Christmas 2009

Snow on Christmas in TX...YEAH!!!

Christmas Eve snow Angel

times two :-)

Look at that smile

Could hardly wait to get this open

I haven't posted in so long I don't know where to start. I meant to get our summer vacation photos posted, the kids activities over the last few months, and so on, but with this year coming to a close I thought I would just post some of our latest adventure...Christmas.

Christmas this year was very humbling to me. With GM's announcement of bankruptcy earlier this year, things have been bad at Joe's work this year. Sales have slowed to a near halt, and business all over the dealership is down. We were forced to use some creative thinking this year. Thanks to the reward points from GM we were able to get the kids some things for Christmas. We were also blessed by a secret Santa who dropped gifts off to our house on Christmas Eve. Several friends gave us more love and support than we could have ever dreamed of. We know our God provides and boy did he ever. We are so blessed and so thankful for the ways he shows his love for us. The kids got us wonderful gifts from the holiday store at school, and they were so sweet to even think of each other. Katelyn got the Wii Fit, which she absolutely LOVES, and Owen got a Razor Spark Scooter. He and that scooter have not been apart except for times when he needs to use the bathroom, eat or sleep. To say he loves it would be an understatement.

Joe's brother sent us a wonderful DVD he made of pictures of their family. Many from his mom and dad when they were younger. Some Joe had never seen. What a precious gift. Yes, Christmas was a true blessing to us this year, Thank you to all who were the hands and feet of Jesus. God Bless you all.

First Day of School...four weeks later

Mrs. Schmitt 5th Grade

Katelyn on her first day of school

All smiles

Katelyn at her locker

Owen and Missy, 1st day of school

Owen at his locker

A "I hate this" smile

Giving me a dirty look

Mrs. Henderson's room

So it has been several weeks since I last posted. Did our lives just stop? No just the opposite... It has moved on and on faster than I can keep up with. I'm working this week to try to update all that has happened the last few months. Today I start with the first day of school. Aug. 24Th, 2009.

Katelyn entered fifth grade and gave us instruction not to enter her classroom while dropping her off. She was kind enough to let us at least walk her to her room. The picture I posted wasfrom me honoring her wishes and standing outside in the hall. My little girl has grown so much, it was sad to see her pulling away and seeking her own independence. My heart broke a little, but rejoiced much more in knowing that she is growing into a wonderful, confident person. The days since have not been so easy on her. She is still trying to find her place in fifth grade. The teachers are not as loving and caring in years past. Not that they are mean, but they are tough, and expect high standards. Katelyn is a good kid and a good student but things are much more formal this year. She joined the orchestra this year and is learning how to play the violin. I'm loving that. I look forward to each day she comes home and shows me something else she has learned. She is the student and the teacher. :)

Owen's first day of school was followed by his need to be just like his sister. He didn't want mom and dad to walk him into class. He was a big kid and could do it on his own. However, unlike Katelyn asking politely, Owen was not so nice about it so mom and dad both walked him into his class. He didn't like that much and so most of the pictures of him are ones with discuss in his face. He has a very sweet teacher and seems to really like her. They have a class turtle who's name is George. He got to feed George the first day of school. Since then he has had various jobs, his favorite was "paper-passer-outer". He has friends from last year in his class and is making new friends as well. First grade is well in swing and I'm looking forward to watching his mind grow.

More Pictures of Lone Star 2009

Owen playing with beads thrown out at the parade

Katelyn carring a Riptide poster during the parade

Giving little brother a High Five

State champions seven years in a row!!!

Katelyn with friends before the parade

Our girl all ready to show her Riptide spirit

Katelyn diving in lane three

50 Meter Breast Stroke

Owen entertaining himself at the meet

Katelyn got 2nd Place in the 50 meter Back Stroke

Just finishing, looking for her score

Almost there, just a few more strokes

Just after the start

Orange cap, starting her back stoke

Lone Star State Championship 2009

Katelyn with Coach Bridgette

Lone Star, a four day swim meet that the YMCA swimmers look forward to each year. It's a place where the kids get to show off all they have been working for over the last twelve months. Team Spirit, friendly competition, striving to reach their personal best, to say the least a weekend filled with memories. Memories of water, races, laughter, sometimes tears, and lots of cheering from the parents. This was our third Lone Star. Katelyn was sick the entire time, sore throat, ear aches, and stuffy nose on the first day, which led to sneezing, coughing and overall yuckiness the rest of the meet. She was there, much to my dismay, but she had made a commitment to the team, to herself and she wanted to see it through. Since she had no fever we let her go and encouraged her to do her best. Just one medal this year, but with all that she was going through, one was awesome. What was more impressive was that she improved on all of her times, a personal best. She is my hero, so strong, so determined. Though she wasn't the one getting all the awards, or breaking all the records, she was getting something much more important, she was learning how to carry on, even when times were tough. How to achieve her personal best even when she wasn't feeling good. A huge life lesson to learn when you are ten. I truly could not be more proud of her.

PreTeen Camp is over...

The buses roll in...

Their she is...

We were the sun shiners...

Her brother missed her...

And she missed him. :)

Yesterday I picked Katelyn up from Pre Teen Camp. She looked great, so happy and excited. My heart felt good to know she had a good time. She could hardly wait to start telling me the stories of camp. We got her stuff, and headed home where I heard stories of slides, bounce houses, water bomb fights, trapeze slides, ice bergs, zip lines, mud pits, paint ball guns, archery lessons, and so much more. It sounded like so much fun I was actually jealous that as a child I never got to go to camp, must less Church Camp. I feel so blessed that we are members of a church that offer so many opportunities for our children to learn about Christ in such a fun and loving atmosphere. I can not thank all the counselors and staff enough. They did more than they could ever know. Katelyn told me that four kids, three girls and one boy excepted Christ into their lives. How awesome is that? Very I'd say. What wonderful memories she will have from her summers. I'm just so thankful for God blessing our lives. Katelyn told me one of her favorite things was when Mrs. Jill was doing the bible study and she started to cry, she said she really was touched by that and would never forget how sincere she was. She told me..."Mommy, she really wanted us to know that God loves us, no matter what and that he is always there for us." "He wants us to be with him in heaven." She said it was neat to see someone so passionate about Christ. Thanks Jill for all you have done, your great and truly carry God with you everywhere you go. Katelyn really enjoyed the worship band also and told me many stories about them. She really enjoyed it when they ate lunch with them. I think she may have had a crush on one of them but she is not admitting to that. She said Camp River Bend was the great and she had the best time. In fact she said she had a awesome time, over and over again. Owen was very excited to see her and share his news with her as well. He lost a tooth while she was gone and had also slept through the night in his own bed every night since she was gone. For Owen that was a huge accomplishment. He hugged her as if she had been gone for years, which for him it did fill like a lifetime I'm sure. He was attentive to her as she told us about her journey and she was so sweet to him when he asked questions. I must say, they don't always get along, but having some time away from each other must have done the trick as they have been very kind to each other since she got home. Camp River Bend we will happily see you again next summer, and to everyone we shared this experience with and to those of you who are just now reading about it, take care and stay tuned in to see what is posted next.

Night out w/the Monster Trucks

Four boys ready for fun...

Owen standing in front of Wild Thang

He is in awe

Wild Thang

How cute is my boy???

Friday night brought Monster Trucks to the Texas Motor Speedway. Some good friends were going and invited Joe and Owen to go along. It was Owen's first trip to anything like this and he was so excited. He didn't really know what to expect and kept asking me lots of questions. I told him of the days when his dad and I were younger when we used to go the Monster Truck shows. He was excited by the fact that I also liked going, and knew a little about them. Joe said the show was not as good as one's he has seen before but for Owen it was awesome. His words, not mine. He was sound asleep when they got home so I had to wait until the next day to hear all about it. Owen told me that one of the trucks lost it's hood and front end, while another one drove over a car and tore off it's roof, but didn't hurt the person inside. He told me about the blue car with white stripes, and the four wheelers that were also there. He really enjoyed the "funny guy", that came out on a motorcycle, a little monster truck and in a bath tub. I wasn't there so I didn't really know what he was talking about but seeing the excitement in his eyes told the whole story. It didn't matter that I didn't understand what happened, what mattered was that he had a good time and really enjoyed going with his dad.

I don't know how often the monster trucks come to the DFW area but I'm sure we will all have to go see them again....and soon.