Thanksgiving weekend

We had a wonderful Thanksgiving.  We got away for a few days and enjoyed yummy food and visiting with lots of family members.  Some other things that kept us occupied over the long weekend included....

Playing football

Watching football (J&E drove to Aggieland!)

visiting, coloring & decorating the Christmas tree with great grandma, "Memaw" 

playing the piano

 experiencing the first major holiday at my parents' new "home sweet home"

visiting with cousins

 snoozing

We have been blessed.  We are especially thankful for these two little turkeys.  They bring us so much joy, love and laughter :)



Enter His gates with thanksgiving, and His courts with praise. Give thanks to Him; bless His name. ~Psalm 100:4

Loud and proud

We are so proud of our Yoemen football team!  This season they were undefeated in district and finished as district champions and area finalists.  Emma loved getting lots of practice singing the school song at many pep rallies and games this year:

After the holidays Coach Smith will start his first season as head track coach.  Stay tuned!

Eleven things about me (11-11-11)

In honor of today's unique date (11-11-11) I am sharing 11 fun facts about myself:

1.  I love being a SAHM (stay at home mom).  It's what I've always wanted to do.  There is only a very short window of time that our kids will be little and I want no regrets when they are all grown up.  I am 100% fulfilled caring for my husband, kids and home.  It's exactly what God put me here to do during this phase of life :)

2.  I  keep my calendar updated as far in advance as possible.  I like to know what our plans are beforehand and I'm not very spontaneous!  I make lots of lists.  I must re write the grocery list ten times before I actually make it to the store.....

3.  I am not necessarily a die hard sports person.  I only played soccer a for a couple of season during junior high.  Growing up my family wasn't big on attending or watching sporting events.  Life is funny and now I am a coach's wife.  My coaching husband l-o-v-e-s anything to do with sports....especially football.  It overtakes our lives this time of year....and I'm almost used to it.  Almost.

4.  I've always wanted to be more disciplined about reading my Bible and spending quiet time with the Lord on a daily basis.  In the past few years I have discovered Beth Moore's ministry which has truly made it easier for me to keep up with this.  I have already completed her studies on the books of Daniel and Esther and I am currently doing the fruits of the spirit in Galations.  If you haven't already, you should check her out!

5.  I enjoy party planning and crafting of all kinds!  I admit that sometimes I go a little overboard with my kiddos' birthday parties but they are some of my favorite times of the year.  I love celebrating special occasions in life in the most creative ways.  A dream job of mine would be in the field of event planning. 

6.  Here's a big confession: I hate reading.  I cannot just relax and read for pleasure.  In fact, I returned some of my college text books still wrapped in plastic.  Sorry dad.

7.  I am a Diet Coke addict.  It is my morning wake up drink and I drink more than I should. 

8.  I am a cold weather fan!  I love everything about it.....cute pea coats, hot chocolate and a chill in the air, just to name a few.  On the contrary, I strongly dislike warm weather (I live in the wrong part of the country for sure). 

9.  I am not a morning person and I never will be.  I've tried and it's just not going to happen.  I'm married to the world's perkiest morning person and I'm thankful that he puts up with me and even makes me breakfast (including a diet coke) :)

10. House work (aka cleaning) is not one of my favorite things.  The most discouraging thing is that it never stays clean for long.  I'm totally convinced that it is a never ending cycle....and that I will always have itty bitty feet following behind me making it dirty again....

11. Last but not least, I am a procrastinator.  I wait til the last minute for almost everything. 

Family Photos

Last month we traveled up to Arlington to visit our good friends, the Hill family. Our boys are very close in age and we got to meet their beautiful daughter for the first time. We even braved going out to lunch with four adults and four kiddos under the age of 4! During our visit Gara graciously took Owen's 2 year photos as well as some of big sister and the entire fam. She also took our photos exactly one year ago on the same weekend. How fun to compare! You can check out more of her work here. Thanks for capturing our memories, Gara :)

Baylor homecoming parade

On Saturday morning the kids and I attended the Baylor homecoming parade with my parents.  Sic 'em!

The parade entries are always neat to see!  The campus student organizations always put lots of time into them!  The kiddos loved watching them go by.  Here are couple of my favs...

Three generations:

Posing with Lita and Big Daddy in green & gold

Owen (class of 2033) and Emma (class of 2029)

Jesus paid it all

And he took bread, gave thanks and broke it, and gave it to them, saying, “This is my body given for you; do this in remembrance of me.” -Luke 22:19

(A craft tile Emma made this Summer at VBS.  She created grapes out of her very own sweet fingerprints!)

During worship on Sunday morning we took part in the Lord's Supper.  I can't begin to count the number of times and places in which I have taken part in it since I became a Christian at the age 8.  This time was very different.  Emma was sitting in the pew with us.  In the quiet of the sanctuary I tried to whisper the meaning of what we were doing.  Somehow the inpromptu explanation of relating Jesus' blood and grape juice didn't quite make sense to her at the time :) 

In that very moment I was suddenly overwhelmed and appreciative as the Lord placed a huge responsibility on my heart.  It was His grand plan all along for me to be Emma's mother.  He chose me.  I was so overwhelmed that I had to grab a Kleenex before the tears made my mascara go haywire!  I was immediately taken back to my childhood and remembered what an instrumental part my parents and grandparents played in my decision to follow Christ.

This is the time in Emma's life that I start teaching her lifelong lessons such as how to tie her shoes, how to read and how to load the dishwasher.  Above all of these things, it is my job and my joy to teach her about Jesus and to one day guide her to personally accept him into her heart.  This is by far the most important decision she (and all of us) will ever make.

On Sunday a tiny seed was planted.  It made the wheels start turning in her head.  She knows that Jesus is God's son and that he died on the cross for our sins.  I am honored to be able to build on that knowledge and to continue to lead her to Him.  There is no bigger blessing.

Soccer Snidbits

We concluded our soccer season this weekend.  What a fun eight weeks!  All players improved leaps and bounds and learned life long lessons of team work, consistency, toughness and discipline.  As a mom and a coach I am SO proud of these kiddos!

We ended up adding an extra optional practice to our weekly schedule.  As soon as we did the immediate improvement and boost in confidence level was very obvious!  We even won a couple of games!!  They played their little hearts out.... 

Coach & #5 after out last game

Our season party was this evening.  Pizza, cupcakes and balloons....what more could kids ask for?!  Our local State Fram agent sponsored us this season and graciously showed up with new shiny soccer balls and treats for each player. 

She even had each player sign a soccer ball for each of the coaches!  What a priceless treasure :)

 

Emma was super excited to accept her third sports trophy! 

What a neat experience to coach!  It was totally worth it as each player hugged me and thanked me for a great season.  I'm already looking forward to coaching next year :)  1,2,3....GO REDBULLS!