Pictures from October

Okay - here are some pics although not recent. BTW, I forgot to mention that I finished the Kingsbury "Someday" book over Spring Break! I loved it but I won't spoil what happens. It's the next to the last book left in the Baxter Family Series. What will I do when the Baxter family is no longer? I know them so well and I want them to keep on living. But, while I wait for the last one to come out I will start on "Even Now."

Enjoy just a few pics from Halloween.

Kelsie and Morgan - the rock star and the dancer.

Kelsie's messy hands after our traditional carving of the pumpkin.

The trick or treaters and those that dared to dress up. Kelsie really wanted us to this year so we are the hippies. This pic was right before trick or treating the neighborhood and then to the church Fall Festival.


The little group (we are missing Brynn). The cowgirl, the dancer, the camo rock star and the rock star. Aren't they so cute?

It's Official

I have so many pics to share with you - I promise to start posting them this week. I have not made the time to upload them from my camera to post but I plan to do it this week and share them with you.

Well, it's official (read previous post). We went to Prosper this weekend to meet people at FBC and lead worship today - it's called going "in view of a call." The church then voted at the end of the service and it was unanimously yes. The weekend was full of so many surprises. We realized that we said "that went better than we thought" so many times. We had a mixture of meet/greet times and rehearsals. The meet/greets were the thing I was most nervous about but everyone was very kind. The rehearsals were good, their musicians are talented and we had a wonderful morning of worship today. The very best part of the service had nothing to do with music. At the beginning of the service, the men came up to pray and it was moving. Just men kneeling everywhere before the Lord, humbling themselves in real worship. We were blessed to be there. So as hard as this decision has been, today was affirming to all of us that God is calling us to this local body of Christ and we take the journey with Him.

We are really looking forward to this weekend. Kelsie has no idea but on Thursday after school we are going to the Great Wolf Lodge, the new hotel in Grapevine with the indoor water park. We are going with Morgan's family and the Shirley fam. It's a big surprise so ssshhhhh! I PROMISE TO POST PICS!

No Longer a Secret

What has been a secret is no longer. Wayne announced to the Wedgworship family last night that we are going to FBC Prosper for the completion of the strange hiring process Baptist churches go through when calling a minister. It's called "in view of a call" and basically that means we will go for the weekend including leading worship on Sunday and the church will then say "yay" or "nay." We tell you before it's a "done deal" b/c we hate secrets - just being gone one Sunday doesn't seem fair and telling a little while lie like, "oh, we are going out of town for a vacation" is really not characteristic of us at all. So, while there is a little risk involved in telling you (b/c they could vote nay), we tell our family the truth so you can walk some of this road with us. Pray for us this weekend, we start with rehearsals and get togethers on Friday.

You should know this has been a painful process, personally. I could not imagine leaving when Wayne first mentioned it to me. I blew it off at first and if I'm totally honest, there are many days I still can't picture myself somewhere else. However, God has taught me so many things about faith and trust during this process. You see, I am somewhat of a control freak - I like to take care of things my way. I like for things to line up in order and be visible as far as my eye can see. I like logic. Admittedly, I do like change but this is not a change I was open to at all. I have done my share of thrashing around with God, arguing, begging, and fighting it but in the end I have learned some things.

• Sometimes obedience is painful.
• Sometimes comfortable is not a long term place to be the most effective in the kingdom.
• God moves people physically to accomplish specific things (Abraham and Moses are good examples).
• God goes before His people and prepares things - He doesn't ask you to do things in your own strength.
• Surrender is difficult - totally trusting in God alone and my small sacrifices are NOTHING compared to Christ giving up his heavenly throne for an earthly life to be a once and for all sacrifice for my sin. Talk about total trust in the Father.
• My flesh doesn't want to trust anyone but me - I am learning how much more trustworthy God is - more wise, more loving, more strategic, more just, more able to provide, all knowing, sovereign......
• My personal worship is sweeter in times of greater dependence and brokenness.

One last note - we have LOVED Wedgwood. When we came to Wedgwood 3 1/2 years ago we were beaten down after our last church experience. We came to a church that loves God, understood brokenness, loved our family, accepted us and most importantly has a desire to worship! So, together we took this journey of understanding more about daily worship, learning that being a part of expanding God's kingdom is our calling as worship leaders, that singing or playing is not just a hobby but a calling on our lives for God's glory and for His purposes. We have laughed, cried, laughed some more, made beautiful music, made not so beautiful music, celebrated births and homegoings, shared Lord's Supper, shared difficulties and come together to bear each others burdens and joys. Most of all, we worshipped together! That's huge - so many churches don't corporately get how to do that - how to be vulnerable before God and each other, how to really pray over one another, how to get that up close and personal - but Wedgwood and especially our Wedgworship family, you get it! Truthfully, we have been comfortable at Wedgwood. We love you and it's hard to understand God moving us to a whole new thing and from a worldly perspective it makes NO SENSE - believe me, I have reasoned it to death! But, we believe that being with you has made us better. So, on that note - Once a Wedgie, always a Wedgie. We love you and will savor the next 3 weeks with you! Let's enjoy it!

Update on Kelsie

Just a quick update - Kelsie is much improved today. Her throat is still a little sore but no fever this morning. She is not going to school today but we are going to get her work and stay caught up. So, things are getting back to normal, thankfully.

Update on Baby Allie - I know many of you have been praying for her. All I have heard lately is that she had a bacterial infection and could not have visitors the week of Easter. They are hoping to move out of the hospital to the Ronald McDonald House for the next few weeks but not until she is over the infection. So, keep praying for her and the family as they continue treatment away from home. Pray for Justin (the big brother), this is hard on him too traveling back and forth and having to concentrate at school while all this is going on. Allie is always really happy when her dad and big brother get to come see her. She is such a sweet baby girl. Keep praying! Keep you updated as I hear.

The Rest of Easter

Well, as I said previously, Kelsie was sick this Easter - definitely strep throat, we saw Dr. Obbink this a.m. So, because she really didn't feel well in the morning we did not attempt church services but she had a restful afternoon and we just pumped her with fluids and meds so we were able to make it for Night of Praise. Kelsie really wanted to be there b/c Anthony Evans was singing with the choir and she loves his music. Wayne's mom came early to be with her and she sat with them, with strict instructions not to touch or hug ANYONE. When Wayne told Anthony Sunday night that Kelsie was sick and she was so sad that she missed him singing her favorite song from his new CD, he was so sweet and met her "backstage" (in the choir room) before Night of Praise. During his portion of Night of Praise, he even sang "In Christ Alone" and said it was for her since she wasn't able to hear it in the a.m. The rest of Night of Praise was great, we have such a great time praising God together.

So, for the rest of Spring Break. Well, Tuesday was a wash out, literally - tons of rain. Wednesday we decided to go down to the stockyards with Morgan and her family to see the cattle drive. The Shirley's ended up meeting us out there too. I had read about the "herd" and the cattle drive in the paper and we had never been, a very Fort Worth thing to do. It was a beautiful day, the sun was out and the wind was a little chilly but light. We lined up for the cattle drive, which consisted of about 12 longhorn steers. It was very unimpressive but hey they were giving away free Vitamin Water. After that we let the kids go over to the petting zoo, they had fun doing that. We did get some good pics so it wasn't a total waste. After that, we went over to Joe T's for lunch and it was pretty nice so we sat outside by the pool. They had heaters out too so that helped and lunch was of course delicious. After lunch, Wayne and I both had to go to work for just a couple of hours, so Deana took the girls to the park for a little while. On Thursday we debated about going to Six Flags but Kelsie's Easter party was Thursday night so I thought it might be a little much for me to pull it all off.

Sidebar - it's a good thing we decided not to go to Six Flags that day b/c a few days later I read in the paper that so many people went that day, they stopped letting people come in. Also some background - every year we host a little Easter egg hunt/party for some of Kelsie's girlfriends and in the past we have done lunch for the mom's too - kind of a girl thing. This year we decided since it was Spring Break, we would cook out for everyone and do it at night so the girls could hunt Easter eggs in the dark with flashlights - they are getting to the age where they need a challenge or it's over too quickly.

So - back to Thursday....Kelsie and I met Morgan and her mom at Sweet and Sassy for them to get manicures and pedicures for Easter. They were treated special and had a good time. Then we took Morgan for the day and did a little shopping. We came home to get ready for the party - the girls were a big help and they helped me decorate a cake, they did so good. It was a chocolate round cake but at the top there were yellow peeps all the way around to resemble a sunflower and then chocolate chips in the center like sunflower seeds. The party started at 7 and we had a great time visiting with everyone, eating and of course watching the girls find eggs in the dark. Everyone had a great time! Morgan spent the night with us Thursday and on Friday morning Wayne and Joel took the girls fishing. They all caught several fish with Wayne catching the biggest of the day - a 10 pound catfish. They were all so excited. Friday night was our church's Good Friday service and we had "The Jesus Painter" at our church - it was excellent, very moving. Saturday morning Wayne and Kelsie went fishing again while I did some shopping at Kohl's. My mom was in town briefly so we joined her for lunch at MiMi's Cafe, after that was rehearsal. So, there is our Spring Break. We had a good week just being together and celebrating Christ's death and especially resurrection this weekend with friends and family. I think Kelsie is on the mend - today we will stay home and rest. After a couple of nights of getting up several times during the night to check on Kelsie, I need it as much as she does. I hope your Spring Break was fun and that your Easter was filled with the knowledge of God's presence in your life and the gift he gave us when he sacrificed His son for our sin, once and for all. Thank you God, I know there are days I take it for granted but I pray that it's never just a story but a real thing in our lives - a thankfulness that makes us want to walk in obedience and praise God in all we do. Happy Easter.

Easter Sunday Sickness

Well, as I type it's Easter Sunday morning and Kelsie and I are at home! Yesterday afternoon Kelsie complained that she had a headache and sore throat but we thought maybe she had too much sun the last few days (has a little pink face). We went on with our day and she didn't say anything else until we got ready to go to church for rehearsal Saturday night. She said again her throat hurt so on our way to church I stopped at Sonic and got her an slush but not thinking much about it beyond that. After rehearsal when we got home around 8:30 p.m., she wanted to go to bed. We knew something was up then so we checked it out further and her throat was yucky (looking with a flashlight) and she had 100.5 fever. So we started Motrin and amoxicillian which we thankfully had from when we went on vacation and I had been sick so her doc called it in for her in case she started with the same symptoms while we were out of town. The expiration date was August, 08 so we started on that too. After giving her Motrin every 4 hours during the night, this a.m. she is a little better but still had fever and did not feel like getting dressed but she was upset about not wearing her Easter dress - she said she just would wear it next week. She and Morgan got pedicures this week for Easter - hope it lasts all week so her toes will still be pretty. We have Night of Praise tonight with Anthony Evans so my strategy is to let her stay home this a.m. and rest while giving her more meds and then be able to make it tonight. Her Mamaw (Wayne's mom) is coming so she can sit with her and stay away from hugging her friends at church. Poor Kelsie - she said this morning - "why do I have to be sick on Easter?" We are still going to have our own worship time this morning to celebrate what God has done for us - Hope your celebration time was blessed. Happy Easter - more about Spring Break later.

Get out your ARK!

Rain, Rain Go Away - our trip to Six Flags today was obviously cancelled because it started raining last night and hasn't really stopped yet. So, we changed our plans and Kelsie went to Chuck E Cheese with Morgan and played while Wayne and I cleaned carpets at our house in order to get ready for our Thursday night easter egg hunt with K's friends. We are planning to cook out and let the girls hunt eggs after dark - should be fun - we are looking forward to it. So, even though we were bummed that Six Flags didn't happen today, we still have some other fun things planned. We are going to try and go to the stockyards tomorrow for the cattle drive they do, there are some extra activities like a petting zoo. I am hoping the weather will cooperate - keep you updated.

Update on Baby Allie

Keep praying for Baby Allie....today is the 15th day of chemo. She is doing well under the circumstances. Pray for her bone marrow biopsy (which they do today) to come back saying they got all the cancer. Pray for her parents, Allie's mom wrote on her care page that Allie was glad to see her daddy yesterday. I know they are all exhausted so pray for their strength. Keep you updated.

Spring Break, Part 1

Friday was our first day of Spring Break. We slept a little bit late and then went over to the American Girl Doll Store by Galleria Mall in Dallas. It was lots of fun. Kelsie used the money she had been saving from Christmas and grades to buy some outfits for Kit. She got pj's and we bought her the matching ones - so cute. We ate at the bistro upstairs. The menu is broken into 3 parts so you order an appetizer, main course and side item. We all got something different to share. All were yummy! At the end of the meal, Kelsie and Wayne shared a hot fudge sundae and I got a milk shake - delicious. We finished up our shopping and then just piddled around on that side of town and came home. We had a good day together, it was nice to not be on a schedule - just to do whatever sounded fun. Saturday was a lazy morning (I love those) - time to read the paper and drink a cup of coffee. Kelsie and I did some shopping for Easter and then she had a birthday party to attend so Wayne and I did some shopping at Ridgmar while she was at the party. So, it's a good start to Spring Break - hoping to have a restful and fun week together. Keep you posted.

Spring Break is here !

For us Spring Break is officially here TODAY. Kelsie had no work to do today so we are starting our Spring Break a little early. Today we are headed over to Dallas to go shopping at the American Girl Doll store. I know Wayne will find this an especially exciting way to spend the first day of Spring Break but with 2 girls in the house, there is not much choice on this one. We may try to make it to the JFK museum unless the Galleria mall lures us in with all it's offerings. It was glorious this morning to sleep until 9 - Kelsie and Raider even slept late!

On another note, this week our choir recorded a CD. We met for about 3 hours on Tuesday and 3 hours on Wednesday nights to record our 10 songs. It was a great experience and surprisingly exhausting. The solos were recorded separately during the week and both solo part and choir part recording is hard work! I can now see how a professional will spend ALL DAY in a studio recording 2 songs. It's very tedious to get just the right sound, note, tamber, feel, rhythm, etc. Singing live is very forgiving. You miss a note and you move forward and so unless it was REALLY bad noone notices or they forget when the next few are good. Recording exposes every little flaw in your voice, pitch and rhythm. WOW! I didn't know I sounded so bad. But, thankfully with modern technology our tech, Bob, can make me sound like a pro - love the pitch bend! By the way, the guy that came from Nashville to do all the technical stuff was GREAT! He was so nice, kept things moving along nicely and was extremely professional - and funny - thanks Bob!

A Big Mistake

I forgot to add that on Friday I made a BIG mistake. My cell phone has been acting up so I went into the AT&T store with Wayne and Kelsie to find out what I could get with my upgrade. Wayne had mentioned the iphone before Christmas but of course I ignored him b/c of the price and the fact that he already has an ipod which is a big feature of it - all if one kinda deal. Anyway, we went into the store and they had iphones you could play with, text, surf the web, etc. That phone ROCKS! It SOOOOOOOOO made me want one and made Wayne want one even more than he already did before. But, since they sell for $399 each, it was a little out of our budget to spend $800 on phones that day. I have resolved now that a different phone will be just fine, that I do not NEED an iphone but I did find myself having covetous thoughts on Friday night as I watched two 17 year old girls sitting at the table across from us in the restaurant playing with their iphones. AH, to be 17 with no bills, no obligations, the freedom to spend my babysitting money on whatever I want! Well, here's to dreaming.

Update on Baby Allie

We went to Cook Children's to see Allie on Friday night (this is my sister and brother in law's neice). She is doing well and was smiling and happy when we first got there. A nurse came in and she didn't like that very much and she got tired pretty quickly so we didn't stay very long. Her daddy and big brother had just arrived to spend the weekend and she was happy they were there. She is accepting chemo pretty well and hasn't lost any hair yet and she was very alert, happy and sweet as usual. Keep praying for her and this family as they have a few more weeks in the hospital here and away from home. God has already been good just providing the family with their needs day to day and blessing them as they see Allie doing better than what was first thought. We know God is the healer, so we ask Him to heal baby Allie.

Friday we also went to see Butterflies in the Garden at the FW Botanical Gardens. It was really fun, saw many different kinds of butterflies and each had our favorites. Took some good pics (will share later). Saturday night we ate at the Purple Cow with Morgan and her daddy. We had never been there before and it was pretty good - the girls got to sit at the bar next to our booth which they enjoyed. After dinner we went to Casa to see "Junie B. Jones" It was very cute! The girls enjoyed it but so did the adults. Of course, Saturday night was "spring forward" so we were dragging in on Sunday morning but made up for it with a Sunday afternoon nap. We are all looking forward to Spring Break! I am hoping for some Spring weather and a chance to read "Someday" the new Karen Kingsbury book from the Baxter family series. Can't wait! I'll let you know.

Weather, Weather and More Weather

WOW! Texas weather is CRAZY!!! If you live here, this will just be a re-cap of what you have already experienced but if you don't, read and marvel at the craziness of our Texas weather in March. Last Sunday was warm and then the thunderstorms (very loud ones) blew through ALL NIGHT LONG! Wayne was out of town so it was just Kelsie, Raider and me. We were awakened quite a few times either by hard rain and thunder or by Raider growling and barking at the strange noises. He was really freaking out and if it hadn't been between 1 and 3 a.m., it would have been funny. Anyway, Monday was cooler and by Monday night it was snowing! Not a big snow, just a dusting but enough that Kelsie was out in her pjs and robe with gloves scooping snow off the slide to make a big snow ball. Raider was so cute going outside and coming in with a dusting of snow all over him - he wasn't sure what to do with it. By Tuesday we were back in the 50s again and to Kelsie's disappointment, no school delay. Wayne came back home on Tuesday night disappointed that he missed all the snow excitement. But wait - Thursday it snowed again. Denton (north of us) got quite a lot of snow, we really got mostly sleet with another slight dusting of snow. Not a MAJOR event but enough to give us a taste of winter in Texas. Kelsie had enough this time to build a little snowman and Raider had learned by now that it's wet and cold and wanted nothing to do with going out. We did put his little sweater on him - so cute.

In other news, Wayne's dad had heart surgery last week. He is doing great. The day after surgery he went to get a haircut and out to eat before going home. Also, my brother in law's family has also had some bad medical news. His neice (18 months old) was taken to the doc in San Angelo for high fever which they thought was the flu and when they tested her, she was diagnosed with leukemia. They transported her up here to Cook Children's. She has a good prognosis but a long road of recovery. Pray for this family as they go through the next 6 weeks of treatment living here and that baby Ally would respond to chemo well.

We are all looking forward to Spring Break. We don't have big travel plans but we do have plans to have fun doing things around here. Kelsie is saving her money to visit the American Girl store in Dallas. Tomorrow we are going to the Ft. Worth Botanical Butterflies in the Garden. I am really looking forward to it - we loved it when we went last time. I will try to update sooner next time and maybe with pics.......have a good weekend.