Red Envelopes

Can you do something?
You can.
I know, it feels a little helpless sometimes with our world changing, new leadership, new ideas, new rules to play by.
It may seem a little discouraging.
I know I've had those thoughts, "Lord, just come quickly or bring me home soon."
We all long for heaven as Christians, but we're here in this season for a reason.
God has a purpose for us here.
Those purposes are many, but this one thing you can do now.
You can do it today.
Would you?
Would you take 10 minutes and make a statement about what you believe is right?

I encourage you to send a letter.
Have you heard of the Red Envelope Campaign?
If not, here's the gist:

Send an envelope to the president.
A red envelope.
An empty red envelope.

Address it to:

President Barack Obama
The White House
1600 Pennsylvania Ave NW
Washington, DC 20500

On the back write this message:


Mail your letter along with thousands of others on Tuesday, March 31.
I so wish I could see the mailbags arrive at the White House on Thursday or Friday of this week. I've wondered what thoughts the President would have seeing such a peaceful, meek, yet firm statement about what we believe so passionately.

Would you participate with me?

Perfect weeknight recipe

I know, I'm not the best candidate to be sharing recipes. Those of you who know me well, know that I have stolen some great recipes through the years and make them often...but I"m not a natural cook. I really enjoy it when I have time, but consider it a form of torture on a weeknight after working all day!!!! Thank you Lord, for giving me a husband that loves to cook and is good at it!!! This is a bonus on the weekends, but weeknights are all me.

So, when I found this recipe and every member of my family loved it, I knew I had to share it with the rest of you, who maybe, just maybe, might have a night where you aren't feeling like cooking. Anyone?

So here it is. Three ingredients and 10 minutes. Fabulous!

Potato Chowder

1 can cream of potato soup
3 cups of milk
3 cups of frozen hashbrowns

Stir together in a large pot on high heat. Heat to boiling. Turn heat down and simmer for 10 minutes. Stir frequently. Serve with grated cheese, chives and crumbled bacon if you like these things. I served with grilled cheese on day and bread and salad another night.

Every drop of it was gone, so you may want to double if your kids are older or you have more of them than I do. Yummy!!!

Spring Break fun

Besides just hanging around the house and sleeping kind of late, we did a few fun things!

We visited the Log Cabin Village in Fort Worth. This was a lot of fun for all of us!
Here are the kids pumping water from the well.



Now tendin' to the crops!






The Parker cabin where Mr. Parker lived. Very interesting...Parker county was named after him and he was the uncle of Cynthia Ann Parker. This is where they brought her after she was kidnapped away from the Comanches. She died of a broken heart after that. The chair in the corner was one that Sam Houston claimed each and every time he visited the Parker cabin. He was a good friend and he and Mr. Parker fought in the War for Texas independence together.



Dress up time!



B took this picture of his mom and dad. Pretty good!







Later int he week we had planned to go camping. Unfortunately, there was a burn ban in all of Texas. No campfire, no open fame burgers, no SMORES for crying out loud!!!!
So, we decided to go camping at the lake house. Still a burn ban, but we had a better chance of getting by with a little old fire!!

Here are Paul and B getting sticks ready for the fire.



Smore time!!!! Paul got caught eating the ingredients!

















Cait with her marshmallowless smore. She just wanted the cracker and the chocolate!



Exploring with headlamps!!! Such a boy!



We made it! We slept out in nature and lived! Here's my honey the next morning.



Cait was the only bear we saw while camping. She is a bear only in the morning though. Otherwise, she's as sweet as they come!



We had a lot of fun and are already looking forward to the next trip!

Sweet little feet

See these sweet little feet? They seem so big these days. She's grown to a far older age than I am willing accept. I see her growing up in little ways and it is such a bitter sweet road. Parenting...what a life-changing, sanctifying journey.

Enough of that. BALLET! Our sweet girl got to show off what she has been learning in a parent share class. They are getting ready for their production of Sleeping Beauty. Every little girl's dream!!!












And now for some tap!
We were really impressed with how Cait's coordination has improved. Yay Cait!

We got Buster...again

The excitement over getting to bring home the class pet has started to wane. We usually drop all plans to try and create a special night for Buster, so our children can tell about it in their journal. Thank the Lord we now have a great printer that can print quality photos at the touch of a button.

The pictures from that night were so sweet so I thought I'd share.


After school snack with Buster



Jumping fun!!!!



On our way to go eat pizza. Mom was especially happy about this outing!!






So sad that this was our last visit from the class pet!! :-)

My Valentine's

This year at Valentine's Day was especially special! The last three years Valentine's Day has been all about my kids...my ONLY sweethearts. This year I celebrated them,but of course we all had someone else to add to that celebration. The day started with a special breakfast from mom and sugared everyone up thoroughly!!!








Our day to celebrate was actually Friday, because Christ had the kids on Valentine's Day. I made the kids special lunches and put love notes in as well. Paul and I planned to stay away from the crowds and celebrate at home. We cooked a delicious meal together on Saturday night after a really special day together. What could have been so very devastating was actually a celebration for us. My dear, dear friend and mentor, Judy Brunson went to be with the Lord on Wednesday of that week. We buried her on Valentine's Day. It was bitter sweet, but mostly sweet knowing that God had so crowned her with a grace and beauty that only comes from Him. Her life was used in such a way that you can't help but praise God for it and give glory to Him, instead of her. That's what she would have wanted anyway.

After the service Paul and I shopped and had lunch together, and ultimately came home to cook our meal. It was a wonderful day and I hope one of many, many Valentine's spent with my sweetheart in this lifetime. But after witnessing the life and death of Mrs. Judy, there is even hope in death and the after time when those special days on earth have ceased. This is because I know that my sweetheart and I will one day be with Jesus. What better celebration is there?

Don't you long for heaven some days? Don't you long to be with Him and free of the burden of this life? I envy Mrs. Judy and the fact that she is free from sickness, free from sin, free of burden. She is worshiping the King while in His presence.

One day.

But until then....

Fun School Days

There are so many special days at Trinity in Kindergarten and first grade, that it's hard to keep up with all of them. Several of them have passed without me blogging about them. Honestly, I do this because it helps me document our life...it helps later down the road!!

Asia Day!!

After a study about Asia, the kids came dressed in Asian dress and got to take part in little centers. FUN!!









sweet girl!!

100th Day of School

Next was the 100th day of school. Kindergarten dresses like they are 100 years old and First grade dresses wacky. What a fun day!!

Here's our old lady!





Here's our wacky guy! I promise we did not put him up to this!!! He planned for weeks to wear a dress for wacky day. That was the wackiest thing he could think of, was a boy wearing a dress!!



I was worn out before school ever began that day, just getting everyone ready for school!!!
It was also Dad's Day in my classroom, so I was getting ready to host 23 dad's. Like I said, there's always something going on at TCA!!