Anticipation for the Ice Storm

We get a little hyped up here for cold weather. Why? Hey, we are in Texas! Texas weather is crazy! A typical NONSUMMER week looks something like this....
Monday 40's
Tuesday 60's
Wednedays 80's
Thurs 20s
Friday 30s
Saturday 60s

Let me give you some brief but recent history of how things work with Texas Winter Weather!

I spent Sunday outside the majority of the day with the kids, working out, and even witnessed an outside baptism! That night, when I went to bed, there was "some" talk of winter precipitation on Wednesday. Monday was supposed to be just like Sunday. However, when I woke to check the weather forecast (like I do every morning before I do anything else), I saw a complete changed forecast. It was calling for cold, wet weather all day Monday and with anticipation of ice accumulations Monday night into Tuesday. WHAT???
So Monday was indeed very wet! Monday night we all went to bed with BIG HOPES of waking to a winter ice storm on Tuesday morning.....hoping there would be no school.
Tuesday morning my cell phone alerted me at 6:22am. I knew it had to be text from the FLASH ALERT SYSTEM from our school district! So I was very hopeful, but was disappointed to read that we were going to school. I got up to nothing but more cold, wet weather. All day today (Tuesday) they have been having BREAKING NEWS ALERTS on all the TV stations, many schools even canceled, and many let out early. We even got out early....1:30pm. Much talk on the news about cancellations, and TEXDOT, and sandtrucks. But guess what, still no ice! All day, we have waited and waited for the "ice storm that had the potential of being BIG". Still nothing!

But, just a few minutes ago, I stepped outside (6pm), and again, I am hopeful. I heard lots of crackling of the trees and shrubs as ice was forming. It is cold, wet, and even a bit of freezing rain mix. And guess what else??? The news is forecasting the worst is yet to come.......

Now, I tell you. Not too many people, especially north of the Red River, would give a second thought about this winter event.Or even embrace an ice storm! HA! But in Texas, they are so rare..........and SPECIAL! Yes, I said "SPECIAL". I am a grown adult now, and I still get all worked up when I think of a day off of school and work due to winter weather. WHY? Because in the busy life we all live in today, we rarely have time to STOP, RELAX, and ENJOY! Winter Weather Warnings in North Texas can be translated as "FREE DAY WITH YOUR FAMILY". And it can be advertised as a day of sleeping in, watching TV most of the day, playing games as a family, not doing any household chores, no homework, no errands, no ball practice, no meetings, and no reason to get out of PJs, It gives us an excuse to be home as a family without distractions! These days are rare...... Therefore, Bring on the ICE STORM:)

What We CAN VS. What We WILL....

My church and the staff members have been doing a study over Nehemiah! For the month of January, each staff member is to post a blog entry on our church blog. I am responsible for Tuesday's night blogs which post on Wednesdays. Here is my blog for this week, as it pertains to this historical day for America!

Jeremiah 29:11

For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.

This morning, along with many Americans, I watched history being made. Barack Obama, the first African American elected president, took the oath of office as the 44th president on Capitol Hill. I couldn’t help but to think about how Obama’s leadership of America is similar to Nehemiah’s leadership of the City of Jerusalem.

President Obama stated in his speech…"What is required of us now is a new era of responsibility—a recognition, on the part of every American, that we have duties to ourselves, our nation, and the world, duties that we do not grudgingly accept but rather seize gladly, firm in the knowledge that there is nothing so satisfying to the spirit, so defining of our character, than giving our all to a difficult task”.

Now go back and imagine how Nehemiah must have felt when he took leadership of the rebuilding the walls of Jerusalem, much like we are rebuilding and restructuring the “walls” of America. Not a lot has changed since Biblical times. As Christian Americans, we have often forgot about God in our daily lives. We have been “culturized” by money, materialistic pleasures, and the media. But God has not forgotten about us!!! We need to call upon God to be in control and be the center of the work that needs to be done. He would be honored for us to call upon Him to reveal HIS plan to us….and let HIS light shine within us as we rebuild.

As President Obama stated, we can have a list of things we “can” do....but what will make a difference is what we “will” do.

The Weekend Can't Get Much Better!

I just got through reading a friend's blog when I thought that sharing my really great weekend would be a great idea!

With 3 children and working on Sunday mornings, it has taken some time to get used to how the weekend has changed for me. I have to admit, at first, I didn't like that change. Sunday used to be my resting day. Yes, we went to church 9x out of 10, but soon after we had naptime, laundry time, family time, one hour organization time, etc.

Now being a Children's Pastor, I have found that may weekends are a bit different........but much more enjoyable!!!! I want to share this past weekend with you........

Last night was Friday! And I sooooo look forward to having Todd, my dear hubby home. Lucky for me, he even brought dinner home. KFC is great!!! We started our weekend as a family at the table having chicken and mashed potatoes. Addie ended up leaving us for the night to go across the street to spend the night with her best friend, Brooke. But the rest of the evening was great. My mom wanted to have Gabe over for a spend the night with my nephew, Hayden. We had every intention of going over and staying no longer than an hour. But, I wanted to look for a box of old college pictures......which lead to 2 plus hours of picture browsing of the PAST. This was sooo much fun to go through pictures!!! The pictures were not of college, but of old elementary and high school friends. Perfect for some good "facebook" laughs. So needless to say, I spend way too much time scanning old pics of friends and family for the rest of the evening.

Saturday morning was fun. Nothing better than spending the day in the old elementary school gym watching the boys play ball. I say this because this is where the fun began for me back in 1984! That will be another blog!!! Zander had 2 games and did sooo good. He is such the defensive player. Gabe had one game......I am the coach (pray for patience for me). But at 2:30 we were finally done playing ball.

It was a beautiful and perfect day today. So we loaded up our dogs, kids, some water, and headed to Lake Ray Roberts. We hiked a 2.5 mi hike through the woods with dogs and kids. It was GREAT! The kids and dogs seemed to enjoy it! But Todd and I enjoyed it even more!

We had some good and healthy Subway Sandwiches on the way home along with some quiet time at home. Our weekend has been great. Tomorrow will be even better. I predict a nice roast after church, probably a nap, a few football games and probably a run around the track....oh and some laundry!!!!

Life is way good!

Praying for Peace

I have been thinking a lot about Israel!!! How blessed I have been to be able to go to the land of where Jesus once lived and walked and taught..... But in the last few weeks due to the studying of Nehemiah and with all the conflict in Gaza, I can't help but to say a few extra prayers for the Holy Land.

Could It Be Sickness Coming On.......

Oh dear! Oh dear! I am not sure what the deal is but Momma is TIRED! I am soo sluggish today. Maybe it is the cold weather, maybe it is my new diet and exercise routine, or maybe I am just lacking some rest???? I am not sure, but I am praying it is not sickness. I don't know if there is anything worse than having Momma sick. I know you know exactly what I mean!! If I get sick the household slowly falls apart. Todd does help, but it is not the same.

If I get sick, then most likely the homework will not be corrected, the kitchen will be destroyed, the toys will be scattered, and the kids will not get bathes or to bed in time. LOL! I know you know what I mean. Being sick can really be more stressful!!!!

It all started midday yesterday..... just kind of in a funk of some sort. Just tired and feeling a bit moody. Today I have taken it easy. I did Reading Lab at the Academy for a hour, then went to the office for about an hour and a half. I have spent the rest of my work day at home. I tried to take a nap, but if you know me, I am not a napper. So no luck. But I did get the majority of my work done from home.

I am not all that hungry either, but maybe it is because I just recently started BOOT CAMP (a fitness camp) and I have my second meeting tonight. I am afraid to eat much because what if I am sick and that makes it worse! YIKES, I don't want to chance it. I do NOT want to miss workout! I am determined to get back in shape and STAY in shape this time around!
Anyhow, I just wanted to vent. Hopefully it is nothing and it will pass.

Thankfully tomorrow is Friday:-)

A Note from Nana on Gabe's Birthday!

Today was Gabe's 5th birthday, but as you would probably guess, we have not had time to plan a party this soon after Christmas and all. But Gabe still knew it was a special day.

He started the day at 5am. He usually crawls in my bed and falls back to sleep for another couple of hours....but this morning, he just couldn't. After an hour of him stirring in my bed and waking up our new pup, I decided to get up to let the dogs out. Gabe follows me into the kitchen and I ask him, "Why are you up so early?' He replies..... "I am waiting on my birthday!"

I went ahead a turned on the TV and soon after went to bring him his school clothes. He had a confused look on his face and said "I not going to school today." He was a bit confused because he thought he should get to stay home. I tried to explain that I needed to work and there would be no one home to play with except me. After about 10mins, he says "My tummy hurts! I think I am sick." HA! Then he explains that Nana or Grammy could watch him!

Well guess what....he stayed home today. I enjoyed my morning with him. We played computer games, had some cake (thanks to Ms. DeeDee), and did puzzles. He even got to go to mommy's office and help her. He had lunch with Grammy and Gramps, too. The later half of the day, Nana spent with him............here is a letter I got from her that I would like to share!! I thought it funny and cute. Oh, by the way.....isn't he the most handsome cowboy ever!!

FROM NANA STARTING OFF TALKING ABOUT COWBOY CLOTHES SHOPPING: I know and he had so much fun picking it all out.. He is going to love looking handsome and it won't matter how long it takes.. He admired himself in the mirror several times but he would always thank every nice thing anyone said to him.. We looked through some old picture albums and he couldn't believe how you were once a little girl.. Then he saw pictures of Addie, Zander and himself and he realized that yes, you were young.. I couldn't stop laughing when he said paw and I use to be young too.. He gently touched my cheek and said, AND THEN THIS HAPPENED.. Now I don't know what that meant but it didn't matter, it was honest and so very loving just to have his little hand on my old face:) Thank you for sharing him on such a special day.. Oh, he wrapped 2 presents for me cause he wanted me to have something also.. So if you notice the candles on the cake, those were from when Addie turned 8 and Zander turned 7.. Gabe didn't care he just wanted 2 candles, one for me and another for him..Thank you so much for such a special time with him.. He knows he will be having a birthday party and he will be 5 again at that one, too:) Sweet, sweet and really sweet.. love you so much and I am so proud of the wonderful children you and Todd have given us.. They bring us more joy than we could ever imagine..You have done a fine job with each of them.. love you, mom

My Baby is FIVE!!! Happy Birthday Gabriel!

Look at that adorable little baby! Yes, he is my youngest out of three. He is five years old! My Gabe is consistently reminding me that he is not a baby anymore! But he will always be my baby! I always say that God knew to make him number 3 because he tends to be more of the free spirited type of child and loves for you to praise him! He is not shy at all. He is always smiling, laughing, or trying to make you laugh. He loves music, dancing, and is very creative. He is extremely talented in puzzles and free art. And he is very lovable and sensitive. He ask me daily if I missed him while he was at school. He loves snuggling with me in the early morning right before the sun comes up! He is quite the helper for me....always asking to help do more jobs around the house or wanting to cook with me! I should be so lucky!!!!! My windows look great from 40in down! LOL!

I tend to believe he will be the athletic one! Just tonight, he had his first basketball practice. He was so darn cute, too! He is quite a good dribbler, like his mommy used to be! HA! And he was so proud after practice, he kept asking, "did you see me, did you seem me do good?!?" He was very good. He actually was grouped in with the 1st and 2nd graders. Not by coaches choice, but because he thinks he is as big as them. Maybe because he is so used to playing with his older brother and sister's friends. But he totally seemed to blend right in, except for his height!


When he was a toddler he got away with everything because of these cute curls and the cute dimples!

Gabe is a TOUGH little guy. He came into this world, with an unexpected twist...being sunny side up and not knowing until time to push, leaving me in extreme pain after 12 hours of labor and some much awkward, unforgettable times in the delivery room. The first two babies took 7hrs and 5hrs....who would have known! Needless to say, my baby making days were done after that! HA!

Just the other day, he got on Zander's new skateboard. He decided that it would be fun to use the skateboard and himself as a bowling ball and decided to run and jump onto the board, knees first, rolling himself into the pins. He did not take into account that his bowling pins he had set up were soft and squishy. Therefore, as he crashed into the pins, one pin got tangled into the wheels and made Gabe fall TEETH and NOSE and MOUTH first....right onto the hard concrete. He comes in crying but not to terribly hard. But to my surprise his mouth was covered in blood and he now looks like a street fighter with two front teeth a bit loose!

And you know what he asked for for his birthday????????? A darn skateboard! LOL!

I love you Gabe and thank you for all the fun you bring me day in and day out! Happy 5th Birthday!!!

Thank you God for allowing this sweet boy to be in my life! I pray that you will bless me with many more precious years to come!

Gabriel Robert 1-7-04
7lbs born at 7:30pm