Gotta link for ya

Here's the ad for the meal plan I mentioned before. I'm excited to get started since I'm now an official member and have seen the types of meals they have planned. So far, my family will be 90% impressed (there's always *something* they'll turn their nose up to, right?). You should be able to click on the banner if you want to sign up:

Lots of changes for '09

Not only am I focused on getting my spiritual life where it needs, I'm making other changes this year that should improve other areas of my life.

Brad and I attended a preview of Dave Ramsey's program. It's our desire to get out of debt, pay off our house and start living without dragging that financial burden around anymore. We will start the classes on January 22nd (happy birthday to me!) and continue for 13 weeks. I'm hoping it's something that we can also share with our children so that they can learn from his wisdom as well.

Yesterday, while browsing Dave's website, I discovered something that caught my eye ... E-Mealz.com. Hmmm, they say for $1.25/week, they will provide my meal plans and shopping list from the store of my choice. Sounds pretty good to me! I signed up and am looking forward to getting my first list (this Thursday). If the meals are anything like the sample menu they have posted on their site, then I know we will all love this. If you happen to check them out and decide to sign up, I would appreciate the referral .... not sure if you need to tell them Stacey Patterson or Spatter sent you.

I already thought that 2009 was going to be a better year .... with all these new changes, I now KNOW it will be!! Hope you are discovering new things this year to brighten your life as well.

A must read ...

One of the best blogs to read daily. I LOVE this woman's sense of humor!!

The Country Doctor's Wife: My Day in Court by CDW

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! :)

Pink Sox ROCK!

Lexi is now playing fast pitch softball. She wasn't too thrilled when her mom signed her up. However, after her first practice, she was really excited. As the night of her first game neared, so did dark clouds. While driving toward her playing field, the rain started coming down in a steady drizzle. We arrived to find her on the field and warming up.





Sorry for the far away pics but remember, it was raining and I didn't want to chance getting my camera wet.

Lexi was very excited and eager to get into the game.



It was finally her turn so she put on her helmet and was ready to go.





While I would love to end this post with something like "Lexi hit a homerun" or "Lexi made the winning run", the fact is, it didn't quite happen that way. My two boys were having an "off" night and were fighting so we left the game early. Life goes on, right? ::sigh::

Who needs entertainment when you have KIDS?

We recently went to a family bbq at my cousin Kim & Billy's house. They have a beautiful house they designed themselves on 15 acres of land. While the adults sat on the back porch in the shade and talked, the kids played and kept us entertained (without really realizing it). Thankfully, they had a badmitten set up and even though none of them had ever played before, they took right to it.













After playing for HOURS, they decided to venture out a little way and check out the scenery. It wasn't long when we looked up to see this scene play out before us:



They had discovered a pile of cut hay and decided they could create something with it.



Needless to say, we all just sat back in awe of their creativity and the fact that we no longer had to worry if they could survive on their own .. LOL.



My kids and grandkids are a true joy and this is just a little glimpse of why.

With a heavy heart .....

I'm sad to report that my little hamster friend, Cotton, passed away during the night. After her last sickness, we managed to nurse her back and she was doing very well. Then, about a week ago, she started showing signs of getting sick again. I found her laboring very hard yesterday morning and I really thought she would be gone by the time I got home yesterday. However, being the trooper she was, she was still alive and continued to struggle. I'm thankful that her struggle is now over and she's at peace. I will miss her more than I ever thought I would. She taught me that not all rodents are bad.

RIP my little friend.