Christmas in Review...

What a great time we had this Christmas holiday... It all began on Saturday morning with a visit from my dad. He arrived early Saturday morning on his way to my grandmother's with a Rudolph blinking nose and antlers. He delivered gifts to our family early so that we would not have to haul them all thoughout all our Christmas stops. I was glad of that when I received a new floor mate to help me clean all these tile floors in my house. (Just a side note, Kristi, I know how you feel about the excitement of getting a vacuum for Christmas!!!... I think we are getting older.) The girls had a great time with my dad and our first mini-Christmas.The girls began their Christmas with lots of goodies. Lainey was excited about her twelve dancing princesses doll and the movie. Emiley got a new cowgirls shirt and the Dora tent "of her dreams." Abbey also got a new cowgirl shirt and a Toy Story 2 DVD to replace the VHS that got eaten by our VCR. Then it was off to my brother's to have Christmas with them and my mom. So we loaded the car and headed to Brady. We enjoyed the drive in the rain and got to Chad's mid-afternoon. The girls played with their cousisns Whitney and Garrett all afternoon and we opened gifts about five o'clock before we enjoyed a great dinner of enchiladas, tamales, and nachos. The girls got some really cute "leisure" suits and purses with matching wallets and umbrellas. We then loaded everyone up in the suburban and looked at Christmas lights. When we got back to the house we enjoyed some egg nog and a game of Scene It. We finally got the kids to bed after 10. The next morning my mom headed home and Chad and I and our families headed to Ballinger to my Uncle Randy and Aunt Beverly's house for the annual Everett Christmas Eve. It was a beautiful day and the girls had a great time outside with Whitney and Garrett and Mills and Mason. We had Mima's famous dressing, ham, turkey, and much, much more for lunch and supper. The girls got many more gifts and we even tracked Santa all day on the computer. We saw him go from Russia, to Africa, to England...Tonya and I did escape for a short hour for a walk at the track and a one last trip to the store. After a very fun day in Ballinger, we headed to San Angelo to Mi-ma's house. The girls were too wound up to go to bed. I think Lainey finally went to bed about midnight. They were up of course by 7 to see what Santa had brought. So we all got up and watched the girls... and all the excitement once again. They all got a pair of spurs. Emiley got her microphone and also a rock star outfit. Lainey received everything ballet and a surprise doll. Abbey got the Jessie and Woody doll she had wanted for so long.

We then all got dressed for the day and headed over to Will's Aunt Donna and Uncle Wylie's house. They were excited to see the girls and we had a great visit with them Christmas morning. We then headed back to Mi-ma's for Christmas lunch. After a two hour nap by all, we headed to see Will's sister, Molly, and her friend Paul. We had even more gifts, food, and games. About seven o'clock Christmas night we headed for Hamilton. The girls ate a sandwich, chips, and water for supper in the car and Will and I stopped in Santa Anna for an Allsup's bean burrito and a coffee. We enjoyed singing Christmas carols on the way home. The girls of course tried to see who could sing the loudest. Then we read the story of Jesus's birth from the books of Luke and Matthew. We enjoyed talking abou the different accounts that are recorded in the Bible. Lainey was worried about why the wisemen were not mention in Luke's account... It was an awsome conclusion to a very busy three days.

Happy Anniversary, Babe!!!

Nine years ago today, I married the man of my dreams! He is an awesome man and father to my three girls. Happy Anniversary...Here is a list of NINE things that have happened to us or been a part of our lives together over the last nine years...

1 '92 Ford f-150... Yes, Will is still driving the same Ford pick-up he had in high school and college.

2 Jobs since college graduation for Will...a few years a PricewaterhouseCoopers in Ft. Worth and now with Ramon L. Haile in Hamilton

3 Precious little girls... Abbey Grace, Lainey Elizabeth, and Emiley Morgan

4 cars that I have had...Pontiac Grand Am, Buick, Chevy Van, and now my Yukon XL

5 pets in our family... Jasper, Jack, Fat Louie, Susie, and Tiger Tail

6 grandparents we have had to say goodbye to and who we miss dearly... Great PaPa, Pi-pa, Honey, Momba, Bob, and Granddad

7 houses we have lived in...our first duplex, the "alley shack", apartment in Ft. Worth, the first house we bought in Ft. Worth, our rent house in Hamilton, our little white house in Hamilton, and our home now!!!

8 jobs that I have had since 1997...YWCA, Special Education Teacher in Abilene, Kindergarten Teacher in Granbury, Homeschooled a little boy for a family in Ft. Worth, St. John Lutheran Preschool Teacher, Director of St. John Lutheran Preschool, Social Study Investigator for Hamilton Co., and most important... MOMMY

9 blessed years of marriage...I LOVE YOU, WILL!

Merry Christmas...

I cannot wait to hear about the joys that everyone shared with friends and family over the Christmas holiday...Luke 2:11, "to you is born this day in the city of David a SAVIOR, who is the Messiah, the LORD." It has been such a blessing to hear the girls repeat this verse this month as we remember the reason for the season!

Merry Christmas from our family to yours!

WOW... What a Day!...

Wow... We had a very, very busy day yesterday, but it was GREAT! As always, it began early by getting everyone up and out the door by 7:40. We got the gifts, supplies for the class party, and the birthday present all in tow and headed out for the day. Emiley and I dropped Abbey off at school first, then we delivered Lainey. Then Emiley and I were off the watch Abbey's school performance that began at 8:30. It was presented by grades K-5 and it was awesome. Abbey had a solo,really a trio, in one of the songs. She did a great job in front of about 300 parents and all the elementary school! Once again, the program made me so thankful for our great little town. The children were directed by Mrs. Polster... a wonderful Christian woman... and performed many Christian songs as well as traditional songs. Some of the Christian songs performed were "What Ya Gonna Call Your Pretty Little Baby", "Mary had a Baby", and "Go Tell it on the Mountain." In other cities, the singing of such songs may have been protested or a law suit may have been filed on the school for pushing Christianity, but not here... The parents all cheered and even had a few tears because we were all so proud.

Then I was off to Abbey's class party. Somehow I got appointed to head this up, so I handed Emiley off to my good friend Betsy and headed to the florist to get balloons and go set up the classroom. The was lots of fun. We made wreath ornaments out of pipe cleaners and beads, bells out of paper cup, star ornaments from scratch art paper, and played a snowman game that had the children throwing cotton balls. We ate Cheetos, pizza, cupcakes, and chocolate covered pretzels. Since the party was not over at 11:30 when Lainey got out of school, Betsy picked Lainey and her Abby up from preschool and met us at the birthday party that was to start at 12:30... when school got out. So from the class party, we headed to Lauren's birthday. My suburban was full of kiddo as we headed from school to the American Idol birthday!There was a disco ball, and lots of singing and dancing!!! Oh and lots of seven year olds!!! We had more sugar with a great cake and ice cream and candy from the pinata. The girls all came home with little microphones and American Idol tattoos. They had a good time and I hope that Lauren had a great birthday. Betsy and I switched kids... I gave her Katie and she game me Lainey and Emiley... Then we were off to our fourth event for the day... cookie baking and decorating at the church. The children made cookies to take to the elderly in our church on Saturday before Christmas. Of course, my kids had more sugar because they had to eat a few cookies as they went along. Emiley and Abbey got tired of the process early on, but Lainey endured for almost two house. She did some very tedious work. On the cookie shown, Lainey stood each sprinkle on its end. She had a lot of very creative cookies. I just sat at the church and watched. I let our preacher's wife be incharge while I tried to revive myself with a glass of water. We finally made it home by about four o'clock... Just enough time to get supper ready, eat it and head to church. Needless to say, we all slept good!

Ms. Em...the Angel

Emiley had her first preschool performance this morning. She did a wonderful job. As we could all expect... she was not the least bit shy. She marched right out there and did her part as an angel and sang her songs really loud. She has always been a performer and today was no different. I am so proud of her and her independence. Emiley and I also made treats for all her friends. She was not shy about going around the room and handing them out one by one. We had a great morning watching her and seeing how big my "baby" has gotten! We are all ready for Christmas. Just 6 more days!

(Emiley and Denver and Taylor)

Angel Lainey...

Lainey did it!! She made it through a preschool performance without getting shy and sitting down or crying. I hope that means she is growing up and out of this stage. She did such a good job. She says she was the lead angel...because she had the fanciest wings with the most glitter. Lainey picked out her white dress to wear today so that she would look white like an angel. I am so proud of her. She had been looking forward to this day and SHE DID IT! For those of you who know Lainey, you know this is a grand accomplishment. She sang beautifully, just like an angel.



Lainey and the other angels... Abby and Maggie....
Merry Christmas...
Check back tomorrow for a post and pic from Ms. Em's program.

SIX Weird things...

Thanks to Julie ... I must now list six things that are a bit weird about me. Will and I talked about this last night on our way to a church Christmast party. I told him that there was nothing weird about me that I was "perfect." Then Will fought back and said that that was weird in itself. I refer to Psalm 139:14 for my thought today, "I am fearfully and WONDERFULLY made." Here goes........


1. I was pregnant or nursing a baby for 46 months out of 53 months from December of 1999 to April of 2003. I was not pregnant or nursering from May of 2000 to November 2000... only seven months!! I am not sure this is weird, but I think it made me mentally and physically crazy...I love my girls, but that time was challenging!
Ok...notice the great look on my face and the lovely green "hand-me-down funiture. Abbey was three, Lainey was 14 months, and Emiley was two weeks old. They were all three born in three years in three weeks. (Is three the number of perfection or something?:)
2. I must lotion my hands and feet and put carmex on my lips before I go to bed. I have the carmex and lotion on my bedside table. Will always asks me if I am greased up when I get to bed. I also have carmex and lotion in my purse in case we spend the night somewhere and I need it!
3. I am terribly scared of snakes. We had one in our sunroom this spring and I couldn't go in there for weeks afterwards. When Will came home to get the snake out of the sunroom, I had the door locked from the sunroom to the den! Abbey had a snake project to do last month and she did it with her Grammy because she knew I couldnt even look at the pictures of the snake in the encyclopedia or on the internet. I just cannot even look at them with out screaming! I really need to get over this since we live in the country.
4. I do not have a toe nail on my baby toe. It is weird looking... there is a sliver of nail, but not enough to paint or even see because of the way by toe is shaped.
5. I sit in the bathroom sink to put my makeup on. I started this in jr. high I think and I still do it. It gets me right up to the mirror. In high school, I would sit in the sink and Vanessa would sit on the potty with her own mirror to get ready for school.
6. I am a bit picky about food... Now I know everyone has some sort of food weirdness... I cannot stand pulp in orange juice or coconut because it feels like hair in my mouth. YUCK! I also don't like baked apples because apples are suppose to be crunchy. Any my grandmother taught me to hate instant mashed potatoes. Will always gives me a bit of mashed potatoes at places like KFC or Grandy's to see if I can tell the difference... and I can!!!

OK, so I did it...Now I must challenge Anne and Vanessa to do the same!

The Dallas Cowboy Fans...

Will and Jon Stevens went to the Cowboys/Saints game on Sunday night after Will's race. They were so excited... sort of like a bunch of little boys... because this was suppose to be the game of the week. The sport's broadcassters on ESPN and talk radio had been talking about the game all week. The game was to determine who would be in second place in the NFC. Anyway, Jon bought posterboards to make signs for the game. Amy and I made their signs andthey ventured off to the game. Amy and I sat patiently watching every minute of the game to see Will and Jon on TV. Well, the game didn't quite end up like all the Dallas Cowboy fans had hoped so... Will and Jon did not get on TV, but they had a great time. The sign Will is holding says, "Rise of the Romo Empire." At the end of the game on TV there was a sign being held by a Saints fan that read, "The Fall of the Romo Empire." Jon and Will left the game at the beginning of the third quarter and when they walked in the door that sign was being shown of the TV. Jon and Will were so disappointed they left their signs at the game!

Run the Rock...

Well, once again, Will participated in the White Rock Marathon in downtown Dallas. In 2000, he ran the full marathon and what an accomplishment it was! This year he ran the half marathon and did a great job and finished in the time he had set for himself as a goal. I was so very proud of him. He sets his mind to many things and does not quit until he reaches his goals. That is one of the most wonderful things about my husband. He does not quit and even if the thought crosses his mind, he quickly get the thought out of his head and ventures on...not just in running, but also with life and how he leads our family. He has always set goals for himself as a father, husband, and family leader and has never quit on any of them. He is true to himself, me, our family, and especially God's Word. I love him lots!!

If you have never been to the White Rock Marathon or any marathon event for that matter, you should go. I am NOT a runner and never have been, but going to such an event can make you want to start running and accomplish such an awesome "task" in your lifetime. I remember when Will ran the full marathon in 2000 the tears that filled my eyes as I watched so many people cross the finish line and listened to the announcer call each name one by one. (I thought it was just because I was pregnant.)... This year my eyes also filled with tears of joy as runner after runner would cross that line with their heads and arms held high in the air. Watching Will train, I can appreciate the effort that it takes for those people to run the race. I know they have all worked months, maybe years for this very day. It also brought tears to my eyes to see all the loved ones there yelling for their friend or family member and waiting anxiously for them to finish. There was one woman who stood across from me at the finish line this weekend that would yell for every person crossing the line. The runners had their names right above their numbers and she would call each person by name. "Way to go Laurie... You did it. Awesome job, Steve. Keep pushing you are at the end, Elizabeth." She made me think of the verse Romans 12: 15, "Rejoice with those who rejoice!" She was rejoincing for every single person who was finishing the race!!! WOW it was powerful... I was standing right by a man who had his three children with him. The kids were the same ages as ours and they were waiting on their mommy. He was so proud of her and was teary just talking about what she had accomplished that day. As I stood there crying, in the misty rain, and 45 degree weather waiting on my loved one, Will... I thought this is exactly how God waits for us. He anticipates us to finish the race successfully and has his angels and our family (i.e. the woman cheering everyone on) anxiously waiting ,too. What a great experience!!

I was blessed this weekend by just being able to spend some time with Will. Thanks to my mom for watching the girls we got some alone time and had a great weekend in Dallas!

(I was not able to get a good picture of the start, but I loved this picture on the big screen that I took after the race had started with the confetti covering the ground.)

If

Our conversation on TEETH...

The other night at supper we began a conversation on teeth. This conversation started because I was filling Will in on the fact that his dad had picked Jasper (the horse) up today to take him to the Vet. Will asked if they had floated his teeth. I told him I knew that the vet had put him to sleep because he was groggy this afternoon, but I did not know. So the girls ask, "What does floating his teeth mean?" Will tells them that is when they file a horses teeth down so that they can chew correctly. He tells them that horses teeth do not "wear" evenly. Since Jasper is twenty something years old.. he needed to be checked out. Then Abbey begins to show concern because her teeth are ridgidy on the tips. She asks why and Will tells her that her new adult teeth are coming in that way because they had to be rough on the tips to break through the skin. He told her she would also wear her adult teeth down so they would be smooth on the ends like his and mine. She then asked if we had had ours filed like Jasper. Will tells her no and then he proceeds to tell the girls that as we get older our teeth will start to "buck" out. Abbey says, "Well, Mommy's will buck out first because she is older." (I am only six months older than Will, but he reminds me of that all the time and the girls have picked up on it. ) The all decide I will be pretty funny looking with bucked teeth. Will makes a few faces and makes fun of how it will be with bucked teeth. The whole time sweet, funny, little Lainey has just been sitting there. Then Lainey says, "When mommy gets really old after bucked teeth, they will all fall out. I know this has happened to Mima because I "sneaked" on her one day and saw her with no teeth and putting her other "real" teeth back in."

Of course we all laughed! Emiley just said "When am I going to get a loose tooth?" Oh... the conversations that occur at the family dinner table!

The Dirt Road...

Thought of the day: "Love is the only way to grasp another human being in the innermostcore of his personality." --Victor Frankel

(The front gate at our house... simple, but home!)

I am going to share a story with you that a friend sent me this week. It is by Paul Harvey and it has so many wonderful things in it. These pictures are just some from our place that I feel go along with the story.

Dirt Roads By Paul Harvey
What's mainly wrong with society today is that too many Dirt Roads have been paved. There's not a problem in America today, crime, drugs,education, divorce, delinquency that wouldn't be remedied, if we just had more Dirt Roads, because Dirt Roads give character.
People that live at the end of Dirt Roads learn early on that life is a bumpy ride. That it can jar you right down to your teeth sometimes, but it's worth it, if at the end is home...a loving spouse, happy kids and a dog.
We wouldn't have near the trouble with our educational system if our kids got their exercise walking a Dirt Road with other kids, from whom they learn how to get along.
There was less crime in our streets before they were paved. Criminals didn't walk two dusty miles to rob or rape, if they knew they'd be welcomed by 5 barkingdogs and a double barrel shotgun.
And there were no drive by shootings.Our values were better when our roads were worse! People did not worship their cars more than their kids, and motorists were more courteous, they didn'ttailgate by riding the bumper or the guy in front would choke you with dust & bust your windshield with rocks.
Dirt Roads taught patience. Dirt Roads were environmentally friendly, you didn't hop in your car for a quart of milk you walked to the barn for your milk. For your mail, you walked to the mail box.
What if it rained and the Dirt Road got washed out? That was the best part, then you stayed home and had some family time, roasted marshmallows and popped popcorn and pony road on Daddy's shoulders andlearned how to make prettier quilts than anybody.
At the end of Dirt Roads,you soon learned that bad words tasted like soap. Most paved roads lead to trouble, Dirt Roads more likely lead to a fishing creek or a swimminghole.At the end of a Dirt Road, the only time we even locked our car was inAugust, because if we didn't some neighbor would fill it with too much zucchini.
At the end of a Dirt Road, there was always extra springtime income, from when city dudes would get stuck, you'd have to hitch up ateam and pull them out. Usually you got a dollar...always you got a newfriend...at the end of a Dirt Road.

(The original house that was on our land in late 1800's. It is one room with a closet. It is awesome to think people actually lived in such a house with many children. We use it to store saddles and feed.)

Hope you have a great day and a wonderful weekend! Love you all......

Finally a night at home...

Well, it has been one week from today that we have had an evening at home. I think we are all really enjoying ourselves and our time at home tonight too. Will is laying in the chair watching a basketball game and flipping to the Farm Channel during the commercials, the girls are ready for bed and now watching the Little Mermaid, and I am checking email and about to take a bath. Today I have had the verse I Corinthians 13: 7 on my mind. We all know this verse by heart..."Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, and endures all things." I have been thinking of each aspect of love in this passage. Love is awesome!!! It can do so much if we only allow ourselves to truly love others and allow others to show their love to us. I read a sweet blog yesterday by my dear friend Anne. She has been through so much since we left ACU. I have prayed for her and kept in touch with her through Nikki. Now I can read about her and her sweet children all the time. She is a great example of love that bears all things, hopes, believes, and especially endures.

I love you all so much...

(Just a picture of Will and the girls that always reminds me to slow down and enjoy the day.)

I would like to share some SIMPLE things that have made us happy today...a day that has finally been a bit slower than the past few days...

1. Seeing the baby donkeys by the road today on our way home from school.

2. Getting a Christmas card from Aunt Lou and Aunt Freda... That always has a dollar or two for the the girls.

3. A warm cup of coffee in my favorite mug this morning.

4. Seeing the longhorns in the pasture by our road.

5. Having a deer in our driveway this morning.

6. Abbey was happy to have strawberry water in her lunch instead of the regular V8. You would have thought I fixed her a gourmet meal they was she said "Thanks Mom for my lunch today and especially the strawberry water!"

7. Having Jack the dog, Jasper the horse, and the cats Fat Louie, Susie, Tiger Tail and Grey Tiger wait for us in the morning in the front yard.

8. Watching Jasper eat the dog and cat food after he has finished his feed. He does this everyday and we just laugh.

9. The anticipation of my bath with no time limit coming up soon.

10. Will coming home for lunch.

11. Getting all the laundry done in one day and not having it in my room to fold or put up tomorrow.

12. Having a nice home cooked dinner together as a family.

13. Checking on my plants that are still hanging in there despite the 20 degree mornings... thanks to my sun room.

14. Coloring with Lainey this morning in front of the Christmas tree while we were home alone this morning.

15. Being able to AR test at Abbey's school every Tuesday, because I am a stay at home mom.

16. Starting my Christmas cards...

17. Getting some new recipes from my new Better Homes and Gardens.

18. Looking at Emiley's papers from preschool today and seeing the improvement in her coloring and writing.

19. Have popcorn together this afternoon before we started Abbey's homework.

20. And finally... thinking of all my family and anticipating the holidays as I type leisurely with the reflection of the Christmas tree in the window.

Santa in San Antonio

We left for San Antonio in the 30 degree weather with snow and freezing rain and headed to San Antonio about 2 o'clock in the afternoon. Once we got about 20 miles south of Hamilton, the temperature had increased by 10 degrees and there was no precipitation. We could actually see the storm line! We got to San Antonio got Will checked into his hotel and got dinner before Susan and Andy picked us up. We spend ALL DAY Friday Christams shopping. The girls did not enjoy themselves until we made a stop to see Santa. I was so excited that Emiley was not scared this year. The all went right to him and read him their lists. They each had their wishes written out so they would not forget a thing. We finally got back to Susan's late Firday evening with three pizzas in tow ready for beds and baths. I did not get all my shopping done, so I am glad Will is running in the White Rock Marathon (half for him) next weekend so we can go to Dallas and do more shopping to hopefully get finished. On Saturday, we just spent the day relaxing and waiting to meet Will. The girls built a domino/card tower. It was amazing how big they made it... because they wer not still or patient throughout the process. We made it home late Saturday night and I have spent today unpacking and doing laundry.

Yesterday in Bible class I came across this scripture that will by by verse for the day...I Peter 1:22, "Now that you have purified your souls by your obedience to the truth so that you have genuine mutual love, love one another deeply from the heart." Love is what it is all about. My girls teach me to slow down and love... to slow down and allow my soul to be purified by the reading of God's word and so that the truths of God may be revealed to me.

This week is a busy one for us. We have three Christmas parites! I love it!! Will and I get to go to two parties alone this week. Tonight we will be attending a Christmas party for the Park Board, the City Councilmen, and their spouses. The park board has done a great job at building the new park and ball fields for our community. It brought tears to my eyes to see the kids of Hamilton playing on their new soccer fields last month! Then on Friday, we have Will's office party... another "date" opportunity for us. In the middle we have the Christmas party for the Brummett Youth Ranch. It is always great to see the blessing that our church is to the boys who need Christian love. Love you all!!!