From the Concert! We were this close!

Britt Nicole - Live in Concert!!!

BRITT & EMMA

That's right! Emma and I went to her very first concert on Friday, April 3, and it was amazing! Seriously, she experienced every little girls dream of getting to meet a STAR and getting the star treatment in the process.

It was a very special Mother / Daughter evening. We started off with dinner - just the two of us, and then got to the concert early with seats of the front row! We had to wait about 30 minutes for the concert to start, so Emma decided to draw a picture for Britt...she had to do it on her lap, so it was a little hard, and her writing was a little hard to read, but it was sweet. She wanted to give it to Britt, but I told her I didn't know if we would have the opportunity to meet her, but that we would for sure get it to someone who knows her.

When Britt came out, everyone ran up to the stage, including Emma, who made her way right up to the front, and began bouncing to the music, waving her arms to the beat and clapping her hands - what a pro! I guess Britt got a kick out of her, and after the first song, she said "What's your name?" "Emma!" shouted Emma, and Britt yelled, "Everybody give it up for Emma!" You can imagine Emma's and my excitement! Everybody clapped and yelled - it was pretty cool.

The concert was amazing. What a great Christ-centered experience. In between her songs, Britt talked about her testimony, and calling. She challenged us to Shine for Christ, and to take each moment of everyday and live fully for Him - not wasting time or opportunities. (I'll post soon about the ways that Emma and I have taken the challenge, and about the ways that Emma has been shinning for Jesus)

After the concert, we waited for a little bit in the autograph line. It was getting pretty late by now, and they weren't allowing any pictures during autographs. A separate line was set up for that. I knew it would be too late to do both, so I thought we'd just be happy to meet Britt, give her the special picture that Emma drew, and get an autograph. WOW! Britt could not have been sweeter! She is just so cute, and fun, and she told Emma that she LOVED the picture, and would keep it always. Emma was in Heaven, and I was pretty psyched about the whole event - it was pretty special, as a mother, to watch these events unfold. We got her autograph, and then Britt said, "come give me a hug!" What!? - totally unexpected - totally cool. And to top it off, a lady who was taking pictures for the event snapped some pics of Emma handing Britt the picture she drew, and of Britt hugging Emma. Afterward, she gave me her email address, and said she send me the pictures! And THAT is how I got these amazing pictures of Emma and Britt. (Thanks so much, Annette!)

What more can I say!? It was so fun, and I hope that Emma and I have chance to do something fun like this again. Emma told me that the best part was just spending time together - Awwww...:)
I couldn't agree more.

EMMA GIVING BRITT HER PICTURE
(and a picture of the picture she drew)

More Pictures from Britt Nicole!...

Pro-Life Lobby Day!

Feb. 24th was Pro-Life Lobby Day at the Texas Capitol! Emma and I headed to Austin for the day to show support and Lobby for the Ultrasound Bill. We met some friends there, and heard from Gov. Perry, Lt. Gov. Dewhurst, AG Greg Abbott, Sen. Dan Patrick & more! Afterward we had a picnic lunch on the green, and signed in for our support of the Bill. It was a great day. Now that I've done it, and seen the difference it can make to get out there and stand up for the prolife cause, I'm looking forward to doing it again and again! Here's a link for more information on the Bill ... http://www.2heartbeats.org/why.shtml and here is an update about the hearing held last week... http://www.lifenews.com/state3958.html... Please be praying about this bill - studies show that around 80% of women who go in for an abortion and then view an ultrasound of their unborn child chose life. Here are some pictures from the capitol....

February 2009

Well, I have no truly great excuse for not posting anything in THREE MONTHS!!! (other than the fact that we have ALL been rotating through illness and trips out of town since January!) Anyways, for now I'm just adding some pictures and quick captions. This will have to do for now....

Here's a picture of our Valentine's Day Treasure Hunt! It was so fun - I made up little rhyming clues, and had the kids going throughout the house searching for them. The kids loved the V-day goody bags. I think this tradition will be a keeper!

Isaiah 9:6

For unto us a Child is born,
Unto us a Son is given;
And the government will be upon His shoulder.
And His name will be called
Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God,
Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.

Well, it's here! The most wonderful time of the year. And we are enjoying it in our new house! We didn't do much decorating for Christmas as we are still unpacking boxes, but we did get the tree up, and the stockings are hung by the chimney with care! (we are so excited to have a fireplace!)

We're in awe that we are so far into Dec. already, and Christmas is a blink away. Emma reminds us everyday that Christmas is her FAVORITE time of year (and believe me, it is - she's been asking me every other day since June when Christmas will be here). So far we've enjoyed making Christmas cookies, reading tons of Christmas books, looking at lights, and watching the kids perform in their preschool Christmas play. There will be many more exciting things to do before Christmas quickly comes and goes.

A really cool thing has occurred in our home. The kids are excited about Christmas - I mean Christmas just oozes with excitement - everywhere you look you see lights, and here cheerful songs, not to mention all of the parties, and extra fun activities there are to do. But the very cool thing is that they KNOW WHY we celebrate Christmas! They're not getting confused about Santa and reindeer and wanting a huge list of presents. If you ask them, they can tell you exactly why we celebrate - "Jesus was born!!!" they exclaim. And when looking at lights, they get most excited when they see a nativity, or "Baby Jesus set up!" Of which there are tons of in our neighborhood - yay neighbors! :)

We wish every one of our friends and family a very very Merry Christmas!!! (You'll hear no hint of a "happy holidays" from me - puh-lease! * just kiddig* - that's my major Christmas pet peeve) And a Happy New Year!
*(lovely family photo taken by our very good friend Dawn Lindley of D. Lindley design)*

Saying Goodbye

It was a bitter-sweet day last month, about a week before Thanksgiving, when we said goodbye....to our favorite tree. This is "Emma the Tree", so named by Emma herself. It was her tree, planted in our yard by a friend when Emma was a newborn, and we said goodbye to it because we also said goodbye to our house. This is actually a very good thing - a blessing, and something we'd been praying about for a while. It was, however, sad to see the kids playing in the backyard for the last time, and to see Emma's tears over leaving her tree - the tree that she's been known to water and and wrap her very own blanket around at times. We're in our new house now, and we love it, of course, and I'm sure I'll be posting more about that sometime soon. For now though, here are some of the "firsts" that we experienced in our old house........
Our first house; our first baby; her first smile, laugh, word, and many other firsts; our second baby; his first smile, laugh, word, and other firsts; a new business; birthday parties; Christmases; Easter Egg Hunts; and too many tea parties to count. We'll always remember God's many blessings, and answered prayers that we experienced while we called this our home. Not to sound too sad though, we've already begun tallying up some new firsts in our new home! Alex jumped off the furniture for the first time - (this is HUGE for him - I was so proud!) and Emma has written her first Thank you note - sounded out, and penned entirely by herself - (quite long, great use of adjectives!) These may not be major "firsts" but hey, it's a start. And there will be many more to come. :)


Matthew 7:11
If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give what is good to those who ask Him!