Sing A New Song

From Greg Laurie's blog:
Elvis Presley, the King of Rock, is dead.
James Brown, the King of Soul, is dead.
Kurt Cobain, the King of Grunge, is dead.
And now Michael Jackson, the King of Pop, is dead.
But Jesus Christ, the King of Kings, is alive forevermore. Let's tell people that, so they too can live forever.
Jesus said, "I am he who lives, and was dead, and behold, I am alive forevermore. Amen. And I have the keys of Hades and of Death" (Revelation 1:18 NKJV).

(I got this from my friend, Bryan's blog ... it was way too good to pass up)http://www.bryanmcanally.com/blog/archives/003965.php

Whew! Three birthdays in seven days!

We had three birthdays in the course of 7 days...

The first birthday was my own. It was a big one.... Wade invited some friends over and we enjoyed Pappasitos (my favorite meal) and then played Bunco (one of my favorite games)... but we didn't have prizes.. but the laughter was the best part of all!

The next birthday was Caleb's. He was born 7 days after my birthday and 2 days before Wade's. Talk about a gift. After yearning for 9 long years for a 2nd child, he truly is the best birthday gift we've ever have. We had a magical time celebrating with Mickey.

The last birthday was Wade's. Cara had received tickets at school for the Ranger's game on her Daddies birthday so we headed off to the Ball park to celebrate. A good time was had by all!

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Here's to another year full of blessings!!!

My phone has more memory...

than it took to put a man on the moon!

Think about that for a moment. In 1969, as Americans we put the first man on the moon with less memory than is on our cell phones that we carry around in our pocket daily.


Last weekend, I was a chaperone for the 5th grade End of School Trip to NASA in Houston. This has been a long awaited trip. After countless fundraisers, it was time to load the bus at 7 a.m. on Thursday, May 28th. We had three Dan Dipert buses- Bus A, Bus B and Bus C. I was fortunate to be placed on Bus B... which of course was the best bus. Our two school sponsors on our bus were Mr. Strang, our crazy music teacher and Mrs. Grose, the science teacher. Mr. Strang made the bus ride fun and broke up the time by having trivia time.... adults vs. kids/ left side of the bus vs. right side of the bus... We had a great time.

We stopped off at Sam Houston State Park in Huntsville and enjoyed a picnic lunch by the lake and some hiking through the trails and a short talk about the wildlife. We had our own experience with the wildlife when a more than friendly squirrel decided that he wanted some of our lunch. He got on the picnic table beside us and I truly thought he was going to lunge/fly on to our table.. I shooed him away and he went to bother the boys.


After lunch, we were back on the road to Houston and we arrived right on time. We unloaded our things into our hotel room which was very nice. Then, headed to NASA. We had a full schedule while there. The best parts of the trip were being the only people there after NASA closed on Friday evening, eating great food and the TRAM tour on Saturday. It was amazing to see the old Mission Control, rockets, space ships and the current Lunar Rover.

If I understood correctly in July will be the last shuttle to go into space. NASA will no longer be using the shuttle to enter space. They are going to go back to the Capsule. In 2015, it is the plan to go back to the Moon. We saw the Lunar Rover which is an enclosed car unlike the last lunar rover.


It is unbelievable to see what we have done and know that there is so much more to be done not only in Space but with technology.


The only downer of the whole trip was that I dropped my Nikon d80 camera.. but after a new lense it is back to work now..just a little less in the pocketbook.. ;-(



Here are some pictures from the trip- not in any order...

This is the Lunar Rover that they are working on looks more like a car than a jeep

Mission Control that put the man on the moon.

The 5th graders!

drinking a drink like they would do in space

the crazy squirrel

the rope course

our room

Blessings!

10 things I remember about my Mama

The other night, I was helping Cara finish up the last chapter of her reading assignment, Because of Winn Dixie. We had read the book about three years earlier and we have both seen the movie. However, I did not recall the ending. If you have not read the book, I do not want to spoil it for you.. but as I sat there reading the book... I teared up and had to stop reading to gain my composure. Opal, the main character in the book, was remembering 10 things about her Mama.

My mama left this home for her eternal home in 2004. It is hard to believe that five years have passed this October. I miss her so much. I do not think that it will ever go away. It eases and definitely is not as intense.. but on special days and especially in May.. Mothers Day, her birthday and my birthday... it is difficult. As I see others with their Moms, it makes my heart miss my own Mom even more. I have great memories and that is what I can treasure until the day that she greets me in my eternal home... until then...

10 things I remember about my Mama...

1. She loved me unconditionally.

2. The notes she would leave for me on my mirror to tell me she loved me and was thinking of me.

3. Her infectious laugh

4. Her devotion and love for God

5. Her daily example of Christ...

6. How much she loved her ministry at FBC Arlington...

7. How she would take time to make her grandchildren feel so special.... and loved...

8. How she loved to eat fritos in her Broccoli Cheese Soup from Boo Boo's Sandwich Shop

9. How she cared and loved for her Mom, my sweet Ninny

10. How she never raised her voice at me...

Oh, Mom I long to see you and hold you again... I can't wait to do that.. you were a wonderful Mom.. the best Mom in the whole world. I miss you so!

Take time to love your Mom...

No Foolin...

it really is gone!! I decided on April 1st, April Fool's Day, that it was time to take away Caleb's beloved PACI! You know the saying "This is harder for me than it will be for you." Well, it was hard. Caleb loved his Paci.. it really gave him comfort, calmed him down... However, as his parent I know the big picture and that he truly does not need his pacifier. This is the time that he needs to be learning new words and learning how to gain comfort without his pacifier.

You know I have heard people say... he won't go to Kindergarten with it so let him just have it. Interesting enough, I had a Kindergartener who did have a pacifier. So I knew for certain, that it was just time for him to let it go.

Caleb has done quite well going to sleep without it and after a few nights, he has slept great through the night. However, it has been when he wakes up that he continues to look for it..even 2 weeks later. This breaks my heart. He does not want to get out of bed because he knows that it was in his bed that his Paci always stayed. If you get him out of the bed, he goes back to the bed crying and trying to crawl in the bed to look for his Paci. I keep hoping and praying that he will forget about it.. find something else for comfort.

This experience has helped me remember once more how God loves us and knows the "big picture" as the song says.. He gives and takes away. Just as I know that Caleb does not need his paci.. it still breaks my heart to see him long for it.. as I am certain that God hates to see his children sad and yearning as well. It is truly only God who can be our comforter... our true comforter.

Why do we call it ‘Good’ Friday?
Calling the day of the Crucifixion ‘Good’ Friday is a designation that is peculiar to the English language. In German, for example, it is called Karfreitag. The Kar part is an obsolete word, the ancestor of the English word care in the sense of cares and woes, and it meant mourning. So in German, it is Mourning Friday. And that is what the disciples did on that day—they mourned. They thought all was lost.
I’ve read that the word good used to have a secondary meaning of holy, but I can’t trace that back in my etymological dictionary. There are a number of cases in set phrases where the words God and good got switched around because of their similarity. One case was the phrase God be with you, which today is just good-bye. So perhaps Good Friday was originally God’s Friday. But I think we call it Good Friday because, in pious retrospect, all that tragedy brought about the greatest good there could be.
I can see virtue in either terminology. If we call it Mourning Friday, as in German, we are facing reality head on, taking up the cross if you will, fully conscious that the Christian walk is seldom a walk in the park. But if we call it Good Friday, as in English, we are confessing the Christian hope that no tragedy—not even death—can overwhelm God’s providence, love, and grace. Either way seems fine to me!


I got the above information from this website.. http://www.kencollins.com/question-11.htm

March Madness...

But not basketball.. you will soon see why the blog was silent in March. Here is March Madness in pictures...

Cara was Principal of the Day at the beginning of March. We have the best principal I have ever known at Dove. She is very special to Cara.. She is not only her principal, but a friend of our family. Cara had a blast going to the Administration building and sorting mail and eating Chick Fil A. She even had her picture in the newspaper with the Superintendent of schools.

That afternoon, we went to the park at the Baseball fields in Grapevine. They have built a new playground area and Caleb and Cara had fun climbing together.

Then it was on to Open House... Cara composed her own music and placed it on a CD... we have not heard it yet..

Here she is showing her Dad all of her work on her desk in her Homeroom class.

Here was some of her work..

Then, the next day after Open House we headed to the Hill Country. I went to Johnson City with my Mom when I was about Cara's age.. and it was fun to go back..

Caleb riding contently in the car with his paci!

On this phone, many phone calls were made to world leaders and leaders of our own country such as MLK... this was the phone in LBJ's office at the White House of Texas. I took a lot more pictures, but decided this one would suffice for the blog.

Caleb's first Dairy Queen visit...



Enchanted Rock!

Caleb fell asleep on the climb up...

Mom and Cara...

Caleb woke up and was ready to go when we got to the top of the rock..

Caleb's favorite part of the trip was pushing the button for the elevator!

Cara by the pool!



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The Sand Castle contest did not go so well.. everytime Cara and Wade would build something.. Caleb would knock it down.

At the end of March, Cara's art was exhibited in the GCISD art show. I thought her pumpkins were outstanding!



At the end of March, Wade left work one day to find his truck was no where to be found.. it had been stolen. It was found the next day in Carizzo Springs, Texas. The backseat was gone and the steering column gone and they took off the dashboard and replaced it with a tan one..

They enjoyed Bud Light, Coca Cola and Chicle gum while listening to their music.

It took over five days to get the vehicle back home. Needless to say, the truck went to truck heaven.. but this made for an interesting and sometimes maddening end of the month of March.

Here's hoping April is full of good surprises!