Merry Christmas Eve!!

"For unto us a child is born, to us a son is given; and the government shall be upon his shoulder, and his name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace." (Is. 9:6)

The joy of Christmas has filled my heart! It is an answered prayer! The past few years seemed to have sucked the magic and fun out of the holidays- but praise God His joy, the joy of His Son's birth has returned to me the true meaning of Christmas this year! I am so thankful!! I am humbled by His love and sacrifice!! I am no longer a Scrooge or Grinch- my heart has grown three sizes, because I made room for Jesus!!
***Make room for Jesus too!

Merry Christmas to all and to all a goodnight!!!!

Blessed!

"This I recall to mind. Therefore I have hope. The Lord's loving-kindnesses indeed never cease. For His compassions never fail. They are new every morning. Great is thy faithfulness." Lamentations 3:22-23


I am blessed to have a wonderful, loving husband, two beautiful children, a nice home, friends who have been so gracious to me, family who are the most fun, a job that allows me to do what I love to do!! Most importantly, a Savior, who loves me despite my bad attitude! My heart is overwhelmed by the love of Christ! Lately, it seems like every nook and cranny of my life has been filled with love- it has been nice and much needed! I am looking forward to the holidays with much more peace than the last few years!
We have been super busy!! We had a lovely thanksgiving- we actually got five days to spend together as a family! We have decorated for Christmas- our first Christmas in our new house! Clint and I just celebrated 9 years married- we have truly been living happily ever after!! We are looking forward to Christmas break! Sixteen days to relax and enjoy each other's company!! God has been so good to us!!

Abide With Me

Abide with me, Lord; fast falls the eventide; the darkness deepens, Lord with me abide. When other helpers, fail and comforts flee, help of the helpless, abide with me.
Thou on my head, in early youth didst smile; and though rebellious, and perverse meanwhile, Thou has not left me, oft as I left Thee, on to the close Lord, abide with me.
I need Thy presence, every passing hour. what but Thy grace, can foil the tempter's power? Who, like Thyself, my guide and stay can be? Through cloud and sunshine, abide with me.
I fear no foe, with Thee at hand to bless; Ills have no weight, tears lose their bitterness. Where is thy sting, death? Where grave thy victory? I triumph still, abide with me.
Hold Thou Thy cross, Lord, before my closing eyes; shine through the gloom, and point me to the skies. Heav'ns morning breaks, and earth's vain shadows flee; in life, in death, Lord, abide with me.

Halloween!!

I didn't get the best Halloween pictures ever! I left Mom's house to go buy a new card for my camera and missed the best pictures of all the cousins dressed up together! :( You can see the pics on Page's blog- they are great!! The kids had so much fun together! We had two clone troopers (Noah and Will), Sleeping Beauty (Francie), Little Bo Peep (Anna) and her sheep (Mary)and a Princess and a Pea (Morgan and Wyatt)! It has been a tradition in the past few years to eat dinner at Mom's and take the kids trick or treating!! Tiff, Shane, and Morgan always come- they are like family!! It is so sweet to have wonderful memories to cherish with friends and family!

Birthday Party!!

On Saturday we had a birthday party for Francie at Spots & Dots (it's a little toy store in Brookwood Village)! It was a baby doll party! Five of Francie's closest friends came and the girls each "adopted" a Middleton baby doll! It was so cute! The girls promised to take good care of their babies- take them places, sing the lullabies, keep them dressed, change their diapers. They were all very serious about the adoption. Then, they gave their babies their first check-up! They had little doctor coats and stethescopes! After the "adoption" and "check-up" we had cupcakes in the food court! This was one of my favorite parties- it was so sweet and girly!!


The ladies doing the party were great! We didn't have to do anything! It was nice! *Easy as pie!! I would highly recommmend them to anyone! We may even do another party there next year! :)
Thank you friends and family for making this such a special day! You are all so great! We are blessed to have you all!!

Our Little Pumpkin Is Turning Three!

"The Lord your God is in your midst, a mighty one who will save;he will rejoice over you with gladness;he will quiet you by his love; he will exult over you with loud singing." Zephaniah 3:17 (Francie's verse)

Yesterday we celebrated Francie's third birthday! Of course we went to dinner at our favorite Pablo's and had pink cupcakes for dessert!! I can't believe my baby girl is three years old!! She has grown up so much faster than Will it seems!! Not long after Will turned three I found out I was pregnant with Francie! She was such a cute and cuddly little girl. She has always been sweet and gentle. I remember when she was born I would wrap her up in pink and hold her forever! I don't think I put her down for at least two months! It is so awesome to have a girl! The ribbons and bows and shiny ruby slippers, dresses, tiaras, dolls, purses, pink, flowers, tea parties and ruffles! Francie is such a girly girl- even a little diva at times. She is my wish come true! She is such a delight! I love her so much!! She really makes this world enchanting!
Happy Birthday Sweetheart!!

WOW!!

I'm back!! I know I have been missed! It has been forever since I have blogged! I have now started my new job at Shades Mountain and things are finally starting to smooth out! The least bit of change in my world and I am completely gone! It's like my body, mind,and emotions forget how to function! I think I am doing better with things now!! I love my new job and my new friends. And the kids have adjusted well!! Praise God!! I can't believe Will is in first grade! He has grown up so fast! He loves school and he is very smart! I'm glad to have both of my children at my school with me again!
FYI- Will has had a couple of firsts- 1. He has finally lost a tooth!!
2. He got to go to his first Alabama football game!! He was so excited!! I'm so glad they won the game!




We had my Dad's 60th birthday at Oak Mountain and it was so fun!!














Kendall and Abby (two of my beautiful friends)

"Be glad and rejoice; for the Lord will do great things." Joel 2:21

Top 5 Favorites this Summer
5. Tractor Pull
4. Took the Restoration Academy "Swim Team" to the lake
3. Baron's Game on the 4th of July
2. Tea Party with the girls at Mrs. Rosemarie's
1. My Birthday at the Lake!!





Lots of new changes in our world!! First of all, I resigned at Brookwood Baptist (BooHoo)! This fall I will teach Kindergarten at Shades Mountain Christian School- which is like coming home, since that is where I did my student teaching and the first three years of my career!! Will will start first grade and Francie will be in K-3. I am more nervous about them changing schools and adjusting,than I am about me starting a new class. I love the school,though!! It will be great having both of my kids at school with me. Since I am not a stay at home mom, it is the next best thing! I am sure Will will miss going to school with his daddy! Last year was such a blessing and a real special time for Will!! For me I am glad to get to reunite with my friend, Melissa. I am praying that this will be a wonderful year!! However, I will miss my friends at Brookwood Baptist sooooo much! I love them dearly, they have truly taught me what friendship is all about!!



Alright, there is only a couple of more weeks til school starts!! This summer has flown by sooooo fast! I thought that when I went back to school the "summer" would be over- well far from it we have been so busy, mostly, having fun!! These are some pictures of my favorite things about this summer!!

Boo Hoo!!

I started back to work this week after 3 short weeks of summer vacation!! I don't want to complain because I am so grateful to have had even this much time off. It has been five years since I have had a "summer"! I already miss sleeping in til 9:00,having no schedule, and spending quality time with Will and Francie!! It has been so nice to focus on them instead of on everyone else's children!
This has been a well-needed break! We had a blast!! We had fun with our cousins and friends- and tried to make the most of the time off! We went on a weekend trip to Florence-which was amazing! We visited a friend and we went to a tractor pull,a children's museum, fountains you can play in, a park with a train, and we saw the lions at the University of North Alabama (they are the mascots and on campus is a lion habitat- it is awesome)!!! We also met friends to swim with and our cousins to jump it up and play in the sprinklers! I will cherish this time with my children forever!
I am trying to remember that SUMMER IS NOT OVER YET! There is still fun to be had before school starts again!!

Beat to Death Like a Dog

So, I think it's time that I break my steely silence and let you people into my summer world. It can be easily summed up in one word: hot. No, not like the kids use it to describe good music (etc.) but like the amigos would call, calor. That is Spanish for hot, like a hot day in the sun. Indeed, I am once again on the payroll of PESI, which is my cousin's landscape company. Each day I am constantly reminded of being a kid in day camp. I get sweaty and dirty and eat lunch out of a cooler under a shade tree. What is new since day camp is the sounds of broken Spanish and English between myself and the 4 amigos and the muscle strains and aches. In the words of the metal band, Rhinobucket, I feel "beat to death like a dog" by the end of most days.
Now, I know what your thinking, here's this guy that's supposed to be in urban missions, and while his wife is quoting scripture in every post, he's talking about Mexicans and quoting disgusting metal bands. Well, my friend, I do have some scripture for you, and it is a verse that I think about many days. In the book of I Thessalonians, Paul is writing to the church in Thessalonica to emplore them to keep the faith, and to continue to live lives worthy of the Risen Savior. In chapter 4 verse 11 and 12 he reminds them to "work with your hands, as we instructed you so that you may walk properly before outsiders and be dependent on no one." It seems that in the ancient Greek world, it had become less than fashionable to actually get dirt under your fingernails and do things yourself. Doesn't that sound a little familiar? It seems that we in this country are becoming more and more dependent on others, maybe people that we wouldn't normally be comfortable looking in the eye, to help us survive. Paul was telling the Thessalonians and us to not forget the positives of being blue collar! Well, I for one haven't and I say "Rock on Paul and rock on Rhinobucket."

Yardman out...

Happy Father's Day!!!

"...and the glory of the children is their father." Proverbs 17:6

This Father's Day was sooo much fun!! Dad and Mom, Page and Jason, Noah, Anna, and Mary, and my Grandparents from Huntsville came to my house!! We grilled hamburgers and hotdogs! We had my mom's baked beans (the best ever) and banana pudding (my great aunt's recipe-also the best ever)!! It was great food and great company. I love to visit with everyone. It was such a beautiful day!! The kids had an awesome time. They played out back in the Elmo sprinkler!!

It really couldn't have been a better day -which is perfect to celebrate my wonderful father and the most perfect father of my children!! I am truly blessed to have these two men in my life!! Thank you Dad for being such an encouraging and nurturing Dad. Thank you Clint for being the best Dad ever to our children!! I love to watch you play, love, and care for Will and Francie!! They love you sooo much and so do I!!!