Our Buddy Liam....FAMOUS!

Our friend from church, Liam, is going to be on Fox4 tonight at 5:30. He went to the carnival as Ron Washington last night, and his pictures have spread like wildfire today! He was for sure the best costume last night. Here are some of the shots that I took of him...and YES they shaved his head!

Countryside Fair

We had our annual Fall Fair at church tonight. It was a BLAST! The kids had so much fun. There is a chili cook-off and a bake sale too. I entered my mom's Taco SOUP recipe for the chili cook-off...not really to compete, but to add some variety since that was the menu for our dinner. My "chili" took 2nd place!!!! The chili's are labeled with numbers, so the judges don't know who made which one. John was actually one of the judges! Savannah dressed as a scarecrow, Whitney was Earth, Blayne was Anakin, Reagan was a bear and Bryan was a shark. The games are all homemade and FUN!!! There was "that stuff you hold on a stick" (Reagan's name for Cotton Candy) Popcorn, ice-cream and TONS of Candy! Our church really does a wonderful job of organizing and pulling off a very fun night! We came home and got everyone bathed. John stayed to clean up (he is still gone and it is 11:30!) Blayne and I watched the end of the Ranger's World Series game, and now I am reliving the night through pictures! What a great time of Family Fun!

Pay It Foward At Fort Worth Zoo

Whitney was elected as a Student Ambassador for 4th grade this year in the Pay It Forward program. She had to write a speech and get voted in, so it was a BIG deal for her to be chosen. Their first project was to adopt a couple of animals from the Ft. Worth Zoo. So, after the funeral, I raced back to Keller to pick the children up from school and head back to Ft. Worth to attend the event. Libby got to go with us because Gracie was in charge of a luncheon at school. We also were keeping two of my nieces over night, so my brother-in-law decided to bring them to me at the zoo. John took off for the rest of the day and met me at the zoo with my EIGHT children! We were able to go to the educational building where we learned more about the animals that we were adopting and then we got to do a scavenger hunt at the zoo. My six-year-old niece, Emily, had never been the zoo, so it was very fun to introduce her to many of our favorite zoo spots! We had fun.

A Young Life Celebrated

A couple of weeks ago, we attended the funeral for a young man that was killed in a car accident on the way to do street ministry with his youth group on Ft. Worth. He was hit by a drunk driver on Jacksboro Highway, that was an illegal immigrant and was street racing! (sigh) The young man attended John's parents' church, and his family is a very tightly knit crew. His dad works out at BNSF and has been an encouragement to John. His sister, is the brave soul that took the COUSIN pictures this year for our family. So sad for the family to lose such a treasured, son and brother. It was so wonderful to hear his peers speak of his wonderful witness and how he lived his life to honor Christ. I am so thankful that we, as believers are able to grieve with HOPE. I can't imagine what it is like for families who have no HOPE and have to endure life's trials. Daniel lived a life that honored the Lord. It encourages me as a believer to live my life to honor and glorify Him, as you never know when your last day on Earth might be....we need to make each day count!

The Cowboys' Game

We had a great time last week at the football game. We had to park a little ways from the stadium to find affordable parking. The kids were amazing at how many people were going to the game too! We saw some interesting tailgaters, from serving mixed drinks to using a generator to watch the game on a flat screen! The smell of the grills cooking was mouth watering! We were very impressed with the set up for the "winners" of the football tickets. We got to go to the Albertson's Tent and enjoy a delicious lunch of BBQ chicken, ribs, cole slaw, baked beans, chicken strips, hamburgers, hot dogs, chips, cookies and a variety of drinks and snacks! Something for everyone! We were given a Cowboys' bag with fun items like the big foam hand, banners, t-shirts and of course, our tickets! The kids got to do sack races and play BINGO. The did a drawing for a child to be able to go on the field and get the tee from the kicker after kick-off...Whitney and Blayne were hopeful, but neither of them won! We headed to the game where we got to do a lot of people watching on the way. There was a dee-jay set up in the corridor playing some fun music. There were some crazy fun fans dancing too! We entered the stadium and there were people everywhere. Our seat were down stairs on the 2nd row! There were two obnoxious Tennessee fans that sat in front of us and drank too much and were mouthy, but other than that, it was a perfect game....well, except that they LOST! This was a once-in-a-lifetime kind of experience! We had so much fun and I think that this might have been the first time that we have taken JUST Whitney and Blayne to do something. I appreciated so much that Savannah was willing to stay behind and keep Bryan, and my friend Amy took Reagan for the day! It was a great memory making kind of day!

Cowboy Game

We had a great time on Sunday at the Cowboys game...with the exception that they LOST! I am working on a slideshow, but will post a couple of pictures for you to enjoy from out day. Our seats were great and we got first class treatment in the Alberson's Tent. More to come...

Are You Ready For Some Football???

Thanks to a local Radio station 4 of the Stoneciphers will be attending the COWBOYS' Football game on Sunday because Blayne WON tickets tonight at a local event! Hooray! He is so excited and so are we!!!

Toddler Sunday School

John and I are teaching a toddler Sunday School class. It has been so much fun! Serving with kids is where I need to be when it comes to serving at church. We got a wonderful group of kids and it has been fun teaching the class together. The sad thing is that they will promote out about 6 months after we get them into our class.....we will be so attached, it will be hard to let them go!

Savannah and Volleyball

Savannah tried out for the volleyball team this year. I was so proud of her because she has NEVER played and there were 135 girls going out for the 30 positions. There were 4 days of tryouts and she made it to the final cut. Although, she did not make the travelling team, she is on a "Monday Night" team that competes with the other Middle Schools in our district...it just blows my mind as to how BIG our school district is. There are SIX middle schools and each of them have 4 teams for MONDAY night, that is not counting the Thursday night traveling teams!!!! Savannah has learned a lot about the game and has learned about playing in a crowded gyms with other games going on, and she has learned to enjoy the camaraderie of being on a team. We go each Monday to her games....we look like a circus coming in with the stroller PLUS 3 other kids in tow....I get lots of looks. There aren't many Middle School mothers that have younger children...especially not a BABY!!!! It is fun to be a part of the athletics program, as it was such a big part of my growing up! It has brought back a lot of memories...most of them good. It makes me thankful for the wonderful coaches that I had in Jr. High. Savannah's coaches have been around for a while, and are set in their ways and they are yellers....Savannah doesn't enjoy that too much! We are hoping that she makes the basketball team. It is a cut sport, so there will be lots of competition. I am so proud of Savannah. She has to be at school early for volleyball and she is carrying a heavy academic load of ALL pre-AP classes! She is such a good student and a lovely girl on the inside and out!

When the Big Kids Are Away....

My sister-in-law, Becky, and I met at the zoo with our younger kids while the big kids were at school. It was a fun time together and it was a beautiful day! I am thankful to live in an area with so many great things to do and to live close enough to cousins to get to grow up spending time with them and knowing them. Katie Beth and Jack are much more reserved than our Reagan, there were times when I wasn't sure Katie Beth knew what to do with Reagan's craziness and dramatic play!

Guess Who Is Getting Braces???

Whitney is so excited about getting braces. She is very bothered by her crooked teeth and has been asking for months to go to the orthodontist, so the process has begun....