Is it REALLY Christmas already???

It just seems as though we were wrapping up Thanksgiving and here we are 6 days away from Xmas! There are so many things Rick and I want to do this Christmas season with our girls! From continuing to tell them why we celebrate Christmas, Who it is all about, that it is a time and season to enjoy family and loved ones. We have started building family traditions that I know we will enjoy for years to come. A couple new ones we've started this year are...

- Rick and Alaina attending The Nutcracker

- Building a Gingerbread House (from scratch...it's pretty difficult)

 

- Window Shopping @ Garden Ridge ~ we love that place!

- Watching the Christmas Story while decorating the house! 

Ava 11 Weeks

- Scrapbooking our yearly pic and journaling! 

- Touring Rhema Xmas Lights

As we add to this list for many years to come, I've decided the best way to keep track of what we do, how we do it, and how special it is to us is to create a Scrapbook if you will. So here's a pic of it...

And this is the entrance I've posted for our girls, because this is who I'm making it for ~ so they will always know our traditions, our family values, and most importantly...how they are LOVED!

As I grow older and as my children grow older I'm started to realize how fast time really does fly by and how I HAVE to make the most of every moment. And then record it for them to enjoy later! :) Blessings & Enjoy Reading!

A Season of Thankfulness

Tis' the Season!

So many things to be thankful for around this time of year!

Here are a few highlights of the past two months!

~ Spending Thanksgiving with Mom

~ Dad flying in for Christmas this weekend...

~ Ava being a healthy & easy baby! She started sleeping through the night at 8 weeks!

~ Alaina knows how to spell her name and writes all the letters of her name, just not in sequential order! ;)

~ A wonderful Mother-in-Law & Sister-in-Law who do so much for our family & most importantly - love so much!

~ My brother coming up for Ava's birth - meant so much to me!

~ Joined a BunKo group - the ladies are oh so fun!

~ New found friendships!

~ Our best friends, Ashley & Eric, are engaged!!! We are so happy for them!

~ Got to meet the CUTEST boy baby...Seth Michael Cook, son of BF Stephanie Cook

~ Visit with an old friend from college, Kelly, came to meet Ava and see the girls! A day trip from Texas is not easy, I'm sure!

I hardly have the time to blog but there's so much I want to remember by jotting these thoughts down! Apologies for the bullet list!

Have a blessed day!

Have you jotted down a few things you're thankful for, today?

:)

from THREE to FOUR...

Wow! Where to begin!! I should begin with the story of our move to Tulsa. But I will write about that next time I have a free minute. I'm too excited to write about something else!

God has blessed us with another litle girl, Ava Ellen Emerson. She was born September 29 @ 3:37pm weighing 8 lbs. 15 oz. and 20 inches long. The whole process was just beautiful. I was actually dilated at a 2 for 2 weeks - and at my 38 week check-up, my amazing DR - Dr. Heather Summers - asked us if we wanted to induce, of course I said, "Uhm, yeah, like today?" She wanted to wait until I was a tad bit closer to 39 weeks. So we set induction date as Tuesday, September 29th. In my opinion, it's the best way to have a baby. At first I struggled with the idea thinking that the Lord would send her when she was "supposed to come." But going through the process I also know that He provides ways and opportunities for us to make the best decision. He also provided physicians who know what they are doing.

So we walk into St. Francis (Tulsa) around 715am. We were supposed to be there at 7 - but I am always late to everything. Rick said, "we're late to the birth of our own baby." :) Got into a L&D @ 730. My nurse was a phenomenal lady named Karen - who Im so grateful to - she was wonderful. They started my pitocin at 8:10, broke my water @ 9am, I requested my epidural at 1045 (only dilated to a 3 at this point), where I then started to get "loopy", crack jokes, and make everyone in my room laugh with me, OR were they laughing AT ME? Mmmm... :)

to be continued...

To Be at the Beach or Not to Be...

Well July is the season for Youth Camp! It's a wonderful time filled with late nights with teenagers, beach time where you get so sunburned you can hardly move, sleep, or do anything; amazing speakers and worship leaders (i.e. Ben Stuart, Matt Chandler, Charlie Hall!), but most of all seeing our kids come to a realization of sin in their life and how Christ can change it all; seeing that light bulb go off that means, "Wow! There really is something I can do to change my life to live like Christ!" This is one of Rick and I's greatest joys!

I'm a little sad this morning, however, as my beloved husband is traveling to Orange Beach, Alabama with 21 of our youth and I'm not there with them. :( We made the decision that it's just better for me at 28 weeks to stay in Texas and not be doing all the traveling, heat, etc. I think it is a wise decision but one definitely hard to make! My second greatest joy, one being a Mommy, is being an active part of Rick's ministry ~ to whomever, wherever that may be. Being alongside of him and seeing how he's blessed from the Lord to do His will is one of the best places to be! :) I love to see my husband fulfill his purpose in the Lord. And while I may only do a snippet of what he does, all the joy comes in seeing those students come to know Christ and build their relationship with Him.

It's not about religion, it's about a relationship!

Here are a couple pics from last years Student Life @ South Padre!

Walking into the Conference Center ~ Action Shot!

Funny Pic! :0)

Mmmm....

My Favorite Sarah!

So Warheads can get kinda crazy SOUR...so Tyler and I learned...

we had a competition - HE WON!

Rick & I with Charlie Hall - luv this guy!

So I ask that you join me in prayer this week as they are at Student Life @ the Beach; Orange Beach, AL: for convicted and changed hearts, for the Holy Spirit to be active and evident in that place, for attentive ears and spirits, and a willingness to know Him better. Will you join me?

July 4th Weekend Festivities

Heading out for FAMILY TIME is so exciting for us! We made plans to spend July 4th weekend in McKinney, TX with my family. An added bonus is getting to see all our college/seminary friends ~ they are such a blessing. Of course, 4 of us are all pregnant so it's hilarious to get together and compare belly sizes! :)

So we started off with a relaxing day with family on Thursday...Laina's cousins, Connor & Paige came over, and Connor and Alaina went swimming. "Uncle Rick" (Daddy) had a little too much fun with the Super Soakers! :) It's amazing to see how well Connor & Alaina play together. They're so sweet. 

Friday, we enjoyed lunch with our sweet friends, Brad & Steph, she is 34 weeks along and ready to go. We were able to see their new house, and Baby Campbell's room. Their anticipating her arrival!

 That night Rick went to meet a friend from seminary and us girls had a movie night in our PJ's - my kind of night! Then Saturday was THE DAY, we intended to get to the McKinney parade when it started (1030am)...didn't happen...our friends Eric, Ashley & Abby met us...it was so HOT, unbearably HOT. I could barely stand it. But the important thing was Alaina enjoyed watching the motorcycles and cheerleaders, cars honking, etc. She really enjoyed playing with Abby that day! Then we spent the rest of the afternoon bumming it because of the heat! ;) And then had to make that drive back home! :0)

June Vacation

Well we took our vacation to the great state of Oklahoma this summer. We left right after VBS was over and headed for the cooler weather, oh that's just what we thought... it was not below 100 any day that week. But we did get a lot of sun, relaxation time, and we were able to celebrate our 4-year anniversary. We did something very simple this year, as I am 25 weeks pregnant...(whew)!! We were actually able to spend the whole day by ourselves while Alaina went shopping and playing with Grammy & Aunt Lissa. They spoil her so! 

Our day started off with a simple lunch @ Taco Bueno (my fav), a fun game @ Target that Rick set up - - - We each had $10 and couldn't go over besides tax, had 30 minutes to find each other a gift, and we could spy on each other!! So, I recalled Rick needing sunglasses, wanting an old Charlie Hall CD, or wanting something in Lawn & Garden. But I didn't find anything worth buying so I settled for the HULK DVD. Ya I know, real sentimental, huh?! 

So we plan to exchange gifts at dinner, but were laughing so hard at how much fun we had so we opened them in the car...I go first and his is all sentimental (just what I like) - this Love Plaque, a sweet card, sour candy(for the movie), and a frame for our movie tickets and a pic to go in. How THOUGHTFUL. I was so sad that I just got him a movie, not even a card!!! Then we headed to see Transformers - great movie. And went to Utica Square to have a quaint dinner at Olive Garden. Of course at this point, Rick has a full, tired, back-aching pregnant wife on his hands...so we go home and get to see our precious gift from the Lord before she falls asleep ~ Alaina Marie! It was a wonderful anniversary! I'm so blessed to have a Godly husband, father, and leader of our home.