Christmas in Colorado

Merry Christmas from Crested Butte, CO. We are enjoying a VERY white Christmas. We are staying in a condo owned by some of our friends from our church. We all took ski lessons on Wednesday. The kids took to it pretty well. Steven picked it up quickly, too. As for me...well, I think I would do better cross country skiing or riding a snowmobile. The kids got to sled yesterday. If this blizzard lets off, we'll go back skiing and sledding today. We're also looking forward to taking a snowmobile ride and a sleigh ride. I'll update our blog soon with scrapbook pages from our trip.

The Booth Family

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The Tooth Fairy is Coming!

Elizabeth finally lost her first tooth! And I do mean lost. She's not sure when it came out or where it is. I don't think she realized it was out until we got home from school. She started laughing because she was so excited. Then she said "I'm so happy I think I'm going to cry!" And she did! Watching her laugh and cry at the same time was hilarious.

Fun Weekend

Steven and Harrison had a great time at the Boy Scout district fishing derby at Lake Willastein in Maumelle on Saturday. Harrison caught four fish.

Elizabeth got her first grade Bible from Dr. Shaddox in Sunday School yesterday. She is looking forward to highlighting verses in her new Bible.

1st Day of School

Elizabeth and Harrison went back to school today. Elizabeth will be in 1st grade in Mrs. Baggett's class, and Harrison will be in 3rd grade in Ms. Grissoms's class. I am so excited about the classes they are in this year. I know they will learn a lot and have a great time. It is nice to be home alone with peace and quiet. We've all had a great time this summer, but it was definitely time for them to go back to school.

Anna Maria Island

We're having a great time on vacation on Anna Maria Island. I've tried to upload some photos, but for some reason, I can't get the upload function to work. Hopefully, when we get home, I'll be able to add some photos. The kids are having a blast playing in the gulf and in the pool. The sand is a lot of fun, too. We've made many attempts at building sand castles in the last couple of days.

We enjoyed a great visit with Uncle JB and his family last night at The Cheesecake Factory in Brandon, FL. It was his 77th birthday.

We're going to check out more of the island later today. I think we will try to do beach pictures late this afternoon. It's a beautiful day here!

Vacation time

Tomorrow we are leaving for a vacation to Florida. Thanks to my Uncle J.B. we are getting to stay at his fabulous condo on Anna Maria Island. We are looking forward to a relaxing week on the beach. We are also going to get to go to Busch Gardens while we are there. Check back next week for pictures that we will post during our trip.

Bridging to Brownies

Brownie Scout Troop 777

Daisy Scout Troop 777

Elizabeth and her friends in her Daisy Scout troop bridged to Brownies last night at the Old Mill in North Little Rock. They had a lot of fun doing their ceremony for all of the parents. Now that the girls are Brownie Scouts, they will be eligible to sell Girl Scout cookies next year. So, get your orders ready!!!

2nd Grade Field Trip

The Gang

Harrison went on his 2nd Grade field trip today. They went to the Old Mill and then to Burns Park for a cookout. This picture is of Ben Morris, Harrison, James Renshaw, Max Sorensen and Jason Edwards. These guys have been buddies for a long time and were fortunate to all end up in Mrs. Montgomery's class this year. They all had lots of fun on their field trip. They are celebrating the end of "Camp Learned Alot" where they spent the last 2 weeks pretending they were at camp and learned a lot about nature.

Field Day

Elizabeth doing the jump rope relay

Harrison and the cone race

The kids had a great time during field day this afternoon at Crestwood Elementary. Elizabeth's team came in first place in her class. Harrison's team came in third place in his class. The weather was beautiful. The sun was out, and there was a cool breeze blowing. It looked like all the kids had a lot of fun.

Piano Recital

Harrison performed three pieces in a piano recital on Thursday. He has been taking for two years from Pam Lowery, and he has progressed very well. He plays well, but just like most kids, he really doesn't like to practice. He would love it if we didn't sign him up again for lessons in the fall. I've signed him up to hold his spot, but we will discuss it over the summer. I'm praying that God will give him the passion for learning something that he will carry with him for a lifetime. It doesn't matter to me if it is a musical instrument, sport, arts or whatever. I would just like to see him get excited about something enough to want to work at it to learn all he can about it. We'll see what God has in store for him. He wants to take tennis lessons this summer. Hopefully he'll have a good attitude about that as the summer progresses.

A Warrior and a Doll Pictures

A Warrior and a Doll

We made it back from Dallas last night. We had such a great time on this short trip. The kids definitely want to go back to the Great Wolf Lodge. Hopefully we'll get to go back one day. You can check it out on www.greatwolf.com. You'll see from the pictures I've posted that Harrison became a great warrior and Elizabeth got a new doll from American Girl. Harrison had a blast at the lodge by playing a game called Magi Quest. We bought him a wand that was activated to play the game. He had a book with 11 different quests that took him (and me) over all 8 floors of the hotel looking for items to complete the quests. The picture I have posted is one of him after he completed the last quest and became a master magi. Elizabeth had lots of fun picking out a doll at the American Girl store. She chose one that looked like her, and she named her Zoe. We even got Zoe a special hair-do, the double pony tail. Of course Zoe needed some clothes and a pet, so we got her a swimsuit and summer outfit and Coconut the dog. Now that we're back home I hope to get some things caught up around the house so when we get back to the real world on Monday, we'll be ready.

Spring Break Fun

We are currently in Dallas on Spring Break. We found this great hotel through Sarah Renshaw called the Great Wolf Lodge. It is located in Grapevine. It has an indoor water park which we have thoroughly enjoyed this morning. We have spent most of the morning sliding down the slides, playing in the kiddie pool and riding the waves in the wave pool. Our room is really cool because it has bunk beds for the kids that look like they are in a tent. You can tell by the pictures the kids really are enjoying themselves. I wish I had good pictures of Steven. He has been riding the slides as many times as he can. In fact he is still playing while we're up in the room taking a break. He even stayed later than we did last night. Oh, well he deserves a little fun too. He's been working hard during busy season. I'll get my time alone later when I go shopping!!!! Enjoy the pictures and I'll post more when I get home.

Connections

I am so blessed to be a part of a new Women on Mission group that God has allowed me to start at church. The group is called Connections. We have had about 17 women at each of our first two meetings. This has been something I have been wanting to do for about 5 years. I believe that God has called me to do it, but I was always waiting on the perfect time. God finally told me to just do it and not worry about the "perfect" time. I've even started a new blog for the group as a forum for us to get to know each other better. I've added a link to it on my favorite websites. I am praying that many women from our church will realize how important it is for us to live a missional lifestyle and learn how to be on mission for God.

School's Out!

The kid's were out of school today because of a teacher work day and parent/teacher conferences. We took the opportunity, or should I say I took the opportunity to work on decluttering Harrison's bedroom. His room is the last room in the house that hasn't had a thorough decluttering session. It has been so bad that all I managed to get done, with Harrison's help, was to clean off his desk. But even that small task made a huge difference in the looks of his room. I think I'll have to wait until he is in school again to do some selective decluttering myself. :)
We had great reports on both kids from their teachers. Both are reading well above their grade level. And, Elizabeth has a talent of writing just about anything. She loves to write. She was so excited today when we were cleaning out Harrison's room. She was the lucky recipient of two notebooks and a box of crayons. You would have thought she'd won a million dollars. Harrison is doing great in all areas at school. He is reading 4th and 5th grade level books in the 2nd grade. Now, if he'd just learn to love writing as much as Elizabeth does.
Harrison got a nice surprise at the Boy Scout Blue and Gold Banquet last Saturday. He got a trophy for coming in First Place for his age division in the Pinewood Derby. He was 4th overall but at least he won 1st for his age group.
We are thankful that we have an easy weekend coming up. With no Upward games to go to, we can spend some time relaxing!

The End is Here!

Ok, I mean that in a good way. Today was our last Upward Basketball games. After 8 Saturdays of our family juggling two games at two different places at two different times, we are ready for a break. Tomorrow is the award ceremony, and we are so glad to be done. We've had a great season with great coaches. Another reason the end is here is that we finally get our new pastor tomorrow!! We have a great day planned starting with a special installation service at the NLRHS East Campus auditorium and ending with a concert by Steve Green at our church. We are looking forward to starting a new era in our church and moving forward in the direction God leads.

One of those days

Have you ever had one of those days where not much is going right? Well, let me tell you about yesterday. Or, maybe I should start with a couple of weeks ago. I know God (and my husband :)) has been convicting me of my spending habits. So, Steven and I have worked out a way that helps me to control my spending by limiting how much access I have to our money. I have done so well this month, and I am expecting to come in under budget for January. So imagine my frustration when things keep happening that are forcing us to spend more than we've budgeted for. First, a couple of weeks ago, the battery in my van died in the McCain mall parking lot about 30 minutes before I had to pick up the kids from school. Fortunately, my mom was available to come get me so we could get the kids on time. So there goes some money out the window. Then, this Wednesday night when the kids and I got home from church, Steven reports the bad news that our microwave is dead. Don't know yet how much that is going to cost! And, finally, yesterday morning I took my kids into school. When I came out and tried to drive my van away, I realized I had a flat tire. Fortunately, that was a $10 fix. I'm just discouraged right now because I am trying to do my best and save money so we can build a new house. These unexpected items are a part of life, I know. But it's so hard when you've done your best at something and can't see the impact it has made. My devotional for Wednesday focused on 2Timothy 4:1-5. The prayer was O God, help me not be a quitter, but to endure hardships knowing you are walking beside me all the way. That is my prayer that I do not get overwhelmed by some of these minor things and know that if I keep plugging on I will see a difference in our financial situation.

New Blog

I started a new blog today for my business called A Scrap of Heaven. My mom and I are making custom designed picture frames, gift buckets and tote bags. Mom got a new sewing machine for Christmas, so we are learning how to embroider bags and other items. I've added a link to the blog on the side of this one. I'm going to be adding new pictures of items we can make.

Hello 2008!

Here I am in a picture taken this morning to show me as I am on January 1, 2008. Hopefully by the end of 2008 I can publish a picture of a smaller version of me! I have been reflecting on what I feel God wants my life to look like by the end of this year. Check out my list to the left of goals I have in 2008. I hope you and your families have a blessed New Year!