Thursday evening we had our family over for dinner to celebrate Shawn's birthday with them; it was a nice time. I was able to get some good shots of the kids with Grandma and Grandpa. :)
The Undivided Hearts Have God's Ear
7 years ago
Showing posts with label Family. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Family. Show all posts
Sunday, March 10, 2013
Wednesday, January 2, 2013
New Nephew
I have an older brother on my dad's side, from a previous marriage. His name is Brett and he is 5 years older than me. I didn't see him a ton growing up since the only time I would see him was on the weekends while visiting my dad and he did not go to Dad's as often as I did. Even though I did not see him very often, we still had a sibling bond and connected when we were together.
Brett and I have not stayed in great contact throughout our adult years and I honestly did not know of his son, Ethan until not that long ago. To make a long story short, I reached out to Brett's mom and set up a time for us to go over and visit Ethan.
On December 23rd, Shawn and I took the kids over to see him. He is 10 years old and in the 5th grade and looks so much like my brother!! And actually he favors my dad's youth pictures as well.
Ethan and the kids hit it off . . . they are cousins!! And Ethan was super sweet, still really innocent and had such a sweet spirit. I'm so glad we went over there and visited with him, it was really a blessing.
As we drove off, I became super emotional. I mean I had just met my nephew. Even though we are moving to Africa, I am determined to stay in contact with him and do things together before we leave.
Brett and I have not stayed in great contact throughout our adult years and I honestly did not know of his son, Ethan until not that long ago. To make a long story short, I reached out to Brett's mom and set up a time for us to go over and visit Ethan.
On December 23rd, Shawn and I took the kids over to see him. He is 10 years old and in the 5th grade and looks so much like my brother!! And actually he favors my dad's youth pictures as well.
Ethan and the kids hit it off . . . they are cousins!! And Ethan was super sweet, still really innocent and had such a sweet spirit. I'm so glad we went over there and visited with him, it was really a blessing.
As we drove off, I became super emotional. I mean I had just met my nephew. Even though we are moving to Africa, I am determined to stay in contact with him and do things together before we leave.
Saturday, November 24, 2012
I'm Thankful
For as long as I can remember we have been going to Livingston for family gatherings. My mom has 2 brothers and 2 sisters, so when our family gets together there is quite a crowd, especially since all the kids my age have kids! We were missing quite a few people this year, but it was still nice to get up there and see everyone else.
My Aunt Kathleen and Uncle Jim have a great piece of property with a pond on it. Shawn LOVES fishing up there every time we go and says it is the best! I think my younger cousin, Travis, caught 21 fish on Thanksgiving!
The food was delicious, as usual!! All 5 of the brothers and sisters can hold their own in the kitchen! You can always bet on the food and fellowship being first class whenever we get together!
While all of this was going on, I couldn't help but think of Nana. This was our 2nd thanksgiving without her. She loved to cook and gather together with family. Several reminded me of her: chocolate pie, watching football, sweet potato casserole, sitting outside, and day old bread. She was definitely the hub of the family and we all sure do miss her.
Another reason we decided to get together as a family this year is that my Uncle Billy (2nd oldest sibling) is not doing so well. He was diagnosed with a form of cancer in his face last year when my Nana was ill and he has lost a ton of weight, like probably over 100 lbs. It is hard for him to eat in his current condition and he has been drinking liquids/purees to make sure he keeps his nutrition up. Before I left I gave him a hug and told him that we have been praying for him. I'm not always sure what to say to someone in his condition, but I want him to know that we care about him and love him. He thanked me and told me that my mom told him that Jase has been praying for him, which he has been.
At the end of the day, all of the material items do not matter. It is our faith in Jesus that determines our destiny and until our destiny is fulfilled, our days are filled with memories. I am thankful to have wonderful family and friends in my life to help make sweet memories with.
My Aunt Kathleen and Uncle Jim have a great piece of property with a pond on it. Shawn LOVES fishing up there every time we go and says it is the best! I think my younger cousin, Travis, caught 21 fish on Thanksgiving!
The food was delicious, as usual!! All 5 of the brothers and sisters can hold their own in the kitchen! You can always bet on the food and fellowship being first class whenever we get together!
While all of this was going on, I couldn't help but think of Nana. This was our 2nd thanksgiving without her. She loved to cook and gather together with family. Several reminded me of her: chocolate pie, watching football, sweet potato casserole, sitting outside, and day old bread. She was definitely the hub of the family and we all sure do miss her.
Another reason we decided to get together as a family this year is that my Uncle Billy (2nd oldest sibling) is not doing so well. He was diagnosed with a form of cancer in his face last year when my Nana was ill and he has lost a ton of weight, like probably over 100 lbs. It is hard for him to eat in his current condition and he has been drinking liquids/purees to make sure he keeps his nutrition up. Before I left I gave him a hug and told him that we have been praying for him. I'm not always sure what to say to someone in his condition, but I want him to know that we care about him and love him. He thanked me and told me that my mom told him that Jase has been praying for him, which he has been.
At the end of the day, all of the material items do not matter. It is our faith in Jesus that determines our destiny and until our destiny is fulfilled, our days are filled with memories. I am thankful to have wonderful family and friends in my life to help make sweet memories with.
Thanksgiving Eve Celebration
On Wednesday we went over to Shawn's parents' home to visit with his family for Thanksgiving. It was nice, there were 4 out of 5 of the siblings there, which doesn't happen often. Including Amanda with her new baby, Tessa, who was born on October 11th. Can I just say so tiny and cute?!? Even though Finn is only a little over 2 months older than Tessa, they are definitely at different stages. Finn has lost his newborn look and when I saw her, I was reminded again just how fast they grow up!
The weather was perfect on Wednesday so we spent most of the day outside with the kiddos. And we spend a lot of time indoors, so I wanted the kids to soak up the nice day and "unplug" from all the technology!
The weather was perfect on Wednesday so we spent most of the day outside with the kiddos. And we spend a lot of time indoors, so I wanted the kids to soak up the nice day and "unplug" from all the technology!
Wednesday, November 7, 2012
Family Night
On Monday evening me and the kids went over to my mom's house to visit for a bit. My MawMaw, Pappy and Aunt Carole Ann were in town from Louisiana and were leaving the next morning. The kids love to play at Nanny and PawPaw's house and enjoy being the center of attention . . . imagine that!!
My Pappy just loves the little ones. You should see his face light up when he sees them, there is not much like it. He has Alzheimer's and is at a stage where he doesn't really know who you are and most of the time he doesn't know where he is at, but when he sees Finn he just smiles ear to ear and begins to talk to him . . . melts your heart to watch. Very thankful that my children can brighten his day from time to time. Cherish every moment.
My Pappy just loves the little ones. You should see his face light up when he sees them, there is not much like it. He has Alzheimer's and is at a stage where he doesn't really know who you are and most of the time he doesn't know where he is at, but when he sees Finn he just smiles ear to ear and begins to talk to him . . . melts your heart to watch. Very thankful that my children can brighten his day from time to time. Cherish every moment.
Monday, July 2, 2012
First Day: Homeschool & Meal Planner
I can honestly say that today was a great day. I actually got out of bed when my alarm went off and did not snooze it 5 times. I took a bath and got ready for the day before the kids were even awake. Sad to say, that doesn't not happen very often. I set Jase's alarm for 8:30 since today we had our first day of kindergarten homeschool!! :) (Jase was SUPER excited last night when we were tucking him in bed and I told him that tomorrow was his first day of school!) Jase ended up waking up on his own at 8:00; he got dressed and made his bed before coming downstairs. Then Ally woke up, even though she could have easily slept for another hour . . . she is my sleeper, takes after her Daddy! ;-)
We were all dressed by 8:30 and ahead of schedule in my book. We sat at the kitchen table and had breakfast together (according to the meal plan), then headed upstairs for school. We began right at 9:00, which is what I had envisioned, so it was nice to see your plans on paper actually work out. We started our school day with prayer, asking God to bless our homeschool time together. While I still have a lot of work to do with prepping and setting things up, we got through everything that I wanted to. And little sister was right beside us the whole time, coloring away. ;-) Of course not everything went perfect and Jase did ask if we were finished yet and how much longer a few times, but we finished. I've been reading on some organizational methods to help with this, that way he knows exactly what is expected of him and how much work he has to finish each day, but it will just take time to implement. For tomorrow I did put green sticky notes (I have a few of them!) on all the pages/activities I have planned and he can remove them once finished. This should be a good visual for him on what he has left to do. And we will get there, but baby steps for now.
We ended up sticking to the meal plan all day long, which was great. And Jase even asked about our afternoon snack (grapes, cheese cubes and wheat ritz crackers) and was excited about it. I know that today was only Day 1 and there will be days when plans change, but it was nice to have a plan and stick to it.
This afternoon I took the kids over to Shawn's parent's house to visit. Shawn's older brother is in town with his three boys and his sister was also over with her three boys and Shawn's little brother's son was there as well. With our two, there were nine grandchildren at the house; all boys except Miss Allyson. Jase had a great time playing with his cousins and really enjoyed playing with the older boys too; I loved seeing them show him attention and taking the time to play with him. Makes me think what it would be like if Jase had an older brother or how he is going to be as an older brother! And yes, if you didn't know Shawn is the middle child of 5 children, so he has a big family. :-)
We were all dressed by 8:30 and ahead of schedule in my book. We sat at the kitchen table and had breakfast together (according to the meal plan), then headed upstairs for school. We began right at 9:00, which is what I had envisioned, so it was nice to see your plans on paper actually work out. We started our school day with prayer, asking God to bless our homeschool time together. While I still have a lot of work to do with prepping and setting things up, we got through everything that I wanted to. And little sister was right beside us the whole time, coloring away. ;-) Of course not everything went perfect and Jase did ask if we were finished yet and how much longer a few times, but we finished. I've been reading on some organizational methods to help with this, that way he knows exactly what is expected of him and how much work he has to finish each day, but it will just take time to implement. For tomorrow I did put green sticky notes (I have a few of them!) on all the pages/activities I have planned and he can remove them once finished. This should be a good visual for him on what he has left to do. And we will get there, but baby steps for now.
We ended up sticking to the meal plan all day long, which was great. And Jase even asked about our afternoon snack (grapes, cheese cubes and wheat ritz crackers) and was excited about it. I know that today was only Day 1 and there will be days when plans change, but it was nice to have a plan and stick to it.
This afternoon I took the kids over to Shawn's parent's house to visit. Shawn's older brother is in town with his three boys and his sister was also over with her three boys and Shawn's little brother's son was there as well. With our two, there were nine grandchildren at the house; all boys except Miss Allyson. Jase had a great time playing with his cousins and really enjoyed playing with the older boys too; I loved seeing them show him attention and taking the time to play with him. Makes me think what it would be like if Jase had an older brother or how he is going to be as an older brother! And yes, if you didn't know Shawn is the middle child of 5 children, so he has a big family. :-)
Tuesday, February 7, 2012
My Life
I am so guilty of not taking more pictures with my camera since I have an iPhone. If you're outside and in daylight, then my phone takes great pics, but otherwise they are fuzzy.
I came across the below pictures as I downloaded pics from my camera today. These were taken a couple of weeks ago before bedtime.
These three are my life!! I'm so thankful for them and love them to bits!!
I came across the below pictures as I downloaded pics from my camera today. These were taken a couple of weeks ago before bedtime.
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| These are new Princess slippers and PJs Allyson got for Christmas! |
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| Daddy and Jase reading a book before bedtime |
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