Ryan's big boy Bed

We moved Ryan from his crib to Cheyenne's toddler bed which she has outgrown.

He wasn't overly thrilled at first. He kept saying "no mama, no." We also moved him in his own room, and moved Courtney and Cheyenne in together. With Courtney so much better now, we can do that, before it just wasn't possible. Now he can actually have a boys room, not that he cares though. He has slept in his new room and new bed for two nights now and is doing fine. He did fall out last night, I heard BAM,  and then OUCH! Ha! He lived though. He's waking up to go potty at night now, two nights in a row dry, so I think it's definately a good change. He's a big boy now.

Hopefully we can get a full size bed for Brittany soon and give her bed with trundle bed to Court and Chey and everyone will then have a bed. Till then Courtney and Chey are on mattress's on the floor.

AWANA awards

We had our awana awards ceremony tonight! Cheyenne was very excited, I think she just likes anything where she's in the spotlight.

I forgot my camera for the actual ceremony but Chey was more than willing to pose once we got home.... actually she insisted! Ha!

She got awards for perfect attendance, book award, and Bible scholar.

AND.....

Cheyenne got a special award. She was Cubbie of the year!!!

Her cubbie teacher said she always knew her verses, and was a great listener and helper.

We are So PROUD of you Cheyenne!!

You've worked very hard hiding God's word in your heart.

My prayer for you is, "that you you continue to grow and become strong, increasing in wisdom, and that the grace of God will always be upon you." Luke 2:40

We Love You!!!

Tooth Tales

Cheyenne lost her 1st tooth!

She's now sleeping soundly with her treasure tucked securely under her pillow.

She is a little worried though after trying to trick the toothfairy a couple of times, that the toothfairy might not think this is the real thing this time!

Congrat's Senior '10

Enjoy them they grow up fast! Those are the words we hear from wise parents/grandparents who know only too well how fast those years go by. It's hard to believe that, in the middle of 2am feedings, explosive diaper changes, teething, potty training, sibling wars, preteen hormones, and the myriad of other day to day things we deal with while thinking, will this day ever end. But then you wake up one day and your 6 lb baby boy is 6 ft tall and ready to conquer the world on his own....He grew up fast...too fast...but I did enjoy it!

One reason we were able to enjoy these years was because 10 yrs ago we embarked on the journey of homeschooling. 10 yrs ago I had no idea what I was doing or how to do it. So.....I opened up the "ultimate guide to homeschooling", and found THE best advice. These commandments that I give you today are to be upon your hearts. Impress them upon your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you lie down and when you get up. Deut. 6:6-7, So that's what we've tried to do. Some days have gone great, others not so great.

Homeschooling isn't for everyone, but we do feel it is what the Lord called us to do at this time, with this child. It hasn't been easy, but it was worth it. We want Chase to be academically competent, and be prepared for college, career, or whatever the next step is, but our ultimate goal has been to keep the "end" in mind and prepare him for that. I read a quote from a pastor/homeschool father that said something to the effect that if your child knows more about algebraic equations than about God then something is wrong. My thoughts exactly. 

I know I've failed miserably with teaching him 'these commandments' but I just pray the Lord takes my pitiful offering and multiplies it in Chase's life. I know God has a plan and a purpose for Him and he will give him what he needs to fulfill that plan despite what I did or didn't teach him academically.

So....one journey ends...and another begins. And we've enjoyed it together.

Chase,

It's only for a moment you are mine to hold

the plans that heaven has for you

will all to soon unfold

so many different prayers I'll pray

for all that you might You do

But most of all I'll want to know

you're walking in the truth

May passion be the wind

that leads you through your days

and may conviction keep you strong

guide you on your way

may there be many moments

that make your life so sweet

but more than memories...

I pray that God will fill your heart with dreams

And that faith gives you the courage

to dare to do great things

I'm here for you whatever this life brings

so let my love give you roots

and help you find your wings

Its not living if you don't reach for the sky

I'll have tears as you take off

but I'll cheer as you fly.

-Mark Harris-Find your wings

Pretty Britty

Brittany and her friend Hillary

on their way to

the Homeschool Dance

Happy Birthday!!!

I can't believe my baby is now 2 years old!

He's growing up too fast. This past year he started talking, he's potty trained, and  has become quite assertive (must be a Heuermann trait).

We celebrated his big day at Chuck E Cheese and he had a blast. He was scared of Chuck E though.

Then he went home and had a big chocolate sundae and made a huge mess right before bed.

Happy

2nd

Birthday

Ryan

We Love You!!!! 

Cheyenne's New Do!

Cheyenne got a haircut yesterday and she is very proud of it.

She walked around all day telling EVERYONE look at my hair its so cute short.

So how does she look?

God's "Grace"

      This is my picture of Grace!

Courtney Grace

Courtney sang today (at Grace Baptist, I see a theme here). She sang "I need a Savior", it was beautiful, not the song or the singing but the 'singer'.

For years we've prayed for healing for Courtney. He hasn't healed her YET (one day He will, perfectly). We've tried to help him along in the healing process, diets, vitamins, herbs, not much success. We've gone to dr's to see if they can help in in the process, drugs have helped some but they don't heal, and as we were told last week by the dr, they really don't know what to do to help her. So....what now?

But as Courtney sang I realized He was healing....ME!

If God had magically healed Courtney, I wouldn't see my all own failings, He uses Courtney to expose all my character flaws, that need ALOT of work. I've been reading "A Praying Life" by Paul E Miller (great book by the way) and in it he says, "If Satan's basic game plan is pride, seeking to draw us into a life of arrogance, then God's basic game plan is humility, drawing us into the life of his Son." Well Court certainly keeps me humble. Courtney is my living picture of God's grace to me. I won't lie life with Court is HARD, she's mean, disrespectful, messy and does just the opposite of whatever we want her to do. But I love her fiercely, I'd give my life for her, when she hurts, I hurt more. And that's exactly how God feels for me, even though spiritually I'm mean, disrespectful, messy, and do just the opposite of what he wants. But He loves me, so much He did give his life for me. Courtney has the biggest heart, she's the most loving person unfortunately her head and her heart don't always connect and I'm the same way with God.

When she sings I see God at work. Courtney can't get up there on her own, He's using her for a purpose. Today I saw people crying, hands raised, worshiping God, not because of her but because of Him. I realize if God can use Courtney with all her problems, he can use me too, a broken vessel, with all my problems.

 She reminds me daily that God doesn't promise us an easy life, if life was always easy we wouldn't realize our need for a Savior. I'll never stop praying for healing for her, because as a mom I want better for her and an easier life for her (and for us), but until then I'll try to keep looking for the lessons he's teaching ME thru her.

Easter

Well the Easter Bunny came to town! Just ask Chey she saw the proof on the lid of her sand box! Yuck!

How ya like John's new easter dress?

He spent his Easter morning crucifying Jesus. And no, hollywood is not knocking down our door yet.

We colored lots of eggs!

We hunted lots of eggs!

And we had lots of fun!

But Chey's still trying to figure out why the Easter Bunny did that on her sandbox!

I Finished!!!!

Today I finished the Bible in 90 Days Challenge. WooHoo!!  It was definately a challenge but one that was well worth the effort. Reading it at this pace and straight thru gave me so much more of an overview of the whole big picture of the bible. Going at this pace there is not time for indepth study but I marked tons of passages that I plan to go back and study more indepth now that I'm thru.

I learned so much from this challenge. It showed me how much time I waste everyday that could be better spent reading the Word. I learned if I didn't get up early and get atleast part of it read, then I usually wouldn't finish that days reading and would have to play catch up later. I also learned to grab my bible and take it with me everytime I left the house and read a page or two here and there while waiting for dr appt. or kids activities. It has also given me so much more of a love and hunger for His Word, I can't wait to go thru it again.

It's sad though how many people own bibles but have never read it in its entirety. Horace Greeley stated "It is impossible to mentally or socially enslave a Bible-reading people." Think of how different this country would be if Christians read from it daily. Think of how different our Church's would be. I read some testimonials of whole Church's that had done this Challenge together and they all said attendance increased and tithing increased and missions giving increased. Church's today spend so much money on entertainment to keep people coming or bring new people in. Maybe all we really need to do is to teach them to read.

So...go read, 90 days, 6 months, a year, just go read. You won't regret it!

Oh and as we prepare to celebrate Easter I'm oh so thankful for Christ's sacrifice for us. Can you imagine having to keep up with all the different sacrifices and offerings and rituals like the old testament people. Some of us would have to have some bigger goat and sheep herds than others. Ha!

OK now you can go read!!

***WARNING***

If you see this person:

STAY OFF THE SIDEWALKS.....DANGER, DANGER......

Brittany is driving, got her permit this week! UGH!!

Don't say I didn't warn you!

Team Impact

Tonight was the first night of Team Impact at our Church and it went great, large crowd, big group came forward at the end. Praying for bigger crowds and many more to make decisions this week.

Cheyenne enjoyed having them sign her shirt and get pictures with them!

Courtney got autographs but wouldn't take a picture with them, and Chase and Britt had friends come so they were hanging out talking at the end, and Ryan could care less.

And for a potty update (like you really care): He went all day with only 2 accidents, one was on the way home, he did tell us but we were nowhere near a bathroom and he couldn't hold it, and then right before bed he had another accident. But it was 10pm, so he was WAY past his bedtime so I know he was tired and had had a long day.

I thought that was very good after only 3 days, and we were out most of the day, library storytime in morning, and church that night (and we were at church for almost 4 hours). He also wore undies all day with no problems AND used the 'big potty' while we were out, at home he'd only used his potty chair. We really got to work on that aim though!

Tales from the toliet!

Well we are on day 2 of potty training. Yes there is a whole lot of 'pottyin' going on around here.


And so far he's done better than I expected....sort of! As long as he's...um...'au naturale', or 'commando' as John calls it, he does great, no accidents, goes all by himself, I don't even have to ask or remind him. He goes potty, stands up and applauds himself and then brings the cup thing to me to go flush (potty is in kitchen for now), and he goes back to his playing. He doesn't even care about the m&m rewards, that was Chey's favorite part when potty training, now she eats them for him.

But.....put undies on him......



and he treats it like a diaper. He does come tell me afterwards though. Then take them off, and he does great again. Sigh!!!

I'm sure he'll get it eventually, he does understand the basic concept of when he needs to go so I know he's ready, I guess when he gets tired of feeling the wetness it will click. Obviously the 'gentle breeze' don't bother him.

My little man is becoming a very big boy!

And speaking of my little man, for those of you that don't get to see him often I thought I'd give you some current stats...
*He's 2 months shy of turning 2 years old (or 2 old as Chey said at that age)
*His favorite beverage of choice is sweet tea, thats ALL he wants lately
*All smallish animals are dogs such as cats, chickens, pigs and all large animals are horses, like cows, elephants, giraffes
*He's a camera hog, get out the camera and he comes running, eyes squinting shut, grinning and saying cheeeeeees
*He LOVES to take a bath, HATES to get his hair washed, I'm talking kicking, screaming bloody murder hates to get his hair washed.
*And speaking of hair, he loves it. If he's drinking a cup his other hand is attached to his hair, if he can't reach his, he plays with mine, which is what he did before he grew his own. (I guess his hair is to him like Chey's dog is to her)
*He's a daddy's boy, if John's home, he won't leave his side, if John's gone he gets my phone and somehow manages to call several times a day. (No telling who else he's called)
*And he loves, loves, loves the outdoors...rain, shine, hot or cold he don't care he just wants outside. He puts on whatever shoes he can find, usually Chey's and usually not matching and then begs whoever will listen to go byebye which just means outside.

*And lastly, he's always smiling (unless he's sick)

Willis Got Talent!

Today our church had a fundraiser and talent show for an upcoming mission trip, Casas Por Cristo in Mexico, of which John is planning on going and participating in. The talent show was called Willis Got Talent and Cheyenne and Courtney were part of the talent.

Cheyenne and the Harmony Hoppers were dressed as California Raisins and danced to I Heard it thru the Grapevine.

And Courtney sang Imagine Me Without You. She did great as usual and blew everyone away. She was next to last to sing out of about 16 acts and everyone was starting to clean up and it was a little noisy but I noticed when she started singing it got quiet and people were listening. People were coming up afterward asking is that the shy little girl in class that sits by herself and doesn't talk or participate. Yup! That would be our Court! But she did awesome and we are so proud.

She also sang While I'm Waiting, the song from the Fireproof movie, a couple of weeks ago at Grace Baptist. She picked the song for John because she said it reminded her of his life right now, and we are EXTREMELY proud of him and all the changes he's made in his life and our family.

And  that was our day!

 The rest of the week will be spent in a very exciting manner....Potty Training!!!Whoopie...Pray for us!HA!

Some things we did this past week...

Christmas party at the library and another visit with Santa. Chey got to tell him all the things she forgot the first time.

Before the weather turned nasty and wet again we spent an afternoon raking and playing in the leaves.

Ryan loved throwing the leaves on everyone else (especially Tiny, the dog), but wasn't to thrilled having them thrown on him.

Brittany and Courtney went to a Church youth christmas party with white elephant gifts, Courtney took some big huge clown sunglass and came home with an elf hat and Britt took half a roll of toliet paper and came home with garlic pills.

Saturday we decorated (and ate) cookies.

And Saturday night after we picked Chase up from work we went to Dairy Queen and got Candy Cane Blizzards (YUMMY) and then drove around looking at Christmas lights. Not as many people decorated this year though. And Cheyenne shared a bit of christmas wisdom with us as we drove! She told John," you know who made the whole world and all the animals and cars and trucks and couches? God did! Isn't He amazing! But you know who nobody likes cause he's mean? The devil! I think he just needs some christmas spirit like that green monkey guy, you know the grunch. Cause he was mean and then he got the Christmas spirit and now he's nice, so I think the devil needs some too!"

I couldn't agree more! Obviously someone watched the Grinch this week too!

Then Sunday night we drove thru Bethlehem City put on by West Conroe Baptist! Long wait with little ones, but well worth it. They gave out hot chocolate and candy canes, and the Gideons gave out New Testaments, and there were Choirs singing while we waited. Then we dove thru each important event in the life of Christ from birth to Resurrection. The kids loved all the animals, camels goats chickens, bet you didn't know there was a zebra at the manger, Ha! And the soldiers on horseback. We listened to a narrated story of each event as we drove thru.Very nice and elaborately done.

And today everyone is tired, trying to get school done, (last week before Christmas break YaY), the house is a mess (how does this happen on the weekends) and more rain. Have a great week, I think I'll go find some Christmas Spirit! now or maybe a maid.

Santa and Snow

One of the perks of homeschooling, today we had a "waiting for" Snow Day. And we waited and waited and waited and finally when we squinted and looked really closely, we saw it.

Then we went and saw santa. Cheyenne was so excited because he was the "real" Santa not just one of his helpers, I'm not sure how she determined he was the real one, but she knew. And Ryan sat with him too, I was afraid he might be scared this year but not my big boy. I've been showing him a santa ornament we have and saying, look at santa, he's nice and santa says HOHOHO. So when we got home I said did you like seeing santa, not really thinking he'd actually know what I was talking about, but he said HOHOHO and started looking for the ornament.

And then we topped off the day by decorating a gingerbread house.

And work called and told Chase he didn't need to come in because all the parties had cancelled, so we were very glad about that.