A great gift from my husband!

I have known for months that Amy Grant was going to be in Fort Worth on Friday night. It is probably no surprise to those who know me well, to know that I check her website often. Amy Grant has been such a part of my life (her music) that I feel like she is family. Her music would have to be the background musical soundtrack for my life since I was in the fourth grade...I know these songs and they definitely were a major part of my personal faith development..I wanted to be at the concert last night and had dropped a few light hearted hints to my husband. Friday morning, as we were getting breakfast ready and the kids ready for school...I was singing lyrics to various Amy songs...if they were the appropriate answer to a question being asked...as in.."When will breakfast be ready?" ...my response..."Takes a little time, sometimes..."
My husband was hearing me and said, "When is she coming to Fort Worth?" I said. "Tonight!"
And I couldn't help but add that maybe, "Love will Find a Way!" The kids went to school and I headed out the door for an all day conference with my supervisor. Around 2PM, I received a text message from Randy..."I have two tickets to a concert"....I could hardly contain my excitement...I know that I am "The Lucky One"! I called him as soon as I could and he said that he had 2 tickets and that I could take Tori and he would stay with the kids....He has a great story about how he got these tickets..maybe he will share it in the comments! Tori and I got ready..we were both so excited to have this opportunity... we went to dinner and then went to Will Rogers Auditorium where we found our seats...we were in the center, 5 rows from the front!!! These were amazing seats! Amy opened the night with "My Father's Eyes"... I had tears rolling down my face for the first three songs...I couldn't help it! She said she would only be singing songs recorded from 1988 and before....this was definitely a wonderful trip back in time for me and extra special because I was with my daughter who was having a great time...and I was Tori's age when I was first introduced to Amy's music! Amy said this was a time to go back and remember that the person who heard these songs 20 years ago and was affected by them, is still there...it was true for me! I felt this as I sang with her again,
Stay with me
make it ever new
so time will not undo,
as the years go by
How I need to see
That's still me
This was a night of songs that shaped my faith, songs about Jesus and making right choices, being wise and aware of our shadows, leaving no room for compromise, songs of loud praise and the grace that God has shown us, songs of struggle and songs of love for family...I loved it and loved that I could remember every word from songs that I had not listened to in 20 years myself!! It has also been fun that today Tori has wanted to listen to all my old AG cds...now of course that is something I have always dreamed about...now I am getting really honest here. I know this is so cheesy to some of my friends...but this is the real me!!!

(We got new Amy t-shirts!)

Click on these to make them larger

It was an amazing evening and received a great review!

The night was so sweet and I could not help but think about my wonderful husband who wanted to bless me with a special night. He went to some extreme measures to get these tickets quickly and it made the gift that much sweeter. I am so blessed in my marriage. I married a good man..thoughtful, kind and loves to bless me with sweet surprises....

Let me say once more that I love you

Let me say one time maybe two

That I love the way that you love me

And I wish I knew more of you

Tell me that time won't erase

This look of love on your face

Let me say once more that I need you

One more time or just maybe two

Oh my life will always be richer

For the time I've spent here with you.

Tell me that time won't erase

The way that my heart sees your face

I call your name

You look my way

It's clear you trust each word I say

When life is long and problems come

You'll always be my only one

Tori's Fantastic Birthday Week

On Tori's birthday I went to her school to have lunch with her. Timothy and I also were able to join her in class as she shared her "star student" poster...this is where she talks about her favorite things, her heroes, plans for the future and then answers questions...very fun for her mother to observe!! The last picture in this collage shows Tori with Uncle Donny and Aunt Kendra and her cousins...they came to meet her before we left for church...delivering birthday hugs, banana bread and a gift card!!!! They made Tori feel so special! (click on pictures to make them larger)
Tori wanted a Baseball Cookie Cake and Baseball cupcakes (which she iced herself)!

This sweet smile on Lael's face is so precious. She seems so honored and delighted every time Eden is in her arms!
We were so blessed with a beautiful day to be outside playing with fun friends!

As you can see, we had lots of help from family and friends...that always makes parties more FUN !!

Our parties lately have not been complete without a pinata!

Insight to a few of my thoughts today

Here is an attempt at a family picture...not one where everyone is looking in the same direction..but in each one..someONE is looking the right direction, so I posted all 3!

Life is moving so fast. I have many pictures to post that document our life over the past few weeks. I will share them soon. This weekend we celebrated 2 monumental birthdays in our family. Tori turned 10 and Randy turned 40. We had fun celebrating the full and abundant years that we are experiencing. Tori wanted to have a baseball party and so that is what we did. We had 10 girls come in their play clothes and we met at a local park. Everyone had a turn to bat and a turn to play in the field and we all cheered for everyone...pictures will be coming soon.

We celebrated Randy and Donny's 40th birthday at a small family party Friday night...I love my husband. He is my best friend. I am so proud of the work he is doing. I know he is going to succeed in this new business. It is another exciting journey for us.

Our life is unpredictable. Everyday is different. I love it. I know when others see our schedule and how we live day to day, it looks complicated...it is...but it works for us and right now I would not have it any other way.

This is an interesting time ...every minute is full...our children bring us so much joy...the time spent with them is sweet and challenging as we do our best to empower them, connect with them and correct them...we love them SO much!!!

Work is always interesting for me...meeting new amazing people in this community who are in positions of service, working with women in crisis, working with couples desiring to adopt and watching the Lord in the details of it all...I see the Lord do amazing things and it is truly a privilege...I feel very blessed to be working for Christian Homes.

I do get tired and I am very thankful for Advocare products that give me that extra energy and keep me healthy! Through it all ...a thankful heart is the backdrop...I am thankful for these opportunities and I am thankful for the feeling of being spent... I have the feeling of being fully alive....thank you Lord!! I enjoy my life.

Most Wonderful News!!!!

It is official! Andy and Jessica are engaged and our entire family

from the youngest to the oldest, is so excited!! This weekend we all gathered to share in this surprise!

Sam was even able to fly in from Virginia!

Here are a few pictures behind the scenes. We were hiding out at a city park with the kids

while Andy and Jessica were arriving at the ranch and 'getting ready for the first

deer hunt of the season!" As soon as they were out of sight, we headed to the ranch ourselves and started getting busy. The kids worked on signs to post out on the road to direct our guests and Becky, Sam, Randy, Tori, my mom and myself went to get the "scene" ready! We had so much fun!!

The following pictures show their return to the barn where they were
greeted by many many people. Most all of Jessica's family, including aunts
uncles, cousins, grandparents and even 2 of her roommates from ACU were there and of course all of us (Andy's family) as well!
We all gathered in the barn to hear them tell the story and then enjoyed a great meal together.

Remember to click on the pictures to make them larger.
Wedding date is yet to be announced, but I am sure it is coming soon.
Have I mentioned how happy we are? Jessica is the answer to very specific prayers
prayed over the course of Andy's life. Andy is our treasure and he has truly found a treasure.
We love Andy.
We love Jessica.
We love Them!!

If you want to actually hear them tell the story go here!

Science Parade and First ever Fall Fest

Friday morning Tori and Timothy participated in the Science Parade. They were both given a Science vocabulary word and told to make a hat that reflected the definition of their word. They both enjoyed the opportunity to be creative! Jonathan, Lael and myself enjoyed the chance to watch the parade and enjoy a few minutes in their classrooms as well! Friday night we attended our first ever Fall Fest at Richland Hills.

As you can see we brought with us, Batman, a Nascar driver, Princess Kadi, and a baseball player!

Princess Kadi was a bit unsure of the atmosphere that we were entering and did not really relax until we were obviously returning to the car!

There were so many fun activities to do...face painting and games to play, a petting zoo and jump houses too!!