Our Christmas Tree

We usually put up our Christmas tree the day after Thanksgiving.  The girls are always SO excited to decorate it.  They are huge helpers now that they are older.  They helped put it together, decorate it, and clean up the mess afterwards.  We managed to only break one ornament!  They did a great job.  It looks so good!

New Nephew

My sister had her precious baby boy about 3 weeks ago.  He is absolutely adorable.  I was able to watch his birth via Skype, which was wonderful.  Eron had a really great pregnancy and delivery, thankfully.  I can't wait to hold sweet little Drew.  Love them all:)

Catch Up

I've been a real slacker with this blog.  It's not that I don't have time, it's that the extra time I do have, I do other things, like study.  I'm not quite into the blogging as I use to be either.  I don't really have a reason why, I'm just not, but I do still want to have things recorded here for the girls, especially.  I will continue to post, but probably not a whole lot.  I also don't use my camera anymore, just my phone.  I have no idea how to get my phone pics onto the computer, so I just get my pics from FB and put them on here!


We had a really great Thanksgiving.  We had a Thanksgiving celebration with our church family the Sunday before, with a wonderful service.  We spent Thanksgiving day with some sweet friends who include us with their family regularly.  We all took school and work off for Thursday and Friday.  It was very nice to just chill and be together.


I've gotten almost all of my Christmas shopping done, which is SO nice.


The big girls had their well visits today and both got great reports and we are so very thankful.


I did 3 weeks of CrossFit, which I was loving...... and injured my back doing deadlifts.  Ugh!  I spent a week on the couch, and it was the week of Thanksgiving.  Sooooo, no exercising and extra eating= not good:)   I'm trying to make up for it now that I'm feeling better.


We are decorating the church this Friday, which the girls look forward to every year!


We are looking forward to another school break here in a couple of weeks!


All 3 girls are still doing great in school and gymnastics.  It's actually really cool to see how much they learn and how far they have come in gymnastics too.  Very proud of all 3 of them.


That's all I can think of for now........until next time:):):)

Grace

Our pastor began leading our church on a Journey through the Epistles beginning in November that will last through December.  We are all reading the same section of Scripture each day and sharing what it means to us or how it encourages us.  We recently finished up Romans and although I've read the Bible through on many occasions, I've never really paid close attention to just how much grace is focused on in this book.  I have to say I was/am completely overwhelmed by God's grace in my life.


I feel as though I've kind of lived in a sweet little bubble all of my life.  That's not to say I haven't been through difficult times, because I have.  It's not to say my life has been all peachy, because it certainly hasn't.  It's not to say I've always done good and made wise decisions, because that couldn't be farther from the truth.  It does say however, that now more than ever, I recognize God's goodness and grace in my life from the time I was born. I was born and raised in a Christian family.  I was raised in church all of my life.  I married a man who loves the Lord and has grown SO much since the time I met him, it's absolutely incredible, because he desires to be closer to the Lord each and every day for His glory and honor.  That man is a wonderful pastor, so a lot of our life revolves around church and Christians.  Now, not all Christians act like Christians, but that's where grace comes in of course.


I see and hear lots of things in this world that people have gone through or are going through and sometimes it still just blows my mind even though I know evil and sin exist in this fallen world in which we live.  I think it kind of goes back to that bubble:)  While I can find it difficult to relate to some people and where they've been or where they are, I wouldn't trade my raising or my life now for anything in this world.  I'm am SO beyond grateful that God placed me in the family I was raised in and gave me the husband and kids that He has.  He is a great God and I never want to take His wonderful blessings for granted.


Hard times will come, and I want to praise Him.
Good times will be had, and I want to praise Him.
Doubts will arise, and I want to praise Him.


Thank you Lord for your goodness, grace, mercy, forgiveness, discipline (although it doesn't feel nice at the time), and love!  May I grow closer to You daily, and bring You much Glory!

Yet God, with undeserved kindness, declares that we are righteous.  He did this through Christ Jesus when he freed us from the penalty for our sins.  Romans 3:24

Crossfit

I remember hearing about Crossfit several years ago when it seemed to be getting really popular.  I also remember thinking, that's definitely not for me, I will stick to my regular workout.


A couple of months ago, a guy came to our church and spoke during our missions moment about a gym he opened up here in our town called Breaking Addictions Crossfit, here is their website, where he uses Crossfit to bring together people who are recovering addicts and shares the Lord with them.  He leads them in Bible studies and during the workouts they share encouragement and different things and he closes the workouts in prayer.  It's really neat in my opinion.  A couple of weeks ago, Craig and I went to check out a workout and well, I'm hooked! HA  I am loving the workouts.  I walk away feeling like I really got in a great workout every time.  I really love that it's supporting a ministry too.  Several of the churches in town support them, which is great too. 

Warm weather

We are having some unseasonably warm weather these days.  I mean, we are usually bundled up in November, but the girls and I went for a nice walk the other day with no jackets.  I was even able to go for a run outside that same day.  It's been SO nice.  I will take every warm day we get!

Field trip & Curls

A couple of weeks ago, AC had her first field trip.  We went to see a play here in town.  We saw Goodnight Moon and some Bunny one, but I don't remember the name!  She loved it and had so much fun.  It was fun to get to have this experience with her.  I'm sure we will go to more plays in our future!




She also loves to have her hair put in rollers before bed.  She ask me about 2-3 times a week to do it.  And, she always wants it in a ponytail the next morning!  She looks so cute too:)

Trunk or Treat

Our church had it's 2nd Trunk or Treat Saturday afternoon.  It went really well and we all had lots of fun.  The girls had a blast.  It was a beautiful day and not too chilly till about the last hour.  This was my first year, because last year I was in AL.  Craig and the girls said it was Much colder last year.  We had several cars lined up and decorated cute, an obstacle course which was a huge hit, hot cocoa under the prayer tent, and a bean bag toss game.  Folks seemed to really enjoy it!

It's been a while...

since I last posted.  I don't really have a reason why other than life is busy, and I spend most of my extra time studying.  Oh, and it's just easier and less time consuming to post on IG and FB.  However, I love having this blog for my kids and my family.




So, soccer has ended, thankfully because their last games were freeeeeeeezing.  Gymnastics is still going very well.  They are all getting better each week and love every minute of it.  Basketball will start in January and the 2 big girls plan to play.  Sewing is going well for Kyndal and she has been taking one lesson a week.  We just finished our first 9 weeks of school and have turned in our grades.  Both big girls did really well and little bit is coming along well too.  I think next year, I will put her in co-op one day a week along with our Abeka studies at home.  I think she will really enjoy it.




My nutrition class is going well, I just finished one book and have moved on to the next.  It's a lot of information, but I enjoy it all.  I'm also doing children's church, and that too is going well.


Craig and I went to our first Crossfit class this past week and I absolutely loved it.  I mean it was hard, very hard, but I loved it:)  I will definitely be going back, I hope 3 days a week.  I will still do some running too, to stay on track for next year's races.  We plan to run a marathon sometime next year!




I can hardly believe we only have 2 months left of this year and I'm sure they will fly by.  These are usually 2 very busy months.  They are especially busy for Craig! One week out of theses 2 months I get to go visit my family and new nephew.  I'm just a "little" excited!!! 

Fall in New England...

is absolutely gorgeous.

Pictures truly do not do it justice.  The trees are just SO pretty.  There are so many bright colors.  I certainly never appreciated the beauty when I was younger (not that it ever looked this pretty down South), but I sure do now.

Monday, the weather was perfect.  The high was 70 and it was just beautiful out.  I couldn't resist going out for a run.  I had planned to go to the gym, but knew it would probably be my last chance  this year to run outside.  Though I said I wasn't running anymore for a while.  Ha, it's too much fun!

I had a great run, and just looking at God's artwork all around and listening to praise music, it was very peaceful!

Around here

The big girls have their last soccer game this Saturday if the weather cooperates.  It's suppose to rain and be really cold.  They will play in the cold, but I don't know about the rain.

Kyndal is getting some sewing lessons on Friday's and she is loving it.

Gymnastics is in full swing and going well.  They all 3 really love it.

The church had a surprise Pastor Appreciation luncheon this past Sunday.  We knew there was a lunch, we just didn't know it was for the Pastor and his family.  They kept that secret.  It was lots of fun and so thoughtful.  We are truly thankful.  (We do have a really great pastor):)  The cake (pictured) was delicious!

Craig and I had a little dinner date one night last week and that was very enjoyable.

My studies on nutrition are coming along well.  It's definitely a lot of information to take in and I'm enjoying it.

Abby is enjoying being a part of the youth group and going to the Bible studies.  We enjoy hearing about what she has learned each week.

We had friends over for dinner and fellowship the last 2 weekends which we really enjoy.  We are getting back into the swing of having church friends over for dinner, at least twice a month.  In the summer months, it's a bit harder, because everyone is busy and it's so nice you just wanna be outside.

The winter is coming quickly.  It's suppose to be Very cold this weekend.

School is going great.  All 3 girls are doing really well, and we are grateful for that.

Craig and I are still working out together when we can.  Sometimes we have to go solo, but as long as we get it done, that's what matters.  We don't plan to train or run hard until late winter or spring as we want to do a marathon in the early summer, Lord willing.

I guess that's about it.....

Surprise Visit

We had some Bama friends surprise us by visiting church this past Sunday!  They told us a while back on one of our trips to AL that they were going to come up here and pop in at church one day.  And, they did.  It was a wonderful surprise.  They even brought us some Bama gear and some self rising cornmeal:)  So sweet.

We met them in Boston on Monday for lunch at Cheers!  Then we walked down to Fenway to look around and rode the T back to our cars.  It was a great day visiting with some sweet friends.

New Hampshire Half Marathon

Wow, we did it!  We did 12 weeks of training for the half marathon.  We had really great weather for most all of the training.  We only did a couple of treadmill runs, thankfully.  While we were in AL, I hurt my back and it set me back about a week.  Craig hurt his back a few weeks ago and it set him back a few days too.  Our last long run was last week and it was 12 miles.  Two days before that run, I did a hardcore leg workout thinking my rest day would give me time to recover.  Boy, was I wrong.  I was hurting so bad.  I only ran 10 miles and walked the other 2.  So, leading up to the race, I had only completed 11 miles so far.  I didn't have a goal time for the race, other than I wanted to finish with NO walking and I didn't want to go over a 10 minute pace. 

Craig had done great through the training.  He is a good bit faster than me.  Sometimes he would run with me and sometimes he would run at his pace during training.  Craig had a goal to finish the race before 2 hours.

A few days prior, the weather said it was going to be raining and the temperature was going to be around 38.  I was really hoping it would turn out to be sunny somehow.  It turned out to be a gorgeous day and I could not be more thankful.  It was pretty cold.  We had to pick up our bags at 7:30, and be on the bus by 8.  The race gun didn't go off till 9, so we were just standing in the cold waiting on the bathroom.  The first 3 miles were pretty cool and our toes were numb.  By mile 4, we were warming up and it was a pretty nice hill.  At mile 9, I had the biggest mental fight.  My calves were killing me, the balls of my feet hurt, and I was getting tired and knew I had 4 more miles left and I was NOT walking!  I normally do not stop for drinks, but I couldn't get to the table quick enough on mile 10 and 12.  I needed Gatorade SO bad.  I was so so so happy to see the finish line.  After getting some water, I sat on the ground (big mistake), and could barely get back up! HA  We got a little snack, checked out our times and were on our way!  It was a wonderful experience and I'm So glad we did it and So glad we did it together.  The Lord truly helped us every step of the way and we could not be more thankful.

Craig did beat his goal.  He ran it in 1:56:49, which was a pace of 8:55.  Awesome!

I actually beat my 10 minute pace goal too.  I ran it in 2:07:42, which was a 9:45 pace.  Thankful!

Before

After (lol)  Obviously, because we are in our garage!

These sweet girls are our BIGGEST cheerleaders!

They were not with us, but they were VERY well taken care of while we were gone.  Thank you very much to our sweet friends!

Soccer

Abby and Kyndal are both playing soccer again this year.  They have already had 4 games and they are doing really well.  They are both much more aggressive this year, which is good.  They both really like playing too.  They are on different leagues, so we are there longer, but that's ok.  It's a lot of fun watching them and seeing how they have grown from last year.  So far, the weather has been really great and very pretty.  This past Saturday was cold, windy, and cloudy though.

Kyndal is the taller blond in the green!

Abby is behind that boy there, fighting for the ball!

There she is in the green!

This was not Abby's best game.  While Kyndal was playing, Abby was playing with Anna Claire near the bushes and she was wearing flip flops.  She got stung by a wasp right between her toes.  Then it was time for her game.  She played and a few minutes before it was over, she was looking at us to tell us that her foot was hurting and she took a flying ball to the head.  And, that's all she wrote.  She was done!  So we cheered for her team to the end!

To say that this girl LOVES gymnastics is a huge understatement.  She does this move here constantly, and ask "do I have gymnastics today" 548964 times a week.

She loves her babies too.  Well, she actually calls them her sisters!!!

She comes to support her "real" sisters, but she doesn't really pay attention much:):):)

Birthday Celebration

We celebrated Abby's birthday last Thursday, for a few reasons.  1.  She wanted a day out of school.  2.  They had soccer on Saturday.  3.  We had a race on Saturday.  So, Thursday it was!!!

The girls had tickets to a play place, so we went there first.  Turned out, it was more geared to toddlers, so we made a quick exit!  HA!  She wanted to go to Wal-Mart to spend some of her money, so we browsed around there for a while.  We went to her pick for lunch, which was TGI Fridays.  It was really good too.  Then to Orange Leaf of course.  They recognize us now and I'm not sure that's a good thing!  Kyndal has gymnastics that afternoon, so we all went and cheered her on.  I cooked her dinner choice which was homemade beef stroganoff and green beans.  She wanted brownies and ice cream for her dessert!  Sugar overload for the day!!

She seemed to really enjoy her day and we are happy about that!

Pajama pants and her favorite gum from Kyndal

Lunch:  I meant to take her pic with her food, but I forgot!

Her shopping goodies

Her dinner!

Love her BIG!

12 years

Happy 12th Birthday Abby Hannah

Abby, we hope you have a wonderful birthday.  You are a precious daughter who has great leadership qualities that we pray you use for His Glory.  You are a good big sister and quite mature for your age.  You have grown so much this past year (tall and maturity).  You work hard at school and make good grades which makes us happy.  You love to cook as often as possible.  We hope you feel special and loved every day, but especially so on your birthday.  We love you SO much.  Love, mom and dad

Training

Craig and I started training for a half marathon 12 weeks ago.  We finished up our training today!  Tomorrow and Friday are rest days as the race is this Saturday.  We are really looking forward to it.  It is suppose to be pretty cold, cloudy, and high chance for rain, but we will still have a good time.

We are very thankful the Lord has given us strength, good health, and only minor setbacks during our training.  We are very thankful He has led us on this journey to better health.  It's SO much easier doing it together and Way more fun!  I think we have grown a lot as a couple during this time too, and again very grateful.

So, here's to race day, Lord willing...

Purses

The sweet friend that kept the girls while we were at the Pastor's Retreat taught the girls how to make a purse.  They did such a good job and they turned out so good.  That's actually what interested Kyndal in sewing.  They already made another purse on their own and did a really good job again, but with no help.  Our sweet friend is going to give her a few lessons to learn more things too.

Birthday Celebrations

Kyndal had a really great birthday!  We took the day off from school to relax and do what she wanted.  Our tradition is, they pick where we eat for lunch and the menu and dessert for dinner.  Kyndal wanted to go to a luncheon at church, and have her special lunch today!  For dinner, she wanted chicken casserole, asparagus, Parmesan noodles, and mixed berry muffins for dessert.

Cute girl woke up to decorations and a good breakfast her sister made!

We made a trip to Orange Leaf while Daddy put together her sewing desk!

TaDa!!!  She decided she wanted a sewing machine for her birthday!  She bought the machine, desk, storage drawers, and everything she needed to begin.  Very proud of her!

We made a trip to Hobby Lobby for fabric and other things!  She doesn't like pink or anything!!!

The Big 10!!!!

Precious Girl

Love her BIG!!!

Her lunch pick was Longhorn!