Merry Christmas

Bright and early, Mallory, Matthew, and Hannah were awake and ready to open presents.

Dot was the first to open a gift.
A new bone.

Mallory has desperately wanted a pair of cowgirl boots.

She also wanted her very own Nerf gun.

Matthew with his new bow.

And a new cover and game for his Nintendo DS.

Hannah opening the gift that contained her Monster High Doll.

My little horse lover also got her very own horse collection.

It was nice to have a relaxing morning at home before all the Christmas gatherings began.

Proof.

It's Christmas morning.  And we all still believe!

Waiting on Santa.

This Christmas Season has been fun.  We've enjoyed all the preparation and fun that comes along with it. Hannah has taken every moment in with eager anticipation.   

Christmas Spirit.

We have various Christmas decorations around our house.  Nutcrackers, snowglobes, wreaths, etc.
But my favorites are the ones that my children have made.
Matthew and Hannah both made snowman art at school this year.

This is Hannah's snowman art.  I love her detail on each one.

We decided to get a "real" Christmas Tree this year.
We didn't get to the farm to cut one down like we wished, but our good friend, Chris, made sure there was a good selection at our local grocery store.  The kids had a lot of fun selecting just the right tree.  The kids were also in charge of decorating the tree.

Our tree was full of homemade ornaments but also ones given to us over the years that have special meaning.

The kids have been diligently counting down the days.

It is so easy to get caught up in the craziness of the season.
With lists of gifts, parties, programs, and all that goes along with it, the true reason for this season can be subdued.

May we never forget the greatest gift.

Merry Christmas.

Two Christmas Programs.

We had a busy day today.  Matthew and Hannah were in two Christmas programs.  We attended our regular service at LifeHouse this morning.  The kids did a great job with singing and the program was very creative.

Then this evening, we headed up to Zion for the KidsZone Christmas Program.  Matthew and Hannah have attended KidsZone on Wednesday nights for the last several years.

Christmas Dress.

#9 Birthday.



For Matthew's 9th birthday, he wanted to have a skating party with a few friends.

They were a fun bunch.  All giggly and talkative.

Lilly, Casen, Matthew, and Noah
They skated for a full two hours.

We are thankful!

Happy Thanksgiving!

What a wonderful opportunity to reflect on everything we are thankful for. 

Mallory-
My Mamma, Dad, Matthew, Hannah, Dot, Big Hanna, and Jackie.

Matthew-
Everything, My Family, God, Food, Toys, and Thanksgiving.
Hannah-
My family, God, Jesus, and my dog, Dot.  I am also thankful for school, dance, and guitar lessons. Oh, and put food for me too.

It starts at home.

My sister, Brandy, has started a blog.  I love her post on Maxton and what he is thankful for.  Love this boy.  It just goes to show that what you teach at home your kids will carry on out into the world.  It all starts at home.

You can see her post- HERE

Today is the day!
Become informed and learn more-  http://www.prisms.org/

Back on the wagon. Again.

I am back at it.  Walking and some running.  I have found a friend who prefers the early morning exercise.  What a motivator that is. 
Stacey has kept me accountable and I am proud to say that we got 12 miles in this week.  We are doing a program called "Run for God 5K" that is very similar to the Couch to 5K program. 

Women of Faith Conference

I had the opportunity to go to the Women of Faith Conference in Kansas City this weekend.  What an amazing experience!

I have never attended anything like this before.  I was lucky enough to go with Jackie and her sister, Jennifer.  We attended with 10 others from my church, LifeHouse.

Over the two days, I felt like the speakers and music was catered specifically for me.  I am sure the other thousands of women there at the Sprint Center would say the same thing.

My favorite speaker was Brenda Warner.  She is not only the wife of NFL superstar Kurt Warner and mother of seven children, she also is raising her oldest son has special needs from a traumatic injury.  Her story really touched alot of feelings for me. 

This quote describes my response to her speech perfectly.  I have held so much in for so long, and then to see this amazing woman stand in front of thousads and tell her story,  well.....I broke down.

And probably had needed to for quite some time.  What a release!

I really enjoyed my weekend get-away and cant' wait for Women of Faith next November. 

It's all in His timing.

So often it's hard to be patient.  We live in a world that demands immediate results and feedback.  God's timing is not always our timing.  Slowly, I am learning that patience and faith bring the greater reward.

Antique Engine & Steam Show

Every October, the Central Kansas Flywheels Yesteryear Museum has an Antique Engine and Steam Show.  Todd has attended the last 3 years and this was the first year for Matt, Hannah, and I.  The weather was cool and rainy but it was still a day well spent with all the hands-on activities and displays.

There were rows and rows of tractors.

Hannah promptly said "Boo KU" when she says this tractor on display.  She does take after her mother.  :)



A large variety of antique farm machinery and such.



This quaint church house sat atop the hill and was the perfect vantage point to watch the storm rolling in.

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There was also an old gas (filling) station on site.

Hannah being "cheesy".

There were even some old fire trucks.

Apparently, they have been sitting here for quite some time.

An Old Schoolhouse.

It was open for tours.  It was interesting to see what Matthew and Hannah thought of the small classroom that lacked the bright colors and variety contained in today's classrooms.

As the wind picked up and the rain moved in, we toured the Yesteryear Museum.

There were two levels of all kinds of displays.

There was a large wall that contained about every state and novelty license plate you could dream of for Kansas.

The kids had fun looking for license plates that were familiar.

Washington, Kansas
(Todd's hometown)

I couldn't find an Alta Vista plate, but I did find one for Council Grove.

The highlight of the day was Matthew winning a lemon cake in the cake walk.