Thursday, March 31, 2016

7 years old!

Teague is 7! Tonight we were able to sneak in a little celebration with 5 out of the 7 of us in between track meet events!   He requested his usual meal, taco salad followed by cake and presents. His party will be next weekend, so we will celebrate again with his friends, but tonight was nice to just be with family. 







Through the years...
1 year old

2 years old

3 years old 

4 years old 

5 years old

6 years old 

7 years old
We love you, Teague!  You have a giant family who all look out for you since you're the youngest! Never forget how blessed you are and never forget how special God made you!!










Saturday, March 26, 2016

Christian Youth Weekend

We spent Good Friday at Six Flags for Christian Youth Weekend. We took about 40 kids and leaders and had a great time.






The observation tower was open so we went up there. I probably haven't been up there in 20+ years, so that was neat!

Casting Crowns and Hawk Nelson performed in the evening and was amazing! I love concerts where you can sing along with every song!









Thursday, March 24, 2016

Lead

The Lord led me to the word Lead for my 'one word' for 2016 and I love how He already knew what was in store for me before this year even began. 

About a month ago a few teachers approached me and asked if I would be interested in going to Coppell ISD to see a model of a school that is vertically aligned. They had gone a few months back and thought it was an interesting concept and wanted another group of teachers to go and see it to get their opinion also.  So, today a group of us were able to go for a tour. It was such a neat concept with an incredible facility. Classrooms were open, walls were writable, furniture movable; it really was an ideal learning environment.  It was fun to dream big for the day and exciting to be asked to go! 






It was a ton of fun to dream big for the day and exciting just to be asked to go! Can't wait what else He has in store for this year of leading!



Friday, March 18, 2016

Carnival "Dream"

As the months leading up to the cruise passed by I found myself praying for all facets of this vacation; health, safety, the weather, the memories  to be made, those we encountered, etc... Every day I prayed I felt more and more humbled until finally I felt like God said "stop praying and listen!"  Sometimes I need this reminder!! As I listened I was brought to tears.  It was like God was unwrapping a gift for me!  He brought to mind all the circumstances of the past 7 years; a mommy gone too soon, a daddy no longer at home, spouses no longer around to grow old with, children confused, single parents grieving...we all have been through so much and this cruise was His gift to us...ALL of us!

As I prayed for the ship and crew on board He stopped me at the name of our ship: Carnival DREAM.  I heard clearly that He wanted the kids to do just that on this trip.  So, the night before the trip, we had a family meeting and I shared that with them.  Richard and I, along with the Lord, wanted them to take this week to dream.  To see the most beautiful sunsets and the turquoise waters and the miles and miles of ocean and to know God made it all and to just dream about their future.  This world is so much bigger than the small country town we live in and they were created for a special purpose.

Each day of this cruise I felt the magnitude of our trip.  Trips like this, with the whole family, only come along every now and then and I wanted to soak up every minute!  I am so thankful God blessed us with this opportunity and our lives will never be the same because of it!  I love these faces so much!!











 









Spring Break 2016






After dark

After the sun went down every night we would all get cleaned up and enjoy the night life around the ship. We were able to all sit together between two tables and we took turns and rotated the kids nightly to keep some sort of sanity!




The second night was the Captain's night so it was very formal!  We all loved getting dressed up in our "fancy clothes" and meeting the captain!






During dinner, Troy and Kelby were definitely the brave ones of the bunch.  They always got the odd thing off the menu to try and ended up liking most of what they got.  Throughout the week they tried frog legs, snails, ox tongue, alligator bites, tiger shrimp, and lamb.  They were very adventurous!!  These were the frog legs.


Baylee and Koby also tried a few new things.  Koby really like the creme brulee and the chilled fruit soups.  By the last night, Koby ordered two desserts because he couldn't decided which one to try.  I was very proud of them all for getting out of their comfort zones and trying new things.  Teague, however, did not participate in trying anything new.  Most every night when we got to dinner he was not too hungry.  He started at the ice cream machine every morning at about 8am!  One day I think he had 6 or 7 ice cream cones!  I think that was his favorite thing; ice cream and mini golf!!




There was also a show every night that the wait staff would put on and we got to participate in those with them!





After dinner we would decide which shows to go to!  There were so many choices, but we mostly went to the comedy acts, the main shows, and the dancing shows.  It seemed like no matter where we went someone from our group ended up in the show!

At one of the kid friendly comedy shows, Troy and Kelby wanted to sit front row.  We warned them that they would probably be picked on and they didn't care, and then we told them there was no way we were sitting on the front row with them, and again they said they didn't care.  Well, sure enough, they got picked on!  So much so that the whole show ended up being about them!  He nicknamed them Eli and Peyton and for 35 minutes he asked them questions and made jokes with what they said and then towards the end, he asked where their parents were!  I was now hiding and make Richard raise his hand from the audience! He then proceeded to make fun of us! Afterwards, we asked the comedian if he would take a picture with them!  From then on, anyone who saw them around the ship called them Eli and Peyton.  I know they will never forget that night!






The following night we went to a dance show with break dancing and pop-n-lock dancing that was very entertaining and Richard and Baylee found themselves in the middle of that performance!  They were asked to do their best dance move and they both did great!



We had some unforgettable moments in the evenings and it was all so much fun!  If you have never been on a cruise, it really is a wonderful way to spend a vacation.  There are lots of things to do or you can choose to do nothing at all!  The staff and performers are all so friendly and go out of their way to make sure you are having fun!  What an incredible week!