Happy New Year From Our Crazy Family!

Nuff said!

Merry CHRISTmas!

Yes - we are still here! My Missy has graduated from college and moved home (with my new computer). She will be with us until her wedding in March - such a blessing! Michael flew in from New York last week, and we have LOVED having him home again. We had not seen him in 10 months. Way toooooooo long. Matthew drove in from Dallas on Christmas Eve just ahead of a major snow and ice storm. And so we are a complete family for the first time in a year!!!

Mason, Molly and Madelyn absolutely adore their older brothers and sister. Christmas came in second place to siblings this year! We have decorated a gingerbread house and tree, made cookies for Santa, colored and painted and glued decorations, enjoyed the break from schooling, and just had fun.

We had a full house today for Christmas lunch. I am stuffed! The little ones have been playing with Christmas presents this afternoon while Randy and the older three went to a movie. The dishes have all been washed and put away, and we are resting and reflecting on another beautiful, snowy Christmas afternoon.

Enjoy the pictures! I promise that I will be posting at least twice a week from now on :)

Still Here!

My new laptop is with my precious Missy in Oklahoma. She had a HUGE project to finish before graduation, so I said goodbye to my new Macbook for another 2 weeks - lol! I promise I will be back with LOT of cute pictures in the middle of December. Have a wonderful week!

Reading Day

Well, really every day is "reading day" around here :) I love the cooler weather in the Fall. We snuggle on the couch every morning and read the Bible and then read a book together. This week it is Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. Charlie finally found the golden ticket this morning! Molly is a great reader, and she sweetly reads and rereads the same books over and over to Madelyn.

I am trying to figure out how to get all of our books to Africa. I think I would rather pack books than clothes - lol!

I am blessed beyond measure everyday.

My Sweet Little Molly

Well, it finally happened. We had our first trip to the doctor's office for something other than a well-child visit :( Our Molly had an allergic reaction when we were in Tennessee, and she just couldn't get over the coughing. Friday night and Saturday morning were awful for her, so we called our wonderful doctor friend, took a road trip to his clinic, took another road trip to the pharmacy, and finally arrived home and started her breathing treatments.

The great news is that she is feeling soooo much better. I realized that I will have to battle a spirit of fear concerning my children and moving to Africa. Saturday morning I kept thinking, "What if this had happened in Mozambique?" The good news is that God is in Africa too! He is more than able to watch over and protect my children wherever we go. He is able to watch over the children we will leave behind as well. Such a journey of faith and provision.

Pumpkin Carving Time!

We are not a Halloween family, but we do love pumpkins! This year we have a large assortment of pumpkins in different sizes that we grew in our garden. Mason picked a pumpkin that was so tough-skinned that we could not cut it. Randy finally had to get his power tools out to even get the top off - lol! I can honestly say that in 30 years of marriage, I have never had pumpkin dust all over the kitchen before :) Finally, all three were carved, scooped out, seeds cleaned and cooked, and the kitchen returned to normal. Mason, Molly and Madelyn are almost as excited about pumpkin carving night as they are about Christmas. Tonight we are painting pumpkins - more pictures to follow!

A Quiet Life

Our past week was my favorite kind - nothing special going on, lots of family time, and very stress-free. So......I really didn't even pull my camera out of the drawer :( Fortunately, I have many, many pictures of some very adorable children, so enjoy!

The Looooooong Road Home

We returned home Wednesday night from a 5 day marathon road trip to Fort Worth and Tennessee. We drove over 2000 miles, watched at least 18 movies in the car, went to a wedding, had fun with family, visited a missionary couple, went to the zoo in Nashville, and then drove 17 hours in one day to get home - whew! Now I have a huge pile of laundry and a busy weekend at church. Somewhere in there I am taking a long nap!

Our niece, Jordan, married Saturday night in a beautiful garden wedding in Fort Worth. We were a little chilly, but everything was so pretty. Jordan, you were a stunning bride! Randy's sweet mom rode with us and made that part of the trip much more fun. Missy, Matt and Dan also drove to Ft. Worth for the wedding, and we loved bring together for a day.

The next morning we said goodbye to Norma, Missy, Matt and Dan and started the trip to Nashville. It was a long day of driving to get to Randy's brother's house. Rod and Julie were very gracious and allowed us to completely take over the top floor of their house for three days :)

On Monday, we loaded up again and drove another 3 hours to visit with a missionary couple, the Maxwells. They are the directors for the mission school we think we will attend next year in Mozambique, Africa. What a precious couple! They answered so many of the thousands of questions we have about mission work in Africa. I am forever grateful that they would give up one of their few days at home to meet with us. Thank you Tony and Pam!!!!

The next day was ZOO DAY!!! The Nashville zoo is a beautiful place, and the weather even cooperated and didn't rain. Mason, Molly and Madelyn had such a fun time, and Randy and I loved just watching the three of them.

Wednesday was the longest drive of my life - 17 hours from Nashville to home. We left at 7 in the morning and didn't arrive home until midnight - ugh. The bright spot was meeting Missy in Oklahoma City and driving home with her so that she could spend the weekend with us.

We had a wonderful time, but there is no place like home!

Kissy Huggy Cute!

I don't see an Olympic medal for either girl, but they love gymnastics and look sooooo cute every Tuesday in their leotards and tights! Thank you Miss Brandy for making Tuesdays very fun :)

(Don't you love Madelyn's "real" smile?)

Happy Birthday Sweet Mason!

Our precious Mason is 8, and I am a little sad that he is getting so old! His birthday fell on a school day, so we sent cupcakes for Mason to share with his buddies. Randy went to the school and had a fun lunch with the birthday boy while the girls and I went toy shopping.

Sweet Memaw took Mason birthday shopping the day before his birthday, and he had soooooo much fun spending time with her and picking out the perfect gifts. Thank you Memaw for a wonderful afternoon! Nana and Papaw sent birthday money, so Mason and I will do a little more shopping next week :)

A wonderful day filled with hugs, balloons, and just the right birthday presents. I love you sweet Mason. You make my heart happy!

Little Dresses for Africa and More!

When we meet with the Maxwells in Tennessee next month to talk about African missions, I want to give them something for the children in Mozambique. I found an amazing website that has a simple, simple pattern for making dresses out of pillowcases. I spent a dollar at the thrift store, pulled out my boxes of elastic and trims, sewed for 45 minutes, and.......made 2 precious little dresses! And don't you just love my two little models :) I will hopefully be able to make 10 more dresses before our trip.

Mason's sweater is growing (slowly), and I now know that I LOVE wool yarn - sigh.... I also won (bought) 10 skeins of sari and wool yarn on Ebay. It came in the mail yesterday, and I am in love again - sigh... It is made with end pieces of Indian sari silk woven with soft wool. Don't tell anyone, but I am making bags with the sari yarn to give at Christmas to two grown girls I love very much. Missy and Nana, pretend you didn't read that!

Mason was a little disappointed that I didn't have a dress for him to model, so I took a picture of him with the sweatiest, smelliest hair ever - lol!!! Be glad that this blog doesn't have a "smell" feature :) After a week of fall weather, our weekend temps have been in the 90's. Tomorrow fall will return again, and we hope it decides to stay for awhile.

Have a blessed week sweet friends and family!

You Know You Are Tired When.....

When you fall asleep sitting up! The cool weather and shorter days are making all of us a little sleepy in the afternoons. I fell asleep while knitting on Mason's new sweater this afternoon, and Madelyn fell asleep sitting up at my feet. I love this time of year :)

We disassembled the garden this weekend and pulled up everything except the pumpkin vines and one melon plant that has taken up a huge section of the garden but has only produced one melon. I refuse to give up. We are going to eat that melon!

We are going to Tennessee in October to meet with a missionary couple from Africa! They are home for the birth of a grandchild, but they graciously agreed to meet with us to answer some of our zillions of questions. We are praying that this meeting confirms some of the things God has been speaking to us about future mission work in Africa.

Homeschooling is zipping along, and Mason still loves his new school and hearing aids. Everyday is blessedly busy and joyful. I am more than thankful.

New Season For Mason!

Our precious Mason finally got his new hearing aids yesterday, and that boy is soooooo excited! He is excited about hearing and the fact that they are blue :) He also had his first Upwards soccer game of the season this morning. He told me that I could come and yell for him, but I needed to sit down for this game. Last year, I would run around the field so that he could see me sign to him while he played. It is much more relaxing to yell from my chair - lol!

Enjoy the pictures. He is such a cutie!

Thinking of Africa

As we feel our family stepping closer and closer to moving to Africa for full-time missions, we are starting to prepare for the big change. The girls and I have been reading a fun series of books about a little boy named Akimbo who helps his father care for African animals. Molly and Madelyn are making lap books about Africa and today made elephant and lion masks. Later this week we are going to cook some Teff, Injeri and Wat - otherwise known as grain, pancakes and stew :) We will leave the chicken plucking and goat skinning for another week - lol!

The most important thing that we can do is allow God to work in us now so that He can work through us in Mozambique or wherever He places us. Part of that process is allowing Him to reveal every yucky part of me so that I can have a heart that is pure and wants to do His will and not my own. What a painful process! A lot of grumpy things in my heart have bubbled to the surface this week, but I am thankful that God wants them exposed and dealt with. He is good to never leave us the same if we are willing to allow every hidden thing to be exposed and brought into the light. He is good everyday and everywhere.

Wherever you are, have a blessed week and allow God to love you deeply.

More Birthday Pictures

Because you just can't see too many pictures of a precious 5 year old........

Happt Birthday Sweet Madelyn!

Our self-proclaimed "baby princess" is 5 today! She is a precious, funny, dress-up loving, beautiful bundle of joy. I often look at her in wonder and know that God loves me dearly to give me such a precious girl. Such a tiny little malnourished baby has grown into a healthy, rambunctious, fun-loving sweetie. She blesses our home and makes my heart happy everyday.

Madelyn Grace, I love you more than my arms can reach!

My First Knitted Sweater - Finished!!!

Well, it won't win any awards at the fair, but my first knitted sweater for Madelyn is finished. Several mistakes (all hidden by the fuzzy yarn) and a lot of knitting lessons learned. Now to start on Molly Anne's. Hers will be the same pattern but done in blue fuzzy yarn. Thank goodness for Hobby Lobby's clearance yarn. I can easily make a cute sweater for less than $5 - woo-hoo!!!!!

Now, on to hats, mittens and socks.......maybe :)

New Day - New Do

Today was a day of firsts for us. Mason started public school, we began a new semester of homeschooling and the girls have cute new hair-dos. Mason's teacher seems soooo sweet, and he had a good day. He was all smiles as he left the house with his dad this morning, but the smiles changed to a very worried look by the time he arrived at school. His sweet dad stayed and walked him to his room, and Randy didn't leave until Mason was settled.

Our day seemed a little long without that boy, but the girls and I stayed busy with new curriculum, new library books, and working on preschool crafts for church. I don't what I would do without the girls to make all my samples for church! :)

I had a hard week last week as I anticipated sending Mason off to school. I think he and I are both relieved to have this first day behind us. Tomorrow is a new day, and we are all excited about the school year to come. Keep praying for my sweet Mason!!!