How can it be... Colton is 3!!!

On Colton's birthday he and I went to see Disney On Ice with his good friend, Grace, and her Mommy, Daddy, and baby sister, Hope! Mrs. Shawna treated them to cool character cookies and we had fun seeing Mickey Mouse, Minnie Mouse, Donald Duck, Goofy, The Incredibles, etc... Colton liked telling me all of the characters names. Too bad the show was really dark and lots of scary parts. Colton kept crying for his blanket and pacie. It is so hard to grow up... After the show we ate lunch at Pappasitos where he liked cleaning up baby Hope's mess on the floor with a huge red napkin. Maybe a Janitor in the future? :) Then all the waiters and waitresses came to sing to him since Mrs. Shawna brought a birthday cake. They put a HUGE sombrero on his head and he just stared at them the whole song and made no expression. It was hysterical! After the birthday song he said, "Now can I take this off?"

What a fun way to celebrate Colton's special day! "This is the day the LORD has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it." Psalm 118:24

Andrew's 9th Baptismal Birthday!

Where does the time go? I can't believe it has been 9 years since we had him baptized at our wonderful Alive in Christ Lutheran Church in Columbia, MO! This year we read from Ephesians 6:11 "Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil's schemes." He got a cool leather bracelet that says STAND with that reference, Redemption trading cards, and a vest to hold all of his Cub Scout patches on.

"I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well." Psalm 139:14

Karate Champs!

Andrew and Braden are enjoying taking Karate this year! They had their 1st championship where they got to use all the skills they have been learning. What an experience for all of us! They did so great and were so focused and tried their best! Each of them had a tie with their opponent at the 2nd point and Braden got a point to get 1st place and Andrew just missed his point earning him 2nd place. It was a great learning experience and we are very proud of both our Karate Champs!

The Three Musketeers!

All for one... and one for all! Andrew, Braden, and Colton were The Three Musketeers this year! Nana did a fantastic job making their costumes! They looked so great! Of course they loved the swords! :)

We had a great time at the Swiggard's Annual Halloween Party! A huge hit was the hayride around the neighborhood where we would stop to trick-or-treat and then get back on for more fun! As always there was yummy food and fun fellowship. Mr. Scott did a Haunted House in his garage. Most of the kids liked it and by the time the evening was over they were inside scaring the neighborhood kids. Tom and I had fun singing along to the Veggie Tales movie, "Where's God When I'm Scared?" I think Gramby enjoyed watching all the kids playing and running alongside the hayride while all the kids chanted, "Go Gramby Go!"

"When I am afraid, I will trust in you." Psalm 56:3

Gramby's visit!

Tom's mom visited last week for 5 days! Those days went by SO fast! She arrived on Thursday and we met Tom for dinner at Mom Alone, Friday was chapel followed by a fun day at the Houston International Quilt Show. Those were some die hard quilters... The quilts were unbelievable and we had a great time looking at all of them and the vendor booths. Too bad a lady said Colton couldn't have any food in there and we had to take his candy corn away. We had to live the saying, "It's like taking candy from a baby." Not a pretty moment! We went straight to parent/teacher conferences and the book fair, ran home to fix Halloween costumes and then straight to the Swiggard's Halloween Party! Saturday was supposed to be our down day... I went to the YMCA and we spent time visiting. Gramby watched the boys while we went to the Beach Boys concert in Galveston with our friends, the Swiggards and the Stockers. We had an amazing meal at Guido's and so much fun singing to all our favorite Beach Boys tunes. Meanwhile the boys and Gramby had so much fun making Pilgrim hat cookies and playing. Sunday morning was full with church, lunch at El Centenila with friends, and then to Andrew and Braden's Karate Championship. Monday my friend, Shawna, Gramby, and I went to Sagemont church for an incredible Holiday Brunch where the tables were elaborately decorated, the meal wonderful, and the gust speaker was Evelyn Husband, wife of Rick Husband commander of the Space Shuttle Columbia. Thankfully Gramby had a tissue for me... Monday afternoon I ran to the Y and Gramby made spaghetti for dinner and the boys went off to Karate practice. Tuesday I ran to the Y again, Gramby packed, I printed out some pics of her visit, and as we were about to meet Tom at La Madeline for lunch... Colton got sick. So Tom picked up McAlister's Deli and we enjoyed lunch at home before we took Gramby to the airport. Wow... that was a fast 5 days! I told Gramby before she arrived that she had better have a good pair of tennis shoes because when she got here, she would hit the ground running... and that she did!

We always treasure visits from our family! We love you, Gramby! :)

Carving Pumpkins!

Every year we try to decide what to make our big family pumpkin look like. I think last year was my favorite... Mickey Mouse! Tom usually carves the pumpkin, but this year Andrew was so eager to use all the new, cool pumpkin carving tools that I got on clearance after Halloween last year! :) With Daddy coaching, Andrew did so great! Our Boo looks fantastic! Colton designed his little white pumpkin with about 6 sets of faces, Braden drew a Boba Fett from Star Wars (of course), and Andrew made the Christian pumpkin.

What a great tradition! :)

Happy Fall Y'all!

As with tradition we head to the Pumpkin Patch every year! Ike really took its toll on the pumpkins this year. There were hardly any there and they all looked awful. We took pictures none-the-less and then headed to Kroger to pick out the pumpkin we would carve! Boy was that a cheaper way to go! :) Amazing what you learn when you have to be flexible! :)

We sure miss the changing leaves, but think fall and winter in Houston Rock weather wise! Our little tree out front is starting to change. We take any change in color from green that we can get! :)

"Then the land will yield its harvest, and God, our God, will bless us." Psalm 67:6

May God bless your harvest this season and always!

Wings Over Houston

The annual air show came to town and we were there! We enjoyed it with our friends, the Swiggards. Scott used to fly some of these big planes when he was in the Air force! Boy did my boys think that was cool! It was a beautiful day and we thoroughly enjoyed all the amazing planes. I think Braden was having the most fun shouting out what every plane was doing at every moment. The boys liked Torah Torah Torah, the reenactment of the bombing of Pearl Harbor. They didn't understand at all what that actually meant. The highlight was definitely seeing the Thunderbirds, or Funderbirds as Colton would say. Wow!

"But those who hope in the LORD will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint." Isaiah 40:31

Disney World 10 '08

The Magic of Disney World!

We had an amazing time at Disney World last month! Considering life during Ike recovery we really thought the trip shouldn't happen, but we are so glad it did! It was just what we needed! We drove to Florida and the boys did great! We met my mom there on Sunday and hit the ground running! We did the parks every day from nearly open until nearly close with few stops in between... and that is just how we like it! We travel well with Mom and we all have a great time together! On Monday we did Magic Kingdom, Tuesday Epcot, Wednesday Hollywood Studios, Thursday Animal Kingdom, and Friday Magic Kingdom again! On Thursday my sister, Cassie, her husband, Matt, and their new baby, Griffin, met us there! We surprised Cass for her 30th birthday! We had fun at the Rainforest Cafe and Downtown Disney.

My family LOVES the rides and can't get enough of them. I am the most fearful of them all... Biggest hits with us this trip were Tower of Terror, Dinosaur, Rockin Roller Coaster, Soarin, Small World, Peter Pan, Dumbo, Space Mountain, Test Track, Mission Space, etc... We also LOVE the characters! The awe and wonder in Colton's eyes this time was precious! We had an awesome time reliving our time spent in CA and all our Disney trips there. Disney is where our family is happy! It's our Happy Place! A place where magic happens and treasured memories are made!

Thanks, Mom, for EVERYTHING! Thanks, Cass, for giving us reason to celebrate! Thanks, Tom, for providing a wonderful and needed time away! LETS GO BACK SOON!

"I thank my God every time I remember you." Philippians 1:3