Funny Sign

Casting Crowns!

I went to see Casting Crowns on Friday. We had front row seats, baby! Of course the view was awesome.... the sound was, well--- loud.

Leeland opened for them. I had not heard of them before. At least I didn't think I had until I heard "Tears of a Saint". It is the song playing on this page. It is such an awesome song.

Leeland is so young-- 19. I was close enough to see that he didn't have chest hair, LOL. He did have a wedding ring though.

Casting Crowns, of course, were awesome.

Mark Nickles painted a great picture during the song "Voice of Truth". It is so awesome how he can literally throw paint on a canvas and create a masterpiece.

And the winner is.......

Joshua!

We went to the Cub Scout's Pinewood Derby last weekend. Paul had put minimal effort into this year's car. He felt that Joshua is at the age that he needs to really help out with it. Joshua did help this year more than any other year.

He did use the wheels from a couple of years ago. He had put a lot of work into them.

They must have been good because the Yellow Diamond won the whole thing.

Joshua was one proud little guy.

Reba and Kelly Clarkson

Well, I went to the concert Friday before last. What can I say? It was awesome.
I have video on my phone from the concert but I don't know how to get them on the computer or if it is even possible.

I am from the old concerts of: no filming or photography where they would actually frisk you when you go in. I guess they don't do that anymore.

My seats were awesome and they sounded just as great in concert as in the studio.

I still really wish my mom would have gone but hey, I have to respect her "no". She has a hard time saying "no" to anyone so when she says it... I need to respect it.

If the duo is coming to your town, I would suggest you go see them. They will not disappoint you.

The Beautiful Zoe

My friend had her baby shower for her beautiful baby girl. She got tons of great gifts. I am so happy for her.

She had discussed naming her daughter another name besides Zoe and so I used the name for my dog because I loved it. Well, she changed her mind and now the baby's name is Zoe as well. I hate now that my dog has the same name. I hope she doesn't really mind.

Here is a picture of the sweet girl.

I have also included a picture of Delaney with the Hostess' dtr. She was adopted from Vietnam.

Family

Paul's sister was in town so we went out to eat with her and his other sister that lives in town. It was great seeing them again. Paul actually saw his sister in St. Louis last week when he was there for a seminar.

Zoe Girl

Zoe is such a great little dog. She is so loving and loves to cuddle. Her little bark is so cute although she is starting to get demanding when she doesn't get her way.

She has an awesome personality. The whole family has fallen in love with her.

Tying Knots

The Cub Scouts learned to tie some knots. I think they learned a couple but they enjoyed just being together. Joshua was our photographer that night as well.

Bowling Pros!

The kids have been playing a lot with the Wii that they received for Christmas. What a great concept for a video game. It is different in that you have to be standing and moving to play the games. We have all worked up a sweat playing some of the games.

We love to play the Sports as a family. Joshua thinks he is a bowling pro since he can get a Turkey (3 strikes in a row). He decided that he wanted to go do some real bowling since he was so good. He learned that doing the real sport is not quite as easy. We had a blast. Paul was out of town so he missed out.

I have also included a typical Delaney video. She is such a camera hog-- NOT!

Party Fun!

The kids went back to school on Jan. 3rd. They weren't quite ready but what are you going to do??

Joshua had a party to go to on the 5th. His friend is now 9 and Joshua will be soon following him. It is so hard to believe that he is almost 9. Next year and he is in the double digits. Where did the time go?

Zoe Gottes

I know one shouldn't teach their children that the best way to deal with the death of a pet is to just go out and get another one, but that is what I did.

I remember as a child that if a pet died then you just got another one.

I told the kids that I am still missing Abby and they definitely saw and heard me grieving last night.

I started looking at puppies last Friday when I had given up hope on finding Abby. My plan was to wait at least a month to make sure that she was indeed lost and never coming home.

After last nights tragedy, I decided to go ahead and pursue one of the puppies that I had looked at on Friday.

We went to look at the puppies today and found our darling Zoe (I am sorry about the name Rhonda-- I really like it though).

She was born on October 12th so she is only 10 weeks old. She is so sweet. She has been laying on my chest all night long. She is really helping to soothe my hurting heart.

Christmas Pictures

We did have a great Christmas. The kids got everything that they wanted. They felt it was a great Christmas. Yes, they are a bit spoiled.

Paul and I didn't really get anything for each other. I had recently bought Abby so she was my Christmas present and Paul bought a Jeep so that was his Christmas present. It is so nice to feel content and have a want for nothing. We really are happy at this point in our lives.

We celebrated Christmas at my dad and mom's house with my brother and his family. We had a good time.

The day after, we celebrated at Paul's mom house with Paul's sister. The kids then stayed there for a couple of nights since Paul and I both had to work Thursday.

I definitely am needing to get back to the gym after all the wonderful food and treats.

Rest In Peace My Baby

It has been a terrible week for us in the dog dept. As you have read before, we recently adopted our dog Abby.

She was a puppy mill mommy and was not use to human touch. We adopted her from the Humane Society in hopes of not only allowing me to have another dog but to give her a better life as well.

We were making progress when the ice storm hit. She and Sam were placed in a vet clinic for several days in order to stay warm.

Once we got power we brought them back home. We again were starting to make progress.

Last Thursday, Abby escaped our back yard and was missing for two days. We looked all over and were unable to find her. I had pretty much given up hope but still hoped my Missing Pet posters would help.

I was very upset Friday night because I was missing her and because 16 years earlier, I was losing my beloved Bud (a Cat) due to his being poisoned.

At 7 am, on Saturday, my birthday, we heard the door bell ring and Abby was returned home. I was so excited. What a great birthday present!

On Sunday while we were out getting groceries, we received a call from our neighbors that they had Abby and that she had escaped again. We had really felt that we had patched all the damaged areas on the fence that would have allowed her to get out. Paul found an area that was messed up at the bottom and he saw that Abby's hair was on the fence at that point. He placed a rock in front of that area to prevent any further escapes.

I worked 7-7p on Monday night (New Year's Eve). When I came home, Paul said that Abby wouldn't come to him so she had not been fed. This was not unusual as she was still very timid around others.

I searched in her usual places and decided that maybe she had escaped once again. I finally saw something white over by the fence. Tragically, Abby had been trying to go under the fence and became strangulated when her collar caught on the fence.

New Year's Eve was not what I had wanted it to be. After intense grieving for an hour or so, I sucked it up and played games with the kids and celebrated the end of 2007.

I feel so bad, Abby deserved to have a happy life. I tried to teach her love and loved her for the short period that she was here with us. To her, it seems freedom was more inticing than anything else. I will miss her. She was a great dog, I just wish someone had given her love from early on.

Gingerbread Men

The kids were not impressed with the taste of the gingerbread house. They decided that they wanted gingerbread men instead. So, we made more treats.

Best of Friends

Ice Storm

Russian Christmas Party

We were invited to a Russian community Christmas Party. It was at the Circle Cinema. The man that coordinates it had games, gifts and treats for the kids. We went with Joshua's friend, Alex. We have an annual Christmas gift exchange and night out with the boys.

We saw the movie, Father Frost. The boys really enjoyed it!

Parties Galore

We have been blessed to attend several parties this holiday season. I attended a party for the hospital. One of the doctors hosted it and it was wonderful!

Paul's work had one at a local lodge. It was beautiful. We were entertained by the Downings. They are a local group that has performed at Branson.

The kids had their parties at school. They had been out the week prior due to the weather and only went through Wednesday last week.

Resemblences

We received another letter from Joshua's birth mother. I still need to get it translated.

She was kind enough to send us a picture of the hospital that Joshua was born in plus additional pictures of herself. It looks like it is already snowing in Ukraine.

She had mentioned that Joshua reminds her of herself when she was little. I have to agree. She is definitely his mother.

She was also kind enough to send us a picture of her passport verifying that she is indeed his birth mother.

We feel so very blessed to have found her!

ICE, ICE! Everywhere Ice!

Oklahoma was hit with a record ice storm on Sunday night. What a mess!!

We did not have electricity from Sunday night to Wednesday night. We luckily had a place to go to stay warm. We stayed at the hospital for two nights. It was quite comfortable and the kids loved going to eat at the cafeteria. Seriously!

We put the dogs at the vet to be boarded since the house temp was in the 50s. BRR.....

We were able to come back home on Wednesday night, there is no place like home!!!

Paul has the fun job of cleaning up the fallen limbs. As for the fallen fence- we will hire some one for that job!