Glamour Shots

What a fun time in life! Prom is right around the corner so my cleat wearing, softball catching girl and I went looking at dresses.  So many of the dresses were so pretentious and fun to try on.  

She can absolutely carry off the glamorous look but my favorite picture is the one of her eating the chili cheese fries outside of the dress shop! I hope Josiah knows what he's getting himself in to!  

Give justice to the weak and the fatherless; maintain the right of the afflicted and the destitute. Rescue the weak and the needy; deliver them from the hand of the wicked.” Psalm 82:3-4

Practice, Practice and More Practice

Today was one of my favorite Bible Bowl review games, the buzzer round.  My class broke up into four teams and competed to answer  questions over the book of John. It still fascinates me at how much information they remember! 

After church services and Bible Bowl we headed over to the batting cages for Abigail to get in a little practice.  The weather hasn't been cooperating for outdoor practices. Softball season starts up soon! 

What you have learned and received and heard and seen in me—practice these things, and the God of peace will be with you. Philippians 4:9

It's an Avalanche!

We're having fun studying about Arctic Animals.  Today we had some fun with our avalanche experiment. We talked about the important role trees and rocks play when an avalanche occurs. 

We even had various Arctic Animals on our mountainside and looked at the protection the boulders and trees offered.  And of course we have played in the fluffy white powder when we were done! 

Like snow in summer or rain in harvest,

    so honor is not fitting for a fool.

Proverbs 26:1

Study Hard!

Our Bible Bowl class is working our way through the book of John!  Texas Bible Bowl will be here in no time! Today I had the kids work on their chapter heading cards. 

There are seventy-eight chapter headings in the book of John.  These are important for study because if you are studying scripture with someone and they want to know where baptism is required for salvation you could direct them to John 3:5; Galatians 3, Matthew 28 or Acts chapter 2. 

So many great uses for knowing where to find things in scripture outside of the Bible Bowl application.  Primarily would be that you can't teach someone else what you don't know.  Also in times of trouble it brings a ready recall to the comfort the Spirit offers us.  

These kids are doing great and I can't wait to see how the Lord will use them in His kingdom! 

I have stored up your word in my heart,

    that I might not sin against you. Psalms 119:11

Mmmbopping in Fort Worth!

My happy, happy girl!  Tonight we celebrated Frankie!  For her birthday in August we got her tickets to see Hanson at Bass Hall in Ft. Worth.  She has been counting down the days for this special evening. 

Hanson is a pop rock band from Tulsa, Oklahoma, formed by brothers Isaac (guitar & vocals), Taylor (keyboards & drums), and Zac (drums & vocals).  They are best known for the 1997 hit song "MMMBop" from their debut album. They have sold over 16 million records worldwide and have had 8 top 40 albums and 5 top 40 singles in the US! 

But, more importantly Hanson was the first concert for Frankie. Frankie, her friend Alicia and I camped out for tickets to see Hanson for two days.  We ended up with third row center stage seats for there show on September 24, 1998 at the ORU Mabee Arena.  It was a dream for the two thirteen year old girls!  They sang through every song.  Ms. Cindy and I had a blast with them!  

Tonight was such a wonderful evening to share some of that with Abigail.  The audience is a little older but they still screamed, cheered, and sang along despite the much classier venue! When MmmBop came out, brothers Isaac, Taylor and Zac Hanson were 16, 14 and 11, respectively — and, were widely viewed as a prefab boy band. Now twenty years later they have reworked their music to symphonic pieces with a rich surge of strings and percussion.  But for my little girl, it was still those cute boys with the big smiles singing her favorite songs! Perfect! 

David also commanded the chiefs of the Levites to appoint their brothers as the singers who should play loudly on musical instruments, on harps and lyres and cymbals, to raise sounds of joy.  1 Chronicles 15:16

Phantom of the Opera

My birthday gift from Jon was a pair of tickets to Andrew Lloyd Webber's "The Phantom of the Opera" at the Dallas Summer Musicals in Music Hall at Fair Park!  It was fantastic!  I've always loved the music but have wanted to see it.  

Tonight's performance was a new production by Cameron Mackintosh.  The production, which retains the beloved story and thrilling score, boasts exciting new special effects, scenic and lighting designs, staging and choreography and has been hailed by critics as “bigger and better than ever before.”

The sets, costumes and singing were all phenomenal! And my date is a definite keeper! 

Like a dream when one awakes,

    O Lord, when you rouse yourself, you despise them as phantoms. Psalm 73:20

Happy New Year!

The kids rang in the New Year in Oklahoma again this year.  They joined the Gungans and the Lowes for a fun evening together.  Before they headed north Abigail had softball practice with her HSAA Angels.  

The kids had a great time together and really appreciated being able to be together and just hanging out! It's become a great tradition! 

Remember also your Creator in the days of your youth, before the evil days come and the years draw near of which you will say, “I have no pleasure in them” Ecclesiastes 12:1

Roasted Tomato Pasta Sauce

Having Caleb home for the holidays and Abigail not working or playing ball has been wonderful.  One of the things we'e always done together is cooking, specifically canning.  From the time they were little we've made everything from pickles to jelly.  The kids have been spoiled with the real homemade goodness. 

One of our favorites is homemade pasta sauce! So while the house is full we worked together cutting and cooking!  It is so much easier to make having someone chopping onions and peppers while others are prepping the tomatoes! 

I love the way the house smells of the savory Italian goodness! By the time we finished up today we had sixteen quarts of pasta sauce. I see some ravioli and spaghetti in our future meal planning! 

One person believes he may eat anything, while the weak person eats only vegetables. Romans 14:2

The Birthday Girl

It's official, we now have three adult children! I'm not sure how that happened.  Time went faster than I thought it would go! I'm thankful she has a Christmas birthday and Caleb was able to be home and celebrate with us.  

We began with our traditional breakfast in bed.  The birthday girl chose sausage balls and waffles.  After breakfast we headed down stairs to open up gifts.  Boxes were filled with great things she'll need for the next chapter of her life in college.  

We goofed off most of the day playing board games doing a little shopping.  For dinner we headed to Studio Movie Grill for dinner.  Much like my easy going girl, it was a relaxed day laughing and playing together.

May our sons in their youth

    be like plants full grown,

our daughters like corner pillars

    cut for the structure of a palace

Psalm 144:12

Merry Christmas

It's the happiest time of the year, or at least that's how the song goes.  But I have to say it is truly a blessing to have all the kids at home for the holidays.  Caleb has been home on Christmas break but he's worked most of the break.  He has a few days off for the holiday and we can all be together.  That's the blessing of working for a Christian company. 

Abigail has been working five days a week, too.  So again the next few days off is so appreciated.  Our morning started off early with Frankie excited and ready to check out Santa's haul!  We opened our stockings and then enjoyed breakfast together.  After breakfast we checked out the packages under the tree.  

Santa was generous will all of us and the day was filled with my favorite people.  We broke out the snowballs and had a snowball fight in the house, Padme' was barely phased but all the activity! Today was a nice blessing surrounded by my sweet husband and beautiful children.  Truly the best gift of all! 

Thanks be to God for his inexpressible gift! 2 Corinthians 9:15