Thanksgiving 2007

One of the animal displays!!!

Braden on the rock wall!!!

Braden and Kanton checking out the monkey display!!!

Ashton enjoying his smore!!!
Kanton being silly!!!

Some of the animal displays!!!

Here are four chubby bunnies sitting around the fire and trying to stay warm.

Two little turkeys, a.k.a. Kanton and Braden on Thanksgiving.

Ashton, Thanksgiving 2007.

We had a great Thanksgiving, and despite the cold, dreary, and damp weather, the kids had a lot of fun. We drove to San Antonio to visit my brother and his wife, Helen. We spent Thanksgiving day making food and visiting. We had 18 people, 2 turkeys, a ham, 7 pies, and a chocolate cake! Yes, we had enough food. I'm sure my brother, who has no kids, was a little overwhelmed by his 5 nieces and nephews and the toys, clutter, and noise that they brought!! We went through 20 bags of trash in 5 days. He said they usually go through 2 a week. Oops!

The day after Thanksgiving, it was too cold for the zoo and other outdoor activities, so we went to Outdoor World/The Bass Pro Shop. Fun! I had never been. I should be getting pictures of this soon. They had the neatest displays of animals including zebras, turkeys, raccoons, and reindeer! The reindeer were just amazing! There was a 2-story rock wall that Braden climbed, and an indoor target range for the kids. When you shot the little skunk's target, he would spray you with a mist. It was a lot of fun. I think we spent nearly 3 hours in this store. If you're in San Antonio, check it out. There's a restaurant, fish tank of live fish, fudge shop, clothing, and anything to do with the outdoors you could imagine!

The cold weather never let up, but the kids had fun roasting marshmallows, sitting by the fire, and doing silly cartwheels and handstands in the backyard. There was not much outside time, but they made the most of what they had! Thanksgiving was a great time to spend with family. Now, I need to go and walk a few laps!!

On a side note, I need to tell a silly thing that Kanton said. This child comes up with some crazy things. I don't know where he gets them. They're just too silly to make up! Kanton told me that he wished he was a dog so he could "lick people and bite them!" Where does he come up with this stuff??? He has an awful habit of pinching people when he wants them to pay attention to him. I can't get it across to him that this is not nice, and he does it over and over again. RonRon and Dustin have the bruises to prove it!! Well, maybe not that bad, but have you ever heard a grown man yelp in pain and see a little 5-year-old boy smiling? That would be Kanton. He thinks it's funny. Pinching him back doesn't help, so I hope he outgrows this soon.

Spelling Lesson from Kanton

Well, today I was helping Braden with homework. I was reading in Genesis about Abraham, Sarah, and read "Almighty God." Braden asked how to spell "almighty." Kanton said, "Oh, I know Mom, 'O M I D- omighty.'" Isn't that cute?? Have a blessed day!!

Weekend Getaway

This is what 3 worn out boys look like after a long day of playing in the dirt and messing with cousins!

Ashton with my Aunt Niece riding the mower.

Well, we actually had our first getaway since moving way over here! We have stayed in town, believe it or not, every single weekend since July 20th. That's hard to believe! We have enjoyed the parks, water parks, pools, mall, and children's museum. This weekend, we just had enough of the daily grind and doing the same old thing. We headed out to see my aunt in Gatesville. The kids are not used to being cooped up, so having the freedom to run around in the yard, throw dirt on each other, and not worry about being too loud while playing was a great escape for us! Ricky mentioned the idea on Friday, and my poor aunt had a one day notice to get ready for us! We had a great time eating BBQ, getting in the dirt, and staying up late playing great worship songs on the guitar with Alan, my cousin.

Today, it was cold and windy, so we stayed inside after school. The boys were playing in the room and decided to watch Ricky's baptism video from PaulAnn. I enjoyed hearing Clay sing again and was singing a little louder than my neighbors probably liked! The boys were laughing about how they looked so different on the video. Things that you PaulAnn people will have to share with fellow staffers... Ashton saw Jeff talking and getting ready to baptize a student, and he had his beard and long hair. Ashton said, "Oh, Jesus!" I got so tickled, because Ashton thought it was Jesus. He has seen Sunday school and MDO pictures of him, and I think he thought Jeff was Jesus! I was so tickled!! Then, I tried to turn off the video when Kirt started preaching, because I figured the kids just wanted to see the baptism and that's it. No, Ashton started CRYING saying he wanted to listen! Too funny. Every time he sees pics of PaulAnn and him singing, he says "That's where I sing 'Oh, How I love Jesus!'" It's so cute how they remember. I really miss this church, and the people especially. I am 'friends' with people at work, but outside work, not anything more. I miss my friends in San Angelo, I miss my church, and I miss being only 3 hours away from my family. I want to go home, but I don't think I can do the 8 hours and 3 kids alone. Hopefully God can show me what we're supposed to do.

Please pray for us as I have applied for a job, and I would like to know if this is the direction God wants me to go, or if it's not, please help me accept that and figure out where to go from there. Sometimes, things that make sense in my head are not in God's plan for me, and I am struggling still to find out what that is. The boys are doing great in school. Except Ashton still cries at MDO. Those who know Ashton understand he just wants to be in my class. So cute. I miss you all, and hope that you have a wonderful time while I am away. Please try to miss us...just a little!!