Paul, Amanda,: January 2010

Sunday, January 31, 2010

Happy 80 Grandma!

My grandma (my mom's mom) turned 80 on January 25th. She has been spending several weeks staying with my parents and my uncle and aunt, who live in Oklahoma, so it turned out to be perfect timing to celebrate her big day! All of her Texas and Oklahoma grand kids and great-grand kids were there and every one of her kids got to be there. We missed all of the Illinois grand kids and great-grand kids! We had a great time celebrating Grandma's 80 years and are so thankful for grandparents who have given us a wonderful Christian heritage! I know Grandpa was smiling down from heaven and approved of the barbecue that we all ate to celebrate! It was one of his favorite places to go! Here are a few of the tons of pictures I took...We all love you and are so thankful for you Grandma! Happy 80!

Grandma with her Texas Great-Grand kids

Grandma with her Texas and Oklahoma Grand kids

Grandmas and Her Kids

Grandma, Parents, Uncles, Aunts

And because this is my blog...me and Grandma! :)

Thursday, January 07, 2010

2009--Top 10

2009 was one of our most difficult years and one of our most blessed. I cannot believe how fast all of these years keep flying by, but I'm so grateful for how faithful the Lord has been to us. He is always showing us that He is in control, no matter how difficult things may seem. We are so thankful for all that we've been blessed with and are anxious to see what 2010 brings us. So, here are our top 10 blessings of 2009...in no particular order.

Paul and I celebrated our 8th anniversary in May. It's almost weird how you can continue to grow deeper in love with someone even when you think there's no possible way you could love them any more than you already do. He's my husband, best friend, the best Daddy, and is our family's spiritual leader. I'm so blessed to have been given him.
Gracie Claire turned 4 on February 14th. Seriously?! How can my first baby girl be going to Kindergarten next year?! *tear* She is not only gorgeous on the outside, but she truly has a beautiful heart too. She has such a kind, generous, compassionate heart. She always loves giving to others. She loves to dance, sing, put on plays, dress-up, tell knock-knock jokes, and get her nails done. She's a complete girly-girl who has a precious love for the Lord already.
Sydney turned 2 on February 15th. We've watched her turn from a baby to a little girl this past year. This girl HEARTS her big sister and wants to do everything GC does. She is beautiful inside and out...always wanting to help anyone. She loves to sing, dress-up, be mischievous, drink milk, get her nails done, suck her thumb with blankie in hand, and anything to do with Barney. She loves Jesus so much already too, always eager to be the one to say the prayer.
Molly turned 1 on October 29th. She's my baby and I have a hard time knowing that we're already well into her 2nd year. She will always be my baby though. This girl is hilarious. She loves trying to keep up with her big sisters, but is very happy to be by herself. She's definitely independent and loves to push her boundaries. She LOVES to dance, babbles non-stop, and seems to never stop eating. We are loving her precious little personality and can't wait to see how the Lord uses her.
God showed us again this year just how faithful he is. After Paul was laid-off early last year, we had no idea what would happen. We're really still not sure, but for now, I'm blessed with a job teaching 1st graders and he gets to stay at home with the girls (how many kids can say they were able to have that much time with their daddy when they were growing up?!) He's finished his first semester of grad school and we're excited about what the future holds for his new career.
We are blessed with parents who love us and love our girls. My parents (Kim and Angela) celebrated their 34th anniversary in October. We are so thankful for their faithful example and constant love. Paul's parents (Mike and Janice) celebrated their 21st anniversary in September. We're grateful for their loving and generous spirit. Paul's Mom and Step-Dad (MaryLee and Carl) celebrated their 13th anniversary in May. We're thankful for their caring and loving spirit as well.
All of our siblings are close by and we love being able to see them whenever we want to. How awesome to have brothers and sisters who have precious, growing families! We are SO thankful for Caleb, Sandra, Gracie, Nkere, Jeremy, and Sharon! They ROCK!
Our nephews are growing up too fast. Sweet Parker turned 5 in April and started Kindergarten! Sam, our sweet little Superman, turned 2 in June! Dre, our sweet, little, cuddly guy was born on May 21st. We love having sweet little nephews and the girls HEART their cousins!
Our first NIECE, Cassidy Madysen, was born on December 8th! We are loving the newest member of our growing family! She is beautiful, precious, and everything in between. The girls love having a girl cousin!
God has continued to show us His mercy and love. We are in awe that we have a God that loves us and provides for us as much as He does! These verses have proven themselves over and over again this past year..."I have written your name on the palms of my hands. Your walls are never out of my sight." Isaiah 49:16 -- "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." Jeremiah 29:11

We pray that your 2010 is full of lots of joy and many blessings!

Friday, January 01, 2010

2010

We rang in the New Year with some of our best friends. Here are the kids, minus Molly who was already asleep, wishing everyone a Happy New Year! :)

Love These Kids!

(FYI--Hoping you wouldn't think any differently, it's sparkling grape juice in plastic glasses.)

BTW...I'm totally caught up! WOOHOO! My next post...thoughts about the past year and hopes for 2010.

SNOW!

We, of course, took advantage of the snow to build a SNOW QUEEN! No snowmen around here! :)

All bundled and ready to go!

These make me smile! :)

The Snow Queen's accessories...

The princesses with the Snow Queen. Syd's face cracks me up here...she was so ready to come inside!

Much better when she's warm and inside!

Hot Cocoa with homemade peppermint whipped cream made by Daddy!

YUM!

What do you mean I can't have more whipped cream?! :) I loved the look on her face in this picture!

Cuteness Galore

Here are just a few pictures that I had to post...just because.

Syd got a grocery cart for Christmas and she loves to go shopping in the pantry. :)

Don't you love the knee brace she's using to accessorize her leotard? :)

Barney goes with her everywhere.

My Little Beauties

Christmas 2009--In Pictures

We had an awesome Christmas with all of our family. I had to restrain myself with the number of pictures that I am posting...the amount I had to choose from was ridiculous! So...if you are really interested in seeing all of our Christmas pictures...head to Facebook. They will be posted there. For here, I chose the ones that summed our time with family up. We're blessed to have family who love us as much as they do! We're even more blessed to be loved my an amazing Savior who's birth we were celebrating! We hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas and that 2010 will be a year full of blessings!

Christmas With PaPaw and Janny