I've Missed You!

Wow! Has it really been since October? My sincerest apologies for those of you who kept checking or looked at your sidebar to see that I STILL have not written. Hopefully you haven't given up on me forever. I got so super busy during the holidays and then it seemed overwhelming to fill you in on everything that has happened (you know I LOVE to give the details). I have a ton of pics to share too but waiting for my really slow computer to process all of that gives me a headache to consider.

So, here is a run down to sorta catch you up (this might get long, I will try and condense)

The holidays - We went to San Angelo to be with my family over Thanksgiving and it was good visiting with everyone, lots of little kids now which is fun. Of course, we did our traditional EARLY morning shopping the day after Thanksgiving. Kelsie had the entire week off so that was really nice that we got to be home for a few days before traveling. Before Thanksgiving we had "A Day of Thanks" out at the barn. It was so much fun, had good worship and a good word from the Lord and we all enjoyed a meal and gave a thank offering. In the afternoon, we had a turkey bowl (flag football) and our life connection group had a team called "Team Calibration." We came in second place and it was a blast practicing and playing the different teams. What a great day!

December was filled with good things leading up to Christmas. The first week of December was the Ladies Progressive Dinner, a special night to prepare our hearts for what Christmas is all about - Christ's birth and why He came. Kelsie's honor choir sang at the Prosper Country Christmas event downtown and that was a fun festival to attend complete with a parade featuring Santa! We also had a fun family outing before Christmas - Wayne, Todd and Greg planned a night out for us girls and kids to go and look at Christmas lights around town in a limo. The kids thought it was so great to drink soda from a glass and we drove around town in style looking at the various lights. Of course, we did our traditional Holiday at the Park with the McLellands and Shirleys - fun as usual and ended up at Trail Dust Steak House for dinner, the kids loved the slide. At church, the kids in Acting Up performed "Christmas in Reverse" Kelsie had a narration part and a little solo and we were proud of all the kids - they did great! Christmas Eve was "Christmas at the Barn" and it was so much fun. We had tons of people from all over the community there to celebrate with us. Kelsie loved not having to get all dressed up but it was a really special family time. Christmas Day was spent in Waco with Wayne's family and the next day we came back home and my mom and nana came for a quick visit. We had such a relaxing holiday, off the week between Christmas and New Year. Wayne was off the entire week and it was so nice to just sleep in, hang out with Kelsie and not have a schedule, Morgan came and stayed a few days with us too. Wayne got a smoker for Christmas and several days it was nice outside and we just smoked meat, watched football and had a fire in the pit at night out on the porch. It felt like a vacation! New Year's Eve was spent at the Boyers house with our life connection group, we had a blast and rang in the New Year with our kids and a house full of joy! We spent New Year's Day celebrating Wynette's birthday and enjoyed our day with them so much.

As many of you know, during most of the holiday season Prosper Eagles were still playing football. Our church had committed, as an outreach to our community, to host a tailgate party at all away games. All the playoff games were on neutral sites so we were doing football every weekend in various places, thankfully none too far away. It was a complete BLAST to host these parties. We had some expert tailgaters cooking and we just got to serve people and meet new people. We stayed for every game and the final state playoff game was at Texas Stadium where we fed over 1,000 people brisket, hot dogs, nachos, funnel cakes, etc. The band was there, cheerleaders, parents, etc. To top it all off Prosper won state! The whole town was there I think - that is fun!!!

Kelsie - She is doing very well. Made all A's on her last report card - we are so proud of her hard work adjusting to a new way of doing just about everything. We are so blessed that she is our daughter. She is still in Honor Choir and they will be singing the National Anthem with other Prosper choirs in April at the Roughriders game. Kelsie is playing basketball right now for a team called The Longshots. They have played 2 games and are 1-1. Their coach is great and the team is learning alot, improving every week. They are off next week so they have a week to refine those plays they are learning.

House - We are still house hunting. We are meeting with a couple of builders this week but at this point are still keeping all options open. Living in the farm house was fun during the holidays with all the things going on and it's a blessing right now to have the luxury of taking our time to make the right decision on a new house.

Job and Church - I am currently teaching preschool music very part time - 2 mornings a week. I like it and have been blessed not to be in a position to find a job right away. I am hoping (about 95% sure it will happen) to teach preschool (4's) next year Monday - Thursday as our First Friends program is expanding to full time. Church is going great! We love our Life Connection group and were so blessed to join that class in its inception and meet everyone as they have come in new like us. We have grown to love each other more and more. This weekend we had our Deeper Worship Conference. Words can't describe the presence of the Lord this weekend but it was just such a sweet time of worship, diving into God's word, fasting, praying and listening to what God is saying to us individually and collectively. We were blessed by Steve Hardin and Billy and Cindy Foote. They are men and women who walk in the Spirit, prophetic worshippers and proclaimers of the word. WOW! I am really looking forward to tomorrow. Wayne loves the men he serves with more and more every day, they have such a mutual respect for one another and a belief that God has uniquely placed each one there on a team for a purpose of Kingdom growth in this place! So exciting to see the passion they have.

So, as you read - know we are blessed. My thankful list is just that God has richly blessed us with family and friends like you. Some of you are friends that we have walked with a long time, shared great times and icky times with - prayed over many things, helped us make tough decisions and vented frustrations. Some of you have loved us when we have shown the worst sides of ourselves or during times we were so depressed we weren't fun to be around. Some of you are new friends, we have barely begun sharing our lives with you but we know as time passes we will share many experiences. Times of joy and celebration, grief, deliverance, changes and seasons. All done in the presence of God as He guides our steps. So, tonight I go to bed thanking God for my family - my sweet daughter, my Godly husband and you!

Okay - now you are all caught up. I will try and post more faithfully from this point forward so don't give up on me!! Love to hear from you too!