Some Christmas pics

Playing in Drew's ball pit & making cookies for Santa.

Merry CHRISTmas!!!

I hope all of you have had a wonderful Christmas.  Here in Texas we started the night with rain, thunder, lightening, some hail and eventually TX sized snowflakes. I took Jack & Bray to our front yard this afternoon for a little sledding down the slope.  It was a blast.  My parents had given me the sled since we tend to see snow more frequently than they do in Houston.  It was from my childhood when we lived in California and would go to the mountains for sledding.

We have had an awesome advent season and now heading into the official Christmas season.  I tend to get lost sometimes as to the actual season of Christmas since some stores tend to put out Christmas decor in July (cough... Hobby Lobby).  We started a tradition about 3 years ago where we buy the boys only 3 gifts like Jesus received 3 gifts of gold, frankincense, & myrrh.  Wow has it made a difference with holiday shopping and chaos.  Then Jason & I fill their stockings plus they receive presents from their grandparents.  They are not deprived and it keeps the meaning of Christmas more relevant.  Last night we baked Jesus a birthday cake and sang happy birthday this afternoon.

One thought I wanted to pass along is something I started several years ago.  I always LOVE receiving Christmas cards, especially the ones with pictures, but had the hardest time parting with them.  So
I decided to make a collage picture that is framed with all the pictures cut out from the cards.  It's on my family wall since you know that I consider my friends to be my family too.  I can show the pictures to my kids when we are talking about someone, but this year I'm going to make it more kid friendly and make it our prayer board.  This will be a way of praying for all of you (regardless if I have a picture or not) and sharing your sweet smiles too.  Just thought I'd pass this along in case you are like me when it comes to pictures.

Luke 2:11 For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.

Blessings,

Lisa

A beautiful Sunday

Getting all of us up, fed, and dressed for Mass is almost an act of congress each week. We have to leave by 8:30 in order to make sure we get 2 spots in the nursery. It's all so worth it when I get to witness and be a part of the holy sacrifice of the Mass, a moment recently described as the time when heaven and earth kiss. To see my son and husband both learning about the catholic faith and sharing it with them is a joy! I really am blessed. Enjoy this beautiful day with your family!

A snippet

It has been a great couple of weeks.  The boys are in the full swing of school, football, gearing up for Halloween, to be quickly followed by Jackson's 6th birthday, Thanksgiving, and then Christmas.  All of it seems to be blurring together and creeping up on me faster than I can get everything planned.  Jackson is loving football this year and doing so well.  Last weekend, he threw a touchdown pass and also scored himself.  Bray on the otherhand only seems to like it if noone pulls his flags.  Not sure how we will finish out this season.

There have been many changes to our family this past year.  I finished up 2 years working towards becoming a sign language interpreter.  I am fluent but need another year of practicum to be able to sign for the state board.  I do what I can to stay involved and be a part of the deaf community.  I also began working fulltime, first for an ENT office in Fort Worth, then was graciously offered to work for my chiropractor's office which is just 1 mile from home.  Drew started day care and is doing great!  We were so blessed to have a live-in nanny, Cobi for the first part of the year and she was AMAZING!  Now she's back to college and doing well.

It's so easy to get caught up in the every day grind of life, but am really happy when I see my little boys growing and learning, especially about our faith.  They are little sponges that amaze me with all they know, some of which I'm not always prepare for.

Pictures from their football team will follow soon!

Hugs and blessings,

Lisa

A renewal

This time last week I was searching for answers. Thanks to a great friend and mentor I made good decisions. I've decided to minimize Facebook time, be open about my feelings, beliefs,and not give up. It's hard to follow the narrow road, but it will all be worth it one day.
I am making positive changes and challenge you to do the same. Be kind to a stranger, call and old friend to say hello and let your family know how much they mean to you.
I'm constantly learning about myself and sharing this life with Jason and our boys is a blessing.

Prayers

I have so much to be thankful for this year. The first Thanksgiving with #4, Drew, healthy children, my husband and his job, my newest passion, sign language, and overall a really blessed life.

Today I ask for some prayers. First for my beautiful niece, Vada who will eventually need open heart surgery around January or February. She will be 4 or 5 months old. That she continues to grow and flourish until she can have the surgery to make her heart whole. Second for my mom. She has lost feeling in one leg and foot and is starting to affect her other leg. She's been dealing with a painful back and back problems for the last 10 years. She will see a neurosurgeon after Thanksgiving and I hope they can find a solution to help her feel better and be able to walk again. It's been a long 2-3 weeks since she first lost feeling and it's continued to be painful despite numerous doctor's visits, xrays, and an MRI.

If I could be there for these 2 girls in my life to help them feel better I would. I can't wait to see Vada in January (and my sister, JoJo, and Fritz) and hope that I can see my mom soon.

Jackson's Birthday

When our lives changed forever: 11/10/2006
Now, he's 5. What a great blessing and big brother he his.