Yes, I'm weak ....

Has it really been almost 4 MONTHS since I blogged? Wow. I truly thought I would do better at this. It has been a challenge with working again; however, I hate using "I'm busy" as the reason I don't accomplish what I want in this life.

I'm going to try to sum up the latter part of last year and what's happened in my life so far this year.

In September, I found myself loving my new job and getting used to the day to day routine that goes along with it. We also were able to attend the Texas State Fair as a family ... an annual event that the boys look forward to every year. Having the opportunity to be at private school, they are blessed with attending the first day the fair opens so it's nice and clean ... an extra bonus (mainly for mom).



Of course, one of the "musts" is eating a huge turkey leg!





October was super busy at the school! We had field trips, health screenings, fundraisers, school pictures and red ribbon week (pledging to stay drug free). The month seemed to go as quickly as it arrived.

November started a busy season for us ... many school activities and the break for Thanksgiving. Little did we know but Liam was going to born before the holiday came. The school let out for the holiday on the Friday before. Since I would be off for an entire week, I was really hopeful that Megyn would give birth during that time so I would be around to help her. That Sunday night at church, she mentioned that she wasn't feeling well and wanted to get her blood pressure checked after service. I went with her and sure enough, it was high. After putting a call into her doctor, it was decided that she should go to the hospital to get checked. Once there, they prepped her cerfix to help it along and had her rest overnight. The next day at noon, they started to induce her labor. She did great and after getting her epidural, we were all able to enjoy the delivery. Liam Jean was born at approx 8:30 p.m. on November 24th. He weighed 8 lbs 5 oz and we all fell in love instantly. I stayed at the hospital until she was released on Wednesday morning. The next day, we went to Ashlea & Nathan's house and dined on lots of good stuff and had a great time with the family.

I returned to work on December 3rd after taking an additional two days off to enjoy Liam (thanks, Christy!). However, it was time to get back to the routine and for Megyn to explore motherhood without a safety net. Her and Liam continued to thrive each day and to find their own routine. The month of December was another short month for us. We were only in session for 3 weeks before our big two week break .. hooray! I was looking forward to spending time with Liam, finishing my holiday shopping and sleeping in. We had a wonderful Christmas with all the kids coming over. Just getting all my children and grandchildren under one roof is a gift ... no need for actual presents! Kyle had flown in the 23rd and was due to go back home on the 28th. He had mentioned to me about a conference at IHOP called OneThing08 that he really felt strongly about me attending. After discussing the dynamics with the rest of the family, it was agreed that I would drive back with Kyle and leave everyone to fend for themselves for a few days. Now, up until that day and even the day of my departure, satan worked long and hard to keep me from going. I came so close to calling off the trip due to various reasons. I AM SO GLAD THAT I DIDN'T!!! The conference was life changing. It truly made me realize the urgency is getting prepared for the day Christ will return. The director of IHOP, Mike Bickle, shed light on the book of Revelation in a fresh way that brought it to life for me. Since then, I've been spending quality time with God each morning. I have a real hunger for KNOWING him and reading his Word each day. I was able to come home and share my heart with Brad and discuss the things I learned and he, too, has been stirred to action. I'm praying that God will give me the boldness I need to speak to everyone that I come in contact with. I love my friends and family too much to not share what I've learned. Jesus is coming back one day and I pray that everyone will be ready and not be caught off guard.

Here it is January already and a new year. Amazing. This year has brought new hope into my life. My heart is so full right now that most days, it spills over from my eyes. There's no way to express the gratitude I have to Kyle for his obedience in pushing me to that conference or for HIS boldness in the way he lives. I am richly blessed and want others to share the same joy I am feeling today. It is my prayer to be a light to everyone that I cross paths with. If this has pricked your heart and given you a desire to know more about God, please ask me ... I would love to share His love with you and tell you my full testimony.

That's my life in a nutshell ... I do hope to do better at blogging more consistently and I will have pictures of Liam to share at a later time ... he's a doll and a keeper! :)

Baby Dedication

Today was a special day for my family ... Brylea Nicole was dedicated to The Lord. She looked stunning in her gown. It's my prayer that she will grow into a young girl that loves God with all her heart.

A good time was had by all ............

We finally had our Fourth celebration ... even if it was a day late. The kids spent a little time fishing before the firework show began. Just wanted to share some pictures that captured the moment ... no explation really necessary.




Yes, we did see a fireworks show. However, unless you are a professional (and I'm not), capturing them is very difficult.

Hope everyone else had a safe 4th!

Independence Day .. what it meant to me

Our day started off slowly. Very slowly. I had to coax *some* people to wake up and get started.






Need I say more?

After all, the goal here was to get up, get our agenda underway so they could return to the house and do such nonsense as light these:


Now, for me ... lighting fireworks does nothing except scare the pants off of me. I've had too many close calls growing up to know how dangerous these can be. However, the grown man in my house decided otherwise and we, along with millions of others, paid good money to light and blow up several things.

The first objective of the day was to go visit our oldest son, Kyle. He is leaving to spend a month in Panama on a mission's trip.

After being made to get up earlier than he had planned, a certain passenger didn't start out the trip too happy.



However, once we arrived, everyone was in a happy mood and participated in photos willingly. Note that normally, I am the last one to have my picture taken. However, since this was a "going away" event, I decided I would want to have a memory of myself with my son.







We then headed to Chili's to get everyone's tummies full before seeing him off for the day. Afterwards, we headed back home and chilled until our next stop ... a local park for the fireworks show.

Imagine our surprise to get there, unload our chairs and blankets only to find out that the show was scheduled for the next night! What's up with THAT? So, off to plan B. This is the part where we joined everyone else and bought a bunch of explosives. ::sigh:: Our night ended with all of us going home and directly to bed.

I'll continue this adventure tomorrow.