Happenings in my Home, 2009

Reflecting on the highlights today, here's just a few that come to mind (in totally random order):

. four different campuses on the first day of school . k gets her driver's license . m knocks out her two front teeth . k plays flute solo for 9th grade chaffin choir concert . family vacation to destin . k makes the shs majorette line . c learns to play percussion . j gets a grand slam in a big game . russ has a successful duck season . k gets her braces off . i turn forty . c competes in spelling bee and 6th grade track meet . j conquers his 'r' problem thanks to a wonderful speech teacher . k is voted a sophomore homecoming maid . c plays qb for 7th grade football . k teaches kids how to swim . conway boy wins american idol . shs plays in championship game . k and c parasail . c makes all-stars in baseball . c surpasses me in height . j is patriot of the month . k makes all-state in high school swimming as a freshman . k makes the difficult decision to leave competitive swimming after 6 years . c goes to his first dance . new baby cousin arrives . j makes straight a's . 6th grade fishing derby . many summer hours spent at eastgate pool . i start teaching 2 and 3-year-olds after teaching youth for 15 years... haha there's not much difference :) . baseball, baseball, and more baseball . c plays point guard for 7th grade basketball . too many sleepovers to attempt to count . c gets first job as a 'pool boy' for neighbor . i spend way too much time behind the wheel . k learns to wakeboard . j and m's first razorback football game . m learns to swim, sort of . precious time spent with cousins . big cedar lodge . 6 years at our beloved church . 13 years we have called ft. smith home . 17 years of marriage . bible study fellowship . new schools = new friends for k and c . youth camp . new neighbors . many ministry opportunities right in front of my eyes . witnessing, at least so far, my two teens choosing the "right" thing over the "popular" thing (thank you Lord) and praying my younger two follow suit .

... so thankful for God's blessings in 2009, may I not take one single thing for granted! I'm so ready for 2010, I pray it will find me faithful!

Merry (White!) Christmas

We had a wonderful celebration of Christ's birthday ~ the first "white" Christmas I remember having since we've lived here! The kids were so excited to see the flakes start falling Christmas Eve. Later, Russ and Kristen braved icy roads at midnight to get some packages delivered to a local family. I think that experience was the most valuable gift my daughter received this Christmas, and I praise God that she and her dad got to make that memory! The next morning we read the Christmas story, exchanged gifts, and played in the snow. After having our morning together, we bundled up and headed to Springdale to be with our extended family. It was such a great day, I really didn't want it to end. I love having my kids home during Christmas break, and I'm trying to soak it all in before January 4, when schedules begin to rule our home again! Here's a few pictures that represented our day ~

* Proud Patriot *

Congrats...

... to my nephew David, #24, and his Shiloh Saints! They won their 4A state championship game against Lonoke 56-20 last night in Little Rock. We are so proud of him and all that he contributes to his team, both on and off the field. He is only a sophomore, so hopefully he'll have two more incredible seasons ahead of him.

The dance...

Well I get a little emotional with "firsts" and "lasts"... Friday night was a "first"... Clay attended his school's Christmas Dance - as a 7th grader, this was his first one. He had a great time and I don't think I embarrassed him TOO bad with my obsessive picture taking. :) He met up with his friends at a home for snacks and pictures, then went to the dance, then out to Chilis for dinner with about 20 friends. Afterward, I was hoping for a complete run down of everything (like I'm accustomed to from Kristen!)... but no... I got "yep, it was fun." And that's it. I had to slowly pry little details out of him over the next couple of days... guess that's how it is with boys!

Clay and his date Logan -they looked really nice :)

Yep, they're 7th graders...

Group shot

Just the guys... Ty, Christian, Clay, Luke, Andrew, and Rush

Thanksgiving '09

We had a great time celebrating Thanksgiving in Waldron. Russ's aunt and uncle have hosted this holiday ever since Russ was small, and it has steadily grown in number over the years! There are 15 kids total, aged 3 months to 17 years, between Russ, his two brothers, and his two cousins! Lots of blessings to count for sure...

40 Candles?

Yeah, I know it's just a number, but it still feels strange that this is my age now! I had such a wonderful birthday a couple of weeks ago. My husband made it special by whisking me away for a night away to shop and eat, then attend the Ark/Miss State game the next morning in Little Rock. With all the responsibilities here, it's a major feat to get away by ourselves, even for one night! I'm excited about what the 40's hold... I can't help but realize, by the time #50 rolls around I'll have a 14, 18, 23, and 25-year-old! I better enjoy one day at a time :)

Remembering....

Gosh, I love high school football.
I can't even count the number of times I've been to Springdale Bulldog Stadium... as a kid going with my parents... in junior high it was the social event of the week... in high school I had the ultimate sideline view, (keeping my eye on my best friend #9 of course!) Then during the first eleven years of marriage, Russ and I were in youth ministry, which meant attending LOTS of football games... sometimes with our students on both sides of the field. Now that we have a child in high school and three more coming up, hopefully we get to enjoy many more games. This weekend Southside gets to play in the state championship, after some pretty intense playoff games. They'll be playing Har-Ber, which technically, is "sort of" Springdale - ha! But I'll be cheering for the Rebels, and I'm also very excited about watching my daughter perform at War Memorial Stadium. Win (hopefully) or lose, what a memory this will be for all the students involved.

So speaking of "remembering", I couldn't help but post a few of my favorite shots from Russ's senior year. I scanned these a couple of years ago so I could preserve all our old clippings. The newspaper back then was so good about putting tons of pictures in the sports section after each game. I was so proud of my guy even as a 17-year-old... he played his heart out on every down and never ever gave up. He has always taught our boys that if they are going to play anything, they better play it with passion!

Majorette shoot, well sort of...

Well it's time to store away the sparkly outfit, until next year hopefully! Tryouts will be in the spring which will bring the usual wave of "stress" upon our household. Normally the majorette line gets professional pics taken in the fall, but this year's option was a simple pose on the football field. Kristen wanted a little more variety than that, so we took the cheap way out.... we stole about 30 minutes of free time and took advantage of a beautiful afternoon yesterday. I grabbed my trusty old Kodak and we walked out to a small lake behind our neighborhood. ( They turned out better than I expected, although they don't look very clear here on blogger.)

She's growing up so fast... I'm trying to soak in every moment I have with her!

~Cinderella~

Katie, Avery, Emily, Grace, Katie, Kristen, Vyvy

Last night was such a treat! I took 4-year-old Madi to see a high school production of "Cinderella" and it far exceeded my expectations. I was blown away by the young talent in the cast.... wow! It was even more special because one of Kristen's good friends, Grace, was playing the lead. SHE WAS AMAZING! Another good friend, Alexis, played one of the step-sisters... she was absolutely hilarious.... I felt like a proud mom even though they are not my daughters! What touched me even more was the fact that Kristen and the friends above in the picture camped out in my living room for a couple of afternoons prior to the play and created these cute t-shirts... they wore them to school yesterday and then to the play in order to support and encourage Grace and the rest of the cast. I'm so proud of these girls... high school can be such a stressful place, but it makes it all worth it when your girlfriends are your biggest fans.

Close up of the poem they made up and wrote on the t-shirt
(Kristen did the cute artwork - sure didn't get that talent from me!)

Happy Birthday Jake!!!

November 2001
Here is baby Jake, Russ, and 5-year-old Clay with our

dog Angel and her 8 puppies... 7 black, 1 yellow.

~~~~~

November 15 marked Jake's 8th birthday! It was such a crazy day the day he was born... our beloved chocolate lab, Angel (who ran away about 4 years ago) was kind enough to give us a litter of puppies... the same day I was to go in the hospital and induce labor with Jake. I had woken up early, anticipating the big event, and faintly heard some "whining" in the garage. I went to investigate and there she was... Angel working hard to deliver the 4th of what would be 8 living puppies by the end of the day. I ran inside yelling (just like in 101 Dalmations - ha!) "the puppies are here, the puppies are here!" Luckily we had lots of family coming in that could tend to Angel, while I went to the hospital to have my sweet boy. What a day!... we kept one puppy, a male we named Doc, who is still with us today. He's a great hunting dog, very dependable, and of course, he and Jake have a strong bond!

Here are some pics from Jake's birthday this year... he had a skating party with friends in the afternoon, then that evening we traveled to Fayetteville for Jake to attend his first Razorback game! He was thrilled! We had been graciously given row 19/ 40 yard line tickets - it was a fabulous view.

King for a day....

Russ, Cheryl, Madi, and Jake

Skating party with friends

... a few of his buddies

Jake is a 100% Razorback fan... wonder where he gets it??

Halloween 2009

Halloween... this year we had a princess (same as last year - ha!) and a scarecrow. Clay went with his FCA group from school to a Razorback game that evening, so no dressing up for him (not that he would anyway!) Kristen actually dressed up twice. One was a dance, the week before Halloween, in which she settled on "Supergirl", and her date was, who else? "Superman".... the second was on Halloween night, this time she raided Clay's closet and decided to be an Arkansas Redhawk baseball player. I ended up taking the princess and the scarecrow and headed to our church's annual Family Fall Festival... always a great time of food, games, and fellowship!

My little princess... I bet next year she'll be a.... princess.

Jake doing his scarecrow impression

Kristen decked out in her brother's uniform

Some of Kristen's friends that went to the Halloween dance...

We are now the proud parents of teenager #2!!!

Really, how can that be when Russ and I are sooooooo young? I cannot believe I have two teens now. We celebrated Clay's 13th birthday in October with a 14-member strong sleepover (that's another story in itself - whew!) and the next day we took him to one of his favorite restaurants, Marketplace. We had a great time celebrating our young man - we love him more than words can say, and could not be more proud of him. He loves his God, his family, and his friends. He is by no means perfect, but Clay has always seemed to be a leader.... and we pray he will seize that trait and be a godly influence over his younger siblings and his peers.

Celebrating with friends..

The real reason he wanted Marketplace: The Chocolate Mess

A phone... finally... last kid in the universe to get one ;)

He decided to share!



Madi and Kristen

Clay's extremely young parents!