Celebrate Christmas update

Hey all, in case you didn't hear there were 61 salvation this year at Celebrate Christmas this year. We are so honored that TarrantNet has had a vision for this project and many churches in Tarrant county have participated each year to present this in Trinity Park. There were new directors this year in the creative department and it was evident in the quality of the production. The most important thing is that God gets the glory for drawing people (in some cases, whole families) to Himself. In many individual people acting out of obedience in the cold, rain, wind, etc to set up, act, sew, administrate, pray and counsel - God honored it and allowed us to get a glimmer of His work in building His kingdom. Merry Christmas.

Almost Finished

After a full day of shopping I have 90% of my Christmas shopping done. Just a few more things to pick up here and there and now the wrapping begins! While the week has been busy, we have had some fun Christmas moments. Thursday night we went to Prairie Lights in Grand Prairie with Kelsie's best friend Morgan and her parents. It was our first time to go and we really enjoyed all the lights. The girls rode the 2 rides and we got hot chocolate - very festive. Friday night we had dinner with friends and a long visit over coffee - love those kind of evenings. Celebrate Christmas was cancelled because of rain but it's going tonight and it's really cold! Praying for the cast members to keep warm and stay healthy for God's glory!

Crazy Weather and Other Stuff

So, Saturday morning we put up our Christmas lights in shorts and by Sunday we had our coats out again and it was COLD. Since then rainy and yuck, chilly but tomorrow sunshine and high 50's until the winter blast comes through with the wintry mix over the weekend. WEIRD!!

Saturday was also the day we attempted a family picture for our Christmas cards. I addressed and got all the cards ready to send, all we needed to do (in theory) is take the photo, make copies and send. Yeah right! We should have taken our friend Barb up on her offer to take our pics but as usual we waited until the last minute so we just decided to use our camera on a tripod with the timer. Disaster! By the end of the hour long, hot (we had the fan and A/C going b/c we were all in long sleeves) photo shoot everyone was frustrated, hurried and sick of trying to pretend to be happy and smile for the camera and on top of it we didn't have a usable photo. So, we decided today to just take a pic of Raider and Kelsie. I only took 5 pictures and picked the best one - it was cute - Christmas cards go out tomorrow and that's one more thing off my list. WHEW. Almost done Christmas shopping, anyone else have a hard time getting something for their husband?

Well, here are some things I have enjoyed this Christmas season:

1. XM satellite radio Christmas music channels on our TV. Some of them play the best Christmas music and I love turning it on during the day at home.
2. Kelsie being a sweet angel in the church musical.
3. Pier 1 diffuser with the scent cranberry balsam
4. Our gas fireplace - love it!
5. Mistletoe hand soap at my kitchen sink from BBW.
6. Free shipping on items bought online - love that!
7. Cider - yum
8. Pumpkin Spice Latte from Starbucks - still my personal holiday favorite
9. The new lighted, twinkling snowflakes we added outside this year along the walkway - so cute.
10. Getting Christmas Cards in the mail.

Hope you enjoy all the little things during this Christmas season.

Programs, Programs, Programs........

Sunday night was the last night of "Christmas in Reverse" and it was so good. Very well done from the beginning to the end - I was so proud of our kids. The message was evangelistic and I felt like each kid knew why they were presenting it. I had the privilege of making the angels look glittery - very fun with the glitter hairspray and powder. The girls were very pretty and it was funny to watch them try to eat their snack dinner on Sunday night dressed in all white with adults begging them not to wipe their cheesy hands on their costumes. Tuesday night (we found out late) was Kelsie's recitation at school. It was one of those programs where the kids from each grade is reciting something and it takes longer to get them on and off the stage than it does to actually do their little part. I have accepted that it's part of being a parent to endure those kind of nights and Kelsie's class did a cute presentation about Romans and Greeks (what they are learning in History). Friday night was the Point of Grace Christmas concert at McKinney Memorial. Our praise teams got invited to sing with them for the second half of the concert. It was fun, the girls from Point of Grace were down to earth and well, gracious. The concert was very good and even Kelsie enjoyed it - it didn't hurt that Frosty, Santa and Rudolph showed up at one point. Of course, during all this is also Celebrate Christmas. Wedgwood's involvement is that we are in charge of one scene this year - a large scene. We drove through tonight and Wayne has been working on it for a while to coordinate everything. It looked great and we are so happy that Tarrant Net has taken it on and expanded it. As of the end of tonight, 2500 people have driven through and 23 people have accepted Christ! They received the BEST Christmas gift this year. As I look forward to Christmas and check my "to do" list, I must remind myself to focus on WHY we are celebrating - Jesus Christ came to earth as a baby to complete God's plan for my salvation. I'm happy for a hopeful and joyous Christmas season. Merry Christmas to you and may you have the joy of Christ this season.

It's Beginning to Look A Lot Like Christmas

I am amazed at how fast Christmas is approaching. I am usually so prepared and have by now purchased most of my gifts, given some thought to the cards and picture we will be sending out and probably would even have some wrapped gifts already under the tree. This year has been different but now my house has been transformed from Fall leaves to Christmas. I love Christmas lights. The tree is up, the stockings are hung (the mantel is still not fully decorated yet) and the village has been put up again and Mariah Carey is loaded on the ipod. We have part of our outside lights up - the icicle lights will hopefully go up this weekend at some point. Kelsie's Christmas musical at church is Saturday and Sunday and the fam is coming into town to see her. I have purchased a few gifts but have given no thought at all to cards or wrapping. Well, no stress - Christmas season is fun. Parties, shopping, lights, cards in the mail and touching base with friends. But, even with all of that stuff - Christmas is a great time to reflect on what it means that Christ chose to come to earth as a baby and gave up living in heaven in order to make a way for the forgiveness of my sin. I admit - I do love the commercialism of Christmas - all the hustle-bustle and even Santa Clause but mostly I love the God who loved us so much that He sent to earth His Son. It's the reason we are happy and hopeful this time of year - it's Christ! So, as you enjoy all the memories, the songs, the food, the shopping, the cards, and the lights - remember to worship in all things, giving thanks to God that we have a reason to celebrate. Merry Christmas!

A Very Happy Thanksgiving

Well, again no pics yet but I did take some good ones so I hope to post very soon (I know I keep saying that - I MUST get my computer fixed). Anyway, we had a great Thanksgiving. Kelsie had no school all week so we spent the first couple of days just running errands, buying groceries and cleaning the house. Wednesday was more fun b/c Wayne took off work and we got to spend the day with him. Kelsie and I spent the better part of the evening preparing some of our Thanksgiving dishes ahead of time - she LOVES to cook so it was fun for both of us. She made her daddy's favorite, chocolate chip pie. It was a big hit on Thanksgiving Day. On Thursday, Wayne's family came over for lunch, everyone contributed to a yummy meal. Wayne fried the turkey and we had a ham along with all the delicious sides and desserts that everyone brought. We watched the Cowboys play and looked at all the ads in the paper (my personal favorite tradition). The highlight for everyone was the snow. Technically it was probably a "wintry mix" but it was still fun. The kids went out and played for a while in it but it really came down that night. Raider did pretty well with everyone here. He was held a lot b/c he's so cute and little. Friday we did a little shopping (no 5 a.m. this year) and went to see the movie "Enchanted." It was really cute. Today was Brittany's 9th birthday party so we went over to Arlington for cake, presents and skating. A fun weekend. Now for the Christmas decorating - I hope to finish by Monday night then the shopping begins. Hope your holidays were happy and filled with friends and family.

Thankful for the Simple Things

As Thanksgiving approaches, I was thinking about what I am really thankful for. Of course, my health, family, home, church family. I am so blessed beyond what I deserve, thank you God! This year it just came to mind to enjoy the small things. You know, the things I take for granted. So here are some things I have counted as blessings and thanked God for in recent weeks - nothing is too small - just learning to thank God for the things I love and not to take anything for granted.

• sunshine through the windows especially on a cool day
• pulling my car into the garage on a rainy day
• when my mom answers the phone with a hey darling or hey doll
• scrapbooks with pictures and stories of people and events
• reading late at night when the house is quiet and still
• Kelsie's spontaneous hugs and snuggles
• when a magazine I read comes in the mail
• dinner at the Griffs
• keeping up with people online
• catching up with old friends
• diet coke with lime from Sonic
• finding enough change in my car to buy my Sonic drink
• a warm robe
• taking a nap on the couch on Sunday afternoons
• saving money with coupons
• lit candles in the house (especially Harvest)
• listening to Kelsie and Wayne cracking up from her room as he puts her to bed at night
• an exciting football game
• a nice dinner with my husband
• queso and chips
• looking out at Wedgwood and seeing people really engaged with God - not necessarily singing and hearing the stories of how God is working through people in our congregation
• an enlighting revelation from Tom Kemner
• Creativity team at my house Monday nights
• that my husband understands my limitations behind the wheel of a car
• music - all kinds

Well, my list could go on and on but I stopped. The point is that God is teaching me to keep giving Him thanks in ALL things and really notice the small things. They are all God's blessings and it makes my favorite scripture come to life - "the steps of a good man are ordered by the Lord and He delights in his way. though he may fall, he is not utterly cast down for the Lord upholds him with His hand." Be thankful. What are your small things?

God is Amazing!

Still no pics sad to say. I don't know why it's so hard but it has just not been convenient to get my computer to someone who can fix it so I am still posting from my work laptop. Anyway, I wanted to share a story with you about God and how awesome He is to provide for some people we love dearly. I know when you read this story you will be encouraged and maybe you have experienced God's provision in a similar way (I know we have) but I am so happy for them and it seems like the appropriate time of the year to be thankful and share. So, here's the story:

A while back some friends of ours (Rob and Donna) were praying about a calling to move out of the metroplex to a youth position at a church in Midland, Texas. As they prayed about it over the weeks and months of interviews and trips to Midland, they felt more and more confirmed in their hearts that God was calling them to move and minister there. As they stepped out on faith, God began to provide the things they needed at just the right time - not their time mind you - HIS time. Among other things, God prepared the hearts of their kids and they were receptive to moving and accepting of leaving the metroplex (the only place they have lived). But even though they all knew they were to move, there was one lingering thing in their lives it seems God had forgotten about - Donna's career. Donna has been a teacher for years in the same school and teaching in a very specialized area and had run several cutting edge programs and led out in her field. Moving to Midland meant not only resigning but there were no openings in Midland at all. She still did the things she needed to do like sent a resume and talked to some people but it was all in God's hands, there was nothing else she could do except get on the sub list and she was okay with accepting that and moving forward with whatever God had for her next. Last week Rob spoke with the principal of the school and she all but told Rob that there were no openings and there probably wouldn't be in the near future but to have Donna start substituting and maybe get certified in another area. So, Donna went to visit Rob over the weekend and she received a phone call from the school principal in Midland saying that she had a resignation that morning for the job that Donna is certified in - you know, the one that would not likely ever be an opening. God is so incredible to provide that job for her - it's her passion, her calling. His timing is perfect! Sometimes we think we want to know all of it up front but God just saved His reward for their obedience to step out and trust Him.

Okay - here is what's up with our fam.....Kelsie finished school today until the 26th! We all need the break - she is still doing very well, all A's to this point. Wayne's family is coming here for Thanksgiving Day. We are all getting excited to eat fried turkey! Raider is doing well - he is chewing everything and we have to watch him all the time so he doesn't chew furniture or pee pee on the carpet. He is doing okay in his crate at night and generally sleeps until 6 a.m. Kelsie is in children's choir at church and they are in the middle of preparing "Christmas in Reverse" which will be the first weekend in December. They are working hard and getting excited. Upward basketball also starts after Thanksgiving and Wayne is assistant coaching again and Kelsie is playing - should be lots of fun. Hope all is well with you and Happy Thanksgiving.

Happy Birthday, MaMaw

We went to Waco today to spend some time with MaMaw (Wayne's mom) and take her out to eat for her birthday. We had a good visit and she chose Texas Roadhouse for her meal. It was yummy. Of course, Wayne told the waitress that it was her birthday so they rolled in the saddle for her to sit on while they sang. She didn't dare but she did agree to wave the napkin around like a rope while they sang. Embarrassing but funny - Kelsie kept trying to talk her into leaving before they came to sing but we didn't make it out the door until afterward. We ended up taking Raider with us because we were going to be gone for so long and he is still a baby. He did very well - slept in the car both there and back. Once we got there, he played outside and didn't have any accidents in the house or the car!! We put him in his crate at MaMaw's house while we went to eat and he didn't seem to mind at all. The downside is he slept so much that he is wide awake now and playing at midnight but we are hoping that means he will sleep past 6 a.m. Better go - I'm very tired and we have a big day of washing windows tomorrow.

Welcome, Raider

If you read the previous post, you know that our precious baby Bogey died last week. After several days of Kelsie crying every time she woke up and went to bed and all of us crying every time we entered into an empty house or thought about our routine of playing at night, we decided not to wait too long to buy a new puppy. It's all Kelsie could talk about. So, we welcome Raider - a 9 week old Yorkie, black and gold. He is 3 1/2 pounds and fluffy. He is very playful and is into everything - learning his way around our home. He has his own little personality, no dog will replace our Bogey but spending time with him is keeping our mind off the tragedy. Thankfully, he does sleep until 6 a.m. when he barks to let us know he needs to go out and has only had 2 accidents in the house - very good for a tiny thing his age. We hope to keep it to a minimum so we can have the carpets cleaned before we have a house full at Thanksgiving.

Also, I want to say thank you to so many friends and family who wrote sweet cards, e-mails and notes to us. Kelsie really saw an example of the body of Christ as our encourager and God as our comforter. Thank you. It meant a lot to us to see many of you praying with her at church and giving her messages of comfort and assurance that God is who we lean on in our sadness. She received flowers from friends in Cincinnati and she felt so special and loved.

I'm hoping for pictures soon - I'm sure it will take several posts. Also, on a funny note - if you haven't seen the hilarious clip of our band, go to the Wedgworship Blog and click on the post from Oct. 31st. You will lol!!! Love to you all.

News with no pics

Hey all! I am still a little afraid to load pics on my computer b/c ours still is having problems in spite of loading a spyware blocker program. Chris Quick (our resident computer genius) is going to take a look at it and see what we need to do. In the world of digital pics, we had to back everything up on an external hard drive so we won't lose those if the computer gets wiped out. WHEW!

To catch you up, we had a fun Halloween. Kelsie was a rock star and Wayne and I dressed up as hippies. We went trick or treating with Morgan in her neighborhood and then off to the church's festival. It was fun seeing everyone dressed up. After the church, we headed to Sonic for 39 cent corn dogs. I have some cute pics which I will share at another time.

On a very sad note, November 1st was a tragic day for our family. Our backyard gate was left open and when we let Bogey outside to do his business he got out without us knowing it. He was out for about 10 minutes and we thought that was strange so Wayne went to look outside and discovered the gate open. He then ran to the front to go and look for him and I was prepared with treats to call him knowing he couldn't have gone too far in that time. He was right in front of our house and had been hit by a car. He was alive so Wayne took him straight to the vet hospital where they were able to stabilize him from the seizures he was having and take x-rays. What they found was not good and the prognosis was bad so we had to make the decision to put him down. It was very hard. Thankfully, Kelsie and I had made it to the hospital in time for her and Wayne (I couldn't do it) to go in and see him one last time (they were sweet and cleaned him up and gave him a sedative to sleep first). We all took it really hard b/c he was such a part of our family and our extended family has taken it just as hard as we have. He was such a loving and playful dog, everyone that met him just loved his personality. The good part is that we have such loving friends and have received lots of calls and e-mails and even flowers from Cincinnati to Kelsie that are coming on Tuesday. Kelsie (and the rest of our family) have truly experienced the love that is shown by Christian brothers and sisters. I pray that Kelsie will look back on this sad experience and remember the Body of Christ, good friends and family just loving on us all. Thank you for being so good to us. We love you all! More soon (maybe someday with pics).

Computer problems

You gotta love AND hate computers. I love them but when they don't work right well, that's where the hate comes in. Anyway, I am writing this from my work computer b/c my home computer has a virus and is so VERY slow! It will hopefully be repaired over the weekend and then I can post some pictures. I have some really cute ones from K's birthday, Kelsie and Morgan being silly and the Watson's going away dinner - they are moving to Midland. So, alot going on and I hope to update you on ALL of it very soon. I will keep you posted as to the status of our computer hospitalization. Hope you are having a good week. Love to you all!

Kelsie's Birthday Part 2

Well, part 2 of Kelsie's birthday was the weekend of her actual birthday when our families came to visit and celebrate. On Thursday night, my family arrived - mom, grandmother, sister and niece (she is 4). Friday was a marathon shopping day - literally shop til you drop. Wayne had to attend a funeral that morning and then busied himself that afternoon with "things" - he was happy NOT to be spending 2 hours with us in Garden Ridge. Wayne's mom and aunt arrived into town early Friday afternoon so after shopping we all went to eat together. Wayne and his harem - one man to 6 big girls and 2 little ones. Lucky guy - he is very long suffering and sweet to put up with all of us. On Saturday, Wayne and his dad went golfing while the girls finished up the shopping we didn't do the day before. Saturday night we all got together over here for cooking out burgers, opening presents, playing the Wii and eating cherry pie (Kelsie's choice instead of cake). We had a blast with everyone here - more family that lives in Arlington came over and we had about 17 total. Kelsie had a good time with all her cousins. Will post more pics soon.

Kelsie's 9th Birthday

I know I promised it wouldn't be so long between posts, but I do have some valid excuses. None of which you probably want to hear about, so let's just say things have been VERY busy. I hope to do a couple of posts on Kelsie's birthday b/c it was spread out over 2 weekends (lucky girl). First, she had a Girls Rock Party. The girls all came to the house and first did hair, nails and make up with the assistant of two lovely youth girls from church. Then, we had a little stage area set up in the living room complete with colored lights, a fog machine and karaoke of High School Musical. They had a great time singing and dancing. Some of them were shy at first but got into after the shyness wore off. We played boa limbo, ate cake and opened gifts and then headed outside to break the guitar pinata. It was a very fun party and everyone had a great time. Well, the proof is in the pictures. Hope to post more soon.

Everybody get a boa and stop off to get hair, nails and make up done like a rock star!

Boa Limbo - they gave up doing real limbo and tried just to get under the boa without letting a knee touch or any part of your body touch the boa. Emma was by far the best.

Singing High School Musical.

The silly picture.

The cute picture.

Guitar Pinata Kelsie indulging me before the party and letting me take her picture in front of the stage before the party started. She is growing up fast into a cute little young lady!

The sunglasses cake. I made it and wasn't sure since I hadn't decorated one of K's birthday cakes since she was 5 or 6. It turned out cute and you can't tell from the pictures but there were pretty pink sparkle sprinkles that just made it so cute.

Finally, an update

Okay, I am finally updating. This will mean that you are about to read a lot of different information that has been bottled up all this time. So, get comfy with your favorite beverage and read.....

I love technology! Wayne was able to skype tonight with Joe Lee in Singapore. We miss him. How cool to talk to him though - it was 9:45 p.m. Thursday night here and 10:45 a.m. on Friday there. We are praying about when it will be time for us to go there, alot of details to work out including money but God will send us when He is ready.

HDTV - we never knew what we were missing. All the time we had regular tv on a pretty small screen, we thought it was okay. We didn't know anything else but now we have the big screen and know HD. Unbelievable picture. You will have to come watch football in HD.
Kelsie's new school - things are going well, she is making all A's to this point. We are very proud of her b/c they told us when we interviewed that it's not unusual for a previous A/B student to make B/C the first 6 to 12 weeks. The A's have not come easy - there has been lots of hard work and studying but she is doing so well. We have all had to adjust to the change in how to work but we are getting in a groove now.

Kelsie's birthday - she is about to turn 9 years old. I can't believe it - time flies. She is growing up so very fast. Things really changed this year in planning her party and selecting gifts. She is having a Rock Star Diva party this year with karaoke, hair and nails being done, games, etc. I say it's changed b/c the days of going to Chuck E Cheese are over - requests are more specific now. I know with every year that passes, she becomes a little more independent but for now I'm just glad she is little and we can still snuggle at night, tuck her into bed and she doesn't get too embarrassed holding hands with mom in public. (and her spelling is still cute)

Dennis Jernigan - he came to lead worship in honor of our pastor's 20th anniversary at Wedgwood. It was a good weekend and we got to take Dennis out to lunch on Sunday afternoon. He talked about music, the industry, worship leading, etc and I came to admire him so much for his heart for worship. He is very genuine. When he led on Sunday night, he was truly in his element. His heart is for people finding freedom in Christ and find healing. He does have 9 kids, 4 left at home now. He says the table feels empty without all the kids so we will pray for God to fill his table with grandkids. He has 2 REALLY GOOD worship songs on his new album. Check it out if you get the chance at www.dennisjernigan.com.

Visit with my neice Labor Day weekend. I mentioned in an earlier post that we had a very good time. Here are some pics from the museum - it was the last weekend of the Star Wars exhibit.






Well, there's more but it's 11 p.m. and I'm totally wiped out so I must stop. More later - promise it won't be that long this time.

Too busy to write

I hate that I've been too busy to write lately. I have pics to post and stories to tell but I can't seem to get a quiet span of time to do it all. We have been really busy this week - we bought a big TV - LCD for anyone who understands that stuff. My only stipulation was that we would buy something that would fit our current furniture. So, we got a 42" and it fit in the armoire in our bedroom. So, we had to move furniture around Tuesday night and my house looked like we were moving for most of the week. Wayne got all the necessary wires hooked into where they need to go - I was inspired to do some redecorating so I have redone the mantel and moved some things around and have plans for new curtains and painting the coffee table. In between, we worked and did school with Kelsie - whew!!! Friday night was fun, we went to the North Crowley football game in Aledo (where I work). Aledo won but we still had a good time cheering for NCHS. It was Kelsie's first football game - she had fun and caught a little football that the cheerleaders threw into the stands. Saturday was cleaning and errands. Hopefully this week I can stop one night and post some pics. Hope you are having a good week - I am sooooo ready for it to get cooler - maybe this week!!!

Labor Day Weekend

We had such a fun Labor Day Weekend. My mom and neice came for a visit. It's the first time Hailey, my 4 year old neice, has been to Mamey's house without her mom and dad. It was just a little taste of freedom for her and she had a GREAT time. Hailey LOVES Kelsie and calls her sissy. I have some really cute pics to share and hope to get them up her on Wednesday. But, right now my house is a wreck and we resume our regular schedule tomorrow with school and work. It is family week and so we don't have church evening activities - we plan to do some stuff with K on Wednesday night since we are normally at church and her daddy doesn't even come home on Wednesdays until after 9 p.m. But, Tuesday will be reserved for moving around furniture. More about that later. So, goodnight - I better get busy. More to come......

Two of the same

Before we went to Canada, I drug my family all around the mall looking for a new watch. The watch I wore before just quit and the glass was so scratched up that it wasn't worth putting a new battery in and replacing the glass. I couldn't find a watch I really liked enough to spend alot of money on, so I settled for a cheap $7 watch from Wal-Mart just to have one for our trip. Well, for my birthday Kelsie and Wayne gave me a present - a Fossil Watch box. I opened it knowing that it was a watch and since we had all been shopping together, I had a feeling they had a good idea about my "requirements" - numbers not dashes, a watch with the date, something with silver AND gold, easily adjustable, etc. When I opened it, I realized it is EXACTLY the same as the old one. They didn't realize it when they bought it. Once they got home and saw the old one, they knew it was the same but still decided to give it to me anyway. I was excited about the new watch - it's shiny, unscratched, and most importantly it's working. Also, I had to smile at the fact that my family knows me so well. I am spoiled! Here is the pic of the 2 watches side by side....

Mercy Me and Rangers

Saturday night, Mercy Me had a concert before the Texas Rangers game and so a group of us went to the concert and game. It was HOT but okay with a breeze - we had some cloud cover during the concert which made it bearable. The concert was good, they did their best songs. I wish I could say the same for the game - the Rangers were losing and we left a little early with the game tied. As we were walking out of the ballpark, we heard alot of cheering and were chastised by our daughter that we were missing the BEST part of the game. The Rangers did end up winning. Here are some pics to share. We had a great Sunday - be sure to read the Wedgworship Blog to get a neat story - you can get there from the ministry link Wedgworship Blog.

Ashton, Connor, Hailey, Morgan and Kelsie and Luke (he looks happy doesn't he?)
The other part of our group that didn't sit with us - they chose a shady spot away from our sunny spot - our priority was the view.Shauna and Craig.
Mercy Me on stage.
Hailey, Kelsie and Morgan. We were on the 3rd upper deck and Kelsie was a little freaked out about how high we were so they stood with her. She got over that once she got use to it.

Kelsie's First Day Pics

Here are our pics of Kelsie from the first day of school. Notice the pink rolling backpack. She was very precise in picking it out - thinking through taking her things back and forth to school. More later - exhausted tonight.

Quick Update

Kelsie did indeed start school on Tuesday. I took pics but haven't loaded them on my computer yet so maybe this weekend I will get them posted here - she is cute! Her first day of school was good, she loves her teacher which is a good sign of having a successful year. For those of you that don't know, Kelsie is going to a University Model School this year which means that she attends class on Tues. and Thurs. and works at home the other days. She gets all of her assignments and instruction from her teacher and we are just co-teachers to guide her through her work and reinforce what is being taught at school. She is taking Math, English, History, Science and Computers at school and will take Bible at home. Her first day at home was yesterday - we did okay. I was not as organized as I wanted to be so when she brought home all her parent packets on Tuesday, I was a little unprepared. Totally my fault and I will be spending some of my weekend making the front office a "base" for school. Container Store, here I come. Wayne takes care of doing the math before he goes to work and I take care of the other subjects. I would say for a first day, we did pretty well - it is definitely going to take some time to get into a routine that works for everyone but I think that is to be expected.

Finger update - Kelsie's finger is getting better with the meds the doc gave us Monday. It looks bad and I felt sorry for her last night b/c at church there was a back to school splash party and she couldn't go b/c the doc said no water, dirt, sand until after Friday. So, we both stayed home and I think she hated to miss it.

On a side note, I was happy that Yankee candle has Harvest candles for sale now (an annual Fall scent that I LOVE!). The Hallmark store at Hulen Mall had buy one and get one 1/2 off - how could I resist, it's my favorite!!! My house smelled so good last night - I LOVE FALL, can't wait!

Chef Boyardee in the Microwave

Chef Boyardee can be very dangerous just out of the microwave. Kelsie made some in the micro on Friday for lunch as she has done many times - she even took them to school last year and used the microwave at school. Anyway, as she was taking hers out of the micro some of it spilled out onto her finger and burned it. It was pink, swollen and very painful all of Friday. We called the docs office and did what they said with water, burn cream, neosporin and finally cold packs. By Saturday, it was blistered and still pink. By today it was purple and looked horrible so we went to the doctor. She has second degree burns and he said it would likely scar and/or tattoo. He gave us some antibiotic cream to prevent infection and said no swimming or getting it dirty (in other words, no playing outside) until at least Friday. Considering how bad it was, she has kept going - she wasn't about to miss Choir Camp this weekend or her slumber party. You will notice in the pictures that she has a yellow rag on her hand.....she pretty much stayed like that all weekend, I think it's the only way she could stand it. She has a few moments of "drama" but who could blame her? I can handle giving her a little extra attention and pampering after what her finger looks like. Well, first day in a new school tomorrow. Hope to post pictures tomorrow night so check back.

Two for One

You will get two postings in one today as I have 2 things to share but they are very separate things and I couldn't figure out a clever way to weave the two stories together.

Post #1:
A Musical Weekend
This weekend was filled with MUSIC. Kelsie had Choir Camp at Wedgwood to get a jump start on the Christmas Musical they are learning called "Christmas in Reverse." It was kind of a mini camp starting on Friday night and then meeting again on Saturday from 10 to 3. But, the conflict was that "High School Musical 2" premiered on the Disney Channel Friday night at 7 (while Choir Camp was going on). Thankfully we have the technology of a DVR and we recorded it to be played back a little later. Kelsie invited a few girlfriends to come over to watch and spend the night. So, we packed up 5 little girls after choir and headed to the house for a night of snacks, music, commentary about the movie, singing, dancing, screaming and pillow fights. The girls were hilarious and graciously let the old people (Wayne and me) watch the movie with them. They were good and went to sleep around 12:30 or 1 b/c they had to get up the next morning for the second day of choir camp. A fun filled weekend of music - Fabulous!

All 5 girls - sleeping bags? check, p.j.'s? check, snacks? check, drinks? check, friends? check - okay, ready to watch the MUCH anticipated High School Musical 2.

Kelsie, Christa and Brynn

Morgan and Lauren

Troy and Gabriella KISSED! The girls LOVED that and stood up, screamed which led to someone starting a pillow fight .....funny.

What have I gotten into here?

Finally settled down after watching HSM2, this is the NEW Hannah Montana episode. We agreed to record that and let them watch this short show to get quiet and ready to sleep. They all agreed to go to sleep afterward and they did....good girls.

Saturday morning...after a yummy breakfast of pancakes, the girls watched the musical parts and the kissing part of HSM2 again (as if last night wasn't enough). They are such posers.

Aren't they all adorable?

Pretending to be asleep on Saturday morning.....convincing?

Post #2:
Neighbors
On Saturday morning I noticed that instead of staying cool in the house, it kept getting warmer but the A/C was blowing air. Around 11, we figured out that it was definately not keeping the house cool as the temp was around 81 degrees even though it was set to 75. So, I called a well known company and they said they could be here between 3 and 6. That was good enough for me - did I really have a choice? So, even though my intention was to clean house, I got a little done and then left when the house got up to 86 degrees. Thankfully, we did not have a 100 degree day today so it never got warmer than 87 - but when you are vacuuming and cleaning, that is warm. So, the repairman came around 4 and explained after about 5 minutes of diagnostics that the compressor was out - the good news was that it's covered under warranty, the bad news - the labor is not covered and it would cost $843 AND they wouldn't be able to get a compressor until Monday. After he left, Wayne went down to our neighbor's house to ask his opinion. He is the service manager at J & S Air. He walked down and confirmed that the compressor was not working, he thought to check the plug and it ended up being faulty. He had a spare in his truck and within 30 minutes, our A/C was blowing cold air! We were so grateful - we had to ask him what the part would cost and what their normal service call would be - he finally told us so we could pay him - a minimal fee - especially compared to labor for a new compressor. We did call the other company back and ask them to refund the service call fee we paid since it was a VERY WRONG diagnosis - they agreed to do that so we were thankful for that as well. So, we thank God for His provision in our neighbor and that he was willing to come over and help us out on a Saturday evening. So, if you ever need anything - CALL THEM!!

Congratulations, Chris

Chris Shirley, our Christian Development Minister at Wedgwood, is changing jobs. He got a full-time job teaching at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary. Even with his new job, he will still be working part-time at Wedgwood doing staff development so we are happy that he and Isabel (and the rest of their family) aren't going anywhere. You know what they say - once a wedgie, always a wedgie. So since he isn't officially leaving, there was no need for a good bye reception. Instead, a few of his friends got together for a quaint dinner to honor his ministry and congratulate him on his new job. It was a surprise to him, he had no clue! We cooked dinner at the McLelland's house, a 4 course meal (china and crystal) complete with appetizer, salad, sorbet, steak with roasted potatoes, green beans and rolls. Of course, what kind of meal would it be without several desserts to choose from - DELICIOUS! It was a nice evening - we all had a great time visiting and laughing with each other and toasting Chris and Isabel for the great friends they are. We love you guys!!!

Me, Deana and Shauna doing last minute food prep.

Chris looking at Andrew - when we all yelled surprise, he thought it was a party for Andrew b/c he is leaving for college this week.

Totally surprised......for me?

DeGray State Park - Last Days of Vacation

As you can guess, the week at DeGray State Park in Arkansas flew by - on Thursday we got up and drove to Diamond Crater State Park. We thought it would be about a 30 minute drive and an hour later we arrived. We got there, rented the necessary equipment to dig for diamonds and watched a short demo from a Park Ranger telling us the proper procedures to look for diamonds in the dirt - literally. We found out a few things pretty quickly - #1. If you want to find a diamond, you have to be committed enough to stay for more than an hour - maybe even days. #2. There is a reason why there is a water playground on site - it's HOT!!!!! #3. I don't mind digging for diamonds but not sweating profusely for them - YUK! Seriously, it was a good/fun experience and Wayne and Rob did find us a spot in the shade, but it was just flat hot and about an hour of digging is all we could take. We found some jasper rocks and calcite (that looks like uncut diamond) but not diamonds. People evidentally do find diamonds, there had been several found the previous day and there was a guy we met that had dug such a huge hole - it took him 2 days to do it. WOW! Then, he had to look through all that dirt. It was pretty neat to have the rangers i.d. the pretty rocks we did find and Kelsie got even more for her collection. We decided to skip the water park and just spend our time driving back to lake to swim there. So, we made it back to the lake and found a beach place where we cooked out hotdogs for dinner - it was windy so it was an adventure getting the fire lit but we finally got it and it was a great evening outside, the kids playing. After that, we fished until it was way after dark. On Friday, we got up early and went out to the lake for the last morning- we had to check out by 11. Friday morning was so cool b/c we spotted a bald eagle. We tracked it in the boat and watched in for a long time - got pretty close to it as it was perched in a tree and we got pretty close to the shore to get a good look. Unfortunately, noone had a camera - bummer. It was really cool for the kids to see. We packed up and headed home - our vacation was so fun, I don't think any of us really wanted it to end but it did give us some refreshing to come back with renewed energy for a busy Fall.

One of the better "landscape" pictures taken on one of our morning walks.
Kelsie is ready to dig for diamonds.
The kids out in the field - will we ever find a diamond in all this dirt?
Kelsie and Wayne digging up our little shaded plot of dirt.
Kelsie using the water method to sort through all the gravel and dirt - once you shift it a certain way, the larger and heavier stones (hopefully a diamond) go to the bottom and the middle. You turn it over like a cake pan and sort through the stones in the middle.

Wayne kneeboarding - he did great and impressed the kids and the adults with his tricks.
We dropped all of our dinner fixins off so we could go out in the boat and have more space. Once we got back to our picnic spot, we had a visitor squirrel who was very interested in our hot dog buns. Luckily, he only ate 2 but he stalked us for a while knowing we had food.
Kelsie and Brock decided to set up a little camp of their own for the squirrel so he would leave our food alone. It was complete with Cheese Nips, bowls of water and club cracker snack sticks.
Tori enjoying some quiet time fishing at dusk.

The Robster manning the dogs.
Brock and Tori trying to take pics at sunset - Brock was so funny - this was the cute one.
Our last sunset cruise.

Brock and Kelsie dug this fish swimming pool on our beach for the fish we caught to be able to swim and then make their way through the canal to the lake. They had fun making it while Wayne, Rob and Tori fished and Donna and me sat in the boat listening to tunes and visiting. Such a peaceful and quiet night.