New Sea Doo!

We were having so much fun with our Sea Doo that we bought last year we decided to get another one! We picked it up yesterday! It is a 2007 GTX...more of a cruisin' ski but with a lot of power. So, we now both get to drive!! Come take a ride with us sometime!

Grandma's Quilt

I am so glad to have a quilt that was from my Grandma Rothell. It goes perfect in the guest bedroom! Let me know Mom what you think!

Family Trip to Galveston, TX

We just returned back from Texas on Friday, 6/20. We had a great time traveling to Galveston Island (located in the Gulf of Mexico outside Houston) with our nephews, niece and sister in law. My parents met us there too. We spent 5 days at the beach, pool and site seeing together. I think we have decided to make this an annual family event! We are not sure yet where we will be heading to in 2009. I hope you enjoy the pictures!

Moody Park- Went to the Rainforest and saw IMAX 3-D Movie titled "Wild Ocean"

Sea Wolf Park- Went through a submarine and battleship from World War II
Back home in Stephenville, TX~

New Camera- Bird Pics!

I got a new digital SLR camera on Friday...i have enjoyed trying it out this weekend. Check out a few bird pics that i took from our backyard. :)

Mother's Day Hail Storm

We had quite the hail storm in Concord on Sunday afternoon. The hail got to be size of a quarter and larger. We were fortunate not to get the tornado and high winds that folks to our south did.

April Showers Bring May Flowers!

I love spring and all that it means! I love the green grass, blooming flowers and the sunshine! Here are a few pics of the flowers so far in early May.

Mr. Blackbelt!

I am so proud to say that Shane got his blackbelt on Saturday, 4/19. I am so proud of him!! The belt did not come without a couple of blackeyes. :) Also, it was so great to have Tom, Sophia and Zachary be a part of this special event!!

Mucho Gusto Mexico!

We returned this week from a fantastic week long trip to the Riviera Maya in Mexico. It is about 1 hour south of Cancun. I have to say the weather was perfecto and we had a wonderful time. A few highlights for me was the amazing resort we stayed at, traveling to the Mayan ruins and snorkeling in the river through underground caverns at X-Caret.
Tulum- Mayan Ruins

X-Caret- Ecological Park and la Playa

Whew, It is over!

Hi All,
I hope your week has been good and you have felt God's hand helping you through. I sure know that we have. I am so thankful to have the ultimate Comfortor and Friend in my life.

Shane's Crohns disease has been in remission now since July 2007. It is so wonderful to see him feeling so much better. I can tell you that my life perspective has changed on what it means to be healthy. I am now thankful everyday for my health and the healing God has given Shane through his new medicine. Shane's mom reminded me of a verse yesterday as I watched Shane be wheeled off for some minor surgery (Crohns related)...Isaiah 53:4 'Yet is was our sicknesses he carried; it was our diseases that weighed him down....." He does carry all of our burdens even our sickness and diseases. Man am i glad about that! We are thankful to have this behind us and yet another testament to God's faithfulness in our lives.

I Choose Resolution!

Shane and I went to the Song of Solomon Bible Conference today. It was held at our church. I have to admit when the morning time came I was not really "feeling" like going and wishing I could sleep just another hour but thankfully we both got up and got there on time. It was great to see so many of our singles from Sunday School there. It was also great to see so many friends from North Campus that we had not seen in a while.

The conference was amazing and Voddie Baucham was one of the best speakers i have heard in a long time. If you are interested in learning more about him you can check out his website at http://www.voddiebaucham.org/vbm/home.html.

I wanted to share just a few key points that he made today that had an impact on me. We talked about 'The Art of Conflict'. The key passages were Song of Solomon 5:2-6:13. The passage is about when Solomon comes to his Shulimite's chamber and knocks on the door late at night after he has just returned home from working. She does not answer when he knocks although he is speaking very kind words to her. By the time she decides to go ahead and answer the door he is gone. So, we see here a conflict and that Solomon has chosen to leave before the conflict is resolved. Conflict ultimately begins with an event. As a married couple we can either choose to escalate that event or resolve it. In the heated moment of a conflict do you usually choose to escalate or do you choose to resolve? It is easy to escalate and become very angry with our spouse. In Song of Solomon 5: 15-6:5 we see that even though there is conflict between Solomon and the Shulimite and she is talking with her friends she does not talk badly about him. How do you talk to others about your spouse when there is a conflict? Do you build them up or do you tear them down? The world does enough tearing down for us, we don't need to add to it. In the end we see an amazing picture of conflict resolution between Solomon and his bride. I thought this was such a powerful example for us to follow. I choose resolution! :)

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

We made it back from Texas on Thursday after a 4 hour delay at DFW! UGH! Our plane was coming in from Denver, CO. Evidentally that part of the country was experiencing bad weather and therefore the plane was grounded for several hours. We ended up not getting home until 10PM Thursday evening. We were thankful for a safe flight despite all the delays. This Christmas was full of events both good and bad. As i think back on what all was going on at my house and at Shane's home I see the Lord's hand guiding us through. It is remarkable still to me after all these years as a Christian to think that Christ wants to be inovolved in every detail of our lives. I pray this new year brings everyone a year of peace, joy, hope and much love. I pray that God will stretch you and grow you in ways you never expected Him too. I am attatching a few pictures from our family Christmas. I hope you enjoy! Happy New Year!

Christmas Eve & the Gangs all Here

We have been in Texas now since 12/20 and today is Christmas eve. The house has gradually filled up as family members have made it home traveling in from all over. Shane and i decided to fly to Texas early this year so that we could have some down time before everyone arrived home. We are glad we were able to to that.

We had Christmas with my 90 year old Grandpa last night at the nursing home. All 12 of us gathered in his tiny room and sang Christmas carols. The great grandkids gave him a present and then one by one each of us were given a sweet card and gift from him (thanks to my parents help). My Mom helped speak for him (he had a mini stroke earlier in the fall) and talked about what my Grandpa had told her were his 3 biggest life regrets . I want to share them with you all and i hope they stir your heart and help you put life's priorities better in order. His first regret was my Dad's polio. The second regret was the death of he and my Grandma's baby when he was just week's old. His final regret was that he did not come to know Jesus until later and life and wishes he could have served Him earlier. As I think on this Christmas eve, what are we doing to serve Jesus? What can we say our biggest regret is? What are we putting our most time into thinking about? Merry Christmas!

Where Art Thou Privies?

We had a nice weekend and it was much needed after the past couple of weeks of family hardship. Karen had free tickets to the Renaissance Festival and we went on Saturday. It was the last weekend it was open. Shane and I had been wanting to go for many years now, but had not made the time. We had a great day walking around people watching, going to the shows and looking through the stores. It was not too cold when we got there around lunch time but it sure turned cold as the day went on. I am not one to use porta jons (privies) but i had to finally give in and 'go'. Let's just say it was not something i really want to do again. :)