Christmas...a little early:)

We let the kids open one present a piece, a little early, and they were so pumped! I can't imagine how HYPER Christmas will be this year:) Two toddlers, LOTS of family and TONS of presents...I already need a nap! I joke about the craziness, but I must say, I am so looking forward to this Christmas with the kids. Monty and I have really been trying to teach them the precious reason for this holiday and their grasp of Jesus' birth has been fantastic! They genuinely know this is His birthday and that THEY are their own gift to Him:) What a wonderful concept! So, praise Him for this season and for the gift of His Son and His Spirit! May you be glorified, Lord, in all we do...even if we will need a nap after it all!

Mayce decided she wanted her dad to be the couch. What a good sport to try and accommodate the request of a 3 year old!

His daddy has taught him well! "Hook 'em Horns!"

Yes, folks, he IS a professional!

I just had to post a picture of the beautiful work of art Monty created on our house:) He did such a good job with our lights, I felt the need to share:) I'm pretty sure you can see our house from 2 blocks away:) May each of you have a blessed Christmas as you celebrate the monumental birth of our Savior!

Monty...I absolutely treasure you!

Monty, you are the most precious person in my life and I adore you! I literally praise God daily for the gift that you are! You are the epitome of a Godly husband, being blessed with the heart of a lion and a lamb. You truly remind me so much of David in your pure and uninhibited devotion to your Father. I don't know how you manage to make me feel as if I am the most beautiful women you've ever seen, but you do it daily, and it blows me away. Thank you for giving me so much security by making your relationship to the Lord more important than anything here on earth....2nd place never felt so good! When you proclaim "as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord!" it is a battle cry from your heart and I have never seen a man fight so hard for it! You draw in the Spirit in such a mighty way, crying out for him to activate all His wondrous gifts right before our eyes. What a marvelous sight, I have witnessed, on more occasions than I can count. You cause our children to literally hunger and thirst for Christ, for to them, He is as real as you are! So, today, the words thank you fall so short, but they will have to do. You are the man I could have never dreamed of, for you far surpass what I could have ever imagined! I love you!

Little Stinker!

I could not resist posting this hilarious video of Mayce. She was only 19 months old, and as you can see, she had found a new game with our phone. She would push the locate button on the phone and make it start beeping, then I would grab it from her to turn it off. Her face is absolutely priceless before she pushes the button....pure ornery....looks just like her Gramps:):):) (Sorry there is no sound...took the clip with our digital camera and it doesn't have sound.)

Makin' Mama proud!

My daughter said the most beautiful Thanksgiving prayer I believe I have ever heard, and it truly made me cry! It went a little something like this:

"Lord, thank you for all of my families here with me and for all you give us. Please bless everybodies and I hope they enjoy all of their presents. In your Holy Name, Amen."

Now, there weren't any presents awaiting all of us (a little mix up with Christmas), but her intent was just precious, and I'm pretty sure about 12 people in Abilene, TX were all a little more thankful that day! Hope you enjoy looking at the snow as much as we did:)

First snowball she has ever thrown!

"PLEEEASE can I go out now!"

Bryce being a little gentleman and cleaning the snow off for his Nanny:)

"Actuwee..."

So my son has really picked up on a new word, and I absolutely think it's adorable! He LOVES the word "actually," however, he says it "actuwee." It is the sweetest thing, because he says it for everything:) For example:
"Bryce, did you sleep good, buddy?"
"Actuwee, yes!"
"Bryce, do you need to go potty?"
"Actuwee, I do."
"Bryce, I love you."
"Actuwee, I wuv you bery much."
I love how their little minds work:) Here are just a few pictures from our church Fall Festival. We had a blast this year, and the weather was just perfect:) We stayed for 3 hours and lived up every sugar-high moment of fun that we could:) They did enjoy alot more of the festival, besides the animals, but we were just too busy to take pictures....sorry:) Enjoy!

Some friends of ours, Ramzi and Diane, came with us and brought their daughter, Elise.
Isn't she adorable!

Roadtrip

We went to Abilene a few weeks ago and got to visit with my Nanny, Aunt Sue and Cousin Amy. Oh, and I can't forget to mention Jobe...the dog who thinks he's a child:) We had so much fun seeing everyone and enjoying some tasty roast... thank you very much, Nana! We had a really good time! Love you guys!

I also just wanted to briefly mention an incredible teaching series that our pastor is in the middle of right now. I have been so blessed by the knowledge the Lord is imparting through this message. As many of you know, according to scripture, our souls must continually be bathed by the Word in order to be consistently transformed. We must allow the Lord, daily, to take our will and make it His own, because our soul will certainly try to take control....not pretty:) If you have a minute, check out the link: http://www.gatewaypeople.com/sermons/2007/20071103_WhatsYourTrumpCard.html.

It's an anointed teaching that I pray takes your walk to a new level of freedom. Enjoy!
"Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom." (2 Cor. 3:17)

Playing with Jobe

Aunt Sue and Nana

Bryce "educating" Nanny and Sue on how to properly eat chicken:)

Sue, Nanny and Amy

Sprinkle Mania!

Just wanted to share a few pictures from our cookie making party:) They had a blast with their friend, Taylor, and they made a HUGE mess:) Bryce kindof gave up on us pretty quick, but Mayce and Taylor held out for the finished product!

Bryce didn't really get into the cookie decorating...can you tell?

"Three sprinkles for me...two for the cookie"

I think Taylor approved:)

I'm pretty sure she had more sprinkles than icing!

The Place to BEE!

Ok, so....the Pumpkin Patch is definitely the place to be!!! And, as we quickly found out after we purchased our snow cones, it's quite the attraction for bee's as well:) Between the sticky fingers and sticky benches, the bee's were making a grand appearance! We probably could not have picked a busier day to go, but it was a blast and it was FREE to top it off:) After attending the State Fair only a few days before, I must say, it was refreshing to not spend more than $5 on an outing:):):) We tried to do everything they had to offer, because that is certainly the mentality of a 2 and 3 year old:) We bounced in the bounce houses, slid down the slides, rode the train, ran through the pumpkins and ate some yummy snow cones! The Lord created a beautiful day and we just soaked it up:)

As I sat and watched the kids play, I couldn't help but think about the splendor of our King. The Mighty One who wishes to speak to us about ALL things ALL the time, if we will just tune our ears to His voice. The Giver of wisdom, power and all good gifts wants us to give up our will so He can activate His. And, oh, how much better is His will than ours could ever imagine being. Thank you, Lord, for literally pouring out Heaven on earth and letting us experience so much life through your death. "Your Kingdom come; Your will be done." Be Blessed!