What Will They Say About You?

Yesterday afternoon I attended the funeral of a woman who should not have been having a funeral. She was young, beautiful, fun and had lots of life yet to live. According to me that is. God obviously had other plans. Her entire life changed in one day where she was fine and then in less than a year, I was sitting at her funeral. Life is really confusing sometimes ya know it? But as I was sitting there looking at all the flowers in a church that I attended most of my life, letting memories of Tina flood me, I started thinking: What will they say about me? Will I be one of those that the preacher tells the family that it was a blessing just for them to have me in their life? Will I even have enough people attend to have it in a church? Will people say that I've left a legacy? Funerals are funny things. They make you think of things that I usually don't carve out time to think about. Will my time be short like hers or will I live to be an old wrinkly woman? We just don't know. And I think attending that funeral made that more evident than ever. But there are some things that I vowed to myself to do from here on out:

1. Tell someone that will be charge at that time that I do not want any crying at my funeral. Seriously. Think of where I will be....seriously! Jump up and down for me and DANCE!

2. Live my life every day in a way that others want to know, "What is that joy?" flowing out of me. I love my God and I need to show others that EVERY SINGLE DAY. Whether it's smiling at the clerk at Wal-Mart or helping a stranger, my desire is for Jesus to ooze out me like nothing else. Isn't that a great word picture? Jesus oozing out of you...eyes, ears, mouth, hands, feet, pores....and if He's oozing, then there is nowhere else for Him to go but cover those that are near me. I love that!

3. Tell my loved ones just that. They are my loved ones. They need to know how much I love them at least 50,000 times a day don't ya think? And hug and kiss them and LOVE them!

I also decided what songs I want at my funeral:

It is Well with my Soul (the Jars of Clay version)

I Am Free (Newsboys)

It's gonna be Alright (Sara Groves)

Even though yesterday was sad and Tina will be missed terribly, I think just with me alone God's purpose for her life was fulfilled. Her life through her death touched me and opened my eyes to some things that I needed to be reminded of. It really was a celebration of life and God's awesome glory for us. He gives us these people to bless us, share laughs with us and help us in our walk with Him.

God, thank you for Tina and the time she was here with us. She was a wonderful woman and full of your spirit that has transcended to everyone who spent time with her. Thank you for your love for us.

School's starting!

Well, school has started for everyone else so we decided that we would start also. But...we started last week. We did a whole three days of Math and English before we took our back-t0-school trip with our home school group on Friday. The kids just needed to be brought back into structure and schedule slowly and...we aren't done having fun this summer so we still are not on a early bedtime routine. That's what I love about homeschooling. We can start when we want, do as much as we want, and cater our schedule to what fits us best. So we will start full force, all subjects in September but right now we are just getting use to what this year will be about, how long each day will take us, and how to fit everything in productively.

Here are my kiddos on their first day of school in front of the school house.

Bare foot and all :)

Princess is ready for second grade!

Fourth grade here we come!

On Friday, we took our back-to-school trip with our home school group to Lubbock. We started the day (early!) at an apple orchard where we got to pick fresh apples, eat fresh apples, and buy fresh apple products to bring home. YUM!

Our group is growing! We had two new families join us this trip and it's so exciting to see new faces that are choosing to travel down this same road.

Since we were in Lubbock and public schools had not started yet, we asked a cousin that lives in Lubbock to join us for the day. She came home with us and spent the night too!

Princess and Gracie getting ready to go pick some apples!

Here is our guide telling us all about how they started this orchard and what their plans are for the future. He was super nice to the kiddos and was very welcoming when we wanted to just pick the apples right off the tree and snack. :)

The transportation for our tour was a hayride. Unfortunately, it didn't fit all of us! But that's okay, some of us moms and dads were more than willing to walk. It was so hot that day and I'm pretty sure I sweat off any sugars and or calories that I took in.

After the apple orchard and cooling off during lunch, we went to the Science Spectrum. Our visit started off by watching a movie on Storm Chasers on their I M A X screen. It was very cool. Then we just let the kids explore and discover as much as they wanted until it was time to leave.

The moms got involved in discovering too...of course!

Little Man spinning around and around and around....

Gracie and Princess spent a long time at this exhibit. You put sand into the pendulum and when you released it, there would be a design made from the sand pouring out. They tried making all kinds of designs and had such a good time together.

This has always been one of Little Man's favorite exhibits. It is ping pong balls going through different paths and directions making cause and effect reactions that are precise and exact. He is always mesmerized by this and I won't be surprised if he ends up with a smaller version of it after his birthday. :)

We spent almost to closing time at the science spectrum and then headed for home. It was such a wonderful day and we made good memories. It made it even more special to have a cousin with us that we don't get to see very often.

When we got home, I came out to unload the car and this was the view from the driveway. God can do some amazing things ya know? :) Notice the moon right at the top of the picture. It was just magnificent!

After some much needed rest the girls woke up very ready to play, giggle and do all the things that little girls do. They fixed hair, painted nails, played school and got along every step of the way. That is a huge blessing to have another little girl for Princess to play with and get along with. We don't have enough that are close enough so it was so fun to just sit back and watch them play.

They even let Little Man join in on some fun and played in the water on the trampoline. Memories!!

So even though our school year has started, I've tried to teach the kids that it doesn't mean that our fun and living our lives to the fullest has to stop. I feel like that they are my mission field right now and I pray that God helps His love and respect for them shine through me. I love my life!!

Squeeeeeeze!

Well we have been doing our best to get every last second of fun out of summer before it's gone. Even though our school year will be very flexible, when our pool is open for only another week, we know it's time to start thinking about fall. So while we are completely wearing ourselves out, we are having fun, and making lasting memories.

Monday: We went to the park and then to the pool....
Tuesday: We went to Wonderland with my parents, brother-in-law, and two nephews. It was so much fun to watch my kiddos have 'child-like' fun with their grandparents. They were really good sports and seemed to have much fun as the kids.

We started by letting each kid pick their ride from youngest to oldest. Jaden picked the train so we all hopped aboard. My dad really is having fun...he just doesn't seem like it right at this moment. :)

See? Now he's smiling! Him and my mom on the Carousel.

Princess enjoying one of the many water rides they went on that night.

Even the big boys got to ride big kid rides and yes, they did scream like little girls!

Little Man riding the Tilt-A-Whirl

My little buddy wanted to ride the Ferris wheel with me so Princess and Coby joined us in some high-riding fun...

Wednesday: We kinda re-couped a little bit and re-energized for the following days. I got some work done in the school house and then celebrated my brother's birthday that evening.

Thursday: We met my friend, Katharine and her two boys at the movies and then went straight to the swimming pool from there. After a few hours of some good Vitamin D therapy, we parted ways and got ready for our adventure that night. We had been hearing of a meteor shower that was happening and Thursday night was suppose to be the peak night. So we geared up and decided to camp out on the trampoline. Little Man's friend down the street joined us for the star gazing excitment.

And believe it or not, we all made it all night long. It was such a surreal, peaceful feeling to sleep directly under the stars. Clouds kinda obstructed our view from the meteors but we enjoyed the night anyway. I didn't sleep much for listening to sounds and making sure the kids stayed safe. Not sure what I would have done if something or someone did try to upset our cozy little setup, but I knew I wasn't leaving them out their by themselves. As the sun came up, so did the kids and much coffee was needed to get through the day. After napping and mucho caffeine, I was feeling somewhat normal but now my sleep or lack thereof is catching up with me. So goodnight all! Hope you're squeezing as much of summer out as you can too! :)

First Impressions

More pictures!! She looks much better today now that they've bathed her and her bruising is going down. She is a big girl and has the cutest chubby cheeks but the tiniest little feet! My kids didn't weigh as much as she did but their feet were huge compared to hers. :)

Here she is getting ready to have her diaper changed...she has yet to open her eyes much so we don't know what color they are yet.

I know it's blurry...the lighting was way off in the room....but they are just too cute to not share!

Princess was beside herself when she met Jacee. She told my sister that she just couldn't image that she would be that cute! :) She is so excited to have another little girl in this side of the family! She will love teaching her how to play with girl stuff so it will even out her brother's teaching her how to play in the dirt.


Then each kid got a turn holding her. They did really well and were very gentle. This baby will not be lacking of love. :)

Here's my nephew Coby (6), the biggest big brother, getting to hold her before any other kid did.

Princess's turn!! She looks like a natural! She will make a great mom one day.

Little Man taking his turn. He feels very responsible to take care of her. He told her that one day he'd teach her how to protect herself. :)

And lastly was the littlest big brother, my nephew, Jaden (4). He needed a little bit more help holding her but my favorite moment was when he looked down at her and said, "I love you baby." :) Made me want to cry. He has been the baby of the family for the last four years and he's always been my special little buddy but he's handling this new addition very well.

I'm sure I'll be posting more soon!....

She's here!!!!!

Well she's finally here! My sister had her baby last night and she is beautiful! Her name is Jacee Dawn and she weighed 8lbs 8oz and was 19 3/4" long. My sister was such a trooper because she went so fast that she didn't even have time for an epidural! God is so good to us. Mom and baby are doing well and Princess and Little Man are very anxious to go see her. So I'm going to go get more coffee ;) and shower so I can take them up there.

Her sweet little face is bruised from coming so fast but she is beautiful anyway!

Goo-Goo holding her for the first time

My nephews were so excited to be able to stay up late to see their new baby sister. They are going to be good big brothers!

That's it for now...more to come later!

Naughty or Nice?

Good morning! One of my blogging friends sent this to me and I am to answer the following questions:



1. What's the silliest prank you've ever pulled on someone?

Wow, coming from a girl who grew up with several older male cousins and a very ornery father, there is too many to count. Our youth group growing up had a habit of torturing the current youth minister as well so there is many to count from that too. But...if I had to pick one, it would be from my youth group days. My sister, two of her friends and myself got it in our mind to not only toilet paper his house and fork his house but then we made the most disgusting combination of stuff I've ever seen and set it on his front porch. It was man made vomit to say it nicely. We were great kids. Seriously. Don't feel too bad for the poor guy, I remember him retaliating to great lengths with everything we pulled so I feel quite certain that this was deserved. But I think about his poor wife and kids now and wonder just how they truly felt about us naughty teenagers.



2. If you were to take a trip anywhere out of the country, where would it be and why?

I have to agree with Every Captive Thought here and say Italy and for the food.



3. Who plays the most influential role in your life?

Behind my God, my family



4. Are you ok with your significant other being friends with an ex?

Depends on in what arena you classify "friends". If you're talking about like on facebook then sure. I have an ex on my facebook account so if I did, I'd be ok with him too. But if we are talking about hanging out and phone calls, etc....then no. One, neither one of us casually dated. If we were in a relationship with someone, it was because we had really thought it through and really liked that person. Two, from what I've heard, none of his ex's are very nice and I wouldn't want him to be friends with someone who wasn't very nice.



5. Favorite candle scent?

Anything cinnamon



6. Next movie you're excited about seeing?

Ramona and Beezus



7. You must ban one word from the dictionary and all usage, to no longer be written or uttered. What word do you ban?

Any vulgar word that is used to insult or bring down someone else....there are several out there....use your imagination.



8. Do you have any relatives in jail?

DISCLAIMER: It's my husband's family......and yes, one cousin.



9. What crazy fads were popular when you were a teenager?

Doubled up socks in different colors, rolling your jeans, the bangs that stood 5 ft in the air (or like my dad use to call them: antenna bangs), Saved by the Bell, Criss-Cross...will make up Jump! Jump!, etc....these things have conjured up some unpleasant images so I'm done now.



10. Have you ever been mentioned on the T.V. or in a newspaper?

Yes the newspaper for my engagement, wedding and baby announcement and T.V. if you count the time I was involved in a crime.....close your mouth....I was the victim! It was back when the CrimeStoppers reenacted the crimes and put them on the news and so I wasn't the one on T.V. but an actor portraying me. Crystal and Keri.....shut up. :)



I'm suppose to pass this on to 10 of my blogging friends and that will make me nice or only 5 if I'm feeling naughty. I don't know that I have 10 blogging friends so I guess you can call me naughty.

Keri at HE IS OUR PEACE Eph 2:14

Sara at Afflecks on the east side

Kylie at Bus Driver

Michelle at Single Scrapin Chick

Wendy at Welcome to the Land of Poling

So there you have it! Are you feeling Naughty or nice? Send me your answers to these questions....I'd love to read them!