Holiday recap

Saturday- sea world with our little family, my favorite was seeing the dolphins being fed, they would twirl and jump for fish. Lily was old enough for the electric Eel, giant roller coaster.

Sunday- played my piece I have been working on in church, I like to learn a new one every year, this was Sally Deford's "Once in a Royal David City"  We also had the Christmas story acted out with Lily as Mary.

Monday- Christmas we had the most relaxing dinner party, Lily and I decorated the table fancy, and we had a table for 19. It was such a relaxing night for me. One of the families brought drinks for "19 but there are a lot of children"  which I said meaning plan on less, they took it the other direction, and we had about 6 gallons of egg nog, punch, and ice water.  We all laughed about that, they were really good sports.  We put the 4 older girls in charge of the Christmas pageant, told Christmas memories, and sang hymns, it was the perfect Christmas Eve. Thank you all for coming!! Gary used the rotisserie for our Ham; it smelled so yummy.

Monday- we had quiet Christmas with the family. The kiddos got up too early to check whether Santa had come, and we had fun all morning. Lunch was at grandmas, and I even got to take a nice nap.  Lily got some "matching clothes" to go with her new American girl doll.

Tuesday- we cleaned up a bit, vacuumed the car and sent older kids to the airport to pick up our cousins

Wednesday- we headed to Galveston to play, go through the pirate museum, ride across the bay on the ferry, and check out the tree streets. It was cold, but nice to be with cousins

Thursday- woke up with a nail in my tire, yuck, but better in the driveway than at Sea world or Galveston, luckily I turned over the tire task to Uncle Troy and Grandpa.

Happy Birthday Miss L

Can't believe I became a mom 7 years ago today.  So worth it.

Miss L is an amazing friend, a true leader, a great big sister, and very talented girl.  She sings, acts, plays the piano, runs fast, draws, and writes books.  I love her so much.   It is fun to see who she is becoming.

I love having a girl

Miss L got a special present today as a prelude for her 7th birthday tomorrow. We joined her grandma and her new doll for a birthday lunch at the American doll store.

I love being able to see her spoiled a little. I also love all the sewing projects I have in my head to accomplish with her now...(doll clothes)

Just another reason I love having a girl

Camping

Great campsite at Austin state park, super clean, and nice trails, a little cold at night, but the kiddos loved it and hot chocolate warmed everyone up in the morning.

Thanks grandma for the Christmas present( the insta-tent). We opened it a little early.

Not much happening here

Just some Sunday pecan picking in a pretty spot. My kids are crazy for pecan picking, and seeing that I need pecans for my annual Christmas toffee, I encourage them.

We are looking forward to no schedule the rest of this week... And my first competitive race since high school, just a little turkey trot, but I am preparing for a half marathon that will hopefully take place New Year's Day... I am on the wait list.... So hard to find races around here not on Sunday!

Tough week

My boys have been tough on me this week. Unfortunately my energy does not extend as far as I need it to, especially when I have a cold. Despite that, I made a break through with myself this week and realized that when I do have energy... which is in the morning, it is the time I need to be listening and getting to know them. Other things can wait.

We had an amazing lecture from this man last night at church.

The take home message for me was that I need to

1) know my children well enough to be able to spiritually discern their needs
2) pray over my children,
3) remember they are individuals and what works for one does not necessarily work for another- I loved that he said this, because it allows me to dismiss well meant advise graciously.  Although it does put an actual greater spiritual burden on me to figure out what IS right for them.

I have felt the need to focus my energy on what is really important.  I really liked this quote:

Isn’t it true that we often get so busy? And, sad to say, we even wear our busyness as a badge of honor, as though being busy, by itself, was an accomplishment or sign of a superior life.

Is it?

I think of our Lord and Exemplar, Jesus Christ, and His short life among the people of Galilee and Jerusalem. I have tried to imagine Him bustling between meetings or multitasking to get a list of urgent things accomplished.

I can’t see it.

Instead I see the compassionate and caring Son of God purposefully living each day. When He interacted with those around Him, they felt important and loved. He knew the infinite value of the people He met. He blessed them, ministered to them. He lifted them up, healed them. He gave them the precious gift of His time.

More here

Halloween

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Tamale day

Thought today would be a good day for tamales... My Mexican neighbors had us over for dia de la muertos a few years ago with death cake and tamales, so I have always felt the association between the two on Halloween. Perhaps a tradition is starting?

Lily the star

Lily sang "A Castle on a Cloud" for her voice recital.  She did a great job and we are very proud of her.

Baby in a Basket

 

 

 

 

 

 

Fire truck came to lil g's preschool

A busy week

Learning to make Kamer's chocolate cake for a birthday, teaching seminary (our high school-age bible study) for both Gary and I, a boy scout camp out for Gary, Halloween party for the kids, and a pumpkin festival complete with touring a cop car.

I read this article, and although I can't say I have always desired to be a stay at home mom, I am really glad I let my religion influence that choice, and I want to be good at it.... A major league mom