2009 is winding down...

2009 is finally winding down. Its been a very fast paced&eventful year for our family. There have definitely been some highs&lows for this year. I felt like 2009 just sped by, but when i realized how much our family has gone through this past year, it made the year seem to be forever. I have to say the theme for 2009 for me has been: tests.

2009 started off with a major event for our family. Justin blew out his knee & it caused a huge hole to form in his knee. The doctor had never seen anything like it from a 26 yr old. It was very painful for Justin-very painful. He actually had 2 surgeries on his knee to prepare for the "big" operation. On his big operation, they had to cut his hip open-&shave his bone off. Then they stapled his hip back together and molded that bone into a circle to go into his knee. After that was done, they stapled his knee. I remember walking into the room after his surgery and freaking out because I didnt realize they were going to cut almost his entire leg to open it up to his knee cap. The staples seemed to travel from mid-thigh to mid-calf. It was so hard to see Justin go through that. He couldn't walk for 3 months after his surgery either. Our family was soooooooo life-saving and everyone helped. EVERYONE. Siblings came to spend the day to help grocery shop or play with luke. grandparents came and stayed and cleaned-did laundry etc to help us get through this medical set back. I learned lots of lessons on patience, faith and strength. It was a test of strength also. Strength for Justin to fight through pain to do his physical therapy 4 times a week. It was like learning to walk all over again for him. For me, it was a test of strength also. Justin has always 'just taken care of everything" for us. He does the trash, takes cares of our cars, mowing the grass, etc& i suddenly was in charge of all of that-and being a mom and wife. It was a testing time, but through it all, we leaned on our Lord, eachother&our families. Justin has healed good throughout the year. He still is not 100%...he still cant run, jump or workout the way we used to. But he is healthy, walking and full of energy for Lucas ;).

The Spring&Summer were relaxing and fun! We swam a lot, had a lot of cookouts with friends, and traveled to Dallas and New Mexico a lot! We celebrated Lucas Lee turning 1 years old!!!! We went to church family camp in Ruidoso! We celebrated my moms 50th birthday at the top suite at Lone Star! Justin&I saw our favorite band Cross Canadian Ragweed on a road trip with our best friend Micah! We went to Mexico for a week vacation! We watched fireworks with our friends! We did 2 charity races: Lupus Run&Race for the Cure. We had wine on the porch with our neighbors! And we watched Luke grow every single day into a toddler and little boy!

The fall&winter were bittersweet for our whole family. At the beginning of the fall, our hearts were devestated when Tamara was diagnosed with Cancer. Our family has recovered from the shock and devestation- and now we are full of faith and focused on fighting cancer. It is not easy to watch my sister fight stage 4 cancer that isnt curable. Its heartbreaking, emotional, and a test of patience. I have given it to God and i am really centering myself into His word for guidance and faith. It has brought our entire family together in a very tight, and strong bond. God is at the center of our family and that is such a blessing. Tamara is an inspiration to me. She is so focused, strong and faithful. Thanksgiving&Christmas were spent with our families. We cooked, ate, laughed, told stories and talked the whole holiday season! I loved it! Justin&I were completely in awe of how much luke responded to the Holiday season! He loved it- he has been in the best mood about shopping&seeing lights and listening to music. And of course, the fall&winter were filled with Texas Tech football!!! And Dallas Cowboys football! Its been an up&down football seaon for both teams! We are ending the year celebrating our 4 yr Anniversary on a trip to San Antonio for the bowl game!

I pray for health and strength for ourselves, our family&our friends for 2010. I hope God continues to bless us, even through the hard times. God is always present- whether good or bad events are happening-He is still there. I look forward to watching Luke continue to grow! I look forward to family trips we already have planned- standing next to my best friend, Brie, as she marries her prince charming! I pray the chemo worked for Tamara&pray she can go into remission. I pray God will continue to heal Justins knee. I look forward to 2010 being a happy and peaceful year ;)

White Christmas 2009

I am not sure what exactly it is...but there was something about this years Christmas that was extra special&magical! Our Christmas was spent giving-eating-laughing and driving!

We drove to Dallas on the night of the 23rd...and it snowed&started icing over by the time we were in Abilene so we stopped and got a room at a hotel. It was not safe to be driving with Lucas in the car. So we had fun hanging out in the hotel, watching the snow come down and watching Polar Express! We all climbed in the big bed and munched on goodies! It was a lot of fun!

On Christmas Eve we made it into the metroplex just in time to beat the huge snow storm that followed us from Lubbock lol! It was the first "white" christmas in 83 years or so! It was beautifulllll ;)!!!! We spent Christmas Eve visiting with my parents and my siblings! We went to church, took some family pics and ate dinner at my grandparents house!

Christmas Day! Santa came and he was GREAT to us! One Santa bought us Tech bowl game tickets&another Santa bought us a weekend stay in a Suite on The river walk in San Antonio! YAY! We all opened presents and ate and napped! It was lovely! We spent the evening back at my grandparents with all of my family! It was awesome to see all of my cousins, aunts, uncles etc! It was most exciting to see Luke play with all of his cousins!

The morning after Christmas we loaded-and I mean loaded lol- our car up for a drive to Lubbock! It was long and a bit exhausting but we talked, played with new toys, ate, listened to the radio and made the best of it. We stopped at our house-unloaded- jumped back into the car and drove to New Mexico...whhhew exhausting lol! But as soon as we saw family we were re-energized! We visited for a bit and then our family opened our presents! We snacked and played family games! It was so peaceful and fun!

Christmas was great for our family! Justin and I love the age Luke is right now! He is so fun to watch open gifts, he loves everything! He got tons of books, puzzles, games, movies, clothes, toy trucks, cd's, toys, music, etc. His favorite gifts were his new keyboard and guitar! So much so, that Justin and I will be taking the keyboard back to Nanny's house and his guitar back to Nana's house lol. Thats allllll we hear in our house right now lol!

Justin and I didnt ask for much for Christmas, but our families made our Christmas the best Christmas ever for realllll. Both our parents went on their own intuitions for gifts and they know us really well!

Christmas 2009 was a very blessed holiday! Luke got to see all of his family and extended family! We had lots of laughs and memories made!

Opening presents at Nanny&PopPops house!
Opening presents in New Mexico!

New slide and fort for the back yard!

Visiting with Justin Uncle, Bill Jr. He works in Afghanistan so we always love a good visit with him!

Guitar at Nana's house!

Hanging with NaNa

8 Christmas together--this one was the best ever ;)

My family with my grandparents on Christmas Day! (My lil cousin Bailey jumped in the picture lol)

Love the snow on Christmas!!!!!!!!

He loves his work backpack lol! He took it out to the shed with all of his daddy's tools lol

Keyboard from Nanny!

Christmas Eve before church service! Posing with Nanny&Momma!

This is what we woke up to on Christmas Eve in Abilene!

So ready to see what blessings God has in store for our family in 2010!

Christmas!!!

I am SO EXCITED about Christmas!!!!!

I am a Christmas lover! This time of the year brings out the best in me every year. I love lights, music, family time, church, God, peace, decorations, the color red, cooking&baking! Everything about Christmas is everything I love ;)!

Justin, Luke&myself will spend a lot of the holiday season on the road and that makes me very nervous. I get more nervous now that we have Luke with us...our precious cargo. Every year we travel between DFW metroplex and New Mexico. We pray a lot for safe travels and focus on getting to our family safely and sane lol! This year I am going to make our Christmas day drive more fun for Luke. I bought come cute "road" gifts for him to open throughout our drive. I think that will make it fun and not so boring. I bought him some toddler cd's and a movie--because we are FINALLY getting tv's in my car on the seats thank goodness! And i got him some books&stickers and "car" toys! I hope it works *fingers crossed*! Luke does ride in the car very well, but there are always those moments where they get fussy and you can tell they are tired of being in the car. Mostly we travel in the evening-night time because he will sleep the entire time. But this year, we are traveling an 8 hr drive from Dallas to New Mexico on Christmas day- YIKES. On the flip side, it is so important to us, for Luke to see both sides of our families on Christmas day.

I am so excited&overwhelmed knowing Christmas is just a tiny few days away! I cant wait to see Luke open his gifts! I am ready for our families to open the gifts we bought&made for them! And I cannot wait for family time w/lots of food, desserts, wine and music!!!!

Merry Christmas!!!!

Santa Land!

My brother is in town for the week! He is here for business but its definitely been fun to have him here and get to spend some fun time with him! My brother is one of my bestest friends in life and we always have fun when he is in town! We have done lots of Christmas shopping and Christmas Light looking. Last night, we took Luke to Santa Land. It was very pretty the way they set it up! Their were lots of lights and music so of course Luke loved it! The Santa line was a 2hr wait so we did not see Santa. Luke isnt the biggest Santa fan yet either so it wasnt a hard decision to make. It was fun to watch Luke take Uncle JoJo by the hand and show him all the fun stuff he liked. I love seeing our family interact with him. Joseph is having a blast playing and spending time with Luke wrestling and reading him stories and playing with tools. Luke is so much like Justin and Joseph. They all 3 love trucks, tools, balls and music.

Luke, Uncle JoJo and Justin by the big tree

I adore my brother!

Stop & Drop Part 2

My heart is filled with so many emotions right now!

I feel thankfulness and love for God and what He is doing in my life right now. I am so happy we are working on this charity drive together. I hope I can say in 10 years we are still doing the Stop and Drop and it is bigger than ever! I hope it is a life long commitment for me&my family. I know God will stand with us for this forever ;)

I just talked to the Public Relations rep from both hospitals in Lubbock. They are so excited for the kids also! It is so good to hear in their voices how excited they are that they will see the children smile at Christmas this year. There are a total of 7 children that will not make it to see next years Christmas. Hearing these stories gives me so much peace in knowing that we are doing the right thing for them&their families. I was in tears talking to the hospital staff hearing the stories of the children who are heros in this world. Fighting battles for their life...knowing how strong they are and how every day of their life is a fight. I just kept looking at Luke thanking God in my heart that he is healthy. But it also opened my eyes to see what my parents are going through...knowing their daughter is fighting everyday too.

I read this quote last night while having my quiet time with God...i know it was meant for me to read and understand. "People make plans in their minds, but only the Lord can make them come true. Depend on the Lord in whatever you do, and your plans will succeed."--Proverbs 16:1-3. I am so appreciative to God for guiding me and Justin in this project. I am so thankful that He heard our hearts desire and is helping our visions become real and successful.

Everything is ready to go for Friday! The food has been bought- the boxes are ready to be filled with gifts- the house is spotless(which keeping it that way with a toddler is the hardest work lol) and our doors are ready to be opened to our special friends who support us without an end. I am so excited! I cannot wait to take all the sweet and special gifts our friends picked out to our little heros in the hospital. ;)

Cheeeeeeese Face

Luke has a new "cheeeeese face"...he does every time I pull the camera out to take his pictures

Its very important for him to squint his eyes and say, "cheeeeeeeese" lol

Polar Express

Lukes Nana bought us tickets to do the Polar Express! It was a fun family night- it was definitely something the whole family enjoyed! The kids wear pajamas and some adults did too. But Justin&I opted to wear jeans and not pajamas lol. The Polar Express was a train ride and they played fun Christmas music. They also had little elfs (or elves?) serve cookies&hot chocolate. Along the way they had the North Pole light up for the kids. Also, Santa came around and gave the kids little gifts and bells. Luke mostly loved the music and he would get in the aisle and dance. He dove head first into the whip cream of the hot chocolate too. Luke told Santa he wanted a "Ball" which surprised the heck out of Justin and I because we didnt expect Luke to say anything to santa. He is vey scared of Santa Claus. He will wave at him but he does not like Santa to touch him or get to close to him. I am glad we had the chance to enjoy the Polar Express...it was a fun Christmas style evening! (and thank goodness Luke had a 3 hour nap so he would be able to stay awake and enjoy it too!&not be fussy lol)

Lupus & a great husband

Today my lupus has been acting crazy. My muscles are killing me...I have been weak and havent been able to eat without getting sick =(. So, Justin being the most wonderful man&husband he is came home from lunch today and made me a big spot on the floor full of blankets and pillows so I could take a really comfy nap. The bed&couches are incredibly hard on my body when i have Lupus. Its kind of weird because I have to have a soft comfy bed to sleep-but when my Lupus flares up soft is the worse thing in the world. OUCH. Its those little things in life he does that make my heart still go pitter patter--even after 8 years lol! He stayed home a bit longer for lunch and let me have an hour nap while he played with Luke and put Luke down in his big boy bed for his nap! Its amazing what a 1 hour nap can do for a tired momma!

Shane&Shane

I love Shane and Shane! Like really love them! They are members of my families church in Red Oak and we have gotten to know them both musically and personally. Both Shanes are incredibly sweet, handsome and they Love their God! Last time we were home over Thanksgiving, they had a small concert for the church. It was beautiful&really got me into the Christmas spirit. They sang their song Holiday from last years Christmas CD and some new ones! All were gorgeous and beautiful to our Lords ear ;) I am sure! Holiday was one of my favorite songs of theirs last year and I find myself listening to it over and over again this year. So I wanted to share...

You are my holiday
You are right in the middle of me
You are my hideaway
You are home
I’m calling out your name
Oh my holiday
You make my heart new
And I love you!
What it is I’m trying to say Is
you are my favorite part of me!!!!

I sing that song for My God, Justin, Lucas, and my family! All of them bring Christmas to life for me. Christmas is about Christ, family and love. *its okay if you steal it...its a beautiful song! ;) I dont mind sharing! My heart will always adore you*

Stop and Drop

I have never been more excited about a project than I am right now!!!!! This year I am hosting my 1st stop and drop!!!

What a stop and drop is...Its a stop by and drop off a toy for charity! So on December 18th, I am opening my home for my friends, family&neighbors to come by and drop off a toy! The charity that I am donating the toys too are the Pediatric ICU's at both Covenant&UMC hospitals. I chose this for 2 reasons. 1- is because I do not think ANY child should have to spend Christmas morning in the hospital. 2- I have some friends who are nurses in the ICU's and it touches my heart to hear the stories of the little kids who are fighting HUGE battles against diabetes, cancer, pnuemonia, etc. I cannot imagine how their families are feeling right now with it being the holidays. Luke was in and out of the hospital sickkkk as a baby. Up until he was 3 months old he was practically living in the hospital. I remember how sick i felt every time I had to leave the hospital so check on the dogs, to shower or even just to have a break. It was hard. So my heart goes out to the families who are struggling watching their children go through such hard, hard illnesses.

I have really been praying that God will use me this holiday season to bring peace and happiness into someones life who desperately needs it. I wish I was a millionaire and could give a child their dream christmas...or help a family that has lost their family in the service...or grant a last miracle for a sick child. But I knew my "giving" was going to have to come in another way. So I prayed and prayed about it. One day, it just hit me. I was going to pass out gifts to our local hospitals so the kids could have a fun present to open and families wouldnt have to worry about leaving their children to christmas shop. I felt instant peace in my heart because I knew God was behind me 100%!!! It is making this years Christmas a little brighter knowing I can give back! I immediately emailed, texted&messaged 22 of our close family friends, neighbors, etc in Lubbock. So far, i have had 17 families RSVP. God is so powerful!

So, on the 18th we will open our house up. We have 2 HUGE boxes for the donated gifts. And I am serving- Apple Cider, Hot Chocolate, Fruit, Veggies, Nachos, Chips, Cheese Balls and crackers1 The whole house is decorated and we are so excited to have this party and see our friends help donate to our charity! I cant wait!!!!!!!

Crafty Wreath

Every once in awhile, Justin and I, will decide to be crafty. This year we decided we would make our own Holiday Wreath. We had a lot of extra pine cones-thanks for Lukes love for collecting them lol- and some red bows left so we thought we could just use those! We worked on it together while Luke was napping after church! It was nice to spend that quality-quiet time together doing something fun! We arranged&rearranged our wreath a lot before we agreed on the final look. Its up and hanging in front of our house and we are quite proud of it lol! =)

Christmas Lights!

Sunday was our "finish the Christmas" decorations day! We woke up and ate a big, good breakfast! Went to church&then came home and got started on the house. I helped sort outside lights and did some other crafts. Then headed in to watch the Cowboys game (ughh ). Luke and Justin worked hard together doing the bush lights and putting up candy canes. We usually have lights on the house, but Justins knee is still not 100% healed and I am deathly scared of heights so no house lights this year. But its okay, I love our house! And I love the memories we made working on it! Luke loves having "projects" to do so he was in heaven helping out with the lights. Before Luke went to bed we let him come outside and see the lights all lit up! It was a great moment we will keep in our hearts forever ;)

He just kept smiling and giggling!

He loved the candycanes the most-but he was getting a little sleepy here!

Working hard!

Helping seperate the lights!

* Luke has his Mr. Frog out tonite! Mostly because he decided his "blue" needed a bath. So he climbed on his stool in the bathroom where he brushes his teeth and we found him there with his blue in the sing and all the soap out. Now, we are childproofing all the doorknobs in the house. Every inch he grows is one thing more in the house he can get into. Its a little scary knowing he can open every door in our house now...YIKES

Tech Basketball

Last night we took Luke to his 1st Tech basketball game! Tech beat #9 Washington and it was a great game!

I was a little nervous about taking Luke to the game because I could picture it being an occasion where we played "chase me" up and down the stairs, etc. But Luke was actually realllllly good! The stadium provided so much excitement that he stayed interested the whole time. He did his crooked little guns up when the stands yelled RAIDER POWER & he clapped when everyone clapped! He mostly stayed in our laps or standing up right in between us. I get excited any time we can find a new activity that we can do as a family that is not stressful lol.

Techs basketball team is really good this year! It wasnt one of those games where we just played really good and beat a good team. Nope- our guys look AMAZING! Probably one of the best teams i have ever seen at Tech so far!

The fans rushing the court!

Wreck Em' Tech!

Carol of Lights!

Last night was the Carol of Lights on Tech campus! It is one of my favorite traditions and I love going! Justin, Luke&I bundled up into 4-5 layers of clothing because its been so cold the past few days! We met at our good friend Hilarys house- along with our other friend, Laura Lee. Both Hilary&Laura Lee's daughters were also there! Hilary made some homemade Ham bone soup and it was amazing! I have never had that kind of soup before but I will be getting that recipe and cooking it...it was soooo good! And perfectly warm for a cold night! Then we headed out to Tech campus! The Christmas music was very pretty and there were a lot of people there! I dont care how many times I have seen the lighting of Tech campus- but it still takes my breath away! It is so pretty and makes me feel so proud I am an alum! Being on campus always brings up memories of the ol' college days too lol! We didnt stay very long because it was so dang cold. We kept Luke bundled up in lots of blankets but he was just not enjoying it. If we bundled his face up he would cry because he couldnt see very good and if we layed him in the wagon with 1,000 blankets he cried because we werent holding him. So as soon as the lights came on...we cheered and then headed straight to the car! When the cold front leaves we will take Luke back up to Tech and drive him around so he can enjoy all the lights! Its always nice though when you have backup mommies doing events with you so there is a little extra support and help! I am pretty sure Luke, Gracie and Ava had their 15 minutes of tantrums each lol! Toddlers feed off of eachother so much, sometimes we just have to sit back and laugh when things get stressful lol

New Outlook...

So after spending a lot of time thinking last night I came to some realizations. First- I am ALWAYS going to miss my family. It will never be easy to be away from them. Especially my sister&brother. But I am going to focus more on how special the times are when we do get to spend time together are. Family is an unbreakable bond. And I know I have been looking at things all wrong. Instead of resenting the fact that I am not close to them...I am going to appreciate every second that we have together. Thank goodness there are Blogs&Facebook so they can see pictures of Luke and keep updated with our life in every way. Second- altho I have been betrayed and hurt by 1 friend...i still have lots more that are amazing in Lubbock. Case in point...Luke&I have had a cold for 3 days now& after writing my blog last night, one of my good friends Hilary (who never read my blog) called and told me she is making us soup today so we can get back on our feet! The positives are there when our mindset is right. God is always here...he will never leave me or forsake me. He tells us that in his word so many times. Third- I know Justin is an amazing husband. I know he constantly has Luke&I as his priority. I am so thankful for that...i cant even put into words how much I love him and trust him. So if this is where his job is and this is where he can take care of his family the most- then I will smile about it and try to like Lubbock. I guess that quote is true.."You can take the girl out of the city- but you cant take the City out of the girl ;)".

I am thankful for my bible study last night even though it was a difficult one. I know we have to go through some rough things sometimes to see the good. I am just so thankful God walked with me through it. I am thankful that I am able to go to my husband with prayer and he will listen and understand whats in my heart...even when its sad and difficult. God is good...I trust Him with my life and the life of my family.