I hear wedding bells!

My sweet friend Jordan suprised us Monday with a rose and two invitations to be in her wedding.

The date has been set and plans are underway for a date in October.

Kaitlyn will be a flower girl (for the very first time)
 and I will be her Matron of Honor.

 

Can't wait to share in this special day for Jordan and see my little princess in a flower girl dress!

So Pretty Baby Girl

Video of Kaitlyn after she found mommy's lip gloss. Here

Having fun with cousins!

Jayme & Sydni (Chris' brothers girls) came over Monday after school.

Kailtyn adores these two. She calls them "da girls!!"

 Just a few pics of craft time at our house.

Full Time Worshiper in Heaven

Today mark's 11 years that my dad and brother joined the heavenly chorus as a full time worshiper. I sure miss them, miss the special times in my life that they were not able to share...my wedding day, my accomplishments, the arrival of sweet Baby K.

As this day approaches I always ask myself if this will be the year I visit the grave side. I have only been there once or twice because I firmly believe that the memory of them is really in my heart.......I see my dad in all sorts of things I do...I see him in the way I love Chris and the way I discipline Kaitlyn (he used to say Sommer, I can be your best friend or your worst nightmare..ha!). I see him in the way I love to sing and worship with arms extended to the Lord. I see him in my love for people and the way I love to encourage.

Instead of visiting the graveside, I like to pull out an e-mail that my dad forwarded to close friends on 2/23/99, his final day on Earth. The story reminds me that in this world we will have troubles, but our hope is that our Savior has overcome the world.

Enjoy the parable of the donkey.

One day a farmer's donkey fell down into a well. The animal cried piteously for hours as the farmer tried to figure out what to do. Finally, he decided the animal was old, and the well needed to be covered up anyway; it just wasn't worth it to retrieve the donkey.

He invited all his neighbors to come over and help him. They all grabbed a shovel and began to shovel dirt into the well. At first, the donkey realized what was happening and cried horribly. Then, to everyone's amazement he quieted down.

A few shovel loads later, the farmer finally looked down the well. He was astonished at what he saw. With each shovel of dirt that hit his back, the donkey was doing something amazing. He would shake it off and take a step up.

As the farmer's neighbors continued to shovel dirt on top of the animal, he would shake it off and take a step up. Pretty soon, everyone was amazed as the donkey stepped up over the edge of the well and happily trotted off!

Life is going to shovel dirt on you, all kinds of dirt. The trick to getting out of the well is to shake it off and take a step up. Each of our troubles is a steppingstone. We can get out of the deepest wells just by not stopping, never giving up! 

Shake it off and take a step up.

Thanks for sharing dad.
Through Christ I have been able to shake it off, take a step up, and my life will never be the same because of the healing in my heart.

Ready For Spring!

We are so ready for Spring!

Kailtyn will be so much fun to play with this summer I can hardly stand it. Today we were able to paint pictures on the back porch and fly a kite with Dad. Here's to enjoying the warmer temperatures while they are present, even if it is just for the weekend. What a gift.

Engaged!!!

My sweet friend Jordan got engaged to her highschool sweetheart Valentines Weekend!!

This girl is high in the clouds in love and has the biggest smile

everytime I see her.

At Bunko last night I made her wear a silly garter all night.

I also put her together a cute little bag full of Bridal Magazines and an awsome Wedding Day Orgainizer when she came over to show me her gorgeous ring!! 

Congrats Friend!!! So excited to share yet another chapters of our lives together.

Valentines Present

I surprised my sweet hubbie with tickets to the A&M / Tech basketball game in Lubbock on Saturday.

It was actually a 2 point game and very exciting 'cause we won! 

I think I scored some major points this year :) 

Love..

My prayer for you this Valentines Day is to remember that "we love because He first loved us". 1 John 4:19

May you be reminded just how high, deep, and wide is His love for you!

Happy Valentines!

HANDsome Daddy!

Chris suprised us and is coming home tonight, one day early from a buisness trip! We got busy and made him a "You are so HANDsome" sign by tracing our hands. Kaitlyn even helped cut them out!

We hung them on his bathroom mirror and added our card and some fun Valentine crafts we made him.

And the best part!! Inside the card is a note from Kailtyn telling Daddy to have fun with Mommy watching an Aggie Basketball game in Lubbock on Saturday! We think he is going to be totally suprised!!

Happy Valentines Day Daddy!!!

Just a Few Pics..

We had a pretty relaxed weekend. Friday night we grilled hamburgers and played outside. The weather here was beautiful! Saturday morning we met my grandparents for breakfast at I-Hop and then had a great surprise and met Kailtyn's BFF Ellery at Barnes & Nobles for storytime. Since the weaterh was so beautiful we got so much done, I think my hubbie thought it was Spring Cleaning day.

Saturday night we took Kaitlyn to the hockey game with Chris' company and some clients. She didn't much like the puck hitting the glass, but sure enjoyed the popcorn and pickle.

My precious friend Allison just texted me that they are leaving the hospital with their sweet baby boy Grayson. This little one made his grand entrance on Ground Hog Day!

She has been the most adorable pregnant lady; beautiful on the inside Yes!, but read her sweet words of anticipation here for her little one and you see she is just as beautiful on the inside.

Wynne gave just a teaser of what this sweet boy looks like and I am dying to see his precious face.

Reading her text flooded me with memories of Chris wheeling me out of the hospital (I had a C-Section) holding little Miss. How careful we were to put her in the car seat....how one block down the road I thought "what am I doing in the front seat" and made Chris pull over so I could be closer to her...taking her into her bedroom that I spent hours & tears & love & frustration into being just perfect...how gentle and careful and precious that first night was of her in our care. Oh Alli! The best is yet to come!!

The Prayer Door

I was trying to think of something creative to do for my hubbie for Valentines Day and came up with an idea I wanted to share. I found all my supplies at my favorite find..The Dollar Store. (right now they have all sorts of bible story stuff for kids..check it out!)

I printed out 14 prayers over my husband. Then I taped each prayer to a heart dollies and taped it to the back door.

Next I made slips of paper numbered 1-14 and taped a number on top of each prayer.

Finally, I left him instructions for the next 14 days to remove the number and read my prayer over him.

I asked him to leave the prayer on the door so all day while chasing Kaitlyn around or doing laundry or leaving to run errands I can be a powerful praying wife. I just love the fact that God has put me on assignment to love on and encourage my sweet husband. Happy Love Month!!

E-Teen Late Night

You have heard me talk about E-Teen CBS (Community Bible Study) I serve at for 7th & 8th graders here and here.

We had another Retreat event this Friday and I had so much fun!

I had the opportunity to give another talk and God really laid on my heart how that sometimes we get so caught up with our outward appearance, when really all HE sees is our heart. I used the illustration of a can of chocolate fudge icing and a can of dog food. If we change the appearance (the label) of the dog food can to chocolate fudge icing (yuck) it doesn't change the fact that the inside is still dog food. The inside is still the same. In "thier" language, we can buy a new Northface, say the right things so all the cool kids will like us, do all sorts of things to impress others....but what we should really be concerned about is if God is impressed with what is in our hearts.

God is looking for those whose eyes are fixed on him and whose heart is completely His. So my challenge to them was to examine their heart and remember that it’s the inside that matters most to God.

1st Samuel 16:7 says

"The LORD does not look at the things man looks at. Man looks at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart."

Playing With My Daddy

Making Music and Playing in the dark with Flashlights!!