Halloween 2011

This Halloween was very low-key for us, however it was a step-up from last Halloween when 3 out of 5 had the stomach flu! Sunday afternoon our church held a Trunk-Or-Treat, and this was our third year to take part. We stayed in town Sunday, had lunch with friends, dressed the kids, and headed to the church to decorate the truck and have some fun!
   I have to say...I did have the best looking Dorothy, Clone Trooper and Yoda there was!

Yoda didn't make the full two hour Trunk-OR-Treat, he had to nap in the truck!

The Trip of a Lifetime

James and I were blessed to be able to attend a World Series Game this year. Last year, when the Rangers went to the World Series we thought we missed our chance to ever see our team play in the World Series, but then this year they made it again and we jumped on the chance to go!
    There were several things that made our trip possible first, James has been working and traveling non-stop since this Summer and his hard work and sacrifice made it possible money-wise for us to go. Second, wonderful friends, Andy and Brittany and John and Trista who offered to keep our kiddos. Once again, we are blessed.
   We drove down to Arlington for game 3, and it was so amazing just to soak in the fact that we were at the World Series! We bought back a ton of souvenirs for everyone and I kept some things for us to have as keepsakes. The Rangers may have lost but we can still say we saw Our Rangers, play in Our Texas, in the World Series 2011.

Blog Make-Over Day

I decided to give my blog a face-lift! I wanted to use our beautiful new Fall family pictures taken by photographer Carol McKinney. I love them and I love this new look for the blog!

On that note.....

Have a safe and fun day!

First Snow of 2011

This week we had our first snowfall of the season. It was hard to believe since we have not even made it to Halloween yet! The weatherman was predicting snow but a light snow just on top of vehicles, etc.
Here is what we woke up to Thursday morning...

It was a huge surprise! James was rushing to shovel the steps and defrost the truck, I was trying to locate snow boots, gloves, coats and hats! It was a surprise but a beautiful sight to wake up to.

Here is our pumpkin I took a picture of when the kids left for school...

The weather man was totally off on his predictions because it continued to snow all day! I think the total was 5 inches, here is the same pumpkin at lunch time..

It turned out to be a beautiful start to what is sure to be a cold winter! I greeted the kids home from school with hot chocolate and Carmel apples! There is nothing better than cuddling up with my family by the fireplace with snow outside! Happy Winter!

Oasis Ladies Outreach

Oasis ladies meet one Friday during each month to outreach outside the church. We believe it is important to be the hands and feet of Jesus and to show others in our community that Oasis is here to love them! In November, we will be getting the Operation Christmas Child boxes ready to be sent and in December, ladies will be making gift bags for the women of the Downtown Women's Center.

In September, we volunteered at CareNet Crisis Pregnancy Center. The ladies all worked hard and helped organize donations for CareNet's benevolence room.

In October, we worked with Snack Pak 4 Kids. The ladies helped get food items ready to be packed for kids who may not have food to eat at home on the weekends outside of school.

Makayla's Ortho Journey

                                            So this was Makayla in March around Easter time

In May a few weeks before school let out, the orthodontist fitted her and placed her with her first retainers. They are actually pallet extenders. Their job was to slowly extend the length of her jaw line to allow her teeth to straighten and have room to move. Here she is the day she had them put on.

Last month Dr. Moore told us the extenders had done their job and we were ready for the big time. Braces!

She will wear these for about six months and then take a break on orthodontics until she looses more baby teeth. They call this "phase one." We will do phase two in a few years.

She has done really well. She has had little discomfort and is careful what she eats!

Ill keep you updated on her journey!

Buddy Walk 2011

On October 1, 2011 our family particapted in the Buddy Walk. Buddy Walk is an annual fundraiser for the Panhandle Down Syndrome Guild. There is of course a walk, there are booths and games and free food all held at a local park. We even bought our puppy Bayou along to enjoy the day!
   We voulnteered for the event with our youth group. We worked in the game section. Buddy Walk along with the guild are such great organizations, it was a blessing to be there. It was awesome to see our nine year old daughter tell us she didnt want to leave beacuse she was having such a great time working the games and playing with the kids.
   It was a great morning and we can't wait until next year!