Mark Your Calendars

John Lowery's Chalk Drawing

A great way to start 2008!

Join us At Charlestown Independent Church this Wednesday, January 2 at 7:00 pm (during Psalm95) to experience a unique ministry that words can't describe! John Lowery will be at CIC to share his Chalk Drawing Ministry with us. Bring the kids and watch as he turns a blank paper into an amazing work of art while sharing the gospel. Tony and I went to see him in September and I took the pictures you see above. John's sister, Joyce, is one of my mom's best friends. It's really interesting to watch. I hope to see you there!

Psalm 95

Wednesdays at 7 p.m.

Think of it as a mid-weekcoffee break with fellowship,
worship, and of course, coffee.
Have you been to Psalm95 lately?

The Christmas Season

It's been a very good Christmas for our family. Very busy, but great!

Tony and I were brought on last minute to be in the CIC Christmas Cantata. We had a good time. It was hard to make all of the practices with 3 kids, but we managed and it was well worth it.

The Christmas Season is always fun at school, too. I teach a thematic unit on Jan Brett (children's book author) and we do a mini-thematic unit on the Polar Express book by Chris Van Allsburg. We also go on our 2nd grade field trip in December. This year we went to the Louisville Science Center and IMAX and ate at The Old Spaghetti Factory.

Once I was off for Christmas Break, Tony and I finished up some last minute Christmas shopping and then focused on family over the weekend. We had Christmas with his mom on Sunday and went to the movies later that afternoon.

On Christmas Eve, my mom kept the kids for a few hours while we finished wrapping and getting things ready for Christmas. After leaving the Coomer Christmas Party, we stopped by the church to have communion, to pray, and to watch the slide show. It was nice to take a break from the hustle and bustle and really focus on what Christmas is all about. When we got home, I let the kids open one gift each (new pajamas), gave them their baths and then put everyone to bed. Tony and I were even able to sit down, relax, drink some hot apple cider, and have great conversation.

Christmas morning, Blair was the first one to wake up (at 6:30). Rhett and Micah both wanted to sleep in our room so that we could all go into the living room together (tradition) and I could video their expressions and reactions. Blair ended up being loud enough to wake up Rhett about 7:30. While I went to set up the tripod for the video camera, they woke up Micah, which is unusual because she's usually the first to wake up. They were so excited when they saw what Santa had left them. Blair didn't know what to think! After opening all of the presents, Micah went to see if Santa had ate the cookies we had left for him. When Rhett noticed that ALL of the milk was gone, he immediately said, "Santa is real! He drank all of the milk!" It was so sweet!

Rhett got a basketball goal, soccer goal, Nerf goal and ball, skateboard, real basketball, set of 3 pound weights, Transformers, clothes, pajamas, Pirate ship, Trouble, hot wheels cars, legos, Veggie Tales DVD, etc.

Micah got a new bed, dresser, and mirror for her bedroom, a wooden dollhouse with furniture and people, a baby doll and playset (high chair, stroller, and playyard), Barbie car, Disney Babies (Belle, Cinderella, and Aurora), pajamas, clothes, etc.

Blair got a baby doll, a teddy bear, finger puppets, and a lot of clothes.

Tony and I didn't exchange gifts for each other. We are planning on getting carpet in the basement soon. We just aren't big on giving gifts. Getting gifts was never big in my family growing up, and I'm just not good at it. Plus, we just bought cell phones (we had previously shared 1 pre-paid phone) and I bought Tony a lot of clothes the week before.

We both commented on how content we are and how blessed our family is. God is so good! My mom is cancer free, we both have jobs that we like, we are all healthy, we have good friends and family, we have an awesome church family, and we have a great marriage. I could go on and on about all of the blessings we are thankful for. Most of all, we are thankful that God sent his son, Jesus, to save us from our sins. That is the most important gift of all.

Christmas at Grandma Sharon's

Everyone (Tabby and her family, Johnny and his family, and our family) stopped by to visit Sharon and Herb on Sunday after church. She is recovering from surgery so we decided to do a mini-Christmas at her house (without the stress of a meal). I packed clothes for us all to change into, but forgot the camera. So sorry, but I don't have any pictures to show. We all bought Sharon and Herb a fleece throw with a picture of the grandkids on it. It turned out really good! It's the perfect size for her to take with her when she travels. Rhett got 3 Power Rangers. Micah got 2 Fairy Barbies and a Barbie car, and Blair got a stuffed animal and a new outfit.

Then we ALL (14 of us) went to the movies to see Alvin and the Chipmunks. The kids were fabulous! It was such a cute movie. The chipmunks were one of my favorites when I was little.

Christmas in Salem

Donald helping Rhett with his tool set.
Micah waiting for her next present.
Sean helped Blair open her presents.

Christmas evening, we headed up to Salem to Tony's Aunt Carolyn and Uncle David's house. Instead of the typical holiday meal (ham and turkey) we had lasagna! What a nice change! Everything tasted really great and it was good to see everyone! Again, the kids opened more presents than I was expecting! Rhett got a race track, Magnetixs set, tool set, and a HUGE package (like 5 pounds) of Skittles ... thanks, Donald! Micah got a Dora horse truck and trailer, ballerina book, and a stuffed animal. Blair got a stuffed animal, fold out book, and bear book. I'm sure I'm forgetting things but you get the idea!

Rhett and Micah absolutely love to go to David and Carolyn's! Micah always says she can't wait to see that funny guy (Donald). Rhett loves observing the older ones play Fireball Mountain and will one day soon be ready to join them (if he hasn't already)! I love their house! You just feel like you are at home when you go there. It's so peaceful and relaxing! My mom has even said she wants to visit because I am always talking about how beautiful it is there.

Christmas Day at Mamaw Laney's

Wow! I think they got just as many presents at my mom's as what they got at our house! Here's a list of what they got. (And I am sure I'm forgetting some things!)

Rhett: Power Rangers Mission Helmet, digital camera, Diego Rescue center, handheld TV, sticker books, books, candy, and a hunting playset.

Micah: Disney Princess Barbies (set of 5), dress up shoes, light up ballerina dress, Dora nightgown, sticker books, books, Barbie Baby Doctor with 2 babies, Fisher Price Snap & Style doll and outfits, candy, and a light up puzzle.

Blair: Middleton baby doll and outfit, Little People Busy Day Home, Loving Family van, and a Dora nightgown.

My mom and dad let the kids open their presents first, and then we ate our Christmas dinner. My dad's friend Denny and his son Larry joined us for dinner. I think Rhett thinks Denny comes over to visit Rhett just as much as my dad. Damon and Lee were there, too (but I didn't get them in the pictures). They are good at getting all of the toys out of the boxes and putting in batteries, etc.

Rhett took several pictures with his new digital camera (Fisher Price). He loves all of his gadgets! He reminds me of Julian (a friend from church) with all of his little gadgets and imagination!!

The Coomer Christmas

Rhett LOVED his Transformer cell phone and ear piece!
Micah got a Strawberry Shortcake doll!

For some reason, I only took 2 pictures at the Coomer Christmas on Christmas Eve. So, if anyone reading has any pictures, please e-mail them to me. Blair just kept being passed around (she's so social) that I didn't even get one with her! We had a really good time. I was dissappointed that Sharon wasn't well enough to come. It just wasn't the same without her. The highlight of the evening was when Micah decided to sing karaoke! It was hilarious! We got it on video, but I didn't even think to record a mini-video with my digital camera. I tell you, with 3 kids, my mind just isn't what it used to be! ha! ha! Anyway, back to the Karaoke story, she had her back to the crowd, but she sang a few Chipmunks Christmas songs. She didn't even really seem shy! I kept thinking that I wished I would have bought her a Karaoke machine for Christmas. Just a few minutes later, Tabby said she had one that wasn't being used and that Micah could have it! I can't wait ... maybe we have a little star on our hands!

Cookies for Santa

(Micah is wearing the Cinderella Princess costume that was her gift from the Wee Ones gift exchange.)
Notice Rhett's Ninja sword ... just in case!


Here are the cookies that we made for Santa. We waited until Blair was asleep because I knew she would want to be right in the middle of us! Micah kept accidentally spilling the sprinkles EVERYWHERE and then would say, "That's okay!" Needless to say, the Pergo needed a good cleaning by the time we finished! Halfway through decorating, after numerous glances of them licking their fingers, I thought, "I hope Santa doesn't mind a few germs on his cookies!" ;)

Micah's Wee Ones Christmas Program

Micah and Blair wearing matching dresses.
Micah and her BFF, Emma!

Before the program, Micah wanted to go on stage for a few photos. Rhett, however, decided to stay in his seat. We ended up not even getting a picture of him that night!

Okay, so I'm a little late blogging this, but better late than never, right???? We were so proud of Micah at the Wee Ones Christmas Program. She did such a great job! She sang all of the songs and did all the hand motions. Our previous experiences have been with Rhett who stared blankly into the crowd with this mad facial expression, not singing one word the entire program.(He has severe stage fright!) Big change!!!

Basketball

Here are some pictures of Rhett playing basketball. His next game is January 5th at P.R.E.S. He's really doing well! Tony says he needs to work on being more aggressive (his whole team does)! It is so much fun to watch the games. Half of the time they don't even dribble or pass the ball. Whoever gets the ball just runs down and shoots. You should see Rhett's face when he makes a basket ... he just lights up! Then he checks the crowd to make sure we are watching! Too cute!