Merry Christmas!

We hope you all had a wonderfully, blessed Christmas and find yourself very content in the New Year.

I will be back to blogging again soon and will catch you up on our December adventures. Being the 'crafty cross maker' for Christmas was a little more taxing on me than I had expected (even though a few fellow crafters had warned me); however for the most part, the crosses have been made and deliverd with just a few January orders to make--Whew!!

Laynie's Turning 6 Very Soon!

If your Laynie's friend or relative from out of town, consider this your invitaion to her 6 year old party--the more the merrier!

Cell Phone Play

This is just a funny Jones moment. I just told him we were about to go to Bryant's new house and he said, "Oh boy, let's call Laynie and tell her." Well I said Laynie is at school, but he showed me his hand and said, "This my cell phone, shhh be quiet Mom while I talk to her." He proceeded to punch buttons on his hand and then talk into it to tell her he was getting to see Bryant's house and not her! :-) Too funny--I guess he was mimicking his Mommy!

Their Christmas Trees

Well this year we have Christmas trees everywhere you turn around thanks to Mrs. Knighton (in Crossett)! Laynie and Jones each have a tree in their rooms. I LOVE them--each one got to decide their color scheme (of course if you know my children, you could probably figure the scheme out) red for Jones and pink for Laynie. I made the bows for the tree tops and bought a few ornaments for the color scheme and then the best part was putting the ornaments on the tree that Uncle Robert and Aunt Danielle get them every year--both the kids loved seeing their ornaments again. I think I may have started a tradition this year--trees for everyone!! Happy tree trimming!

Star Struck

OK so since apparantly everyone already knows, I'll admit it! I was just a tad bit star struck Sunday evening after the Casting Crowns Christmas Concert when we were ushered back stage to meet ALL of the Christian music artists. I enjoyed the concert, but by far the most memories were made immediately following the show and finding the Tahoe! :-) Amy and I had been planning this concert trip since the summer, and it really was a ton of fun--I can't wait to go back again, but this time I want to totally jam out with Casting Crowns! If you need an in depth story of our adventure, go to Amy's blog and read it there I figure she's already posted all of it so why should I?!? All I need to add is when ordering a pizza, think Domino's, they really helped us out! :-)

90th Party

What a wonderful 90th birthday party we had for Memaw. We spent the Thanksgiving weekend celebrating her! We ALL love our Memaw and tried to express our love and thanks to her by having a big party complete with a band for dancing! Laynie danced with almost every body there, but her favorite dance partner was her cousin Sam--check out the video below! What a wonderful dancer!

Happy Thanksgiving!

We celebrated Thanksgiving this year in Witcherville, AR with the majority of Trey's extended family. We had a wonderfully yummy meal that I ate entirely too much of--seriously I hurt all the way home because I was so full! :-) I think Trey's second plate had more food on it than his first plate! The weather was great so the kids were able to run off a bunch of energy and play outside, climb trees, pick up pine cones and dig in the dirt. We have so much to be thankful for this season--I hope you and your family had a wonderful time together as well!

Boys Will Be Boys

Avery and Jones got to play outside with Popa yesterday for a couple of hours--thanks Popa!! They rode tractors, tricycles, scooters, & sleds, hiked throughout the woods behind our house and played in the leaves. They had the best time and so did Popa! :-) Jones loves being outside and playing AND Avery did too! I love the tractor photo!

Girly Girls

Laynie and Beckah had a sleepover a couple of weekends ago and I forgot to post pics--oops! This wasn't the 'girliest' sleepover we have ever had with nail painting, bubble baths and things of that nature, but they were definitely being girls. Poor Jones the house was covered in NO BOYS ALLOWED signs--too funny! They love hanging out with each other--check out those two cutie pies!

Kindred Spirits

Oh my Word!! Let me just say that it was wild, crazy, AND very CRAFTY around here last night! We had our monthly Adult 2 Women's Fellowship at my home last night so I could show the girls how to make a few things just in time for Christmas gifts. There were over 22 people in my house!! And I think the little man at Lowe's may be wondering for days why all these women wanted EMPTY paint cans! :-) We had a great time--and like always some things are easier said than done, but for the most part the girls did good! I think I ONLY had 3 clipboards and 2 paint cans left here for me to finish for them! :-) Dusti--I'm going on record to say that NEXT November can be Kindred Spirits Craft Night Part 2--same time, same place, with a new craft for next year! And I think we'll stick to 1 craft this time--maybe that way I can be a better teacher, you know show the actual steps and all that! If you want to see some photos of our paint cans, clipboards, and letters head on over to Amy's blog and check them out!

Bentley the Puppy

My children LOVE to go to Mrs. Cheryl and Mr. Stan's house--they are our neighbors across the street. When they were gone on vacation this summer we got to take care of Mercedes their black poodle. Laynie and Jones loved doing that, feeding her, taking her to the potty, playing with her, and especially giving her treats! They slowly warmed up to her (they were NOT high on dogs)! Well Mrs. Cheryl called this weekend and they got a new puppy--Bentley, and he is adorable. Check out these photos of him!

Tag Your It

Meredith tagged me to play a little game; however, I'm not totally sure of the rules. She said to open your picture files and post the fourth picture in your fourth folder--where it gets tricky (to me that is) is does this mean chronologically or in the order they are saved on your computer? Well I couldn't decide because both picture were sooooo cute--they are my kids of course! So here goes--now I tag Leigh Ann, Amy, Dusti and Stephanie! Get your 4th picture in your 4th folder and post it!Laynie as a tiny 2 year-old soon after Jones' birth in April of 2005.
Jones and Laynie enjoying the little snowfall at Wild Turkey Lane in Heber Springs.

October Year in Review

Can you say busy? Between PTA, church, fall parties, and field trips when does a Stay-at-Home Mom really get to Stay-at-Home? The answer not very often, but I love it!!! :-) The captions in the photos tell it all--Laynie was September's Student of the Month; we went to Crossett for a fun weekend and carved pumpkins; BOTH kids had field trips to Wild Things Farm; Fall Parties at school; Trey and I enjoyed the HOGS; and HALLOWEEN!

August Year in Review

Well we ended the summer with more swimming with the Summer. My kids were forced (however they loved every second of it) to swim and play with Amy's and Leigh Ann's kids--that's who Mommy wanted to hang out with so luckily our kids all got along (for the most part) really well too! :-) Summer stopped and school began--Laynie started Kindergarten and Jones start Pre-K--they both really like it. With the kids in school a few projects started getting done around here--curtain were made and hung and the cross maker is back in business!!

July Review

July was the month for travels, swimmings, friends, and fun! It seems like the kids and I were in the pool everyday during the summer, but especially in July. We also celebrated the 4th of July along with Grandma's birthday; traveled to Branson, MO and Longview, TX; attended Kinderkidz Kamp at UAFS; and the most special event was Laynie's baptism. We had a great summer of fun--where has the warm weather gone? I'm ready for snow pics now!!

Family Fall Photos

Most of you that read this (well I don't really know who reads this) probably know who Leigh Ann is and that she's been my friend since the day I was born. We had a wonderful childhood full of memories together--she's a year older than me so I always wanted to kind of do what she was doing.

She picked me up and took me to school everyday in the 10th grade and probably took me to lunch to. I loved the fact that we were always friends even though I was younger! She headed off to OBU for college so I headed that way too--she was a Chi Delta there, can you guess what I was as well? That's right a Chi Delta. Well I guess following in her footstep ended there until last year. After college she married Doug and they moved to Fort Smith. Trey and I married the next year, and after 9 years we too moved to the area!! I'm so happy to be in the same place as her again--our kids like each other (especially the little boys) and now they can be in each others birthday party pictures for years to come just like we were. She was also one of the two gals that got me to start blogging--she's been at this blogging thing a lot longer than me--she actually set my blog up and made my header for me (ooooh I can feel a new header or at least new pics coming your way soon)! :-)

All that to say Leigh Ann (of Still Moments Photography located right here in the Fort Smith area) :-) took our pictures this weekend and I love them--you'll probably see them on our family Christmas card in some form or fashion, but here's a sneak peak of just a few. This may be the one area I'm not going to even try to follow her in--she's too good for me to try and compete with so she can be the photographer and I'll be her model--that's what I felt like in the last photo! :-) And yes--I asked her to take me to the last spot, she uses it with a lot of her senior girls so I had to at least see myself there too! If the kids weren't with me would you think I was one of her seniors? HA! Just joking--I would MUCH rather be a Mommy than a high school senior again!!

Old Wives Tale

Do you know what kind of fruit this is? Think real hard; have you ever seen one?Well I have seen one and even been forced to eat them, right Daddy? I can say they are definitely better when they are ripe than when they are green and sour!! It's a persimmon!

My Dad and the kids found a persimmon tree on one of their hikes in the woods. Dad picked enough for ALL of us to try one (you know now that I think about it, I don't think the kids ever tried theirs)!! Anyway--According to old timers, you can tell what the winter will be like by cutting a persimmon seed open. I would suggest cutting a few open to make sure they are all the same before assuming what the weather may be like--you will either find a knife, fork, or spoon. Now I know you are dying to know what the shapes mean, right?

Knife: It is believed to mean the winter will be cutting cold so cold the wind feels like its cutting right through you like a knife.

Spoon: A spoon is said to mean it will be a heavy winter. The spoon represents lots of shoveling of snow.

Fork: The appearance of a fork shape within the seed is believed to mean that winter will be easy with only a light dusty of snow.

Well if this is true look what we are in store for:That's right--every seed we opened was of a spoon--I think I may have seen one knife in the bunch--but looks like the snow is coming; better get out your shovels! :-)

Go HOGS!

Oops--I forgot to post our pictures from the Razorback game! We took the kids a week ago to Fayetteville and watched the HOGS beat Tulsa. Every year I feel guilty when we only buy 2 tickets instead of 4 then after our annual trip to the game with both kids--I know why we only buy two tickets! :-) They had a good time; I actually think Jones enjoyed it more than his sister--they start early loving the game don't they?

I Never Lost My Praise

Let me just say I love, love, love singing in the choir. Josh is the BEST--not only does he teach us great, wonderful, awesome songs to sing, but he challenges our heart at each choir rehearsal. His desire is to see us grow spiritually--who knew you could have a worship experience in the middle of the week at choir practice that was so moving? Well it happened to me anyway!

Last night he showed us a video of the Brooklyn Tab choir singing and wanted us to just watch them lead in worship--they were awesome. We heard the song "I Never Lost My Praise". Josh asked us what we thought when we watched them--people had a variety of answers, but my thoughts were why don't we (I) look like that when I'm singing praises to God? I think there are a lot of reasons: I'm afraid others might see me like I'm crazy or something--just putting on a show--I think a lot of it has to do with how I was raised 'in church'--I don't really know what I'm afraid of, but I do know this my fear is slowly melting away. Why do I care what others think of me when I'm worshipping anyway? Worship is truly only about praising Him, God alone.

We are super blessed to be able to freely sing praises to our Lord and Savior, without Him this world would be in a heap of trouble. He has blessed me so much--I think hearing this song just said it best, and it brought tons of emotions flooding to the surface. I know I talk about having cancer a lot, but it was a big deal in my life, and I'm a different person with a different perspective about lots of things since going through it. Some of the lyrics from "I Never Lost My Praise" say:

But in the midst of my struggle, In my season of my pain;
One thing never wavered, one thing never changed;
I never lost my hope, I never lost my joy,
I never lost my faith, but most of all I never lost my praise.

Oh I want to praise HIM with my life!

I wish I was as technologically advanced as Amy is (I guess we were having the same idea this morning) but I'm not, so go to Amy Sullins' blog and you can hear the Brooklyn Tab choir singing this amazing song--go listen and be blessed!

It's Official!

Boy are different from girls--Jones is different from Laynie!!!

I've always know my children were different from each other--you know boys vs. girls and all that. Well recently Jones has become an all out boy (and I'm sure it's only going to get worse)! :-)

These are a few of his new 'boy traits':
~ He wants to 'play fight' with his Daddy as soon as Trey gets in home.
~ He laughs when he burps or passes gas.
~ He doesn't want a kiss from his Mommy anymore (except at night).
~ One of his first reactions is to punch something if he's mad.
~ He got in trouble at school; Laynie has NEVER moved her clip!
~ He looks adorable all sweaty and dirty.
~ He loves to put on boots and go traipsing around in the woods.
~ He smells like a BOY! :-)

Oh I love my little man and I'm happy he's all boy--I just didn't know it all happened so quickly and all at once! What else do I need to look out for?

Happy Halloween!

This year we had the privelege of hauling around Pocahontas and Bullseye the Horse! We actually started the night in Mansfield at Memaw's house and then headed to Hallelujah Night at FBC Mansfield. There were tons of games to play, some fun blow-up bounce arounds, a hayride, picture taking, door prizes and plenty of candy! The kids had a great time!! Laynie's only request is that she really wants to just go Trick or Treating next year--so I guess we will try that next! Hope you had a Happy Halloween!

Fall Party

Jones had a "Fall Party" at his preschool on Thursday. I got to enjoy the morning with him and his class. He was also the special helper that day so he got to be first (which is always good for him) and he got to sit at a special desk, use Mr. Pointer during calendar time and dress the Weather Bear--FUN STUFF All the classes had a special snack, craft, tractor/wagon ride, and games in the gym. It was a jam packed morning of fun!

The Many Stages of My Hair!

WARNING--THIS IS A LONG POST!

After talking with Amy and looking at a couple of pictures, I am amazed at how fast (it seemed very slow at first) my hair is growing! Most of you know that I went through chemotherapy in the Fall of 2006; I lost my hair in October of that year and since my last chemo round in January of 2007 I have been growing my hair out. Amy wanted to see the progression of my 'hair-growing-out' stages. I must admit I did not like it when I stopped wearing my wig (way too short for my taste) but my Heber friends told me I looked better than Brittany Spears when she shaved her head! :-) So take a look at the pictures and be amazed at the transformation!!March 2006--This picture was at Jones' 1st Birthday--this was the hair I was used to having so I will probably try & grow it out again at least once! :-) October 2006--This is during chemo actually about 2 weeks after treatments. This was my attempt at short hair before I lost it all--not too short now that I think about it! December 2006--This picture was taken during the middle of my chemo rounds--I was a little camera shy for the most part--only wigless during my time at home or working out.January 2007--Laynie's 4th Birthday Party--Me in one of my wigs--this is the one I wore on a daily basis--after the inital shock of hairloss and wearing a wig--it was kind of nice. I didn't feel much like messing with my hair in the mornings anyway so thankfully I just washed once a week and let it air dry! Crazy but it looked perfect everyday!

May 2007--This is one of the first weekends I went totally without my wig in front of lots of people--I was very nervous, but Trey encouraged me and I just did it--NO WIG!
September 2007--Still really short hair, but getting used to it by now still really don't like it. This is the week before moving to Van Buren!December--2007 I finally feel as though I have some sort of style to my hair.March 2008--Jones' 3rd Birthday Party--I really do like my hair at this point. I even thought about keeping it this short, but once again, I think for now I still want longer hair and will try desperately to grow it out again.May 2008--Yucky Hair!! I am trying to grow it out, but it is definitely in a 'not-so-good' stage. Have you heard it has to get worse before it gets better? Well this is my worse stage in the 'hair-growing-out-process'!
August 2008--Finally I can pull my hair back (even if it's only just around the house)! I am beginning to like my hair (honestly) and it only takes a couple of minutes to fix it! Why would I want to go back to long hair and 15 minutes of drying it straight?October 2008--Two years worth of growing my hair out--I really like it now! I'm starting to feel like the old me again--yeah!!!

I can't describe to you all the emotions I have been through just with my hair over the last two years! I know, I know it's just hair right? Guys don't understand it, and some girls probably don't but have you ever stopped to think how much time and energy we put towards our hair? We can have the best outfit in the world on, but if our hair doesn't do just right, we girls become irritated at our hair (maybe others too) and feel a little self-conscious (at least I do)!

I know without a doubt that through all of my hair loss and growing it out again experiences that God had a plan for me and was trying to at least teach me a lesson through all of this. I don't know if I fully grasp all of the lessons he has taught me, but I do know in Matthew 10:29-31 it says:

29Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? Yet not one of them will fall to the ground apart from the will of your Father. 30And even the very hairs of your head are all numbered. 31So don't be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows.

GOD CARES ABOUT ME!! He has my hairs numbered and let me tell you it changed daily for quite sometime so He was doing ALOT of math! :-) And it doesn't matter if I have hair or not, if it's short or long, He loves me more than anything. God cares more about my inside and relationship with Him than what others see on the outside.