Absolutely Bears Repeating

Sitting at church on Sunday with Britlyn by my side(b/c Jadeyn was sick and Chris stayed home with her) I picked up the bulletin and read the note from the pastor...

Sometimes you read something that absolutely bears repeating. In Max Lucado's fantastic book, "In the Eye of the Storm", I read about Chippie the parakeet:

"Chippie the parakeet never saw it coming. One second he was peacefully perched in his cage and the next he was sucked in, washed up and blown over. The problems began when Chippie's owner decided to clean Chippie's cage with a vacuum cleaner. She removed the attachment from the end of the hose and stuck it in the cage. The phone rang and she turned to pick it up. She barely said hello when (pffft!) Chippie got sucked in. The bird owner gasped, put down the phone, turned off the vacuum and opened the bag. There was Chippie still alive but stunned! Since the bird was covered with dust and soot, she grabbed him and raced to the bathroom, turned on the faucet, and held Chippie under the running water. Then realizing that Chippie was soaked and shivering, she did what any compansionate bird-owner would do. She reached for the hair dryer and blasted the pet with hot air. Poor Chippie never knew what hit him! A few days after the trauma the reporter who had initially written about the event contacted Chippie's owner to see how the bird was recovereing. "Well," She replied,"Chippie doesn't sing much anymore. He just sits and stares."

It's not hard to see why, is it? Sucked up, washed in, and blown over...that's enough to steal anybody's song. Can you relate to Chippie? Most of us can. One minute you're perched in peace, and then suddenly out of nowhere, the pink slip comes, the doctor calls and the report isn't good, there's a policeman knocking at your door, the divore papers are filed, the check bounces, and so on. You're in a storm like you've never imagined!

The same Christ who stilled the storm that day on the Sea of Galilee-the Prince of Peace- can still the storm in your heart and life today. Fear not, God is with you(see Isaiah 41:10). Ask Him to calm the storms in your life and He will put a song back in your heart.

My Fly Boy

Two post in one day...I have a facebook page and posted some pics of Family Day with Chris. It was really windy and really fun. The girls loved watching Daddy fly and spending extra time with him. Britlyn and Kylea were surprisingly disappointed that they missed school to be there. How funny is that. I am really glad that they are enjoying school so much though. Back to Family Day...
We ate Firehouse subs and the biggest yummy cookies. Then we went up to the tower where it was really windy. We hung out with Chris for awhile while his stickbuddy flew. Then met his IP who is super nice. He gave the girls some candy and then each a $2 bill. They thought that was cool. We were able to watch Daddy take off up on the tower which was really fun. We also listened to them make radio calls. We stayed around and watched him fly until the girls got bored and tired. It was a fun day!

Chris Flying the TH-67

All I want for Christmas...

Britlyn has been missing her two front teeth for over 6 months. She likes to say that all she wants for Christmas is her two front teeth. I told her not to be disappointed if that is all she gets. The other day I noticed a few bumps in her gums and decided I better take some pics before her tooth pops out. She has been without front teeth for so long. She will look like she is getting so big when her front teeth come in. She is already concerned about them being crooked and really big. Nothing will make that pretty face look bad!

I've Been Tagged

apacherocky.blogspot.com, ok so I have never been tagged, thanks to Rocky now I have.

I am not sure that I want to share 7 random facts about myself but here goes nothing...These are in no certain order other than what came into my head...

1. I love peanut butter and chocolate especially together. We passed a sign one day that said the cake of the month was peanut butter chocolate and Chris told me that would be the only way another man would steal my heart.

2. My favorite place to shop is IKEA. I would buy everything in there if I had the money. It is so fun to spend the whole day in there looking and dreaming. My kitchen in Texas is remodeled with IKEA. Too bad I was not there to test it out for the first time :(

3. I was adopted from a children's home in west Texas. My husband, brother, and 2 sister in laws were also adopted.

4. Chris told me that he loved me after dating 3 weeks. We were sitting on his bed playing around and talking. Then boom out of no where he said "I Love You!" I was shocked and just stared at him, got butterflies in my stomach and said "I Love You Too!"

5. I was a preachers kid growing up. Until the age of 11 I was moved around every 3 years and sometimes not even that long. At 11 we moved to Texas after my mom finished her nursing degree and that was the end of me being a preachers kid.

6. When I was younger I only wanted to have boys. God has blessed me with 4 of the most beautiful girls.

7. People are constantly telling me that I do not smile enough. I have been told that since I was little. You would think since I have been told that for so long that I would smile more...well it hasn't worked yet. I am not unhappy, mad, judgemental, snotty, or any other bad thing that people have thought about me for not smiling. I am just not a smiler, it's just not me, not who God made me.

Well those are the seven things that first popped into my head. Now I get to randomly pic 7 unexpected people to tag....

http://kendravaughn.blogspot.com/

http://www.theykeepcallingmemom.blogspot.com/

http://tlw97j.blogspot.com/

http://www.bethplemons.blogspot.com/

http://www.whitelygirls.blogspot.com/

http://teachmeyourways.blogspot.com/

http://www.kristendemaree.blogspot.com/

Family Camping Trip

There are so many other great pics but not enough room....

This last weekend we Flew Makayla to Alabama. It has been way too long since we have seen her. The girls and I picked her up from the airport and we were so excited to see her. I only wish it would have been longer. Here is what went on this weekend while Makayla was in town....

After we picked Makayla up at the airport we headed to Oak Mountain State Park where we stayed for the weekend. I was certain that we would have about 30 minutes of daylight to get the tent up. Well there was about 45 unexpected minutes of traffic, 45 minutes trying to find a good site to camp at. By the time we found one that our giant tent would fit into it was way past dark. In the meantime Chris is on his way to meet us(he was still in school when we left). He continuously calls b/c he is lost...oh boy! The girls have been in the car for about 5 hours and are so ready to get out. Now it is dark and the flashlights and lanterns are with Chris b/c that tub would not fit in my van. Now Makayla and I are going to attempt to put the tent up in the dark with help from the van lights. It was funny and frustrating at the same time. We finally got the tent up but guess what now the battery in the van is dead(nice one I know). 15 minutes later Chris pulls up with the lights.

The next morning after freezing all night we have to go to walmart to get a new battery and a heater. After our errand we start out on our hiking and animal watching adventure. There are lots of pics from our hiking and we took so many pics doing all sorts of fun and silly things. Our day was busy exploring the outdoors. That evening we roasted hot dogs and marshmallows. What would a camping trip be without smores right, yum?!

The next morning it was time to get Makayla back to the airport(boohoo). We took showers and headed out. It was sad sitting around at the airport trying to talk to Makayla and not cry(had to be strong). I at least found out what she wanted for Christmas(I have been trying for 2 months now). Then Chris and the girls escorted her to the gate. I was not able to go b/c only one adult could go. I had to sit there for an hour all by my lonesome. I will just say if you are homesick or miss someone do not go to the airport. It was so sad watching people cry and say their goodbyes.

Christmas can not come soon enough to see Makayla again. I wish we were closer to her! The military life is good though even if it means missing family and friends.

Peanut Festival

It all started with Chris telling me we really need to go to the Peanut Festival. I really didn't want to go. I told the girls that I would take them to see HSM3, which we still have not seen. Then he wanted me to listen to a certain radio station to try to win tickets. Then he texts me saying that we really have to go to the Peanut Festival...oh man! When he gets home he tells me that his IP(Instructor Pilot) gave him money to take us to the festival....so we are going. Saturday afternoon we packed up and headed out for the Peanut Festival.

Goat Races. There were pig and duck races too.

Feeding the Elephant. Kylea and Jadeyn got scared at the last minute and just threw their carrot it was hillarious.

Feeding the animals. As you can see they were HUNGRY!

Jadeyn tried to pet every goat in there. She said that one just bit my finger ouch!

Chris and the girls on the John Deere.

Sea Lion show, very cute, like going to Sea World.

There were many other things that we did throughout the day. It was so much fun doing something together as a family. We are not able to do that much now that Chris has started flight school. Big thanks goes out to Mr. Quimby(IP)!!