Is It True, A Year Has Passed?

I don't know why I decided to look at my blog today. "I haven't done so in a long time", I thought to myself. So, when I logged in (I had to get a reminder from the site as to what my password was), I couldn't believe it had been a whole year - TO THE DAY!

Yes, it's sad to say that it has been a year to the day since my last blog! Where have I been? What have we been doing? Tons! And I hope to chronicle it soon. But as a new year's resolution (Rosh Hashana), I am going to do much better at chronicling the life of my family.

Just a quick update -- Micah is 11yo and in 6th grade, Caleb is 8yo and in 4th grade, Sarah just turned 6 yo and is in 1st grade and Isaac is doing kindergarten work now, even though he won't be 4 until next month.

So, if you've been visiting wondering what happened to us - the answer is an oxymoron - MUCH and NOTHING all at the same time.

"I Look Just Like Caleb"

That's what Isaac said when he saw himself in the mirror after daddy gave him a buzz haircut. And boy, does he! My baby is growing up! Now, with his very first buzz haircut, he doesn't even look like my baby anymore! But he is my handsome big boy!

Hot Air Balloon Festival

We went to the Plano Hot Air Balloon Festival, but we didn't! We really couldn't afford to pay to go to the festival and pay for parking, so we found a great place to park and thankfully they flew right overhead! I've been to the granddaddy of them all in Albuquerque, NM and went up in a balloon. Back then (15 years ago) it only cost $80 - Now it costs $250! But we had a great time! Hopefully we'll make it an annual tradition.

Sarah Turns 5!

My only daughter is 5 years old! I'm in shock! The whole family went to Applebee's for dinner (her choice) with Gram, Grandpa, Aunt Heather and cousin Will. Grandmother and Granddad planned to be there, but Grandmother ended up in the hospital requiring emergency surgery. Thankfully, she is okay. Sarah received so many wonderful, princess presents! Where has the time gone!

Splash Kingdom

We went to a water park with a local church. The water park is located in Canton about 40 minutes away. It was a great time to cool off for a really discounted price! And on the way out, we were gifted a bunch of fizzy yogurt (the kids liked it) and a bunch of Free Chick-Fil-A sandwich coupons! Just what our waistlines needed!

Mesquite Rodeo

We received free tickets to the rodeo this summer. Unfortunately, it was on the same date as a concert John had planned for he and I to go to. So, in comes the wonderful grandparents. Gram, Grandpa and Grandmother took all 4 kids to the rodeo. I was told that had a great time. It was hard to get a lot of pictures, but look at all the kids that went down to main grounds! And we had a great time at the concert.

Cow Appreciation Day

We have a Chick-Fil-A way too close to our home! We participated in the Cow Appreciation Day and we each received a free meal! YUM!

Lost Tooth!

Caleb lost his first tooth!

Summer Fun with Our Tennessee Friend!

Pool Birthday Party!

Rollerskating with friends!

Living at the pool!

Self proclaimed rock band "Super Snakes"

Making stepping stones for Grandma's Garden

I say, I say Boy!

Jerusalem Markplace VBS

Dominic came to visit us for almost 6 weeks this summer. We did so much, it's hard to remember all of it! We went to Tulsa, to see Micah's Grandma, Aunt Dodie and cousins Ryker and Jestique. We went to Six Flags, almost lived in the pool, celebrated Micah's birthday early, went to a few VBS' and played, played, oh and did I say played! Here are just a few pics from the whirlwind visit!

We've Got Guitar Hero!

Well, we've actually had it since March. Caleb generously donated a large portion of his birthday money so that he, Micah and daddy could enjoy the game. I've actually played it twice. Check out the guitar face!

Beit Or Camp Out

Our entire (almost) fellowship went on a camping trip just before it got really hot in Texas. We had a great time! Lots of fun, food and fellowship. We had a wonderful Shabbat admiring God's creation up close, played in a nearby lake and the boys had fun telling scary stories around the campfire.

Watermelon Fun!

We get to see family often now that we're in Texas and we love it!

Alvin and the Chipmunks in Concert

My kids love Alvin and the Chipmunks, but especially Caleb. I think their love started when we bought a boom box at a yard sale. It had the Tazmanian Devil on the front of it and someone left a cassette tape in the player. It was a bunch of popular songs featuring the Chipmunks singing them. Ever since then, they love them. So when I saw that a local mall was having a mini-concert for free, we had to go.

By the way, it was the first time my children (except for Micah) had EVER been in a mall! To say the least, it was overwhelming for them! The things you don't realize your children haven't done when you live in a small town. Now we're in the big city (at least nearer to one).

First Campout of the Year

The boys wanted to camp out with some of their new friends in March! In Tennessee, this would not have been very comfortable, and I wasn't sure by nightfall it would be comfortable in Texas. But there was no convincing the boys not to do it. So some friends brought their tent over and everyone brought their own sleeping bag and pillow for a night of marshmallows, campfire and fun. WELL.....the first one to go home was Noah - he said it was too crowded. There were 5 boys in a 2 man tent! Then at 11:30pm, Paden came knocked on my bedroom door and said he wanted to go home. So, I drove him home (around the corner). When I went to check on the boys when I got home, I noticed that Dominic was gone! It was really windy and the air was cool. At some point in the night he decided to walk home (around the other corner). So that left Micah and Caleb. They were warm inside the tent, so I left them both there. Not too long after I had gotten back to bed, Micah came up and was upset that he friends were gone. I said go to bed and I went outside and literally had to drag Caleb out of the tent door. He was dead asleep - had no idea he was the only left out there - and, obviously didn't care. The next day everyone came back to clean up the backyard, and decided that mom was right - it was too early to have a campout, even in Texas! The lesson learned - Let your yes be yes, and your no by no!

Happy Purim!

Last night we had a celebration of Purim.

Purim is an annual celebration of the events that happened to those that believe in God while in captivity by Persian Empire after the fall of Babylon.

The story is told in the Book of Esther.

While it is not one of the commanded holy days in the Bible, it is a day of celebration of one of God's miracles. It is also a celebration that our Saviour, Jesus Christ, Yeshua, a Jew, would have celebrated while He walked on this earth.

We broke bread together and shared some wonderful traditional desserts for Purim. John retold the story in the book of Esther. The children and some of the adults dressed-up as one of the characters in the story. During the retelling of the story, every time Haman's name was mentioned, we shook our noisemakers and yelled "Boo." Every time Mordecai was mentioned, we shook our noisemakers and yelled "Yeah."

It was a joyful celebration with wonderful food and wonderful fellowship.

We shared it with some old friends, met some new friends,

and we all learned more about the history of God's people.

Thank you to all who came! Thank you to the gifts and the givers!

Happy Purim!