Angels Rejoicing in Heaven

"Rejoice in the Lord always, again I say "Rejoice!" Phil 4:4

Addison went to Camp Deer Run about a month ago and came back feeling compelled to be baptized. She was deeply impacted by the last night of camp where they go thru the last days of Christ. She knew she was there to grow closer to Our God. We as parents though were a little skeptical of why she wanted to be baptized and of course her age - 9 1/2. After discussions with her during the past month, it was evident that she truly had this desire on heart for "good reasons". She was asking what to read and then we talked about the Spirit that we all receive after being baptized. How awesome is it to know that that Spirit is our deposit guaranteeing our inheritance. That's why we are to always listen to it, it's made to stay with us always!!!

Here is her Sweet Daddy (with tears in his eyes) taking her confession.

What a wonderful example of Loving the Lord our God with all your heart, soul, mind and spirit.So obviously this makes you think of your past and what kind of foundation was laid for you as a child. Adam and I were and are very blessed to have parents that strive to put God 1st in their life. We both have had a great Love and Respect for God taught to us and now we are reaping what they sowed. We are so thankful to be able to share this with them. So this is the beginning of a new journey for us!
We were asked in class a few weeks ago.."What would you like to do or see before you die?" Our answer was that we would like to see our children desire for themselves to walk with the Lord.
So for all of you who have, are or are going to walk with our children on our journey to heaven, we thank you. Thank you for taking the time to build relationships with them and our God. Thank you for your example. Thank you for allowing God to use you.

Dear God,

Thank you for your Awesome love. Thank you for your Spirit that dwells within us and helps us to make better decisions. Thank you for creating us perfectly and for going before us. You are amazing and we could never fathom all of your love and power. We thank you for allowing your people to teach us and our children more about you. We praise you for the decision that Addison has made. We thank you for making it possible for us to live with you in Heaven. Jesus, we thank you for taking the cup that was not desirable so that a promise could be fulfilled. Our cup overflows because of that. Please fill us up with your Spirit everyday and Renew us every morning. In Jesus name I pray, Amen.

Our Girls!

Katie FINALLY had a little "show off" night for gymnastics at the end of May. We hadn't got to see her do any of her stuff in the gym since she started in September. Boy, were we amazed by her. Not surprised by any means though. She did pretty much a back handspring on her own. Her coach was there to spot her, but Katie was so quick it was like, hand was touching her back, not holding it. She did good on the beam, bars and vault. But this momma was excited to see her flipping on the floor!! That was always my favorite! We all were VERY PROUD of her. And of course, in that moment of "proudness" , they hand you a sheet that says your kid is doing so well, why don't you pay $30 more dollars a month and put her on team. Yeah, like it's going to be "just $30 a month extra". So we will see. In the pic below, Katie does this ALL THE TIME. It almost always has a cartwheel done before it.

Chin ups for a 6 year old.

Even though the even bars are for the boys, you gotta take a pic on 'em!

Here Katie is at her Texas Program at school. Her favorite part was dancing with her partner and of course, I don't have a pic of it!

Yeah, so the bird you see is the one that we drove up with in front of everyone at Camp Deer Run when we were dropping off Addison. I know you could probably care less about the story b/c you have the pic, but here goes... We hit the bird about 15 prior to getting to camp and knew it didn't land on the road. We thought it must be under the car. We arrive at least 40 min. early(I hate getting places early). So we pull up and all the staff is staring at us (I'm thinking that they're thinking, Do you people really have to get here this early?) Adam hears one of them say, "hey they've got a bird on the front of their car!" So everyone flocks (no pun intended) over to the car. So, seeing the bird, you would think it's dead right?!!! NO, NO, NO!!! IT'S STILL ALIVE!!! Just looking very awkward sitting there with it's beak open! Several men out there (not willing to do anything with it!), Several women not about to touch it, One tween boy willing to get it out with a REALLY THICK STICK(no thank you), and then there's Dionne who felt sorry for it suffering. Adam said it wasn't suffering as much as it was humiliated! So all of us back up and Dionne (aka SHERA) pulls out the legs and then the wing. It plops down, takes a few steps and FLIES OFF FOR AT LEAST 200 yards!!!!! NO EXAGGERATION!!! How do you go 15 min's at 70 mph and then fly off? Well, needless to say, it took our minds off us being away from each other for a week. Addison is doing great at camp. They had a storm last night, so we were a little concerned about her, but hey she's still there. She is learning to grow up and become closer to God. On Sunday, she asked us if we were leaving. Adam asked, "Are you ready for us to leave?" "Yep!" was here response. I guess she was ready!!!

God is good!

Caddo Weekend

The girls. They had lots of fun hanging out together!

Brady and Charlie 2009

2008
Well, not going to lie, this is the first time I've been a little "scared" of going to Caddo. Despite seeing Alligators a couple of years ago, Amie's story of Charlie finding a snake Friday made me stress!!! (I'm sure she'll have more on that story on her blog!) Water was up this year, meaning NO DOCK, so I asked Adam if we should stay in the tent. Would there likely be more snakes out than normal? Really, if you saw down there, you should always be wondering that I'm sure. Anyway, Charlie (having his Dad's sense of Hunting) saw a snake and what do ya know, It's a cottonmouth. Lovely. Big kudos to Larry for killing it with a shovel. Your the man Larry!!!
So yeah, we slept in the cabin. Kids had a great time going out on the boat. They didn't see any alligators though!!! Yeah!!! But, I was a little on edge Saturday morning. Once we got things going I eased up a bit. You can see they didn't lack for entertainment: Bounce house, bubbles, jeep, 4 wheeler, play do, & paints! The kids made some great memories together.

Katie's 6 Today!!!

Katie, Katie, Katie

also known as Katie Lou

So today is Katie's 6th Birthday!! I can't believe it!!! What an adventure it has been!! She has come out of the womb having perfect timing. She is our funny girl!! Who knew she would be doing cartwheels all over the place, be very specific about her wardrobe (that's not always a good thing), be very head strong (yes she gets that from her mom!) and be very tender hearted. We are very blessed to have our Katie. She is amazing!

Our God has taught me so much by using Katie. I could use the scriptures from Romans 5 where he talks about "rejoicing in your sufferings b/c it will produce perseverance. Perseverance: character and character - Hope. Hope doesn't disappoint us but God loved us so much that he filled us with his Spirit." Please don't take offense to the "suffering" when I say that about Katie. She has been a trying child, but Hope, Hope is what helped me to persevere through Katie's trying moments! And let me tell you, she lacks no characters!!! So she has made me a stronger christian woman because we worked through things together. She is turning into a beautiful little girl that loves our God. And she has so much energy and sassiness! Well, school and gymnastics have been great for her. She brings a smile to almost everyone's face, Mostly to mine.

The perseverance time is not over I know until I die,

but embracing today and God's gifts is part of Rejoicing!!!

Thank you God for filling us with your Spirit and allowing us to help grow your blessings!!!

You are so good!

WE'RE NOT MORMON!

We're not Mormon and We're not Catholic either. Nope, we haven't changed religions.

Yes, Adam and my Mom FINALLY Agreed on one thing. They both said Jesus called and told them both NO MORE.

Yes, We know how to count. Yes, we know how this works.

No we weren't thinking about this happening. Yes, Adam did say that if this were to happen he was moving to the deer lease.

Well, Jesus called me the other day and said he was happy that Adam and my Mom finally agreed on something, but he had another plan. And boy, did this take us by surprise.

Adam Did Not believe me! Probably b/c I was laughing when I told him b/c I was so nervous.

Addison and Katie didn't believe us either.

The Number is 4. That's how many we can write off next year when we do our taxes.

We are having a baby!!!

Want to know what Katie said after finding out & semi believing us. She looked straight at Adam and asked "Are you really moving out Daddy?" Yeah, he always said he would if a 4th came along. He said he'd see how it was working out before he made any plans!!!

Kidding!

So here are some old pics of when the "New" arrived. It will be here before we know it!

So, now all you need to do is talk about us!!! We know, it's crazy.

Crazy wonderful in my world though. I thought I would never have this opportunity again.

And yes, I am getting things tied up after this!!! We're crazy, not stupid!

If you ever Walk out of this house LIKE that......

So... I went to the Stock Show with my parents, sister and the kids.



We saw THIS....AND


IF YOU EVER SEE MY CHILD OUT LIKE THIS...

And I mean EVER.....

YOU ASSUME YOU HAVE EVERY RIGHT TO YANK THEM BY THEIR HAIR, WALK THEM TO YOUR CAR, AND CALL ME....AND I WILL BEAT THEM!!!!!!!

Please also assume that when they walked out of my house that they had ANOTHER LAYER OF CLOTHING ON OVER THIS..



OH MY GOODNESS!!! I CAN'T BELIEVE IT!!! I THINK I COULD BE A REALLY GOOD EMBARRASSING MOM IF THAT EVER HAPPENED... FOR THEIR SAKE, THEY BETTER NOT LET IT HAPPEN..

Now onto what the day was REALLY about!!!

This picture reminds me of so many that I was in, starting at least at Katie's age. We used to live at the Children's Home (my parents were house parents) so a lot of the boys there "showed" cattle. So, sadly enough, when I walk into the barns at the Stock Show, it brings back "good" memories. Sad how the smell of poop will do that to you...

We loved how it just sat there for us to pet.

Ok, The Pigs are so cute!!!! But man, I sympathized with Mamma Pig. Sometimes you just feel like your only there for your little pigs for them just to use you. I mean that in many other ways other than nursing...

We ran into Taylor at the Game area. That was a fun, unexpected surprise!!!

Katie riding with some Random boy b/c she wanted to ride with Ada and Taylor.

Me and my little girl!

Love this sweet pic!!! We are always blessed to watch our

children take care of each other.

Ok, this pic DOES NOT do this ride justice. All the ride did was make a complete circle. Let's just say all the blood went straight to Katie's lips and I wouldn't be surprised if she had drool coming out when it was going round and round. It was definitely funny to watch.

Obviously a "Before" Pic

Brady's turn. He liked this one.

This ride, everyone loved..

If he could ride this over and over...He would.

3 cowboy hats + 3 kids= 1 stroller holding 3 cowboy hats

Carrie and Me A well paid for "Happy Moment" Shot

I used to be a HUGE fan of a Nice looking guy with a pair of "just tight enough" wranglers on. Well, this is the next phase of my life.

Not going to lie, I'll probably look if a guy like that walks by...

So long and Farewell.
Glad we all got to go together.

When we left, that's when I got to take the pic of those girls.

Priceless.

Happy Birthday Caleb!

So we had a good time over at my Mom and Dad's house for my nephew's birthday!!!

HE TURNED 18!!! I can't believe it!!! This is the cousin that Katie is always compared too!! He's stubborn, funny, frustrating, funny, smart and apparently lovable!!! So MY DAD, gave Caleb this cologne. SEX APPEAL. Lovely. Just what you want your granddad to give you on your birthday. Anyway, thought it was funny and got a pic of Brady with it. This is what you call TRUE MANLY SEX APPEAL. Hand in your pants!!!!

Brady loves his football helmet. I guess if he goes rolling down the stairs that his head is protected, right?!

It's a duet. Notice the mic in the middle.

And the cool hat that came with the Sex Appeal cologne. My Dad sure knows how to get a kid prepared to meet women!!!!Happy Birthday Caleb!!!