My husband

Phillip left on Monday for Abilene and we were to pick him up on the way to Sterling City for Thanksgiving. We had the girls Chirstmas pictures done on our way out of town. I was so proud of myself. Monday night I had the girls bathed, the dog bathed, the house straigtened, the dishes all put away, all laundry put away, and the trash taken out and the car was loaded. I was going to get my work done and then head out of town. When I packed for my trip, I had packed for relaxation. Two sets of nice clothes and then the rest were sweat suits and lounging clothes. I had planned on going shopping early on Friday and just chilling out on Saturday. I also don't pack lotion, hair dryer or hari products because my sisters-in law all have that stuff.

However, as some of you know Thanksgiving was my 30th birthday. I had been teasing my husband about my presents for days and he would not give in. I figured it was something special and I really just love messing with him as much as he does me. So, I had opened up all of the cards and gifts and I knew Phillip's was to come later. Around 3, Phillip hands me my card and walks to the kitchen. The inside of the card says some great mushy stuff and then says, "go and pack all of your things, the arrangements have already made and that he is taking me away for a romantic get-away. Of course I welled up with tears and packed all of my things and kissed my babies and we were off. Phillip didn't tell me where we were going until we reached Fredicksburg. We stayed at The Ark which is a big barn and it had our own hot tub and beautiful scenery. Then he says that he is taking me to San Marcos at midnight and we are going shopping. It was all wonderful. We had a great time.

My husband is one of a kind. I tell him often that he is everything I always asked God for and all the things that I prayed he would be even on the little things. I am so blessed and I thank God all the time for him and the daddy he is to my girls. He treats me like a princess and he is definately my prince charming. he is the spiritual head of my family and he is truly just amazing. I could go on and on but I won't. But I do think that I am one of the luckiest girls in the world. I know that what we have is unigue and that not everybody has the special bond that we have. Thank you God for all youhave blessed me with.

Be Thankful...

With Thanksgiving around the corner, it is time to reflect on the many and too numerous to mention them all blessings that are in my life. Since I am turning 30 on Thanksgiving I have decided to give 30 things I am thankful for.
1. I am thankful that I was raised in a Christian home that taught me about the love of Jesus Christ who died for my sins and rose again so that I can live eternal life.
2. I am thankful for a loving husband who cherishes me every day and loves me for all that I am...the good, the bad, and the ugly.
3. I am thankful for a little girl named Kaylee who has taught me so much. I love hearing her tell us Bible stories and for others to tell us that they see that Kaylee loves the Lord.
4. I am thankful for a little baby named Reese. It has been such a joy seeing her develop into her little personality.
5. I am thankful for my mom. She is the woman I strive to be. I thank God for every day that He gave me with her and all the things she was able to teach me while she was alive,
6. I am thankful for Dad and Patti. They love us and they love my children. I am thankful that God sent Patti to Dad because he is happier now than I have ever seen him.
7. I am thankful for my sister. I can talk to her when I can't talk to others and she understands me when I miss my mom.
8. I am thankful for my mother and father-in-law, Bruce and Jere. They are truly examples of Christ. They are loving and giving of themselves and always there when I need them.
9. I am thankful for Janell, April and Lee Pat. They are wonderful with my children who truly adore their aunts and uncles.
10. I am thankful for Matt, Tammye, Lacy, Jordan, Cooper, and Blaine. God is never finished growing a family together.
11. I am thankful for my grandparents and Phillip's grandparents. We have been extremely blessed to have such Godly influences in our lives. Because of them, we all have a relationship with Jesus Christ. They taught us about marriage, family and Jesus.
12. I am thankful for the church that we are in. God has blessed us with our first church. It is full of wonderful people that have beautiful hearts and are ready to serve the Lord.
13. I am thankful for my job. It allows me to be able to spend time with my children and still work.
14. I am thankful for Craig and Fallon. Craig is the pastor at one of the other churches and it has been such a blessing to have them here and to be able to get together and swap stories.
15. I am thankful for all of our friends that we have. Each play an important role in our lives and each have an important influence on us.
16. I am thankful for my friend Cara who I had lost contact with at Tech and was reunited with when we were both in our last trimesters and how she recognized me I will never know, but now we work together.
17. I am thankful for Joe, Andrea and Ella. They have taught me so much. They have had a rough 18mo but have never given up on God and they give Him all the glory.
18. I am thankful for the home that I live in. It is warm and dry and gives me and my family protection.
19. I am thankful for the food and drink that sustain me.
20. I am thankful for reliable transportation. Well, I guess I can't say the Mazda is reliable but it runs...right now anyway.
21. I am thankful for the clothes on my back and that my children have had clothes given to them so that our money can go somewhere else.
22. I am thankful for knowledge. God has given us all knowledge to learn and to think. He has given doctors and scientists knowledge to make medications that help so many people.
23. I am thankful for a Christian president. He may not always make the decisions I would make, but thankfully I don't know all the things he has to know in order to make the decisions he makes.
24. I am thankful for God's grace. Amazing grace...good grace. A grace that I will never deserve. One that I can never earn, but grace that is sufficient for even me.
25. I am thankful for forgiveness. Not only for the forgiveness of my sins but the forgiveness of the ones I love when I am human and mess up or say things I shouldn't.
26. I am thankful for God's love. His love is unmeasurable and unconditional. I cannot even fathom the extent of His love that He would send His son, knowing that He would have to die on the cross for a wretch like me.
27. I am thankful for rain. I love the rain and the storms and the smell after the rain and that rainbows that come afterwards that signifies the promise that God has given to all of us.
28. I am thankful for the sunrise and the sunset and all the beauty of the earth. God is the most amazing painter.
29. I am thankful for my Bible and for being able to look to it for encouragement, for solutions to my problems and to build a better relationship with Him.
30. Lastly I am thankful that I am a work in progress and that God has given me some many things to be thankful for. I know that I can always strive to know my Lord more. I cherish every day I have with my handsome husband and beautiful little girls.

I hope that you are thankful today and remember to be thankful always. Because God said,"This is good, very good" when He made each of us in His own image.

Mommy's Little Helper

Well, I was trying to put away summer clothes and replace it with the warm winter clothes and Reese just was not ready to part with her summer duds. She sprawled out in her drawer and needless to say it took considerably longer with her assistance.

I don't know if anyone else is any the state that I am in, but I cannot believe that it is halfway through November and there are limited days until Christmas. Of coures that is not skipping over the most important day of the year which is Thanksgiving this year. The day is actually my 30th birthday and I love birthdays. Phillip's was Sunday and Kaylee's will follow in a month from his. This is a very fun month for me. At the same time it is hard for me to believe that Kaylee will be 5 this year. She is growing into such a beautiful little girl both inside and out. She is testing the waters lately but I told her that her daddy and I were stronger willed than she is and the walls may get boring to look at after a while and she may get to loke the taste of soap in her mouth, but WE WILL NOT BE DEFEATED! She is starting to try new inflections in her voice and new sayings and it is hard to be a prent sometimes with a straight face. Oh, the joys of parenthood. I thank God every day for the joys and pains of being a Mom. I know that I am blessed beyond measure.

Kaylee vs Reese

Phillip and I were just sitting here and talking with my father-in-law about the girls and how different they are. Kaylee never got into cabinets and pulled things out. She never opened them up. Kaylee never got into the medicine in the bathroom. However, Reese pulls out everything and I mean everything. She is so nosey. Kaylee would climb some but Reese is a monkey. Kaylee was always happy but she could also turn on you. Reese is always smiling and laughing. Kaylee would sit and watch a Veggie Tales movie by now. Not Reese. Kaylee rarely put things in her mouth. Reese is a garbage disposal and eats everything and anything. Kaylee was never afraid of animals and Reese has quite a respect for things with four legs.

It is truly amazing how two little people with the same DNA can be so different in the way they are. Reese still looks just like Kaylee did at the same age. A little boy came over the other day and asked if all the pictures in our house were Reese. They have there small differences in looks but they are so different in their personalities. God is Good!

Oh, Phillip turned 31 today. Kaylee says he is one just like Reese.

Let's Paint a Box...or maybe each other

It started out so innocent. "Mommy, can I paint a box"? Daddy says sure and Reese wants to help so Daddy strips her and the rest is evidenced in the pictures. It sure was fun and it took two baths to get the paint off the girls for church today. We explained to Kaylee that this was a one time thing. She blames Reese for starting it. We also scrubed every surface of the kitchen. Thank goodness for washable tempra paint!!

Let's Paint a Box...Or Each Other

Trick or Treat

Here we are getting ready for Halloween. I had tried to dye Kaylee's hair blonde because she thought that was the only way to BE Princess Aurora but it didn't work. So we resorted to sponge rollers and then I dolled up the girls with some of Mommy's make-up. Reese really played the part of a Princess. She knew she was beautiful. (Okay I rotated this picture and it showed that it was and I have no idea why it is turned sideways now). Here are my 2 princesses with their carved pumpkin and Halloween signs that we made. Next we went on a hay ride and to a few of the churches trunk or treats. We went to a few of my patient's houses before the hay ride. The girls bothe behaved so well. They had a wonderful time.