Jammies & random thoughts!

Here are my three sweeties in matching jammies over Christmas. My sister has a wonderful mother-in-law who is very giving--even to pseudo-family members! (Thank you, Rosemary!). She bought the girls these pajamas, and they looked adorable. Landrie immediately put hers on and wore them for the rest of the day and night!

Here's some food for thought: I'm an avid Oprah-watcher and I Tivo her show every day. Today I was catching up on an old episode, and I caught a glimpse of her show on marriage in America. She started the show by asking viewers to write down 5 words that honestly describe the state of your marriage. Your spouse was to do the same and then you compare answers. Although I didn't fully participate, I sort of made a mental list of what my five words were. Here's what I came up with: secure, peaceful, fun, and togetherness. I know that's only four....but that's as far as I go due to a household interruption (aka Landrie). There's so many more words that describe my marriage with Cody, but the one word that I think means the most to me is "gift." I know God purposed this marriage just for me, in spite of my past transgressions. It amazes me that He loves me enough to bless me in this way. I know this blog is getting pretty sappy, but even as I think about each of you reading this I know that you, too, have been blessed with equally wonderful marriages. I encourage you to take the time to really reflect on the 5 words that describe your own marriage--good and bad. Then focus on the good and fix the bad!

Getting off of my soap box now and heading to bed....honey, if you're reading this, I love you and I am blessed by the godly man you are!

Angela

More Pages

Here are some more digital pages for your viewing pleasure! If anyone wants a quick tutorial on how to get started, visit www.twopeasinabucket.com and click on "digital scrapbooking. The pages print out great!

Angela
P.S. Kellie-Laine won her basketball game at Woodway Family Center! The score was 8-7, and she made 4 of the 8 points!! Yea!!

We Are (almost) The Champions

(Sorry for the poor quality photos...it's hard to take good photos in a gym!)

Second place ain't so bad...especially when your team hadn't won a game all season! Kellie-Laine had a basketball tournament this weekend against other area private schools. She played a total of four games; the last one was for the championship. We lost by 2 points.

Defeat is a hard thing to process, especially for a 10 year old. Nothing I said comforted Kellie-Laine, and to be honest, my heart ached, too. Kellie-Laine made 4 of the 6 points earned during the 8-6 Championship game, and so the defeat was painful.

Allow me to brag for one moment, but Kellie-Laine is a pretty darn good basketball player. I'm amazed at the things she can do with the ball. Her speed and the handling of the ball are her strengths. She plays point and is a natural leader on the court. Now I would never have guessed myself to be a competitive mom, but something comes over me when I watch KL play. I can't describe it...it's pure elation, joy, and a lot of nervous energy. I cheer and yell the entire game...sometimes yelling the wrong thing like, "Guard your man!" when we're on offense.

One thing I love about Kellie-Laine is that she has a strong desire to win. It really doesn't matter to her if the win is a result of her effort or not; she just wants to share in the victory that comes from smart playing and teamwork. She cheers for her team when she's on the bench, and they yell for her when she plays. She knows she's one of the better players, but she doesn't let that go to her head. Kellie-Laine simply views it as a responsibility to lead her team to a win.

Even though many tears were shed after the game, the girls gained so much experience and confidence from their playing time. I know they'll continue to be successful the rest of the season, and I am so proud the girls' effort and ability. Walking away from the tournament as "Almost" champions still felt like a victory to me.

Digital Scrap Page

Hey, everyone!

I'm posting some of my recent digital scrapbook pages for my friend, Stephanie, to see. Of course, I hope you ALL enjoy them. It's really been a lot of fun!

Hope you're all staying warm...I'm tickled at the way Texas reacts to a little sleet and snow! We were in Breckenridge for New Year's where it was 28-32 degrees all week with blizzard-like conditions! We drove around town just fine, and skiing was great! But here in Texas, schools shut down, businesses close, grocery aisles are empty and the weather is the headline news event! Oh well, I hope you've enjoyed a little break from the normal routine.

Have a great week...

Cookie extravaganza!

Things have been rather boring around here due to the weather....the girls and I have been stuck inside for the past two days, so there's not much to report. I did manage to get some of my photos from Christmas loaded onto my computer, so I thought I'd share some from our "Cookie Making Event."

Cody agreed to let me have our Christmas meal catered this year so I could spend more time doing the "Christmas-y" things that I never have time to do. We host both of our families at Christmas, so I spend most of my time cooking and cleaning up....which means I don't have a lot of free time to do the fun, family activities. So we finally got to make Christmas cookies this year--from scratch! Here are some helpful hints to those of you out there who are brave enough to try this in the future:

1. Try not to stress out about how messy your kitchen will get....it WILL get messy, and you will be the only one who cares to clean it up. (This was the most important rule for me because I'm such a clean freak.)

2. A three-year-old is more interested in eating all of the sugary confections than actually decorating anything.

3. Too much almond extract in the icing will make your cookies taste yucky. If you have an 11-year-old who is making the icing...make sure you double check the measurements.

4. No one really wants to eat the cookies after making them. They're much too pretty, and you've already gotten your sugar-fix from sampling the dough and icing.

And, finally, THE MOST IMPORTANT HINT---

***They sell a box of pre-made cookies in assorted shapes, complete with colored icing, at Sam's. You get about 50 cookies for less than $5. (Trust me, it's worth the $5.)

The bigger and much more important truth is that we made some memories this Christmas that my girls will remember. And while it was a lot of work, it is worth doing again just for the experience. And I think that's what life is mostly about....making great memories and sharing the experience together.

Stay warm!

This picture to the left is the reason I haven't blogged in a few days. It's a digital scrapbook page! I've been an avid scrapbooker for the past 6 years, and I've recently started dabbling in digital pages. It's easy, convenient, and addicting! I find myself hurrying through my daily chores just so I can get some quality computer time in. I've also started bugging my husband about getting a wireless laptop--for my scrapbooking convenience , of course!

In our household, everyone stands in line for his or her share of computer time. Kellie-Laine loves to check on her webkins (I still haven't quite figured those things out!), Landrie recently learned to play Dora games online, Cody reads the TexAgs message boards or checks his surgery schedule, and I have a list of things I do at the computer! The past few days I've been staying up into the wee hours of the night on the computer, and I'm paying the price as I wake up each morning with bags underneath my eyes!

Aside from my computer complaints, I am happy to say that school started back today! Kellie-Laine was quite the sleepy head this morning, but I'm glad to have our routine going again. Kellie-Laine's basketball schedule is running me ragged these days, though! She plays on three teams: Woodway Family Center, WBA's 5th grade team, and she was recently asked to play on WBA's 7th and 8th grade team! She really loves it and doesn't mind all the practice and games -- but I'm shuffling kiddos to 4 practices and 3-4 games a week. Yikes! Oh well....I guess this is what we stay at home moms do, right?

Hope you all have a blessed week ahead!

Lovin' my Girlfirends

I just have to share this picture of me and my local (Waco) girlfriends. Aren't they beautiful??? And to think that the age range is 31 to 40 years old, yet you'd be hard pressed to try and pair up each gal to their appropriate age! Aside from the outer beauty my friends hold, they're equally beautiful inside as well. And I love how God has surrounded me with friends who complement one another because of their unique differences. Want to know something else about my circle of friends? They're real....by that I mean they're completely down to earth. No pretenses, no conversations of embellished or exaggerated nature, and relatively little gossip or bad-mouthing (I'd be lying if I said gossip never happens between us girls!). It's easy to be me--the real me--around my gals because they accept and love me just the same.

I'll admit that I've struggled a bit with the friendship aspect. Especially in high school and college--who didn't struggle during those times? It's hard to know how to be a friend when you don't really even know who you are yet. And while I cherish the many great memories and experiences I've had with my past friends, there's something different about having friends as an adult. It seems we're envisioning life together....we even go so far as to plan arranged marriages for some of our kids just so that the friendship will evolve into extended family (my girls have many potential suitors lined up).

At the end of the day and the beginning of the next, I'm blessed to know my very dearest friends are only a phone call away. And I'm in awe that each time I call, my friends are always eager to pick up the phone.

Thank you for loving me, friends! I know not all of you are pictured in this photo, but your face is etched forever in my heart!

In His Hands

I'm starting this blog with a picture of my husband holding sweet little Emerie Beth at 4 weeks. I'm not intentionally being partial to my youngest child, but it is a great picture. And it is so representative of the innocence that ALL children have when first born. In fact, this is how I envision our Heavenly Father holding each one of us during many moments in our lives. I know He's got a pretty firm grip on me right now, and I'm constantly resting in His hands as I move from one day to the next. Motherhood is a worrisome, tiring , thankless job. Its rewards come AFTER the kids have left the nest, and only then can you give yourself a pat on the back, breathe a sigh of relief and say, "Good job." I struggle with finding the balance between love and discipline; friend and mother; and doing what I have to do vs. doing what I want to do. Just when I think I can't make it through one more tantrum, spilled juice cup, forgotten homework, or explosive poopie diaper--God scoops me up in His hands, yet again, to give me rest and renewed strength. Bring on tomorrow.....