Biddy Ball

Gabe is on his first biddy ball (basketball) team and Aaron gets to
coach them! The kids are ages 5-6 and none of them have ever played
before. Their first game wasn't so good. I think they were shell
shocked. They just stared at everything going on around them. I was
lost too. I don't know the first thing about basketball. I realized
halfway through the game that I was sitting on the other team's side!
This picture is from their second game and they played completely
different. They hustled, they ran, they threw as hard as they could,
and they won!! It was a fun game to watch and I learned something new
again! When the ball goes in the basket you get not one but two points!!

Its's hard to tell, but here is Gabe throwing a free throw.

Here they are having their after the game pow-wow! They won 8-2!!

Thirty One!!!!!

On December 7th, I turned 31. It's not a huge shocker since I've technically been in my "30's" for a year now, but it still sounds a little weird. I don't know why aging comes as a shocker every year. I mean we have a whole year to get used to the next number. If you think about it, we have a whole ten years to get used to the next decade! It's not like we don't know it's coming, yet when it does come, it feels like we've been taking by surprise. It almost seems "crazy" that we're this age. I've heard it said that it's because we were created with eternity in our hearts so aging goes against what should be natural.

Personally, I would rather age than die, so I decided a few years ago that I will not fight it. I will try my best to embrace it and see the positive side, which for me is the transition from "the younger woman" to "the older woman" from Titus 2. I've benefited so much from the "older women" in my life and I can't wait to be in that place of looking a helpless young mother in the eyes and assuring her that she's gonna be ok, that she CAN do it, and that one day it's all gonna be worth it.

So this year for my birthday I really enjoyed myself. Instead of thinking about how much older I'm getting and how permanently gone my younger years are, I felt so loved by all of the people around me. The night of my birthday, Aaron and I stayed at a hotel in New Orleans and had dinner at a fabulous restaurant called Irene's in the French Quarter. A friend of ours was our server and put us at a special "friends and family only" table with a red ribbon and a huge candle on it where famous people and the regulars sit. I received many birthday wishes, a new jacket that I wear everyday now, a vacuum cleaner that I wanted really bad, a full spa day which includes a mother-to-be massage, a facial, a pedicure, and a special spa lunch! I've been wanting to do that for years and our wonderful youth group got their money together just for me to pamper myself all day. I can't wait! I also got a whole luggage set that I've been wanting since last year, a few accessories, and some money. Getting new accessories and money never gets old! Then we had a sitter for the entire next day so Aaron and I could spend all day together doing all of our Christmas shopping. It was a great couple of days and a great birthday. I felt so loved by all of the people that wanted to bless me. That is worth more than all the money and gifts in the world!

Sisterhood Saturday

This past Saturday was our first ever Sisterhood Saturday. Our pastor's wife has decided to give her team of twelve women an opportunity to plan and run a ministry for one day. She is calling it Sisterhood Saturdays. We will be broken up into teams of three and there will be one every three months or so. I was privileged to be on the first team and I must say it was fabulous!

We had early morning fellowship over coffee and donuts and four sessions throughout the day on topics concerning marriage, motherhood, and leaving a family legacy. The decorations were amazing and each woman got a gift bag with things in it that had special meanings according to our topics.

Our team worked very well together which is a huge plus because you know when three women get together to make decisions there is bound to be disagreements, but we didn't disagree once! The entire day went very smooth and I realized how much I love being in ministry and having the opportunity to share with women my own struggles and victories in hopes of helping them overcome their own. (Maybe I just like talking about myself :-)

The day ended earlier than expected, so I was able to meet Aaron at Starbucks for an hour before we had to head home to put the boys in bed. It was a great day and I can't wait to see what the next team comes up with!

Joy

It's been hard to write lately because Aaron was working like a mad man. So I had 1. Not much time alone without the boys, and 2. No computer to write on. He was helping to open a new New Orleans Hamburger restaurant on St. Charles in New Orleans and that meant he worked 12-16 hours for about a month straight! But thank God he has a little break before he has to do it again in January in a different location.

Aaron has been with NOHAM for about a year now as the General Manager in LaPlace, but recently he's had a promotion where he'll be traveling to all of the stores working with the General Managers. This has put both of us at an entirely new place in life. Our family is bigger than ever and Aaron is working more than ever before.

In the midst of this stretching time for our family, there have been stressful times and there have been good times. Many people have helped and God has taught me how to find joy no matter what the circumstance! He is the source of my joy. It's not in things going my way. It's not in my boys behaving. It's not even in Aaron working less. I've had to carry more as a mom than ever before and I'm learning to suck it up and do it right regardless of how I "feel."

I am accountable to God in all I do and He is the source of my help in everything I need to do in a way that pleases Him.

Best Friends

This is Gabe's first ever best friend, Nathan. They are in the same
class and are inseparable.

Tonight Gabe is sleeping over at Nathan's house for his birthday. Gabe
is Iron Man. They both think they are soooo cool!!