Happy New Year!

Things have been a little hectic this holiday season.  I had good intentions to get our Christmas cards out right after Thanksgiving, but that didn't happen.  But, I still didn't want to miss the opportunity to wish everyone a Happy New Year 2008!

More Progress!

I'm so excited!  Thanks to my brother in law, Alan and my father in law, Hugh, the living room, dining room and kitchen are finally painted.  We chose bungalow gold for the walls and amber yellow for the ceiling. Thanks to Mr. Ivey, most of the cabinets are now installed.  God is so awesome!  I'm just in awe to see how God provides help as it is needed.  I'm very thankful for friends and family who have been willing and able to help throughout this project.

Shamu! Shamu!

Papi, Mami, Natalia, Carson and Luke watching the dolphins.
Playing in the sand.
Natalia making friends.
Shamu, Shamu!We decided to take advantage of our season passes that my parents gave us and went to Sea World for the last time in 2007!  Natalia, Carson and Luke always have a great time.  This time, we were able to see the dolphins up close and personal.  So close that we were almost able to touch them.  We also had the opportunity to see a scuba diver feeding and touching the fish in a big tank.  The kids were able to have more time to do some free play and ride some rides.  Our visit to Sea World was not complete until we saw Shamu.  It's so much fun to see Natalia's, Carson's and Luke's expressions.  They love Shamu!

Santa was here!

Santa is so good!  He brought Natalia her own alarm clock.  She has been wanting one since she started kindergarten so that she won't be late to school.  I really hope having her own alarm clock works.  Carson got his drum.  Every time we would go to the store he would ask me to buy it for him.  And Luke, well he got what Mama asked Santa to bring him, a pirate ship.  He loved it!  The best thing about it is that his siblings love it too.  Wow, Santa is good.

The Night Before Christmas

What a busy day! We started off with Christmas movies. Later in the evening, we began tracking Santa on the internet.  After dinner, we read "The Night Before Christmas", got Santa's cookies and Dr. Pepper ready, and we also put out some food for the reindeer.  Memaw, David and the kids went driving around looking for Christmas lights and, of course, for Santa. The kids were anxious and wanted to come home so they could go to bed before Santa got here. Natalia even felt sick to her stomach, just to think that Santa was going to be at her house. Carson, while in bed, was complaining of being cold, which by the way he has never complained about that before. Anyway, they were a little stressed out about the whole idea of having a stranger in our house. We are all excited to see what Santa Claus is bringing us for Christmas!

Our Christmas tree is finally complete!

Due to how busy Dave has been with remodeling our house and making my Christmas gifts, our Christmas tree has been without a star. Each year, the kids take turn on who gets the opportunity to put the star on the tree. This year was Luke's turn so, today Luke had the honor of placing the star on our tree. Now our tree is 100% done! --It's starting to look a lot like Christmas around here.

Our 2007 Gingerbread House

We finally got a chance to decorate our Gingerbread house! Normally, we decorate it with the Ivey's, but this year it was not possible. That's okay though, because it gave Ms. Elizabeth the experience of decorating a gingerbread house for the very first time. What a help she was! Luke, well, I think he ate more candy than what he put on the house, but I guess that's okay. Carson did very well. He followed instructions to the dot. He only placed M&M's on the dots, just as instructed. Natalia definitely has a mind of her own and nobody, I mean nobody, is going to tell her what to do. I think her side of the house caved in because of the weight from all the candy she put on her side of the roof. Who would've ever thought that a little gingerbread house would keep their attention for approximately one hour. That goes to show you how much fun we all had. ~Merry Christmas!

Praise the Lord!

As previously mentioned, aunt Viki had surgery today at 6:00 a.m. The doctor said everything is looking good and she might not even need chemotherapy. It will all depend on the lab results.

Got some bad news today...

So I got a called from my mom to let me know that my aunt Viki, who lives in Guatemala, has cancer. I think I'm still in shock. I almost cannot believe it. She will have surgery tomorrow at 6:00 am. Wow, I don't even know what to think. I pray for God's will and for God to show Himself to everyone who is being affected by this. My prayer is that we will recognize His mighty hand. May the glory and honor be given to Him who deserves it all!

Matthew 11:28-30
Come to Me, all who are wary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and YOU WILL FIND REST FOR YOUR SOULS. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light."

Update on our kitchen remodeling project...

Here is a short update regarding our kitchen remodeling project. We are now ready to texture the walls. Then we will be painting, installing the cabinets, installing, sanding and staining the wood floors and we will be ready to move back in. We are expecting to be moving back into our house sometime after Christmas!

Carson's 4th Birthday Party

Carson turned 4! He asked for a bowling party, so that's what he got. I wanted to make it extra special so we made personalized bowling t-shrits for all our guests. I also made his cake, which took 4 of us to decorate. Carson had a great time along with all his friends!