LBJ Lake House 2013

Our annual weekend trip to "our" (rental) lake house cabin "on" (near) lake LBJ.  

Our first big explore.

DD and Papa were ready to head back, so we kindly loaded DD down with all of our jackets to take back for us.  Thanks DD!

Isaac had lots of fun setting up his army men.

And the girls hit the hot tub with Uncle Andy.

We finally made it in time for the Austin Steam Train.  

"All Aboard!"

Of course, I had to buy the little train-themed sticker books at the gift shop.

But Isaac spent most of the trip looking out the window.

Abby spent most of the trip being silly.

 When the train arrived in Burnet, the "sheriff" got on board to announce a gun fight that would be held by a volunteer acting troop after we had time for lunch.

Isaac was preparing himself, in case the "sheriff" decided to demonstrate early.

And we got a picture with the cast before heading out for lunch.

Lindsay, DD, and I decided to participate in the show as one of the many "Saloon Girls."  It was very silly, but we had fun.  More pictures coming of us in costume.

That night, DD helped the kids make chocolate-dipped pretzels.

And I "supervised" while they decorated cookie pops from a kit I bought for a dollar in the after-Christmas sale.

The next day, we went to the LBJ Historic Site, were we toured LBJ's childhood home...

...had a picnic lunch...

and visited a working farm.

Isaac was obsessed with the chickens.

After the girls went with the rest of our group to tour the inside of the farm house, he stayed out for at least half an hour, just watching the chickens do their thing.

Then we went to LBJ's home, where he  lived when he was president.

The kids completed their booklets and got sworn in as Junior Park Rangers.

On our last night, we played Bingo.

We didn't have enough Bingo markers, so we used Isaac's army men.

Isaac had some fun discovering the iPads photo booth app:

Abby double-fisting it after a Buc-cee's stop on the way home.

And, Mimi, Isaac wanted you to see his extra crazy hair day.

As always, thanks Mimi and Boppa, for hosting such a perfect family weekend.  

Abby Art Show

Abby's art teacher selected her cow art to be in the district rodeo art show.

We got to go see it last Thursday on display at the University of Houston, Clear Lake.

 Her art got a blue ribbon, and her teacher said it won first place.  We are assuming that means she won first place for her grade from her school, because there were a lot of first place ribbons and other pieces actually won the prize of being displayed at the rodeo.

 Abby's cute signature on the descriptive card below her piece.

 With the poster of the art show.

And with her art teacher, Mrs. Laird.  

Great job, Abigail!

Peter Pan

This post is very late in the making.  We went (before Christmas) with Mimi and Boppa and DD and the Sharps to see Peter Pan live with Cathy Rigby.  These pictures are from after the show, which was spectacular, by the way (And I loved watching the kids as they reacted to it).

The girls with Tiger Lily.

And getting Cathy Rigby's signature.

And picture.

Isaac refused to get anywhere near the lady actors.  He's getting to that age.  Hehe.

Winter Break Miscellany

Random pictures that don't have a theme, but need to be remembered:

Isaac, playing super hero dress up after seeing "The Avengers."

 Playing the new pirate game.

Abby decided it was Teddy's birthday and he needed a "Hobbit/Lord of the Rings" themed tea party.

Tea with LOTR Pez dispensers.

 New Years Eve girl, ready to party.

Isaac, helping me start our Christmas puzzle.  He didn't last long on the starting process.  As usual, he gave up until right at the end, when he swooped in to place the last few pieces.  

Camping!

Since Daddy took the week after Christmas off from work, we decided it was a great time for us to go camping.

We drove up to Enchanted Rock, a 4.5 hour drive, and arrived in the early afternoon.  After a hot lunch and setting up camp, we bundled up for a hike.

Adel and the kids enjoyed some climbing, while I stayed on the ground with Bitsy, and took the pictures.

Abby, bundled up like the little brother on "A Christmas Story," had fun with our new walkie talkie set.

We made it to the scenic viewpoint...

 in time for a glimpse of the sunset... 

 and a little rest, before heading back to camp.

Getting the fire going for dinner (and warmth).

 We decided to go to bed early.  The kids loved snuggling up all together in our little (2-man) tent.  (Notice Bitsy between Abby and I, also clearly enjoying the snuggle time).

The kids were asleep within minutes and didn't wake up to hear the howling of the coyotes all night long (but Bitsy and I sure did!).

After breakfast the next morning, all of us hiked up the top of Enchanted Rock. 

Adel and the kids explored the small cave on the other side (Bitsy and I passed again on this part)

It was a shorter hike than we thought, so we packed up our camping stuff, cooked one more lunch on the fire, and headed to our next stop: McKinney Falls, near Austin.  The falls were very low, but the rocks were really fun to explore. 

 The hike between the upper and lower falls was really pretty (I want to go back during spring or fall and see leaves on the trees, but it was even pretty during winter).

And there were points of interest along the way that you could read about on the brochure, to torture educate your children.  Fun!

 We spent the next night at a hotel near McKinney Falls, out of the freezing rain, thanks to Adel's hotel travel points.

Cold, coyotes, and lots of work though it may be, camping is still a favorite of mine, if only for one night...I really liked the second-night-in-the-hotel part!  I'm thankful for Adel, who makes everything happen.  I'm thankful for my comfortable, warm bed and hot shower.  And I'm thankful for the adventure of camping, and looking forward to the next time.

New Job

I have been a mommy for 7.5 years, and what a journey it has been.  I never thought I wanted to "just stay home" with my kids.

But then I got pregnant with Isaac.  After talking to Adel, we both felt like my teaching job required too much for me to be able to be the kind of mom I wanted to be.

So I arranged part-time work at the school where I had been teaching.  But then Isaac was born.  He has always been especially attached to his mommy and I realized very quickly that part-time work was creating perhaps more stress than it was worth at that point.  And so, when he was about six months old, I quit altogether.

I have been a stay-at-home mom for 7 years.  It hasn't been all peaches and cream, but God has changed my heart over the years to value my family and our precious time together more than any other enterprise I have undertaken.

Even with that change of heart, I still have sought, over the years, the "perfect" job that would allow me to balance work and family.  Here's a snapshot:

• Writing: I wrote 2 books, hoping to become a rich and famous author, or at least to keep myself intellectually engaged and busy.   I succeeded, at least, in keeping myself busy.
• Speaking: I thought, after writing two books that I might at least find some speaking engagements about them.  I succeeded in speaking a few times, mostly for my own enjoyment.  At least I entertain myself.
• Secret Shopping: this was a fun little job that I took for only a month.  I earned a few freebies and had a good time, but decided it wasn't for me.
• YMCA instructor: a good friend got me a job teaching fitness to kids, nothing I had ever done before, but I was able to use my teaching skills at least.  I kept at it for a year or so, as long as it stayed fun and didn't cause stress to the family.  Once it felt like a stressor, I dropped it because my heart just wasn't engaged in the work.

All of those experiences helped me.  First, they humbled me, especially the rejection of the books and speaking jobs.  I learned that whatever I ended up doing, it needed to be for God's glory and not for my own.  Second, they helped me self-assess, especially the secret shopping and YMCA job.  I began to question what my heart was most passionate about.  When telling people about my YMCA job, I would admit that my heart wasn't in it:  "I would rather be teaching kids about Jesus."  I have also learned, through my bible study ministry over the years, that relationship-building (discipling) is another place where my heart is. 

So, the perfect job, the job that would be worth taking me away from my home, the job that would be worth a little added stress to our family, would have to be: part-time (because I still want to be a mommy first), and have to do mostly with building relationships and with teaching about Jesus.  Sounds pretty unlikely, right?!  I figured I would never find it, with my extreme limitations, and so I just wasn't looking.  But I was always wondering.

Then enters Ms. Lisa.  She is the director of all the elementary and preschool ministries of our multi-campus church.  She has been serving alongside me as I teach Creek Kids every Sunday, and she noticed how much I love teaching about Jesus.  I have taught at Creek Kids regularly for three years and it has been one of my favorite things outside of being a mom.  Lisa asked me if I would consider a part-time job as the K-3 director at our main campus.  

My first thought was, no way! Organizing and directing children's ministry was not on the above list!  But as Lisa went on to describe the job, my heart started to flutter.  She described how she wanted to use my teaching experience to help train up other teachers as we send them to the various campuses.  Part of the job would be to teach kids about Jesus, and also to teach other teachers how to teach kids about Jesus.  Well, that was on my list!  She said I would be the church's K-3 expert, in making decisions for what works for that age group.  Then she described how the job would also be to lead our teams of volunteers, to encourage and equip our volunteer team leaders, to grow people up in ministry.  Hmmm, that sounded to me an awful lot like relationship-building.  That also was on my list.  And, the job is part-time, which would allow me to be the kind of mom I want to be.

I walked away from the conversation, truly honored, and truly not knowing whether or not I would take the job.  After a day, I began to be excited about the idea.  After a few days, I realized that this job, while it had some elements I was not looking for, offered everything I had dreamed up for the "perfect" fit.  I began to see the job as a gift from God, an opportunity that fit my heart, my passions, and my schedule.  I am amazed at the way God has taken an area of my life were I have been joyfully serving, and given me the opportunity to have a part-time career.  What a gift!

And my first official day on staff is tomorrow!  This week will be my first week sitting at my new desk in the Creek Kids office.  I am really looking forward to every moment.  As Adel said when I first told him about the job: "Our family is ready for this."  And so am I!

I have already had the chance to meet all my teammates and they have warmly welcomed me onto the team.  This is our first picture as a team together.  

Thank You, Lord, for new blessings and new opportunities.  Thank You for teaching me through humbling experiences that everything I do needs to be for Your glory.  Thank You for helping me discover where my heart is and how I can serve You best.  Amen.