We did have a Blessed Christmas. Started out by taking Kristin to work at 6:30pm and Target closed at 7:00pm. YES, she was scheduled to work 30 minutes before closing the doors and was off by 7:25pm. Was a crazy 55 minutes of work, but someone had to do it. LOL. Then in the sleet and snow we headed to Garland for Christmas Eve dinner with my family. WE did not stay to late due to the weather and not knowing how the weather was going to turn. We got home safely and Kristin read the Christmas Story from the Bible and they open one of their gifts(Christmas PJ's).

The next morning we had our Christmas omelette's that Chris makes every year and opened gifts with Mammaw and watch The Scrooge Movie and just enjoyed our day with family.

Well, our little girl is growing up. I can't believe she is really going to start her life now as a cosmotlogist and we are so proud of her.

When Kristin was little she cut Alissa hair more then once and every time she told me when I grow-up I will do this and she will look sooooo pretty because I did her hair. Little girl now you are doing all of our hair and you do much a great job.

Sunday evening we had family and friends over to celebrate her day. We had alot of fun and it was just nice to spend the time with everyone.

Our Thanksgiving started on Friday with my side of the family that is about 10 for dinner. It has been kind of nice the last couple of years I have been doing the Thanksgiving meal for my family and starting our traditions with them at our home.
This year after dinner Kristin, Edgar and my nephew James and his girlfriend Nancy went to see New Moon. The guys had no choice , Edgar fell asleep. Did not help they had to sit on the first row.

Today was a quite but sweet and blessed day. Our traditions are we wake up early for Macy's day parade and while we are watching it I'm in the kitchen putting the last touches on lunch. Chris' mom came down for lunch and it was just a nice time to enjoy each other. Another tradition of ours is we go to the movie Thanksgiving evening to see our first Christmas movie for the season. This year it was Disney's The Christmas Carol. It was good but not like the first one.

Well Friday starts the our next tradition Chris and I going to the early morning shopping. We will be standing in line at 2am, YES 2am, but we have gotten really good deals so we go do that go have breakfast and then come home and take a nap before putting up the Christmas tree.

Now we have one last Thanksgiving dinner for Chris' side of the family on Sunday and then we will truly be done with Thanksgiving holiday.

This year has been a year of blessings and our blog family is one of the the biggest ones. This week Alissa rededicated her life to the Lord and I'm so happy for her. The last few years have been hard for her and she has been trying to do it on her own and we all know that just will not do as a Christian we need to lend on Him. She is ready to do so. Please keep her in your prayers. Kristin has truly done a 180 degree turn to the Lord from last year and I'm so proud of her. She is on fire for Him, also keep her in your prayers to just bind the hands of Satan in her life.

Thank ya'll for the love that ya'll have shown to our family, we do love each one of ya'll.

The last couple of days have been CRAZY. First, Kristin got ran over the road by a woman not watching where she was going and Kristin ended up in a ditch but she was pulled out by a Good Samaritan with a tractor. Second, Alissa had been sick for about week with her IBS (Irritable Bowel Syndrome) and yesterday she got much worse and we ended up taking her to the hospital. We spend most of the day there but she is feeling better. It is never boring but thank you God for putting a hedge of protection over my girls. Kristin is safe and nothing is wrong with her jeep. Alissa is home feeling better and prayers were answered that she was not put in the hospital over night. God is Good!

I told ya'll about us voting last Sunday to go on a Mission Trip but the real work starts now. Chris has told the youth that we can't just go on a Mission Trip without starting here close to home. This has started a mission project monthly for the youth to be active in from doing someone yard to feeding the homeless and whatever else we can do to help. So this past Thursday evening we took a small group to a elderly lady's home that is in our church to work in her yard. We were very proud of them because of their attitude and willingness to help with no pat on the back. It was a messy job but they did it, see it has been raining here alot and we would step on the ground our feet just sank but they went on and had fun. Last night they truly showed a servants heart.

Today we had a vote at church with youth group and parents to decide if we were going to go on a ski or mission trip. This is a very young youth group most of them have not done either one. So now it went on cost and MISSION TRIP won. We had a few kind of upset about not going skiing but I think it will work out for the best. So here we come BIG CREEK MISSIONS, Kentucky.

One of my friends (Vicky) was saying that our blogs have been neglected because of FB and Yes,Vicky you are right I have been neglecting my blog page and I'm sorry about that. So to let ya'll know some maybe new stuff and some repeated from FB.

Chris and I have been real busy with the youth and trying to get it to grow and to really minister to each one of the youth and their families. Our youth they just need alot of prayer and love from God and us. This past month we have had two youth saved PRAISE GOD! We also had a good family join our church and it has been a true blessing.

You know that Kristin goes to another church and one sunday she helped her daddy and I out with youth a Sunday afternoon. That Sunday she saw Dusty(one of the youth from our last church) and Chris said it was a hallmark monent as they ran to each other and hugged. They are so cute!

Alissa has applied for a short term mission trip this summer to Italy she is really wanting to do this or at least one like it. Please be praying for her. We will let ya'll know the outcome and dates of the trip.

I will try to get better with the blogging again.

Earlier this month we had our family birthday. My side of the family for the past year has been getting together every three months or so for birthdays. We started this when James(my nephew) moved back to Texas, it is way we can stay a little bit in each others life with our crazy schedules.

Well tonight was Royse City Homecoming, Alissa and her friends went to Homecoming and then went to the dance afterwards.She is starting to grow up and If you know anything about Alissa, she does not like to dress up and especially a dress and heels. She has always fought the idea of growing up she just wants to stay a little kid. Little Girl Growing up!!

Today was a busy but BLESSED day. We were running around picking up last minute things for our snack bags for the homeless shelter. We met the youth at the church and started filling the bags and took them to a shelter near Fair Park. Yes , Texas/OU Weekend we are downtown. We packed 100 freezer bags of snack bars,chips,banana's and bottle water. This was all donated by members of our church and we just got the blessing of delivering it. We took 6 of our youth to a shelters that has cots for men and women to sleep or just stay out of the weather. Today was a beautiful fall day so they were not full but we were able to handout all of our bags. Our youth come to this and truly see a eye opening experiences. While we are in the middle of setting everything up, guess what I did. Locked the keys in the car and we did not have the other set with us but one of the men that helps at the shelter helped Chris get into the car. This helped us save $75 dollars on calling a locksmith but it seemed a little to easy for them to get in. Kind of scary. Was a little crazy day but like I said it was a Blessed Day.

Well, I'm being told by someone (KIM BYRD) to I need to let ya'll know what is going on with us.

Our Church been talking to Chris about being called as the Youth Minister. This is such a blessing when you are called because first it comes from God and a way that you can serve Him. We do believe this is not a calling for just Chris it has to be a total commitment for me also. I just want to be in His' Will. This is a small church that is wanting to grow and see God work. Please be praying for us and our church, Cornerstone Fellowship Baptist.

I have been dealing with my foot for way to long. I was told back in January that I had plantar fascists it is not contagious LOL. It would not heal and I went back to the doctor and he found through a MRI that it was broken underneath my toes. Yes, a crazy break. Well, not for me, RIGHT! It took a while for it to heal. Then I went to camp and re broke it. After that I felt like it was not right that my foot was taking so long to heal this year. So I went to a new doctor and got a second opinion and he found I had bone spurs, all the way down the right side of my foot. So because of this I have had to have shots in my heel, arch and below my big toe 3 times in the last 2 weeks. It is feeling alot better and it is healing. Praise God!

Kristin is really making alot of changes in her life the past few months. After a hard first part of the year this past spring she found a church that had a strong college and career class that she could get involved in. She has found a great church that is doing a Bible Study with a group then is also involved in a ministry for under privileged teens. Besides all that she has church on Sunday,Wednesday and goes to school 40 hours a week and works 15 to 30 hours a week. To say the least she is very busy and we don't see her much but God is truly working in her life. Please continue to pray for her she is in a very worldly school with everything around her and she is trying to be a witness. She thought high school was bad on attitude and language but she said it was alot worst there.

Alissa is back in school and she is enjoying her classes. She is a junior this year and is taking several college classes. She is trying real hard to get her GPA up high that is so she can hopefully get some scholarships. (Greg and Kim if you don't mind telling us what ya'll were about to do for Elisabeth for college money with being in the ministry. That would be a big help.Thank You) Alissa has been talking to someone at OBU about Digital Graphics Degree, that is what she wanting to do. We also received a letter last week, asking Alissa to study abroad this summer, she really wants to and we are checking into it Please be in prayer for us about that if you could.

I guess that is what is going on with our lives in the past month. Sorry that I have not been keeping up but I forget with FB now.

This week was Student LIFE CAMP at OBU. Chris, Christy (Pastor's Wife) and I took 6 youth to camp it was their 1st time to go, well beside Alissa. The first couple of days was really hard, Satan was trying anything to get in the way and he was winning. Tuesday Night was a turning point we hear later that our church was really praying hard and GOD got the GLORY. Tuesday it came to a head with my foot also, Chris took me to the hospital to have me checked out and I had a BROKEN FOOT all the way across right below my toes. This happen in REC earlier that day, a guy was playing a game with the group and I was video taping them and he came back on my foot at a high speed.

We really saw God work in all of us and just enjoyed truly enjoy the rest of the week. The youth had a eye opener with seeing God's People pray for them and it really worked.

God has started working in Alissa with her wanting to go on a Servant Life Mission Trip next summer with Student Life and she is looking into going to OBU when she graduates. Please keep her in your prayers.

GOD IS SO GOOD!!!!

YES, I turned 40 years old this week and this was I hard one. I guess I looked back at my life this and wonder if I had done what I wanted to do in the last 40 years. Then GOD really hit me hard with I'm not supposed to do what I want but WHAT GOD WANTS ME TO DO. He has called me to be a WIFE, MOTHER, MINISTRY WIFE and that is what I'm doing and I love my Life and God has given me a WONDERFUL FAMILY and I'm Thankful for it.

Today my family took me out for lunch and to the Botanical Gardens it was a nice day to be outside because it was only 90 today.

The first picture is at the Grand Crayon the girls are trying to scary me. It was working. This is a few of our pictures more will come.