Reflecting on the Summer

WOW Summer came and went faster than I could blink my eyes. I am not even sure where it went. I guess most of it was consumed with baseball. Bayley made little league this year, which in our small town is practically the MLB. He was picked up by the braves as a catcher...

We got second place in the league and went on to the playoffs making it to round three

Good job Braves!!!!

And then just when we thought basball was over for the year, Bayley made ALLSTARS!!!!!!

Oh and did I mention...there is also his travel team!!!! Wow I think our summer consisted of baseball!!!!

We did have to take a break from all the ball games and enjoy my little girls dance recital...

 This was her first solo dance...She did SOOO Good!!!!!

The star of the show In my eyes anyway and her Daddy!!!!!

It appears that someone might have gotten a hold of the camera...

WOW only a mother could love that face!!!!!!

Both kids road on a float in the parade for the 4th of July Celebration so me and Tony just watched this year for the first time in a while.

Paige got to dance as part of the July 4th festivities!!!

And then there was Church Camp...

My son thought he needed a mohawk for camp

 This is my favorite picture!!! He loves his momma!!!! Not embarrassed at all...LOL

Our group of girls was so sweet and such a blessing!!!

We love church camp. It is so nice to get away from TV and radio and just enjoy God's blessings!!!!

And then we ended the summer with our first travel team tournament. The boys got to play at the Texas Rangers Youth Ballpark. It was a neat experience. We got last place but the boys had a lot of fun.

All in all it was a great Summer!!! I decided to go back to work in the middle of it all so no vacation for us this summer but we will make it up next year!!!

Hello again

OK, so it has been a really long time since I have blogged. Our laptop went kaput and I can't ever seem to sit down at the other computer. (Don't know why it is different but it is). Oh and then there has been basketball and dance and more basketball and now baseball. I am so proud of Bayley...he made little league and it looks like he is gonna get one of the catcher positions!!!! this is Paige's first year in basketball and she is doing really good. It keeps us going but it is worth it!!!

I am so glad it is finally starting to warm up a little bit!!!! I barely survived the winter this year. We went to see Hawk Nelson a few weeks ago and then we saw Mercy Me last weekend. They were both so Fabulous!!!! At the Mercy me concert they talked about making a difference and it hit me if we would do 3 simple things we could make a difference. If EVERY child of God in the whole world would do these thing and not just once but everyday, we COULD make a difference. The 3 things that came to mind for me was to Pray, to Love (unconditionally), and to Live a life pleasing to God

Pray: pray everyday all day for everyone and everything. When someone makes us mad...pray. When someone makes us sad...pray, and even when someone makes us glad...pray and praise.

Love: Love everyone because God does. Don't just love everyone, show love to everyone. God created everyone not just the ones who act as we feel they should, God created everyone and loves us all the same, regardless of whatever life we choose to live, so in return we could try our best to show that same love.

Live: live a life that pleases God. Try each and everyday to do better for Him. Learn God's Word and store it in our hearts Let His Light shine through in ALL we do. Make people think "I want some of what they got"

It seems so easy to do these three things but yet I myself struggle with it each and everyday. I get caught up in everyday life and myself that I let things slip through the cracks. I am going to ask myself every night before I go to bed "How did I make a difference today?" I hope from this day on I am not left with nothing at the end of a day to answer with. With all of that said..I love you all!!!!!

Birthday Boy

Eleven years ago today I had our first child. A little baby boy...so precious. Happy Birthday to my beautiful not so little boy. I thought today was the perfect day to reflect on some old memories...

This is Bayley in ski school his first time to ski...of course he did amazing his first time down the mountain even better then his Dad!!!!

This was...was it 2 or 3 years ago when Tech beat the Longhorns...anyway he was very excited, especially since his longhorn fan uncle was watching the game with us.

                                        My little ALLSTAR catcher...Giants 2010 Undefeated!!!

Me and my sweet baby at Six Flags the summer before last.

Bay and Dad...Church Camp 09

and I have saved the best for last...

This is so funny. We got in line for a ride that we thought was equivalent to the mine train but we were in for a BIG surprise. My son was NOT happy and to this day he doesn't like Six Flags.

HAPPY 11TH BIRTHDAY BAYLEY!!!!!

My skinny tree

I love my skinny tree. My grandmother gave it to me several years ago when I thought I would never have a fake tree and I have loved it ever since. It fits perfectly in my small living area. I decided to go in a completely different direction with my colors this year too. My inspiration came from some super cute wrapping paper that I bought from a school fundraiser. I will share a picture of it after I get some presents wrapped.

 I love bows and polka dots!!!!!

I have 3 Nativity scenes...I always put them all out since Jesus is the reason for the season

I saw a version of this on Funky Junk Interiors and just had to try it out.

Since we don't have a fireplace I decided to hang our stockings on an old ladder that I made out of pickets. My Mimi made the stockings for us.

And here are my kiddos trees in their rooms:

Christmas ornament tutorial

I wanted a whole new look this year for Christmas. We have had the same thing since we got married almost 12 years ago so it was definitely time. I saw an ornament like this one at K-mart and decided I was going to make some of these. It was very simple and I think it added a lot to my tree.

Supplies:
several different ribbons (I bought a yard of each and split into 4)
ric rac
buttons
hot glue gun

 I first laid out a thin ribbon and started stacking my different ribbons on top.

 Then you tie it as tight as possible in the middle of the stack of ribbon.

 Then I tied it into a loop at the top to make a hanger.

 Then, with another piece of the thin ribbon, I tied another one about an inch from the top.

 Next I hot glued buttons on the bottoms of some of the ribbon.

 And here it is hanging on my tree.