Ice Day

Today we had a minor ice event so school was shut down for the whole day even though it's sunny and crisp outside now. Kelsie and Allie are out playing in it with little warm ups inside and then back out again. I am completely content staying indoors watching movies (catching up on LOST, I am only on Season 3). In other news, we are meeting with a couple of builders this weekend to see where we are on price, time, etc. So, stay warm if you are in this icy blast part of Texas.

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!

The Six Month Mark

First off I will tell you that Saturday, Kelsie's HSM3 birthday party, was lots of fun and I will tell you more about it and post pics later. Today's post is dedicated to the fact that Wayne has been on staff at First Prosper for 6 months yesterday. Sometimes I think the time has flown by and we've barely begun and in other ways it feels like we have been here forever. The last 6 months have been a major growing time for me personally just learning more and more about letting go of the control I want to have over my own life and turning it over to God's purposes. It's been difficult at times but it's also been a testament to God's graciousness as He has provided for so many of our needs - selling our home and giving us transitional housing, Kelsie making friends so easily and a great school district...the list goes on and on. (Just a side note - if there is something you are struggling with God about, I want to encourage you that there is blessing in obedience).

Sunday was a HUGE day for me as I looked up on stage during worship and saw the beginnings of Wayne's vision coming to fruition. He has always wanted to be a part of a church where he had the freedom to train up young people and give them real life experience and opportunities in ministry - leading worship, planning, team building, etc. All for the purpose of carrying out kingdom work and on Sunday morning Colin led part of our worship and did so great. Just knowing that in God's timing he will be launched into a new chapter too - can't wait to see what God does with him. I believe God will continue to bring more and more to be trained up and sent out. I see the church's passion for that - expanding God's kingdom and doing it together along the way.

So, as we mark this small milestone - 6 months - we thank God for our pastor who is steadfast in the word, he is just consistent in his pursuit of being true to God's word. We thank God for a staff that is united and more than that - they are friends. They just become closer friends and have more respect for one another the more they are together. We thank God for a church with a heart for missions - from community outreach events to personally talking to someone about Christ to missions trips and missionary support all over the world. We thank God for so many people who have just loved us and invested in us in the short time we have been here. We thank God for His presence in our worship, how He is just continuing to teach us more about Himself here and given us a family to do life with as we grow. There are still things and especially people at Wedgwood I deeply miss. But, I pray that God will continue to grow our love for Prosper just as He did while we were at Wedgwood. Pray that God will use us to expand His kingdom for His name's sake while we serve here and that we can have a part in being used to teach about having a lifestyle of worship. We are blessed!

Finally, it's Fall!

I am so glad Fall is finally here, I have loved the cooler weather this week. My husband, on the other hand, is a summer person and doesn't love the colder weather like I do. I did make him appreciate it a little more tonight by making his favorite soup (taco soup) for dinner. Once again, this week flew by us and this was the first night we were home all week. Looks like that is becoming a trend, Thursday nights at home - I like it.

Kelsie had her first honor choir rehearsal this week and she learned that they would be singing something special for their Veteran's Day program. She enjoyed rehearsal and seemed excited about things to come. Her last birthday party (thank goodness, we have birthday partied all month) is Saturday. We are taking 8 of her friends to see High School Musical 3 (much anticipated). It should be fun. Morgan is coming from Fort Worth to spend the weekend too which is a huge treat for all of us b/c we haven't seen her in a while.

There is not a whole lot of news to report - we stumbled on a house that we really like but it is not officially on the market yet. We saw a house that was an obvious foreclosure - the backyard was literally a wall of weeds waist high with absolutely NO landscaping in the front. We called the realtor on the sign and she told us it was a pre listing and the price had not been determined yet. The next day we noticed that people were clearing the backyard and cleaning the inside so we asked the contractors if we could walk through. We loved the floorplan and the location but the house was stripped down by the people that left - no appliances, doors taken off and light fixtures missing. It's a mess, but has possibilities especially for the right price. So, we will wait until it officially comes up on the market - the listing agent is suppose to call us the day before so we can have a heads up. So, we are continuing to watch new listings and monitor the few we still like as well as pray and wait on God's timing. The good thing is that we are not in a hurry and we are not tied down to rent or another mortgage. So, here is this week's thankful list:

1. Pumpkin bread Kelsie made after dinner tonight - yummy!
2. The cool weather we had this week.
3. The sweet blue birds that I got to see this afternoon out the window.
4. A hilarious episode of "The Office" tonight - the funniest one of this season so far.
5. Girls Night Out - Tuesday night out to eat with the girls and our wonderful husbands who watched the kids. It was delicious Kobe and the company was better.
6. A question that Khris (our pastor) gave us last week to ask ourselves - "What is the thing that will bring God the most glory?" That has caused us to think about houses (and other decisions) in a new way. I love that we are challenged every week by our pastor.
7. Kelsie being so sweet to little kids - they love her and she is so caring and patient with the

Hope you have a good weekend - I will hope to post pics of the Saturday party next week.

A Great Weekend

There are some weekends that fly by because you are so busy going from here to there that on Monday you can't believe the weekend is over and you wonder why you had no time to recuperate in between busy weekday/weeknight schedules. Well, that has been our weekends for a while but this weekend was a restful weekend mixed with quality family time and fun. I loved it! It started on Friday afternoon, Wayne and I got to spend the whole day together. We did spend the first half of the day with our realtor looking at some houses and taking him to lunch but the rest of the day we just hung out and then picked up Kelsie from school. That night was the Prosper/Celina game - a good game with a better outcome. It was a blast to be there and see this year's team win this huge rivalry game. Saturday morning we all slept late and then watched college football and capped off the day with Kelsie having a friend and a babysitter over while we met the Griffs at Babe's in Carrollton for dinner - we had a lot of catching up to do with them. Sunday worship was great, it never gets old seeing how many men come to the altar every week to pray. It always sets a tone for worship. After lunch, we came home to watch the Cowboy's play (I love having a DVR, we didn't have to watch commercials) and that was disappointing and UGLY. We squeezed in a quick nap and then took Kelsie to Prosper Party Place for Allie's birthday party. They played laser tag and games. Wayne played one game of laser tag with them - they broke up into teams of 6 and he was his own team. After the party was over, we came home and made a fire in the fire pit because it was a chilly night. We ended up roasting hot dogs for dinner and we all said we felt like we were away somewhere - it was dark, quiet, the stars were bright and we were sitting by a fire on the perfect night roasting hot dogs.

So, today is Monday and we are back to our normal busy schedules. Kelsie is off at school, Wayne is spending his day off site to do mega planning and I have a huge to do list that is typical for Monday, cleaning, laundry, grocery shopping, bill paying and errand running. This week I think we have something going on every night but this weekend was fabulous and we can hope for more like it! See below - a few pics taken with my phone after the game on Friday night.

People starting to rush the field when the game was over.....fun!

From top - Joy, Sarah, Kelsie, Karis, Kensey and Caroline after the game.

Prosper Wins!!!

Wow! What a game last night - Prosper beat their biggest rivals, Celina, last night 33-7. It was a huge win since Prosper hasn't beat Celina in 24 years. We had a blast at the game. Hope you are having a good weekend. We are enjoying a lazy Saturday with Kelsie working on some craft projects and Wayne and I watching Texas Tech play A & M. Love days like this and we look forward to worship tomorrow. Will post some pics later.

Thursday Already?

I can't believe it's already Thursday, this week has flown by and so I will start with this week's thankful list:

• My Sunday School Class has been a blessing to me just watching them really do life together. They all step up so many times when there are things going on in each others lives. They are a GREAT group of friends!
• Pumpkin Spice Limited Edition coffee pods for the Keurig that I found at Bed, Bath and Beyond - yummy! My very own starbucks at home (cheaper and less fattening too, a win/win)
• Time to sit down and eat breakfast with Kelsie several days this week. I love starting my day with her.
• Our dentist (Dr. Toney) and orthodontist (Dr. Jensen) - both professional and exceptional in their field and generous men of God. Kelsie has been relaxed and comfortable with both of them which is so important to me!
• The cooler weather - it's been nice to have the rain and the cooler morning today. Fall is my favorite.
• Market Street's Chicken Tortilla Soup. Yum!
• Karen Kingsbury's "Sunset" which I am reading now. I have to force myself to put it down at night so I don't stay up until 2 a.m.
• Watching all the bunnies, birds, and especially the hawk at the farm house - it's fun to have nature all around (as long as it doesn't include snakes and mice - so far they haven't come up to the house but I know they are out there).

Monday night we went to look at some vacant/foreclosed houses. Even though our plan is to wait until after the first of the year to move, we learned that foreclosures take a while to work out and close so we decided to go and look. There were a few we liked, nothing we loved yet. We have a few houses that we are watching but don't want to see yet because people live in them and we know how it is to be given false hope by lookers that aren't serious. We will wait on those until Nov/Dec. It is fun to look at houses though and it gives us good ideas of what neighborhoods to narrow our search to, so it's useful even if we aren't making offers yet.

Tuesday night we ordered On the Border for a Deeper Worship Conference meeting at the farm house. I love the team that is working on this project! God really has assembled such a talented team and we all have such different strengths that we work very well together. It will be an incredible weekend-don't miss it! Wednesday we had our first visit to the orthodontist, Dr. Jensen, who was fabulous. We loved him, he was great interacting with Kelsie and explaining stuff to us. We left with a good understanding of what we need to do now and the long term plan for her future smile. Right now, we have to see a specialist for a root canal on the malformed tooth so there won't be decay later and they can shape the tooth further. After that is done, the tooth next to it (a baby tooth) needs to be pulled to make room for the impacted tooth that is not wanting to come down in the right spot. All of her other teeth (she still has 7 baby teeth) look like they are coming in correctly. So, we get those things done and see him in one year to take another x-ray and see where the impacted tooth is and how the other teeth have come in so we can go from there straightening the turned tooth and whatever else they need to address. Kelsie enjoyed looking at the x-ray of all her baby teeth and perm teeth that are in there - I think she was counting the tooth fairy money!

So, tonight kinda starts the weekend for me - the first night we haven't had plans this week so we can actually sit down to dinner together and spend some quality family time. On Friday, Wayne and I get to hang out together - I am looking forward to spending the day with him. Then we have Friday Night Football, Prosper plays their biggest rivals Celina this week so it's a huge game and should be fun! Okay, if my weekend is to start tonight I better get busy on finishing up laundry and stuff. Have a great weekend!

Birthday Celebration Weekend 2

This weekend was Kelsie's birthday celebration weekend #2 with Wayne's family. Normally, we have one celebration for family and one for friends but typically in the same weekend but this year ended up being a little different and will expand almost the whole month of October. I'm sure Kelsie doesn't mind getting gifts all month. So, this weekend was kicked off on Friday morning with Rucker Rocks at Kelsie's school. She was recognized on stage with the other birthday kids and they have to do a little dancing in front of everyone. Luckily, Kelsie had a friend from her class (Miranda) that went up with her and a little girl (Emma) in Kindergarten that she knows from church was up there, so she was a little more comfortable but I think still a little embarrassed.

Kelsie on stage, getting ready to dance. Miranda in black and pink and Emma in white and blue standing with her.

Kelsie's class made a sign to show school spirit so they could win the gold rock for the week.

4th Grade won!!!

Kelsie and Kensey before it started. Kensey got Rucker Rocks for the week (an award that is given out to kids who do extraordinary things that week - see Kennedy Krew blog for details)

On Saturday, we had everyone out in the afternoon to celebrate (after the Texas/OU game). We always let Kelsie pick the menu so she wanted to cook outside hot dogs and roast s'mores. We purchased a small fire pit to have an open fire so we could cook out hot dogs and s'mores. It was nice weather outside so we all enjoyed sitting outside on the deck and the kids had a good time playing and exploring. We had a great time getting together for Kelsie's birthday!!

Kelsie got lots of webkins from her cousins.

Kelsie and "rattlesnake" she got - look closely....Aunt Joy is so creative.

Wayne, the fire starter.

Christopher, Brittany and Wayne roasting marshmallows.

Posing for a silly pic - they didn't want a sweet, smiling, serious picture.

An unconventional Birthday Cake - a s'more without the graham cracker...????

Made a wish!!! Happy 10th, my big girl.

Kelsie and Brittany both like their s'mores without graham cracker. A Gooey mess!

Hey - watch the hair!

As you can see, we had a fun weekend. Hope yours was good....more later.

I See Some Dentists in Our Future

We had a good visit with Dr. Toney (our wonderful dentist and elder at FBC) yesterday for Kelsie. She has a tooth in the top front that is turned slightly so we went for a little repair before our trip to the orthodontist next Wednesday. After some x-rays and investigation, he saw some things with that tooth (technical names I don't get) leading him to believe she needs to see a root canal specialist to fix it so it doesn't decay. YIKES!! Also, another tooth is impacted and not growing the right way to replace the baby tooth that is loose. So, we have some dental work in our future and we will know more next Wednesday. However, because he had to do some repair to that tooth and look at it closely, she had to have the top part of her mouth numb. It was so funny b/c she was shocked at how big her lip felt and that she couldn't talk or anything. She also hated the feeling that she couldn't swallow so they just gave her the little wand that sucks out the fluid from your mouth. She did really good being still and doing what they said, we were proud of her b/c she hates anything done to her mouth. Also, once we got home, the tooth that was loose she pulled so the tooth fairy brought $5 which made it all worth while in her eyes.

This is a pic that Wayne took with his phone because she was trying to smile...funny.

THIS WEEKS THANKFUL LIST:

• Wayne is home this week and got back safely from Ecuador. The stories and pics are great - can't wait to continue hearing more from everyone that went.
• Cooler weather - each morning and evening has been beautiful. We have enjoyed spending time outside on the deck.
• A 7 minute commute to Kelsie's school.
• Kelsie making friends at school and church - she has already made such sweet friends at both school and church. Everyone has welcomed us with open arms and I am thankful for a smooth transition.
• The new iphone apps - love the grocery list maker and the balance sheet.
• Harvest Candles (Yankee) - my favorite.
• Praying friends and family - we love you!!

Random Stuff

Kelsie's Birthday - On Monday Wayne took the day off because he had been gone to Ecuador all week and was tired and starting to feel a little under the weather. So, we took lunch to Kelsie at school. It was the first time we had eaten lunch with her at school and we enjoyed meeting some of her little friends. It cracked me up how the kids immediately separated into boys at one end of the table and girls at the other - I know that won't last much longer but it's cute that they are like that still. I asked Kelsie if any of the girls ever mix it up by going down there and sitting with the boys and she gave me a definitive NO!!! When we picked her up from school at 3, she immediately opened her gift and then we let her choose where to go eat that night - she chose JinBeh, a favorite for all of us! She said the kids in class counted down her birth time (12:04 p.m.) and said Happy Birthday to her in class - how cute!! The celebration continues on Friday with Rucker Rocks - I hope to post some pics of that later in the weekend.

Microwave Fire - Tuesday morning I was heating up some bacon in the microwave for Kelsie's breakfast and I put in a Happy Birthday plate left over from Grammy's house this weekend. It went up in flames - big flames. Apparently you cannot put paper plates in the microwave if it has little foil sparkles on it! YIKES.

Margaret was kidnapped - While I was at my mom's house, my gps (Margaret) along with Kelsie's portable DVD player and my iphone car charger were stolen. My mom's neighborhood is rear entry garage in an alley and I must have left my car door unlocked at some point and it presented a nice opportunity for someone to help themselves. I am thankful there wasn't a "break in," no broken glass or anything like that to deal with and they did close the door back so the light didn't stay on and run my battery down. Of course, Kelsie was upset b/c it meant a 5 hour drive with no movie but I assured her she would make it - after all, what did kids do before portable DVD players? She didn't know and didn't care! She did find some things to do like read and draw, listen to her ipod (which was in a bag and not stolen, thank goodness) and then we practiced "Christmas in Reverse" which was a good thing for both of us to do. It wasn't that bad but will all be replaced. I am LOST without Margaret. JERKS!!!!

House Hunting - Before Wayne left for Ecuador, we had been house hunting on the internet and narrowing down our search to 3-4 houses that we were going to look at once he got back. Now with financials and credit the way it is, we have decided to hold off a little and have more cash when we make an offer on something. So, we are back to our original plan to wait until after the first of the year and hope that things settle down. We are anxious to have our own house for sure but living at the farm house has been fun and it's really great when the first of the month rolls around and we don't have to make a house payment. We know God has the perfect house for us (within our budget) and His timing will be perfect just as it was when our house sold. So, we will keep praying, sorta looking and wait for "our" house.

Well, I have finished my cup of coffee and I need to get busy with some household chores and errands today. Talk later.

Happy 10th, Kelsie

Happy Birthday, Kelsie.  Since you are 10, I thought I would make a top ten list of the things I love about you (in no particular order):

1. You are sweet to other kids, especially little kids.
2. You use your gifts in music to praise God.
3. You love to cook and help in the kitchen.
4. You like to help me pick out jewelry and shoes.
5. You like to go and play golf with your dad.
6. You love animals and are so responsible with Raider.
7. You are not afraid to tell people about Jesus and your relationship with God.
8. You have a heart for people in different places all over the world, especially kids.
9. You are a leader.
10. You are a good daughter and a good friend.  

We thank God for giving you to us.  We love you and can't believe you are 10 years old!  We are so proud of the young lady God is shaping you into.  We love you!  Mom and Dad

Surprise!!

Wayne and the Ecuador team got back yesterday afternoon around 6 p.m.  He was not expecting us to pick him at the airport but SURPRISE!! we were there.  Our original plan was to go to San Angelo on Friday and come back on Sunday but when we realized that the team was getting back so early, we decided to pick Wayne up at the airport and surprise him.  So, we went to San Angelo on Thursday after school and went straight to the airport on Saturday. Wayne was very surprised when he came through the door and saw us standing there.  He wanted to go to Sonic and get iced tea with ice (b/c they couldn't have ice all week) and so we drove through and came home to eat and look at all his pictures from the trip.  It was nice to have him home again and we enjoyed looking at all the pics and hearing about his days in Ecuador.  

Monday is Kelsie's birthday, she will be 10 - I can't believe it.  We went to San Angelo this weekend to celebrate with my family since my grandmother cannot travel right now due to having her surgery a few weeks ago.  We had a great time visiting with everyone even though it was a quick trip.  Kelsie requested grammy's mashed potatoes so we had grilled chicken with all the fixins including funfetti cake.  We will celebrate with her tomorrow by taking her lunch at school and opening presents after school is out.  On Friday at school, she will get to dance on stage at Rucker Rocks so we will be there to see her do that.  Next weekend, Wayne's family will come out to the farm house on Saturday to cook out and celebrate and then she will have a party with her friends a few weeks later when "High School Musical 3" opens.  So, I guess this year we will have a month full of birthday celebration which is okay for double digits.  

Other good news is that Kelsie made Honor Choir.  We got the letter on Thursday and she was really excited about it.  They get to sing at the town's Christmas event as well as other events throughout the year.  It should be lots of fun, we are proud of her!

Thursday's Thankful List

First, we are doing well - thanks for all your e-mails, phone calls and facebook messages but especially thanks for your prayers for us and for the Ecuador team. You can read the missions blog to find out some of what has gone on during the trip and see a few pics. They did not have internet service last night but hope to have it today to post again before they begin traveling back on Friday. Our week at home has been busy with our regular school and church stuff going on and this weekend we will travel to San Angelo to celebrate Kelsie's birthday with my family.

Last week, I said that I felt a need to have a weekly thankful list as a matter of discipline instead of just a "Thanksgiving" season thing. It's been good for me all week to just think about the things I am thankful for, when you start doing this you realize how blessed you are by God. Psalm 30 says :

"I will extol You, O LORD, for You have lifted me up, And have not let my foes rejoice over me. O LORD my God, I cried out to You, And You healed me. O LORD, You brought my soul up from the grave; You have kept me alive, that I should not go down to the pit. Sing praise to the LORD, you saints of His, And give thanks at the remembrance of His holy name. For His anger is but for a moment, His favor is for life; Weeping may endure for a night, But joy comes in the morning. Now in my prosperity I said, I shall never be moved.” LORD, by Your favor You have made my mountain stand strong; You hid Your face, and I was troubled. I cried out to You, O LORD; And to the LORD I made supplication: “What profit is there in my God, When I go down to the pit? Will the dust praise You? Will it declare Your truth? Hear, O LORD, and have mercy on me; LORD, be my helper!” You have turned for me my mourning into dancing; You have put off my sackcloth and clothed me with gladness, To the end that my glory may sing praise to You and not be silent. O LORD my God, I will give thanks to You forever."

My Thursday Thankful List:

• Friends that pray, support and encourage us
• Kelsie's sweet spirit toward others
• Coffee - this week I needed it EVERY morning
• Facebook chatting - we got to talk to Wayne using this without paying a gazillion dollars to talk on the phone
• The fact that we are healthy
• The opportunity for me to be room mom and volunteer at Kelsie's school and be home right now
• During this financial mess - that our house sold before all this stuff happened

Hope you have a good weekend. What about you, do you have a thankful list for the week?

Girls Weekend

Saturday morning, our Ecuador team left and we had a sweet prayer time before they left early on Saturday (too early for a Saturday morning if you ask me). Wayne was able to call for less than a minute last night just to say all is well, travel was smooth and everyone on the trip is feeling good (no illness). They are going up into the mountains today. He said they were hoping to have access to phone and internet at the base where they are staying tonight so hopefully we will get to talk to him and they will be able to upload their photos on the missions blog.

Saturday morning, Kelsie, Allie and I were signed up to serve at the First Prosper booths at the Prosper Arts and Music Festival. The festival was originally set for early September, but it was the same weekend that Hurricane Ike came through so because of the wind and rain, it was postponed. We had two tents set up near the kid's area and we had a kid's craft to do along with a community, active art project for everyone to contribute to as they walked by. It was lots of fun and we worked from 10 to 1, the girls had a good time and we had a steady flow of people visiting us. I love that our church is so willing to do things out in the community, to support the community and to meet people. There was no gimmic for getting names or any secondary agenda like that - just serving. So, after our shift was over we got to walk around and see the artists that were there and visit the kids area. The girls got to paint pumpkins, jump houses, ride a horse, pet animals in a petting zoo and then shop. There were many good artists, we ended up with necklaces from a jewelry artist. After coming home to rest a little while, we decided to go to a movie so we went to see "Journey to the Center of the Earth" in 3-D. It was a good movie and the girls were ready for bed when we got home. Sunday worship was good - we prayed for the Ecuador team and celebrated the fact that the vision to train up others and send them out was visible as so many stepped up to serve in the absence of most of our staff and other leaders on the trip. We had a sweet time of worship under the leadership of Colin.

Necklaces the girls picked out.

Kelsie and Allie working hard getting the craft project ready and helping kids do theirs. They were hard workers and did great!

This week will be busy, but we are counting the days to Kelsie's 10th! She can't wait to be double digits. Growing up fast. This week at school, her class is on safety patrol morning duty and her day was today. We are hoping to find out about Honor choir some time this week as well - we will keep you posted.

Pray for our Ecuador Team

Please pray for our team going to Ecuador, they leave in the morning. See our FBC Missions blog under my ministry links for updates this week. I will also try and post pics from Kelsie and Allie working with me at the Prosper Arts and Music festival tomorrow. Should be fun helping the kids make art projects and checking things out ourselves when we are done with our shift. Keep you updated - have a good weekend!

The Rope Swing

Kelsie posing on her new swing.

Out at the farm house, there was a broken rope hanging from a tree close to the house. Kelsie and Allie had moved the trampoline under it so they could reach it and swing on it. It gave Kelsie the idea while we were at Home Depot to buy a new and longer rope. So, MaMaw and Joy splurged and bought her one and then on our way out of the Wal-Mart parking lot they spotted a peice of board on the side of the parking lot entrance that would be perfect for a swing seat. So, Wayne got out and picked it up. On Tuesday night, Wayne and Kelsie had the project of hanging the rope on the tree and then attaching the board as a swing. Kelsie is such a little monkey and loved climbing all over it. The perfect homemade project especially fitting for the farm house which I am sure will provide hours of fun. Who needs a rainbow swing set?

This was a picture taken with Wayne's iphone camera of Kelsie looking out the big barn doors at sunset. I want to go back and take another with my camera so you can get the whole perspective but too many wasps right now.....eeeekkkkksss

Kelsie on the swing. (This is the view at night from our back porch)

Other news from Kelsie's world - there were auditions on Wednesday morning for honor choir at school. She and Kinzy (her friend, our pastor's daughter) were the only 2 that didn't sing Happy Birthday - good for them for being more creative! I will let you know the outcome when we find out. She finally earned enough money in class that she paid to sit with a friend at lunch so she got to sit with Kinzy at lunch yesterday. I was thinking that meant she was now broke but she said she still has $200 (Klinenberg Krones) to buy other things if she wants to later. I'm glad they got to enjoy lunch together and proud of her for her money management skills (although she's not quite as frugal with our money). Also yesterday, little Ms. Caroline came over to play after school. Caroline is 4 years old and has grown attached to some of the older girls, thinking she is their age. It's so cute! So, as a big girl, she came home to play with Kelsie after school. The cutest part was that in the car on the way to the church, Caroline was already lining up more plans saying that Kelsie could bring her pajamas and come over to spend the night at her house. She is just so precious and she loves Kelsie. I'm so proud of Kelsie for being such a sweet girl and loving people. She is just a blessing to us!

In honor of this week officially being Fall, I must continue my tradition of having a "thankful" list. I did this last year a couple of times during Thanksgiving but now I am thinking as a discipline that it should be a once a week thing - not just whenever I am "feeling" thankful. So, here goes this week's list:

• Pumpkin Spice Latte - and a friend that brings them to me from Frisco since we do not have a Starbucks here yet - Thanks Patti!
• Sitting on the back porch at the farm house enjoying the quiet and the breeze.
• Watching Kelsie walk from school to the church with her friends and being there to pick her up to hear about her day over Sonic happy hour drinks.
• Shane and Shane worship songs revisited this week while cleaning house.
• My husband who is allowing me to take my time in figuring out a balance between work and home (and also that he is my best friend who listens to all my crap that is important to me but he could care less about, like the jewelry I ordered or how much I saved at the grocery store).
• Listening to Kelsie hum and sing in the mornings when she is getting ready.
• Keeping up with friends from everywhere on blogs and facebook - I love technology.
• That my nana is still recovering well from surgery and doing better every day.
• That "The Office" premiere is tonight!

List disclaimer: This does not encompass EVERYTHING I am thankful for but it's this week's list. Please read my lists knowing that some stuff seems stupid and it's not all spiritual stuff. No, I am not leaving God off the list but my thankful lists are done with the knowledge that without God's grace in my life I would have no blessings and that the most important blessing is a security for the future in heaven with Him and the security of now that I get to participate in His kindgom building while I am on earth. So, I am not excluding God from the list but everything I am thankful for comes from God. I owe Him my very life. I hope you have a long thankful list - love to hear yours! Have a good weekend and check out the new FBC Prosper Missions blog and pray for the Ecuador team who leaves this Saturday.

A Monday Off

You couldn't ask for a better Monday!  The Cowboys won last night and we got to stay at friends to watch, not to worry about school the next day because Kelsie was out for Teacher/Parent Conferences.  Kelsie ended up spending the night with a friend and Wayne got up early to go and play in a golf tournament so I got to sleep until 9 a.m. and it was great.  We did have Kelsie's conference with her teacher this afternoon and it was all good.  She is doing well and adjusting well - her teacher said she is social in class (meaning she talks in class) but it's not a discipline issue and she is doing well academically.  We are very proud of her!  After the conference we ran some errands together and then Wayne was off to play softball (the first one of the season).  By the way - Wayne's team did win the Prosper Open but he was disappointed in the prize which was a "Showroom Detail" at a car place.  On the up side, he did get to play the country club course which he doesn't get the opportunity to play that often and his car will be extra clean.  

This weekend was busy but fun.  Friday night was an away game so we did our community tailgate.  Those are lots of fun as people from the community stop and eat with us before the game.  Prosper beat the Frisco fighting Racoons easily - we left at the end of the 3rd quarter because it was 36-6.  On Saturday, Mamaw (Wayne's mom) and Aunt Joy came for a quick visit. We gave them the Prosper tour and just grilled out and hung out at home catching up and playing with Kelsie.  Unfortunately, the faucet at the kitchen sink broke so after 3 trips to Home Depot, Wayne was able to fix it - a pain.  Worship on Sunday was good but the best part of Sunday was our Connect First class (a class for new members).  We had lots of new people and we had a great time getting to know some of them better.  We are looking forward to the next one.  It's always amazing to me to hear the testimonies of people coming to Prosper, they are all unique stories of God's grace, His provision and how He moves people to accomplish things in His kingdom.  We are humbled that God uses us to build His kingdom and we see His hand so clearly at work in this body in Prosper.  Exciting days are ahead as we grow together into more family.  Have a good week, more soon.

Adventures at the Farm House

We have lived here now for two months and have experienced things that make living in the farm house...um, let's say interesting. First you should know how blessed and thankful we are to live here in the farm house and how generous First Prosper has been to let us live here after our house sold. At first it was a necessity because there was no way we could have 2 house payments but they are letting us live here rent free (only paying utilities) for 6 months. It's the only time in our marriage we have not had a rent or mortgage payment and it allows us to save, save, save for a new house and pay off some lingering debt. So, as I describe the interesting, things that have happened to us living here please know none of it is a complaint - it's just life that happens and it has happened to us here. So, now that my disclaimer is done, here's are a few stories about our adventures at the farm house....

• We have had our washer overflow (thank goodness it's all tile flooring) and once the plumber came on a Saturday we learned it was a major clog (septic tank - yuk) which called for the real deal kinda plumber, not the guy on the weekend that can do minor repairs. What made this difficult was that we were in between events in our household. We have just moved and Kelsie had returned from camp with several loads and we were scheduled to leave on Monday for a week in Austin and San Antonio. Several people offered to have us come over and do laundry but we had so many loads it would have taken all day so we went back to college! Yes, we visited the laundromat near UNT. Kelsie loved it and we got all the laundry done quickly - those machines are HUGE. So, while it was inconvenient it worked out that we all pitched in and did the laundry together and were entertained at the same time!
• We got struck by lightning. Seriously! There was a huge antennae on the front of the house the previous owners used I guess but we never thought anything of it until the morning we heard the huge boom sound. Wayne was getting dressed for work and I was still in bed (it was still summer and only 7:30 a.m.). Kelsie and Kinzy (her friend) were in the guest room sleeping. Of course it woke us all up and then Wayne smelled smoke and the smoke alarms went off. We got out immediately and called 911 so the fire department came. Thankfully it hit the antennae and fried all the phone line wires in the attic and blew out the phone box and phone jacks. Weird and yes, the antennae has been taken down.
• We have seen lots of wildlife and bugs. The bunnies under the deck, we see a lot of bunnies every night. We have seen a racoon, squirrel, armadillo, green snake, preying mantis, hawk (a separate story), possum, stray barn cats, mice in the field, many varieties of bees and wasps, cicada, very large spiders on ginormous spider webs and lots of different kinds of birds.
• We have two hawks that frequent the farm house property looking for food. It's actually really cool to watch them. They are very large and I will admit that it's a little unnerving to see one of them so close to the house looking for food and walking outside with prey on a leash (Raider - Needless to say, he is never off his leash outside because we have heard there are also bobcats out here but we haven't see one yet.) Anyway, we have watched it stalk bunnies and squirrel and swoop down to pick them up, it's amazing to watch the process. One morning we walked out to see it sitting on top of a victim having breakfast - Kelsie and Wayne got out the binoculars. Does this make us country-fied or what?

These are a few of the things we experience out here. It's fun and because we have a large deck we did a few nights of what we called "coffee on the porch" for people to come by and visit so we could get to know some families better. We had a great time getting to know everyone that came by. I hope your week was good, ours has flown by but we have had a great week. Kelsie got a little solo part in the musical the kids are doing in December. The cast list has been set and the kids are doing so well on the music and choreography. Tonight was the first night in a while that we were all home, no company and no plans so we spent the evening together just hanging out and it was fun! Tomorrow a football game and tailgate in Frisco which is always fun and then Wayne's mom and Aunt Joy are coming for a quick visit on Saturday and Sunday. Hope you have a good weekend and enjoy the BEAUTIFUL weather.

Solitude and Silence

This week I am reading "Intimacy with the Almighty" (Charles Swindoll) as part of a team I am serving on at church for our Deeper Worship Conference in January. Okay - stop - I need to plug this event before I go on.....DON'T MISS IT!!! This is going to be such a great time of worship and teaching, Steve Hardin from The Village Church and Billy and Cindy Foote - wow! The planning team God has put together is incredible - everyone with very specific giftings and talents. This will be a great time for personal growth and family bonding. Okay - plug over. So as I am sitting on the back porch on Monday morning reading about the importance of solitude and silence before God, I realized that even though it was a still and quiet morning, the birds were chirping and it was beautiful weather that I am still not completely quiet and still. My phone was dinging - an e-mail and then a text, a different text, the dog needed my attention, I was taking notes, another e-mail....you get the picture. I realized that even when I am having a "quiet time" I was busying myself with other stuff in the middle of it. I realized I do this alot - I think I'm being quiet because noone is home or there is no music or tv but really I am still multi-tasking. I am cheating myself out of quality time with God by giving Him just some of my attention. Even in praying - I seem to "pray on the go" - praying for people and situations all during the day - which is good but no real time to just stop and listen. So, as our Life Connection Group leader has asked us to read and have quiet time 7 days out of 7, I am realizing for me that means more than just reading - it means being QUIET and STILL!!! I'm still thinking through a realistic solution (getting up at 5 is not realistic for me) for this - to set aside a completely quiet time with God, no phone, no people, no dog, no computer, no music - this will be a learned discipline.

As you know, we were suppose to be on a cruise this week. Instead we are maintaining our regular routine here, which is fine. Wayne was planned ahead so it's good because this gives him a chance to work on some longer range projects and he was able to pick Kelsie up from school yesterday and go play a little golf. They had a good time. I worked in the 3 year old class at First Friends yesterday (they are so cute) and then was able to go and do a little shopping since Wayne and Kelsie were busy. I was thinking yesterday how much I love that I can be at Sam Moon and Stonebriar Centre in 20 minutes! For the first time, I went to Sam Moon and didn't buy anything (I was looking for a specific thing they didn't have). Usually when you drive over an hour to shop there you stay for hours and buy whatever you find that you like because you won't be back for 6 months.

On a family note - my 76 year old grandmother had neck surgery yesterday to repair 4 disks...ouch. She did really well and is doing well today. I know many of you were praying, the whole family was a little nervous I think about future nerve damage and other complications that come with that kind of surgery but she did very well and is on the road to recovery, I think scheduled to go home as early as Thursday. Thanks for your prayers and e-mails. More soon.

No Cruise

At some point today, Carnival got the news that Galveston was closed so they cancelled the cruise. We will get a full refund so we can rebook. I think Kelsie is secretly glad because she is hoping when we reschedule, she can go with us. On the upside, it gives me more time to say I'm going to lose a little weight before the cruise.

On another note, lovin the cool weather tonight on the back porch. We sat out there after a meeting at church tonight and it was almost cold. Lovely! Worship was so sweet today and as we sang, read scripture, prayed, gave and dove deeply into the word, the Spirit of God was present in our worship-encouraging, convicting and healing. I am thankful for the body here to worship and serve alongside. Stay tuned for adventures at the farm house......