The Olympics

Well, like a lot of the rest of America, we’ve been glued to the Olympics! We’re having lots of late nights and fun. We are very familiar with the “JUMP” feature on our TV remote. When the commercials come on, the kids yell, “JUMP!” We have it programmed to "jump" to PBS when you push the jump button so that we don’t have to watch the commercials (I know, we need a DVR to just record the Olympics so we can fast forward the commercials, but for now, we’re just using the good ol’ JUMP button). Here’s a video of Ally Beth talking about the Olympics:

The kids love to take turns holding Caleb while watching the Olympics. Here they are, being “Phelps Phanatics.”

Caleb Videos

Here are some videos of our little guy. He is growing and learning new things so fast! He is two and a half months old and weighs almost 13 pounds! Caleb just coos all the time, kicking and smiling. Yesterday, he rolled onto his side by himself. One of our favorite things is when his little eyes are trying to focus on something that he can't quite see and he goes cross eyed!

The kids love to read to him. The first video is of Ally Beth reading to Caleb and the second video is Caleb going cross eyed and cooing!

August 4th, A Very Momentous Day

Monday, August 4th, 2008 was/is a momentous day for our family, for several reasons. They are:

1. It is the 11th anniversary of Tony beginning pharmacy school at Texas Tech. Through pharmacy school, we met some of our very nearest and dearest friends. It is through pharmacy school that we met Derek & Melissa Lehew and decided to move to Midlothian, since that's where they were moving and we had to move somewhere in the Dallas area, so we chose to live near friends. Midlothian changed our lives forever! So many friends, so many lessons, so many blessings.

2. August 4th, 2008 is the day that Tony began his journey of medical school at Texas A&M. Who knows what lies ahead? We are at the beginning of a whole new chapter in our lives. It will be interesting to look back on this day years from now and see how it impacted our family.

But, the MOST IMPORTANT reason that August 4th, 2008 will be forever a part of our family is......... Blane accepted Jesus Christ as his Savior on this day!!!

Since before Blane was born, we have been praying for this day. Most recently, I have been praying for discernment to know if that day still needed to come, or had it already come? Blane could tell you the gospel and even said he believed in Jesus. But was that salvation? I prayed for an answer.

Then, as we were doing our bible study over breakfast on the morning of August 4th (we are doing the Clarkson's "Our 24 Family Ways" Bible study), I reminded them that following the 24 Family Ways, which are based on Scripture, does not "earn" them a place in heaven. I asked them how someone could go to heaven. Blane outlined the gospel. I asked him if they had made that decision to follow Christ. Ally Beth said, "Sure, all the time." But, Blane said, "Well, I've thought about it and I'm ready to ask Jesus to come live in my heart." The Holy Spirit gave me the answer I had been praying for!

Thankfully, Tony's classes didn't start until 11am that day, so he was still home. I had Blane go into his office and he said to Tony, "Daddy, I'm ready to ask Jesus to come live in my heart."

Talk about being blown away! Tony was so thankful to be home! We talked with Blane, made sure he understood, then he prayed the sweetest prayer and asked Jesus to come live in his heart.

Then, Ally Beth came in and took a picture of us. We have many pictures of us with our children when they were first born. Here is a picture of our newly born son, brand new to the family of God:

We went to James Avery and let him pick out a cross to wear to remember this special day and also remind him that wherever he goes, he needs to follow Jesus and share Him with others. Then, we had birthday cake and sang "happy birthday" to Blane.

Welcome to the body of Christ, my son, and now my brother!

11 Years of Marriage !!!

Today, August 2nd, Tony and I celebrated 11 years of marriage. We did this in a most unusual way . . . attending Tony's induction to medical school at Texas A&M College of Medicine. He is in the 2012 class. Yes, the kids and I are back to school and so is Tony!
Eleven years ago today, we were married in San Antonio on a Saturday. Then, on Monday (only 48 hours after we said "I Do"), Tony started pharmacy school. So, here we are today, celebrating our marriage and 48 hours later, Tony will begin medical school. Let's hope that we don't do this again in eleven years, although he has always said he would love to go to seminary. I think he'll have to hit his 2nd wife up for that! HA! HA!!!
Please pray for our family as we begin this venture. We will need supernatural strength and help these next few months, as they are the most intense part of medical school. Also, Tony is trying to launch his new business during all of this. Pray for divine wisdom, balance in our family and JOY!!! Most of all, pray that we will be well pleasing to the Lord in this venture and that He will receive much glory through our family's journey through medical school. We can't wait to see what He has in store!

Back to School !!!

We finished our last school year at the end of April. We started our new year just after the 4th of July. We really needed to get back to a routine. Plus, it's over 100 degrees every day, so it's too hot to be outside. I think we are all thankful to be back into a regular routine.

We are LOVING our new school room! It is the breakfast room in the house and has a huge window that lets in tons of sunlight, yet not direct sunlight. It's perfect! I've always wanted lots of bright natural light in our school room. We also have a whole wall of bookshelves, which is also something else I've always wanted. The school room is open to the kitchen, so I can cook and clean without losing sight of the kids. And, it has a door to the covered back porch for easy access to do messy crafts on the picnic table, or for quick access to a little recess in the backyard. It is also not disrupting our school day to let Gracie in and out of the back yard when she needs in and out. In years past, someone used to have to stop school to go let her in and out. Now, Blane simply rotates in his chair and lets her in and out. Perfect! Also, the computer is in the school room, but I can also see it when I'm in the kitchen, so I can monitor computer activity. What a great location for our computer!

Here is my view of the school room from the kitchen.

Here is Blane, doing what the kids call, "Caleb School." They like to read to Caleb right after he wakes up. Caleb loves it!
I also wanted a spot to teach from, a teacher's desk area, but without the desk. I have it! My glider doubles as my "teacher's chair" and the place where I can feed Caleb while teaching. Lying on my glider is one of my great-grandmother's quilts. I love having family history in our classroom. Our school is called, "Heritage Academy," which is taken from Psalm 61:5, "Lord, You have given me the heritage of those who fear your name." I love sitting in my glider, reading the Word with my children first thing in the morning, with my great-grandmother's comfortable, worn quilt as a soft cushion. I often wonder, as I sit there sipping my coffee, if she prayed for the generations to come after her? Wouldn't it bless her to see the quilt she worked so hard on as a decorative part of her great, great grandchildren's classroom?


On the wall beside my glider is the picture given to me by my beloved friends in MHSC (Midlothian Home School Co-Op). Our MHSC friends have a prominent spot in our school room. We sure miss you guys and cherish the picture you gave me! I look at it often throughout my day.


I would venture to say that all home school moms have a vision of "the perfect school room" in their minds. Our new school room has a lot of the features that I desired in a school room. We are so thankful for the Lord's abundant provision!