Matt Goes to Flight Camp

Love Never Fails

I Corinthians 13 is called the "love chapter" of the Bible. It's a beautiful picture of what true, genuine love looks like. After reading it, I questioned, "Since we're not perfect beings, how can we ever accomplish this perfect love?" The answer is simply, "We never will." But does that mean we shouldn't try? If we fail at diets, does that mean we should eat junk food for the rest of our lives? If we fail at budgetting, does that mean we should continue to spend foolishly for the rest of our lives? If we fail in an area of family or marriage, does that mean we should walk out and give up? We can use Christ's example to continually work at this love. I'm so thankful for the love that my heavenly Father has bestowed upon us, and that as many times I have failed Him, He has never left me or forsaken me!

Love is beautiful! I'm thankful for the ones that God has given me to love, and to receive love from.

For you, Dad

Emma's question

In reading a verse in Proverbs the other morning, Emma had a question. Sometimes I find it difficult explaining the deeper issues of life. As my curious girl stared wide-eyed at me, searching for answers, wanting to understand....all that came out of my mouth was, "Let's call Daddy."

-click play.

Winner!

And the winner of the Easter egg is...........


-drum roll, please-


Liz O.!!!!!!



(and the crowd goes wild!)




Congratulations, Liz! Now, come get your Easter egg. I'm holding it for ransom until you bring me your baby. :o)




I wish I could give you all an Easter egg, but since they're Reeses Peanut Butter eggs, I'll be eating the rest. I'd like to take this opportunity to say thank you to all who entered my little contest. There are too many to name, but I'll just start with Liz, Mom and Shanda....again the list could go on and on, but I'll stop there and say thank you. You made me feel welcome at the lunch table. (well, almost all of you)

Wait! Don't Go Away! Here I am!

Hello everyone!!!!!!!!! Please sit down...really, the standing ovation isn't necessary.


Sorry for the lack of updates. I have a plethora of pictures to share. (did you like the use of that "p" word? It was one of our vocabulary words.) Anyways, I've got neat stuff that I'd love to blog about, however....all my pictures are stuck.....yes, you heard me right! They're stuck. I decided to download a new photo program, and all 20,000 pictures transferred there. Now, I can't get them out. Don't you worry, though, my photographer friends will be here over the weekend. They'll get it fixed. And, "Blogging Memories" will be back in business!!!!

***crickets chirping***





I said, "Blogging Memories will be back in business!!!"



Hello?






Anyone?







Mom?






In the meantime, I'll throw a little quiz your way. First one to send me the answers wins an Easter egg. --calm down, everyone!!!!


Pull yourselves together, you've got a quiz to take here!!!










On your mark,







(admit it, your heart's pounding out of your chest, isn't it?)






















Get set,
















(Breath!)


























(swallow your spit, please)






















GO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!























1. What are your Easter plans?




2. If we went to highschool together, would you sit next to me in the lunch room?




3. Why or why not? (remember, there's an Easter egg at stake here!)







4. Why aren't I in bed?




5. Fix the grammar in any of these sentences. I'm going to bed.


All answers will be kept a secret, and filed in my 6th grade diary until tomorrow.




And don't think for two seconds that you can get in this baby. It's locked up, and sealed tighter than the Democrat's secret meetings over healthcare. And besides, I've got the key!


Good luck, everyone!

Where are your Training Wheels?

I'm sorry?????...who just went riding past me on her itty bitty bicycle?

Annie? Is that you?




What in the world, Ann! You're riding a two-wheeler with NO training wheels!!!!!!




Hey, Annie...where ya going?








Annie! SLOW DOWN!!!






Cooooooooooooommmme bbaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaack!




WATCH OUT! Crazy blonde coming through!




Careful! There's a wall over....



there!




Slow it down, girl! You're gonna give your mamma a heart attack!!









You must be so thirsty after all this riding. Maybe we should go inside for a drink?



No? You're good?



Okey-dokey, then.




Hey, who taught you how to ride that back, anyhow?



Oh, I see.




And here they are...The Pink Posers.



Training wheels.....GONE!


means one thing


my baby.....GONE!

Could somebody please pass me the tissues. I'm having another moment.

Where in the world is Becky?

Did you miss me? Did you miss me? .... huh? ......huh?



Guess where I've been?





Here's a little hint...








Recognize this humble, little home?




Yes-siree that's me hanging out with my sis in front of the White House.



The last time I recall being here, was my sixth birthday. Dad told me he was taking me to Washington DC. He gave me 4 "passes" and said that I could invite 4 friends to join us. I remember sitting on his lap, counting up the passes. I looked around the table. What a surprise! There were four faces peering back at me. Mom -one, Trish-two, Kris -three and Ann -four. I wonder what in the world Dad would have done if I picked 4 giggling, squealing girls from school. (Actually, I don't think it would have made a bit of difference, noisewise.) I don't remember too much else about the trip, except lots of cherry blossoms lining the sidewalks. Oh, and I remember eating ice cream. Hey, these are the things that matter most to a 6 year old.




Guess who was home? See the cars lined up?


And upon closer examination....what?!!!!! THE PRESIDENT???? Is it really him? And what's in his hand?




ZOOM IN CLOSER!!!!!




Unless the President has taken to polishing his own car, I do believe we were mistaken. It sure was exciting for a second there. You should have seen us racing up the sidewalk. We were giggling and out of breath. My camera was swaying from my neck, like I was some crazy paparazzi. When we got to the White House driveway, I asked a policeman if the President was coming out, because we just saw the black cars. It was then that he dropped the bomb on us. "The President had just returned five minutes ago." What a let down. We missed him by five minutes...and we ran so hard, too. It was just a tad bit embarrassing when a bystander said, "Excuse me ladies, what were you running for?" We were like, "Umm, 99 cent sale at the dollar store."





Mr. President, I do hope that you didn't make too many enemies last night at your State of the Union address. Personally, I did have to take you off my friend list. (btw, rockin dress, Michelle! You're still on my friend list.)




------Now, on to my real friends. -------------


Krissy and I took a road trip to visit our dear friends in South Carolina.





There they are!




We've been friends with Kenny and DeAnna since Joel and I were married. We were all newlyweds, happily decorating our homes, and enjoying candlelit dinners every night. Here we are 14 years later, blissfully in love, however our homes have been "decorated" with barbies, matchbox cars and tiny handprints on the walls. The candles are pretty much used when someone makes a stink in the bathroom. Life is great, and we wouldn't trade it for anything!



I love these girlies to pieces. DeAnna and I often laugh that our Mikey and their Isabella will get married. We stopped joking about it when we saw that Mikey and Isabella have completely taken the control out of our hands, and now talk about it themselves.....as if it was their calling in life. She and I are starting to "back pedal." Certainly not because we wouldn't love the idea. I mean, we get a long great....why shouldn't our kids? Still, it was a bit strange the first time they talked on the phone and I heard Mikey say, "I love you." And DeAnna heard on her end, "I love you, too." We both grabbed the phone from their hands!



It was so much fun just to sit in DeAnna's backyard on a sunny, beautiful day, watch the girls play and chat. Because we live so far away, these moments never happen.




Thank you for the wonderful time at your house, Kenny and DeAnna. Oh how I wish we lived closer! DeAnna, thank you for always encouraging me in the Lord. Your sweet testimony, love for your husband and your girls are just a few of the things that I admire most about you! Thank you again for allowing Krissy and I to take over your living room. You guys are awesome! Your friendship is so special to us!! (I hope you still feel the same way about me, despite your air mattress.)

I highly recommend anyone travelling south to book their reservations here. Good food, good fellowship and lots of laughs. Did I mention that they have "dance, dance revolution" for the wii?


And get a load of this......Kenny gets an extra star for making our beds, and leaving us these on our pillows.



5 star hotel, fer shur!!


I left my home Thursday morning and returned Monday night....total travel time for those five days was 32 hours. 32 hours of no laundry. 32 hours of no school work. 32 hours of no cooking. 32 hours of uninterrupted quietness, minus the old man snoring next to me on the train. 18 of those 32 hours was spent in the car with my sister. Our road trip was suppose to be 7 hours, but it took us 9. We hit lots of traffic!


One of my favorite memories was waking up early Monday morning and touring around DC. Krissy showed me the nearby monuments, and took me to a lovely place for chai tea and ginger scones. I am told that Rachel Ray ate here, and ordered the same thing.


(and I've been dreaming about them ever since I got home!)


If monuments don't interest you, I highly recommend that you bring along an oversized knitted hat. Oh, the things you can do with a hat!


Which one is the Capitol?



"Ahoy there, is that land I see?"




"No! I think it may be pirates!"



Krissy did ask that I take one serious shot of her, so she could frame it for her house.





Enough of this non-sense!

Krissy, thank you for the wonderful memories! They are locked away in my vault of happiness, forever. I loved seeing your beautiful home, and spending time with you. The saddest part about the trip was saying goodbye to you at the train station. Thank you for always making me laugh and encouraging me. I am so blessed to have you, Trish and Annie not just as sisters, but as my friends! I love you, and I miss you already!

PS Sitting in traffic will never make me angry or frustrated again.

Christmas Moments '09

Welcome to our home on Christmas morning. Come on in!


Actually, that door leads to the trash room, but I like it. It's pretty.

And so here we are in the year 2010. I really don't think there are 24 hours in a day on Christmas. How can there be? It goes by so fast! The kids woke up to stockings hanging at the foot of their beds. They're allowed to open the little gifts inside, and eat all the candy they want. I think Christmas stockings was a tactic thought up by St. Nick to buy parents extra sleep. Gotta love that St. Nick! We really took advantage of the extra sleep this year, seeing as we were up till 2:30 in the morning working on a special project. (I'll tell you about it a little later.) Joel and I walked into the kitchen to coffee already made by my sister. Annie sat on the couch with torn bits of paper around her, and a chocolate smeared mouth. She wanted to show me everything she got in her stocking. I bummed a Hershey's kiss off of her. Then, we all grabbed our steaming mugs of coffee and walked into the living room. The music was softly playing. The gifts were arranged around the base of the twinkling tree, and everywhere I looked I saw huge smiles and bed head. I love Christmas morning! One of my favorite moments is watching the children give their gifts to each other. They shopped for the gifts themselves, and even wrapped them. I was reminded of this every time I went looking for the tape, and found one of the children's presents secured tightly with approximately 3 1/2 rolls of tape. Mikey couldn't wipe the grin off his face when it came time to give Matt his gift. He had a special surprise. I need to give you a little background first. Several weeks ago, the boys were given a "totally awesome hat." Since that hat has come to live with us, there has been some "unrest" of whose hat it is. I decided to put on my judge's robe, and solve the problem. Upon reviewing the array of awesome hats that Matt already had, I ruled in favor of Mikey. I thought that was fair, and went about my day. Fastforward to Christmas morning...Matt received an awkwardly wrapped gift from his little brother. (you catching me here?) Mikey was smiling and bouncing on his knees. Matt tore open the paper and there, sitting on his lap was the "totally awesome hat." Matt beamed with happiness. "Aw! Thanks Mike!" He grabbed his brother for a sideways hug. These are the moments that touch a mother's heart. And this is why I do not blink on Christmas, not one little blink. I might miss something.

Another cute moment was when Matt gave Emma her gift. He got her a sweet, little nativity scene. Emma has been playing with the large one that is set up in the living room. It's been in the family for years, so I didn't really like it when Polly Pocket moved in. Emma opened her present, and squealed, "THANK YOU MATT!!!! I LOVE IT!!!!!!!!!"



I said, "Let me see, honey. What did you get?" She held it up and announced with pride, "Matt got me my very own ACTIVITY SCENE!!!" :o)



The Bible says, "It is better to give than to receive." I love it that the children are experiencing this truth firsthand.

(by the way, in case you're wondering, Mikey does not play hockey, nor does he have exceptionally large hands for an 8 year old. He was merely borrowing his father's gloves.)




The little girls were very surprised and happy to receive something ALIVE in one of their presents!



Daddy picked out a purple one just for Annie because "porpull" is her favorite color.

(Sadly, they've already been flushed. Fish just don't do well with us.)


One of the funniest moments occurred on Christmas Eve when Annie approached me with a very big problem. She was visually distraught. Upon counting her gifts, she came up three presents short. She looked at me with her hopeful, big, blue eyes, "Mommy, I forgot to get you, and Daddy and Aunty Kwissy a pwesent." I knew she was relying on me to fix her problem, but my mind was spinning with last minute projects and all the stockings that needed to be put together. I stared blankly straight ahead...all I could see was the large bookshelf. ***lightbulb moment*** "Well, Annie, I know that me, Daddy and Aunty Krissy all like to read...why don't you go shopping at the bookshelf?" The load was lifted! She grinned from ear to ear, "OK!!" She skipped off to the bookshelf, grabbed the first three books that her little hands touched, and ran for the wrapping paper. I had no clue what she grabbed. There are a bazillion books on that shelf. Christmas morning, Annie strutted confidentally around the room handing out her gifts. Joel was the first to recieve his book.




**Drumroll please** There are some real goodies here.






Joel got a book published in 1947 entitled, "How to Have a Better Relationship with Anybody."



(Looks like it's working already!)



And now my turn: I opened up my present, sneezed as the dust flew out, and turned it over to read the title. "ANNIE!!!" I retorted. "What's this suppose to mean!!!??" She giggled cluelessly.


The name of my book....



(by the way, I forgave her)






And then there's Krissy's book: I saved the best for the last. We all laughed so hard. I couldn't have picked a better one if I had hand picked it myself.


Let's just cut right to the chase, shall we?







The Total Man! (Hey K, what chapter are you on?...lol!)




Annie, thank you for giving us the gift of knowledge. We will cherish our books more than you'll ever know!

PS Wow, you are serious about keeping those ears warm, huh baby?


Remember I told you at the beginning that we were up late on Christmas Eve? My dear husband took on two rather large projects this year. He decided to make a go-cart for Matt. He stayed late at work each night, welding, painting and creating.

Then, he would come home to work on project number 2, a dollhouse for Mary. This dollhouse was given to us last summer, and was put in the garage because of its rough condition. It was a grand dollhouse, but it never really captured the girl's attention. It was dark blue on the outside. The carpet was old and smelly, and the wallpaper was outdated and torn.

And then my "Ty Pennington" came along for an Extreme Home Makeover!



Demolition Time! Joel was shocked at the details on this dollhouse when he got in there. Each room had crown molding and was trimmed with little baseboards. Some rooms had tiny chair molding. It was a beautifully made house that just needed some TLC.



Hours upon hours of work went into this love project.




When it came down to the "womanly touch" of the home, Joel summoned my help. As I was going through all my scrapbooking paper, trying to decide what colors to use, I thought it would just be easiest to let Mary make the decisions. I took the approach of, "If you could wallpaper your bedroom in any color, what would you choose?" And, "What about a bathroom?" and "How about a kitchen?" Any other little girl, whose mother was acting odd at Christmas, smelled of paint, and told the kids to stay out of the garage, might suspect something, but not my Mary. My little sweetheart sat there, shuffling through paper, completely clueless that she was decorating her own dollhouse.



As Mary was deciding, she held the papers up on the wall to show us how it would look.





After she made her selections, I was anxious to get back outside to the garage and start wallpapering. However, my sister was still feverishly thumbing through all the paper.



I had very little time, and wanted to be on my merry way. The clock was ticking. I patiently waited for my sister to hand the rest of the stash over. I waited for her to look up at me so I could give her "the eye." She knew about "the secret project in the garage." In fact, it was her job to keep Mary occupied. I waited and waited. She was really digging for her favorite colors, and was just as clueless as Mary. After OBVIOUSLY tapping my foot for a good, long time, I gave her a look and said, "Uhmmmmmmm, Kris? Ya done down there?" She looked up at me, burst out laughing and sheepishly walked away.
(Pst! Mom! If you're ever thinking of refurbishing a dollhouse for Kris, I know what her favorite colors are.)



Finally, it was time to give them their gifts!







And all the hard work paid off.



We didn't quite get all that trim up in time, but Mary was still shocked at the transformation. She said she didn't even recognize the dollhouse.


As I sit here, thinking about all the special moments of Christmas morning 2009, I am smiling with tears in my eyes. Just as quickly as Christmas flew by, today's moments are ticking by. Enjoy each one. "Redeem the time." Make it count for eternity!

-and whatever you do, don't blink...your kids will be grown!




Merry Christmas and have a blessed New Year!