Cameryn is Six!!!!

What a great way to start the new year! Our little girl is 6 today! Darrell traditionally gets Cameryn flowers for her birthday, and this year was no exception. She woke up this morning with 6 roses on the table along with cards and birthday gifts. Her cousin, Addie spent the night last night and was glad to share in the morning fun with breakfast in bed and singing to new High School Musical karaoke CDs. By 9:30, on this freezing (30 something degree weather) morning the girls were bundled up and out on the trampoline jumping. Atleast they have the desire to get out in this cold and exercise! We met up with Tammy and the rest of the kids at the church to play and have lunch. Cameryn wanted to cap off the play time with some "coffee" from our new coffee shop, "The Porch", so we all indulged! The day ended with $1 movie (The Bee Movie) and Taco Bell at home (per her request). It was a great day celebrating our little girl!

Santa or No Santa?

Santa is here! Our kids have been crazy with the "countdown" to Santa and this year Cal is starting to question the details of "is there?" or "isn't there?" a Santa. My reply..."what do you think?" I'm not ready to blow my cover yet, but I'm not going to out and out lie to him either if he asks a point blank question...time will uncover the rest of this story.

The kids woke up to their "Santa" stuff and had a great time playing with every little thing. As is tradition, the night before we set out cookies and milk for Santa and reindeer food in the front yard. Santa left his annual "thank you" note and reminded the kids of the real reason for the season....our Santa is a Believer!

Christmas in Dallas

Christmas Eve was reserved for Darrell's family this year! Christina, Mark and the kids were in from Nashville and we thoroughly enjoyed spending time in Dallas with all the family! Sunday before Christmas we all went to church with Darrell's mom and step-dad....it was the first time since we have been married (that I can remember) that Darrell has been to church with all his sisters and mom at the same time. It was a special time for us and especially Carolyn to have all the family together.

We "Christmased" at Jacque's and enjoyed a great meal together. Then it was round two of gift giving. After we cleaned up the mess of wrapping paper and gifts, we all went to see "Alvin and the Chipmunks"....what a fun movie to see with kids young and old!

Springtown Christmas

Christmas is hear and we are getting a bit of a head start. This year we will spend Christmas Eve with Darrell's family, so we are getting together with the Collins' crew on Sunday. If we had of stopped with this first round of gifts, we would have had a great Christmas! It is so humbling when our kids get so many wonderful things when they in reality are in need of nothing. Thank you family for your generosity! It truly is a joy to give and we had a great time watching everyone's faces as they opened another fun surprise. The kids are always the best to watch ripping from one package to the next...they can hardly stand themselves!

Tammy's House

One thing our family has been praying for is a place that my sister and her kids could call their own. Well, with the incredible sacrifice of time and money from several wonderful people at RHCC, Tammy and the kids moved into their new home a couple of weeks before Christmas! It was definitely a night to remember and the love of God is all over that house...from the elder who made sure there was good security lights all around the house to the sweet lady who painted the closet, there were brush strokes of love and kindness throughout that home. If you ever want to know the rest of the story, just ask Jamie Atchley, Patty Weaver, Jenni New, or Mindy Layfield (just to name a few of the angels God has sent into my sisiter's life), I'm sure they would light up to tell you what this project meant to them.

It has meant the world to our family, and we are forever grateful!

Glory Days

After Thanksgiving and before the holidays got crazy, I had the opportunity to spend some time with the Lord and four other friends who have drawn me closer to the Lord. We went to a beautiful cabin in the Oklahoma woods and we were able to laugh and cry together. We shared some wonderful praise time as well as communion together. We ate a few meals and a few hikes together, but I have to say my favorite time was the time I spent all day on Saturday alone with my Maker. This day was for us to fast, be silent, and be with the Lord. To be real honest, I wasn't looking forward to this day and made sure I had plenty of things to do to pass the time. As it turned out, I didn't need any of those things and the time I spent reading my Bible and walking with God made the day fly by. Thank you KC for following your prompts and getting this weekend together for us!

Thanksgiving for Family!

Since the GREAT Ride we have enjoyed even more family time and loved every minute of it. This year it was Thanksgiving with the Collins on Turkey day and we had a great time playing, visiting, nibbling, watching the kids play...in the snow!, and eating some more! Family time is always a great time...I just wish we did it more even when it's not a holiday!