conversation that me and my 6 year old had on the way to dance class this evening!

Anna - Hey momma.

Me - Yeah babe!

Anna - I am so glad I was born!

Me - Oh, me too! Life would not be near as much fun without you! Don't you just love life?

Anna - Yes ma'am

Me - There's not anything you would change?

Anna - No ma'am.........well, if I were God, I would deffinately kill all of the bad guys and it would be like heaven where no one is sad and everyone gets along!

Me - Wow! That sounds pretty serious! Don't you think that you......

Anna - ......and when I become the queen, I can marry _______ (name withheld to protect the innocent) and he can help me rule my kingdom!

Me - Yeah babe! I am so glad you were born!

Bible Studies

2009-01-25T14:09:00.000-08:00

Hey friends! I just wanted to throw this out there to see what the responses were. I am looking for a Bible study and hoping that you can help. It seems that so many of the studies I have bought are very "surfacy." By that I mean that the questions that are asked are not very thought provoking or should I say have a lack of depth. PLEASE don't get me wrong! I know there are new Christians out there who need some of the basics laid out for them, and there are not so new Christians who benefit from these as well...these types of studies are necessary, and it depends on where you are in your life at that moment! Also, I am not by any means suggesting that I am "above" those types of studies. I know God can use anything to speak to me.(Even a blog post gone awry!) I guess what I am saying is that studies I have done in the past have not met me where I am and I have felt like I was going through the motions of a study that was not really challenging me to grow in His Word.
Gosh, as I type this I feel like I am digging myself a bigger and bigger hole. Those who truly know and love me know where my heart is on this. I am not judging nor proclaiming greatness. Oh well, my point is that I would love to hear from you about some studies you have enjoyed. What is surface for some may be deep for others and vice versa so I would like your input. I LOVE Beth Moore's studies, but aren't hers more geared towards group settings as opposed to quiet time? I love you all and hope you know my heart! I can't wait to hear about what studies God is using to speak to you!

Not a Domestic Diva

2009-01-19T14:32:00.000-08:00

***UPDATE***
Thank you to my domestic diva friends. Although I was hoping to get a tip on a miracle cleaner, you provided music to my ears when you told me to buy new ones! After all, if all of you ladies whom I admire would go buy new ones....gosh darn it I too will buy new ones!

Let me begin by saying that just because I am not a domestic diva does NOT mean that my houshold is in chaos or that it is a pigsty. What it DOES mean is that I am not one who knows all of the little shortcuts and neat ideas about how to get things done in a cheap, quick, or fun(yes I said fun) manner. I do, however, know that I have some blog world friends who fit the bill. I need your help...not your judgement:):):)

OK, now that I have gotten the important stuff out of the way...HELP! OH PLEASE HELP! I decided that I was going to do some cleaning in my kitchen that does not normally get done. Such as under and around my fridge, washer/dryer and stove. Again, we are not talking pigsty here, I just don't consider these things daily clean up spots. Well, I decided to take my burners apart to really get a good cleaning on my range top and HOLY COW. Now, keep in mind that you have continued reading which means that you have silently agreed not to judge...right? Ok here we go...

Not too bad, right? my stove top is clean and shiny!

Now, this is what was revealed when I unplugged my burners and took them off.

This is the worst one A.K.A the one I use the most!

OK, so now that I have exposed my domestic downfalls to you, let me tell you one more thing...these pictures were taken after they had been soaking in the sink for 2 hours, scrubbed with soft scrub, and scrubbed again with another cleaner. Are you still with me? Good, because this is where your help kicks in. I know it would be easy to say "oh, Leslie, just go buy some new ones." But I know you will not tell me that because, as I mentioned above, you are domestic divas and part of that involves saving money. So for dinner tonight, I am going to call in for pizza (since I am not the expert on saving money here) and wait for you nuggets of wisdom. I appreciate you!

Just Scrap It

2009-01-17T10:37:00.000-08:00

Hey all! I rarely know what to post about at any given moment because I am never at the computer when I think of something to write, and when I am at the computer, I draw a blank. Well, the other day I was commenting on a friend's blog over at Cardiff Central and as I wrote and wrote and wrote and wrote, I realized that I should just blog about it myself instead of leaving the longest comment known to man. The issue of scrapbooking came up. There is always worry about where to start and how to know what "book" to make first and feeling like it will never all come together. Well, here is how I make it fun and not just bearable.

I used to feel like it was such a daunting task to scrap all of the pictures that I take, but I have come up with a solution that has changed my scrapping world!

First, I decide what brand of pages and books I want to ultimately use, whether it is creative memories, or others that you can get at Target, or Michael's. Once I decide what brand I will use, I buy a bunch of pages and page protectors and don't even worry about buying a book yet. Then, I just scrap things as they come to me. I do not let myself get wrapped up in a theme, or the idea that I have to create a whole book at a time. The end result is that I have scrapped all of my pictures, and they are no longer stacked up to the moon and back, and when I feel like I want to, I can organize the pages into the book of my choosing.

For example, we went to Sea World, Anna Started School, and Anna had a birthday all in one month's time. Well, instead of feeling like I had to make a book about Sea World, a book about her first day at Kindergarten (sniff, sniff) and a book about her birthday, I just scrapped each event and down the road I can put them together into books. I will not have a whole book for her first day of school, but down the road I will have enough pages for a book of ALL her first days of school. I will not have enough pictures to do a whole Sea World book, but we go every summer and one day I will have enough pages to make a Sea World book over the course of several years. Then it does not seem so daunting because you have been making pages as you go, and you just go buy the book and fit all of your pages in. Clear as mud?

Last but not least, I want to address all of the pictures we have that are PRICELESS, but do not fit into any category, they are just fun. Well, I mixed several ideas I have heard of and came up with a solution that works for me. Just as I mentioned above, I decided what pages and book I wanted to use, and then gathered up all of my random pictures. Then, I went to my husband and asked him to make a list of his favorite scriptures, then I went to Anna and asked her the same thing (yes she has favorite scriptures at age 6! Thank you AWANA) Then I made a list of my favorite scriptures, and my FAITH BOOK was born. Each page has a scripture written out and the initials of the person whose favorite it is. Then, you just add any random family fun picture, and it does not have to "match" the scripture. It has been so fun making this book, and the greatest thing is that as we continue our walk with the Lord, we will add scriptures that He has laid on our hearts, and add pictures as we go.

Oh, and as far as embellishments go, I think, personally, that less is more. As you can see in my pictures, I don't spend all my scrapping energy on the major embellishments. I want it to be about my pictures more than anything. The cool thing about scrapping is that you can make it as plain or as busy as you want.

Also, as far as journaling goes...I am so bad at journaling(surprise, surprise) I use books, and scriptures to journal with. Stealing ideas is the best form of flattery, right?

This may have just sounded like a big dumping of thoughts, but I hope it makes sense. Srapbooking should not be frustrating! Make it fun! The minute it gets frustrating, put it away for a while. Anyhoo, that is all I have for now. Remember to pray for my dear friend at Cardiff Central as she and her family await the arrival of their 3rd baby girl! Sooner than later, right?Happy scrapping!

Here are 3 pictures of my Faith Book. As you can tell, I have put in the verses and made the page layout but have not added my pictures yet. Why? Because there is no hurry:)

Here are a few pictures of a book I made for Anna. I had her first 2 years in photos, but no real theme, so for her 2nd birthday, I just stuck them all together, and the Journaling? I used Max Lucado's book "Just In Case You Ever Wonder" and it is a story book that she reads to this day!

And here are some of my random pages. We did some traveling before we had Anna and we do not have enough pictures from one trip to make a whole book, so here are my scattered pages, that I will probably put into one big travel book one day. You will notice my lack of big embellishments. Just paper!

Isn't She Lovely?

2009-01-03T22:39:00.001-08:00

Do you like her? I have been inspired by several of my bloggy friends to update the look of my blog. I decided that maybe a facelift for my Blog might inspire me to post more often, and look....it must be working because I am posting! Truly amazing! Really the last few months have been quite a bit of a blur for me, but in the best way possible. It included visits from friends, Anna's play, work activities, family getogethers, illness, Dr. visits, Thanksgiving festivities, Christmas chaos, trip to Alabama, visit from family in Colorado, and now...back to work on Monday! I know that I can never say that life has been too busy to keep up with posting, becasue I know that a large number of you stay as busy if not busier than us and do a fine job keeping up with your blogging. We all have our busy lives and try to fit everything in.
I have to say that I am looking forward to this New Year with the precious family God has blessed me with. Please know that we wish all of you best wishes in this upcoming year and hope that you are richly blessed.
I will porobably be posting a bunch of pictures here pretty soon, but bear with me as I think of things to share. Love you all and Happy New Year!

We really are still here!

2008-10-28T08:45:00.000-07:00

I know it has been forever! As I have said before, why do I bother? Well, I bother because I hear from some of you if I do not bother, and I am glad to know that even though my posts are few and far between, that you are still reading them. Thank you! We have done a lot in the past few months and I will be posting tons of pictures. I will either do one big post or do a post for each event. Regardless, I will be back really soon with an update on our activities! I hope all of you are doing well!

Vacation

2008-08-15T20:16:00.001-07:00

Here it is for those who have been asking about our vacation. We had a good time in San Antonio and were not ready to come home. Every summer we try to make a trip to Sea World San Antonio. We have so much fun and each time we go, Anna is able to experience something new. We have gone from her not really knowing what was going on around her, to just watching the shows, to riding rides, to feeding the animals, to having Dinner with Shamu. In a couple of years, she will be old enoughto do the Baluga interactive program where she gets in a wet suit and swims with the Balugas! She is growing up so fast. In fact I will posting in a couple of weeks about her birthday bash. She will be 6 years old!!! More on that and my baby starting Kindergarten later.

As much as I want to share all of the pictures with you, I will TRY to hit the high points, but we did a lot, so be patient with the pics and I hope you enjoy.

Our first stop was the Alamo. We took the little tour and we learned all about how Santa Ana had ultimately been captured by Stephen F. Austin and his men. Anna responded simply with "Well, if they captured Santa, who will bring us presents at Christmas?"

Out of the mouths of babes!

A fun tradition we have is that as soon as we get to our hotel, Anna gets to jump on the beds (since she doesn't get to at home)

As we entered Sea World

Yeehaw!

This sealion show is great! The Walrus was HUGE. This picture does not do him justice!

After the show, we went and fed the sealions!

Right next to the sealions were the Lorikeets, so we fed them too!

Tim is not so sure about this!

Anna on the other hand loved it!

This is me taking a pic of my arm with 4 birds on it!

I don't do rollercoasters, but look at my 2 crazy people. Anna actually held her arms up the whole time! This was the first time she has been tall enough to ride this rollercoaster. She has had her eye on it and she barely made it at 41.5 inches with her tennis shoes boosting her to 42!

Off to feed the dolphins!

They come right up and you can pet them while feeding them!

Anna and her daddy always climb to the top of this ropes course. They climbed though all that you see behind her. I am so glad this has become a daddy and Anna thing! I get to watch from the safety of the ground below!

This is the Baluga and Dolphin show. PHENOMENAL! The week after we left, the 2 female belugas delivered their babies within hours of each other!

Our new thing we added this year was having dinner backstage where they keep the Killer Whales. Many of you have asked how close we actually got to be to the whales. Well, how would you like eating dinner with this as your scenery. Well worth the money!

The dinner tables are actually right there by the pool

Here they are waving good-bye to us!

Our last shot of the trip!

This was such a fun trip! We bought season passes this year, so if any of you are ever in the area and want to take a quick trip south, let us know. It will be our pleasure to let you in on our fun vacation spot!

Drama Queen

2008-07-19T19:21:00.000-07:00

For those who have not been updated on Anna's most recent hobby, here is a little glimpse into what she has been doing. When Tim started Grad school and was competing his master's in a year (yes I said a year...and he has done it!) Anyways, he decided he could not coach her soccer team anymore and she did not want to play if daddy was not going to coach. So, I asked her what she thought she might want to do, if anything. She said "I want to take singing classes!" This was music to my ears(no pun intended) So as to not bore you with all of the legistics and how it all came about, a friend of ours told her about a local theater that was putting on "The Sound Of Music" and that she should try out. She did, and then was born Gretl Von Trapp. She did so well and really enjoyed the whole process, practices, hair and makeup, costumes, etc. When SOM was over, she wanted to know what was next. We, as her responsible (at least we try) parents decided to make her take at least a month break between plays.

Well, July rolled around and we signed her up for a drama camp put on by Missoula Children's Theater. It is a week long camp and at the end of the week they put on 2 performances. This summer the play was "The Little Mermaid." Lest you be confused, this was NOT the Little Mermaid you and I grew up watching. In fact the only thing similar was that the kids were "little" and there were "mermaids" in it. Anyways, she audtioned and got the part of a Seahorse. She had a special singing part and had so much fun! Today were the performances and it was so cute.

I think she has found something that she not only enjoys, but seems to be talented in! Next, she is off to "Seussical: The Musical" and "The King And I" auditions in the fall. We never thought our little drama queen would actually be a "Drama Queen!" She loves it, and we have fun watching our little star in the making!

Here she is getting her microphone put on for the first SOM performance

"Gretl" before the show!

The family Von Trapp

Being silly after the showThe Little Mermaid Cast -she is the 2nd seahorse from the right:)

Our little Seahorse!

Family Getogether

2008-07-03T21:42:00.000-07:00

I cannot tell you how long it has been since all of my immediate family was at the same place at the same time! Ok, I guess I can tell you...it was this past week. My brother-in-law will be deployed in the next few months and he and my sister and their kiddos came for a visit from Colorado. We had a good time catching up and letting the kids play. My brother and his wife came down from north Dallas to hang out too with their new little man! There is not a whole lot to report except that we hated to see everyine go. Here are a few pictures we took at my parent's house on Sunday! Enjoy!

Me, Tim & Anna

Ben(my brother), his wife & new son

Darla(my sister), her hubby & kids

The Folks

All the girls

All the boys

The whole gang

What a good lookin' bunch, huh? We had a good time! I will be posting tons of pictures over the course of the next few weeks. "Sorry" if you hate pictures, "you're welcome" if you like them!

Echo (echo, echo)Echo (echo, echo)

2008-06-26T19:35:00.000-07:00

Hello to all of my 2 readers out there:) I am alive and well and enjoying summer. I feel busier now than before summer! I have a bunch of fun pictures to post and funny stories to tell, but they have not been put together in a coherent way yet. So...until then, this will have to do so that you know I have not fallen off the face of the earth. My sister and her family are here from Colorado so I will be wrapped up for the next 5 days, but you have waited longer than that before:)
Anyways, until then, I will leave you with this important question....What words of wisdom can any of you share about how you keep up with your laundry. I am DROWNING!!!! I don't know how it got this way. It has not always been like this, but oh my gosh, really? There are only three of us!!! Seriously, any help will be greatly appreciated, even if all you do is tell me your laundry issues are just as bad! Love you all and will post soon.....I pinky promise!

Thank You!

2008-05-07T20:30:00.000-07:00

I will be back with a longer post about the craziness that is my life. But for now, I want to remind you to thank a teacher! This is teacher appreciation week and let me just say that having been a classroom teacher and now as a preschool director, teachers make the world go around! So, if you are reading this and you are a teacher......THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU!!!!! Your hard work does not go unoticed! I had a sweet mom leave a goodie on my desk today in my office! A sweet thank you goes a long way....and a little chocolate doesn't hurt!

New Every Morning!

2008-04-15T08:38:00.000-07:00

I love how God uses little things around us to remind us how in control He ALWAYS is. As Anna and I hustled out the door this morning, I noticed something out of the corner of my eye. In the blur of everything else, I noticed that the flowers I planted last summer were in full bloom. Now, let me just pause and say that I do NOT have a green thumb, or any other green fingers for that matter. About a week ago, I spent an hour in the flower bed pulling weeds the size of my non-green thumb! I was prepping the ground to plant some more flowers in the place of my dead ones....or at least so I thought, until this morning! They were a beautiful purple, pink, lavender (don't ask me what they are called, because I have No idea!) I stood there just staring at them as Anna ooohed and aaahed at the beautiful sight before us! I could not help but think that these flowers should not be here. After the weeds I saw and the bad soil they were in, there was no logical reason why these flowers were back in full bloom. Wow, isn't that how we are? We fill our lives(flower beds) wil so much junk(weeds) and there is really no reason that we should ever be back in full bloom(in the sight of God). God, however, weeds us and prunes the junk and allows us to be back in full bloom for Him. What a blessing! Our lives have been so busy over the past couple of months(I will share more later) that it was so nice to be slowed down by blooming flowers and to be reminded by my Maker that I too need weeding and can be blooming for His glory! Don't you just love the God we serve?

Ahhhh! Where do the years go?

2008-02-05T19:25:00.000-08:00

I really have no insightful, deep thoughts to share this evening. I was going through some pictures for a scrapbook I am working on and I thought I would share some cute pictures I found. Thanks for indulging this nostalgic momma!

This is Anna decked out in her patriotic duds when we went to the airport to welcome home her uncle who had been deployed for a year!

My mom found her and one of her favorite dolls matching dresses. How do you resist?This is a first day of school shot We went to the circus for the 2nd anniversary of my 29th birthday this summer!Last but CERTAINLY not least, when you ask a 5 year old to give you their best "Game Face" just be ready for a good one! This was right before a soccer game!

4 Things. A Meme

2008-01-28T20:26:00.000-08:00

I was tagged by my friend Stephanie at Stephanie's Mommy Brain to take this little challenge, so here goes!

4 Jobs I have had
1-Pharmacy Tech
2-Travel Agency
3-Bank Teller
4-Preschool Director

4 Movies I watch over and over (I try to not watch them over and over, but here are some I COULD)
1-The Bourne Movies
2-The Princess Bride
3-Pretty Woman
4-Home Movies

4 Places I have lived
1-Costa Rica
2-Ecuador
3-Kentucky
4-Texas

4 TV Shows I love to watch
1-Grey's Anatomy
2-Survivor
3-The Amazing Race
4-LOST

4 Places I have been
1-Brazil
2-Venezuela
3-Germany
4-England

4 People who e-mail me regularly
1-Julie W.
2-Lendy
3-My Hubby
4-Anna's Agent(I will blog about that at a later date)

4 Things I love to eat
1-Pizza
2-Tortilla rolls
3-No bake cookies
4-chips and queso

4 Places I would rather be
1-Disney World
2-A beautiful private beach
3-A cruise
4-visiting each of our friends that live overseas

4 Tings I look forward to in 2008
1-growing in relationship with God
2-growing in relationship with my husband
3-my baby starting Kindergarten!
4-going to all of the places mentioned above

4 People I would like to tag to do this challenge
1-Charity
2-Lendy
3-Sarah S.
4-Julie W.

Hope to hear from you girls real soon!

GOD IS SO GOOD!

2008-01-27T19:57:00.000-08:00

I know that most of the people that read my blog are brothers and sisters in Christ, so I just want to encourage you that God is still doing amazing things and answering prayer. I have had a very stressful week and felt like the weight of the world is on my shoulders about many different things. I will not bore you with the details simply because they are not pertinant to the fact that my God is still very active in answering the prayers of His children, and because it would take WAY too long to go into. God is so faithful in meeting us where we are and allowing us to fumble a few times before reminding us who is in charge. God has been more real and active in me over the past few months than I have allowed Him to be in a while. It just takes me putting aside my selfish need to be in control and allow God to be the one who does the working. I am in a good place right now and my Faith in God's ability to hold me in His arms when I am weak and love on me has been strengthened. Didn't I already know this was the kind of God I serve? Absolutely, but don't we all need a little reminder every so often? I most certainly do!
Thank you God for being exactly what I needed, when I needed it! I trust in You!!!
If you do not know this God I speak of...please leave a comment and let me tell you more!

Pancake Emergency!

2008-01-26T20:04:00.000-08:00

Ok, I swore that when I started a blog that I would not be one of those people who only posted once a month.....well, enough said if you have seen the date of my last post!
Well, I am reaching out to all of you wonderful chefs out there. I have pancake issues. We do a lot of breakfast for dinner around our house, and it is great until Tim or Anna requests pancakes(can you hear the Psycho music or is it just me?) Here is the issue. I ALWAYS burn them! I have seen them made and I know that you are supposed to cook them on a hot griddle and when they bubble up you flip them etc, etc. It never fails though that I burn them and the middle of them are undercooked. I have tried to adjust the heat, I have tried to put a little bit of butter on the griddle so they do not stick, I flip them as soon as I see the little bubbles pop on top. Bottom line, I need help! Call it silly, but it is so bad that when I failed, yet again, to make successful pancakes tonight, my sweet Anna said "Momma, would it work if you tried making them in the toaster oven?" I am willing to try anything at this point!
I know, "Why is she posting about pancakes?", but my family will appreciate any help you can give! From my pancake loveing family to yours....THANK YOU!

PS. This is the only food I seem to have an issue with. I am otherwise a really good cook! Really, I promise!

Coming to an end!

2008-01-06T20:37:00.000-08:00

As I sit to write this, Tim and I are grieving. Yes, it is back to work tomorrow and the end of our Christmas break is officially here. I know some of you have been back to work since Wednesday but as teachers, we REALLY enjoy every tiny bit of vacation we can get. We had such a wonderful break. We usually make a trip to Alabama to see Tim's family the day after Christmas, but this year we headed to Colorado Springs. My sister and her husband are stationed at Ft. Carson and they do not know how long they will be there, so we decided to take advantage of them being there since I have never been (Tim was actually born in Colorado.) Thank you to Tim's family for so graciously sharing us with others! We had some good realxing time, but we could not go to Colorado and not do a little looking around! Here are some pics of our fun trip.

This is us 6 miles short of the top of Pike's Peak. It is as far as they would let us up since they were expecting 22 inches of snow that night!

This is a shot of the Rockies from Pike's Peak!

Our next little jaunt was to The Garden of the Gods. This is the leaning rock that Tim and Anna are so AMAZINGLY holding up!

Our happy, frozen, scared, little family!

Can you see the "Kissing Camels"

These are a couple of shots from outside the Focus on the Family Headquarters.

Cool Tour....Thanks Dr. Dobson!

Last, but definately not least.....The Royal Gorge! Check out the bridge!! This is one of my favorite shots! As I walked back across the bridge(yes, I walked it!) I stopped halfway and leaned over the edge and this is what I saw!!! What a Royal Rush!!!

So, you can see why we are sad it is all coming to an end! We had so much fun on our trip and for the record....I was able to drive for almost 2 hours!! I know!!! Anyways, it is back to work, but we will remember this trip! I hope all of you who have already gone back to work don't hate us too much, but I had to share. Please keep Tim and I in your prayers as we plug along this semester. I will be working on adding private kinder to the preschool I direct at our church, and Tim is in his last semester of grad school which he condensed into one year!!! Go Tim. He is going to school to become a principal, so he will not only be teaching this semester, he will be teaching, and looking for a principal job as well. Please lift him up! He has done so well and has maintained a 4.0 GPA! Can you tell I am so proud! Thank you all so much for caring to read about our family and we hope that God will truly bless all of you in this new year! Take Care!

I have been tagged!

2008-01-05T17:45:00.000-08:00

My sweet friend Sarah has tagged me to tell 5 things that are weird about me. This is a funny topic because anyone who knows me, knows that their are MANY weird things about me. Sarah said the same thing about herself....I guess we are just a bunch of weirdos. I had to ask my husband if he had any to add, but again, the list was too lengthy. Anyways, here we go!
Let's do a countdown to #1

#5 I am VERY organized at work and am insistent that ALL things get put back in their proper place. Disorder drives me nuts! HOWEVER.....my house is not the same. Not to say that my house is nasty, but things do not have to be in their place all the time, I guess because many things don't even have a place to call home.

#4 Tim and I love to travel and we used to take long road trips. His family is in Alabama, and my sister and her husband are in Colorado Springs so we like to knock out these 12 hour trips in one fail swoop. I used to be able to drive 5-6 hours with no problem while Tim slept, and then we would switch.......then I had Anna. Now I can only make it about 30-45 minutes down the road before I am fighting sleep. Understandable you might say? Did I mention Anna if 5 YEARS OLD! Now Tim drives the whole way!

#3 When I go to bed at night I have a little rhythm I tap with my fingers while shaking one of my legs while I am waiting to fall asleep. I can't explain this one!

#2 I cannot have a pleasant bathroom experience unless the toilet paper rolls over the front of the roll and not from the back!

#1 Last but not least, when listening to the radio or watching TV, the volume number has to either be on an even number or a multiple of five:):):):) Again, take it or leave it!

So the question to all of you is...weird or obsessive compulsive???? You decide.

I am now going to tag Sarah S., Charity, Lendy, and Allison

FINALLY!!!

2008-01-01T12:16:00.000-08:00

O.K. I know that I am WAY behind on this whole blogging thing, but better late than never, right? I have enjoyed reading my friend's blogs to see what they are all up to. The down side to reading your blogs is that I have used it as a replacement for e-mailing some of you! I figure that since I have read your blog and feel caught up with what you are up to, that I don't need to e-mail. Well, some of you have said you appreciate that I read your blog, but it does not help you know what we are doing. Therefore.......I am now in the blogging world.
I have gone back and forth about blogging. I have so many eloquent blogging friends, and eloquent I am not! I will give it a try though and who knows, maybe it will be great! So, there is my intro to the cyber world of blogging. I look forward to hearing from many of you!