Abundant Joy

Will you be my Valentine?

2012-02-12T18:11:00.000-06:00

poke a hole (top, center) and stick a Lollipop through the hole

Poke a hole in the center and stick a lollipop through the hole.

Cut like a tag, punch a hole, tie cute ribbons and you can tape a heart shaped dove chocolate or conversation heart on the heart.

Have your kids done their Valentines yet? If not feel free to use these templates.

Reed turns 7!

2012-02-05T23:38:00.000-06:00

Birthday Boy

cake time

present time

his new bat

silly girl

We celebrated Reed's 7th birthday at Urban Air Friday night. He loved every minute of his birthday. I can't believe my baby boy is 7. How did this happen?

Fort Worth Stock Show & Rodeo 2012

2012-02-05T23:10:00.000-06:00

Chance surprised us last Friday night by taking us to the Fort Worth Stock Show and Rodeo. We had a blast! The kids were smiling from ear to ear the whole time. We rode rides, played carnival games, fed animals, and watched the Rodeo. The rodeo was very entertaining. Chloe sat the entire time pointing and laughing.

Shocked

2012-02-05T22:42:00.001-06:00

Christian's teachers selected him for a math award, (3rd six weeks) and wanted to keep a secret till they called his name. He was shocked!!! We are very proud of him.

Christmas 2011

2012-02-05T22:27:00.000-06:00

Kindergarten class party

4th grade class party

Christmas Eve

Christmas morning - Chloe

Christmas morning - Reed

Christmas morning - Christian

Santa's cookies and milk (Christian made the cookies)

Boys playing with the new nerf guns. Grandpa had the most fun!

We sat on this box the whole morning and the kids never asked what it was. Finally I said, "hey daddy, what are you sitting on," a couple times and finally they looked and got curious...

TRAMPOLINE!

Tea party - Chloe and Mamaw Juju

Look out Hollywood

2011-12-11T17:55:00.001-06:00

Chloe's preschool puts on a Christmas program every year. It starts with the 2 year old department. This was Chloe's first time to perform on stage. She was hilarious! She gave us a little of every emotion during the performance.

Before the show with her fan club!
When we put her dress on her she said this is my magic dress.
Uh-oh, looks like she already knows that girls need to have pretty dresses!

She is laughing very loud! The two friends next to her are her best friends.

Her she is picking her nose. Who's kid is that?

Doing her motions correctly.

Chloe and the little girl next to her started playing and looking at each others dresses.

Show's over, sad face!

Give Thanks

2011-11-24T23:12:00.000-06:00

Fruit Cornacopias

Give Thanks banner

kid's table

adult table

I hope you had a wonderful Thanksgiving! We did and I know we have a lot to Give Thanks for.

Chloe

2011-11-20T22:54:00.000-06:00

These are just random pictures of Chloe. Moments I don't want to forget as she gets older. She is growing way to fast.

Brown Day at Sonshine

She calls Champ her Buddy, Buddy

Do you see Cinderella and Buzz? She was playing with them and was having them talk to each other. I am so impressed with her imagination! She is very creative and FUNNY!

Pow Wow

2011-11-18T23:05:00.000-06:00

At Reed's school they do a Kindergarten Pow Wow every year. It was very cute. Reed did a great job. I can tell he loves school!

2011 Fall Baseball

2011-11-13T22:45:00.000-06:00

Great last game of the season. Win!!

Cutest Cheerleader!

Trophy and Game Ball!!

Best Buds!

Great Giveaway

2011-11-05T23:10:00.002-05:00

Check out the giveaway over at Titus 2 Women!

Trick or Treat

2011-10-31T23:05:00.000-05:00

This was the first year for Chloe to trick or treat. Last year she did not feel well and fell asleep before time to trick or treat, and the year before she just looked really cute in her carrier next to Chance while he handed out candy. She loved it! She thinks we should trick or treat more often.

Sweet and Treats

2011-10-30T22:45:00.000-05:00

Eighty

2011-10-30T22:12:00.000-05:00

Mamaw Zada turned 80!

We love you Mamaw Zada and we are so thankful for you!

Science Parade

2011-10-28T22:02:00.000-05:00

At the boys school they do a Science Hat Parade every year instead of Halloween costumes or parties. The kids are all given a science vocabulary word and then they have to make a hat that represents the word and has the word clearly displayed on the hat. This year Christian had Sedimentary Rock and Reed had Magnet.

4th Grade Program - Christian

2011-10-27T21:48:00.000-05:00

The night of Game 6, World Series, Christian had his 4th grade school program. I hope Christian feels loved since we went to his program!

I kid, I kid...

They did a great job! Go Hardeman, 4th Graders!

We had DVR'd the game and did not want to know anything until we got home to watch it for ourselves and the guy sitting next to Chance kept leaning over giving him updates and the music teacher as we were leaving went to the microphone and told us the score!

We ended up loosing the game and also loosing Game 7. So close, so heartbreaking! Next Year!!!

Angelina Ballerina

2011-10-27T21:32:00.000-05:00

Chloe wanted to be Angelina Ballerina this year for Costume Parade and Halloween. She was precious. She loved dancing around in her costume. I think this may be the beginning of a beautiful love for ballet. It made me so happy to see my baby girl in a ballet costume!

These pictures are from the day of our school costume parade. She loved seeing her friends in costumes. Even her sweet teachers were in costume!

Go Rangers

2011-10-22T19:59:00.002-05:00

We are so proud of our Texas Rangers making it to the World Series! Go Rangers!!! This is our year to win it!!!

Awards

2011-10-22T19:55:00.000-05:00

Reed recieved a Math award for the first six weeks of Kindergarten. He has had an amazing start. We are so proud of him!

On the Mound

2011-10-22T19:43:00.000-05:00

Christian is in his first season of, the slowest game on earth, kid pitch! He has done awesome. He is leading in RBI and least # of errors. He pitched twice and did a great job.

Pray for Rain!

2011-10-12T19:49:00.000-05:00

Rainy day tea party

Jumping on the trampoline in the rain

A couple weeks ago we were praying for rain. It had been a very long time! It finally rained, so we let the kids enjoy it.

Launch Pad

2011-10-04T23:41:00.000-05:00

God has formed a group of 6 women to share what God has done in our lives as an encouragment to other women. It has been filled with so many God stories and amazing encouragement. I hope that you will take a look at our website and will also fill encouraged. www.titus2women.org

I wanted to share my first article here on the Biblical Priority - Home

Morning Madness
“She keeps an eye on everyone in her house-hold, and keeps them all busy and productive”. Proverbs 31:27a The Message

Morning madness? Does this sound familiar? "Mommy! I can't find my . . . !" getting the family out the door in the morning can make any parent want to stay in bed or hide.

I would like to introduce you to: the family launch pad. What is a launch pad? It's a dedicated space for each family member: a single location to contain all the "out-the-door" essentials of life. Setting up a launch pad can be as simple as clearing a shelf in a bookcase and designating the area the family's launch pad.

The launch pad is home to permission slips, lunch boxes, homework, library books and science fair projects. For the household's "big kids", the launch pad holds handbags, car keys, return videos, dry cleaning and the day's ration of slim-fast. One place. One special place to corral items every family member must have to leave the house each morning It isn’t likely that this will totally cure the “morning madness,” but the launch pad can ease the symptoms.
Stephanie H. – FW

Challenge: Set-up a launch pad in your home.

Here are pictures from my Launch Pad:

Pine Cove Fall '11

2011-09-13T00:31:00.000-05:00

Pine Cove Mother/Son Conference (9/9-9/11)

Our Cabin:

The Breathtaker: (take my breath away)

The Gauntlet:

The Zip Line:

Ready for some PBA (Pitch Black Attack):

On The Way Home:

Easy Pumpkin Cake

2011-09-13T00:01:00.000-05:00

2 Ingredients!!!

1 yellow box cake mix

1 can of pumpkin pie filling

Mix the 2 ingredients well, then divide in muffin tins or pour into bundt cake pan.

Bake according to back of box. Enjoy!

Galveston Vacation

2011-09-09T12:27:00.003-05:00

Driving to Galveston

IMAX at Moody Gardens

Aquarium at Moody Gardens

Ferry Boat (free and so fun)

(look at all the dolphin fins, they were all around us the whole ferry ride)

after dinner at Willie G's - our favorite place to eat in Galveston!

First day of Sonshine Academy 11-12

2011-09-09T12:07:00.000-05:00

This year

Last year

gift for teachers

Titus 2 Women

2011-08-30T22:39:00.000-05:00

	"...teach what is good... encourage the young women to love their husbands and children, to be sensible, pure, good homemakers, and submissive to their husbands, so that God's message will not be slandered" Titus 2:3-5 I am a part of a group of wonderful womennd we have started a new Ministry called Titus 2 Women. Check out our blog!

Back to School - Free Printables

2011-08-29T22:41:00.001-05:00

Fill a jar full of Gummy Bears and tie this cute tag to it!

Print it, frame it or tie it to the teachers favorite drink or snack!

We Are Family - LegoLand

2011-08-27T20:16:00.000-05:00

The Holt, Heady families went to LegoLand to celebrate making through the first week of school. We had a great time. If you live close too Grapevine, you should go. We had a big enough group to get a group discount which is a huge help. When you first get there you walk through a little factory and they tell kids how they make them and let them help. Then they each get a Lego that sayd LegoLand on it. They have 2 rides, a 3D theatre, several play areas, eatery and a store.

First Day of School 2011-2012

2011-08-23T11:19:00.000-05:00

Left: First day of 4th grade Right: First day of 3rd grade

Left: First day of Sonshine Kinder Right: First day of Public School Kindergarten

I have been dreading taking my baby boy, Reed, to Kindergarten and yesterday was the day! I cried the night before and just thought to myself "I don't have to take him, I can just homeschool him." I know that if I can just get through this week I will be fine. He is loving school so far, which you would think it would make it easier on me to see how happy he is, but not so much. I have been a stay at home mom almost his whole life. We haven't spent much time a part from each other. Chloe has always had Reed home with her, her whole life. All this to say, IT WAS HARD!!! I think Christian is happy that Reed is at school with him though! They came home very excited about the new year. We celebrated by baking cookies.

Day at the Lake

2011-08-13T21:09:00.001-05:00

We have enjoyed making great memories with the kids at the Lake this summer!

Nine

2011-08-07T18:43:00.002-05:00

To celebrate Christian's 9th birthday we had friends come over Friday night for dinner, cake, fun and sleepover. Saturday morning the boys went home except for his cousin Max. We went to Lake Texoma for the day. Christian says it was the best birthday ever!

State Bound!!!

2011-07-25T14:05:00.000-05:00

We made it to State in Burleson! It didn't go the way we wanted it to, but our boys did great. We won our first game, lost our second, won our third, won our fourth and lost our fifth. We were one game away from advancing to Zone in Shertz. We got 3rd place in the National League at State!!! We are so proud of these boys and so sad that it has come to an end.

Keller City Hall

2011-07-19T13:51:00.001-05:00

All the Keller All Stars for all the age groups where invited to City Hall to be recognized by the Mayor. We presented the City all of our BLING!

Regional Champions!!!

2011-07-16T13:41:00.000-05:00

I know these posts seem redundant about baseball, but they are oh so different. Each tournament had had its challenges and our boys have pulled together and won. They are now the 8U Regional Champs! We are headed to State now. Wish us luck!

Winning the War

2011-07-14T20:14:00.000-05:00

Summer is a great time to win the war of organization with your kids! Here are some great tips:

*Parents often see housekeeping as their responsibility and treat children as guests. Think of yourself as team manager and as a team you need to have a common goal.

*Give specific instructions and be a source of motivation.

*Write "Cleanout Day" on the calendar and nobody is allowed to schedule anything on that day till it is all done.

*Tell your kids that you won't wash anything that doesn't make it to the hamper or laundry room.

*Let your child make decisions about decor. They will have more pride in keeping it looking good!

*Stay firm about food and dishes not leaving the kitchen/dining area.

*When friends come over to play, give them a warning before it is time for the friend to leave that it is time to clean up any messes made.

*Turn off tv and turn on music and set a timer and see how much your kids can get done to beat the timer.

Keller Blue 8U District Champs

2011-07-10T21:58:00.000-05:00

Wow, what a weekend! Keller Blue dug deep and now they can say they are the 8U District Champs. Thursday night we beat the Burleson Blue Devils, Friday we lost to Aledo Black, Saturday we beat Burleson and Aledo and Sunday we had to beat Aledo again for the championship and we did! Now on to Regionals!!!

Happy 4th of July

2011-07-03T14:37:00.000-05:00

Also Happy Birthday to my mom!

Summer Lovin'

2011-06-23T11:21:00.000-05:00

I have a love, hate reationship with Summer. I am a bit OCD, so the no schedule, no school are difficult for me. Every summer I feel a tug. Part of me wants the house to be clean and stay that way, but part of me wants the kids to be able to make the fort out of all the pillows and blankets in THE WHOLE HOUSE! Part of me wants to have our days planned out and part of me wants to just sleep in and stay in our pj's all day! So, I say all this to say that before summer started I decided it was going to be a great Summer. I was going to make the best of it and enjoy my kids at ages 2, 6 and 8. No Matter What!
So far it has been a great Summer! I didn't say perfect...I still have to remind myself that I need to relax and enjoy!

Summer highlights so far:
All Star baseball tournaments, practices and parties
VBS at FBC Colleyville
VBS at Plymouth Park Baptist
Spent the night with Grandpa and Nana
Dallas Mavericks win the FINALS
Nash Farms with friends
Father's Day
Started a new Bible Study - "Made to Crave"
Going on a scrapbook retreat tomorrow

and...

I got a new job!

I am now the new Department Director for the Ones Department at Sonshine Academy!!! I am so excited and know that God has prepared the path for this new journey.

I hope to have lots more to add to this list!

Girls rule!

2011-06-21T22:39:00.000-05:00

Girls Rule! Well, At least they did for a couple days in our house last week. The boys stayed with my parents and went with Nana to VBS at their church. While the boys were away, the girls played. We shopped, had our toes painted, went to a splash park, went to starbucks, etc... I loved every minute of girl time with my baby girl!

5th Tournament - Coppell

2011-06-13T23:55:00.000-05:00

Keller Blue 8U All Stars won 1st place in the Coppell Tournament this weekend. We are so proud of these boys. They played so great and didn't let being hot or tired get the best of them.

Chance after being presented the Championship trophy! 1st place baby!!!

Chance and Christian

Celebrating our victory at Mi Cocina in Irving. We had the party room with TV's to watch The Dallas Mavericks make history in the NBA Finals. They beat the Heat 105-95. Dirk won MVP!

Celebrating the Dallas Mavericks Victory as well!!

Chloe fell asleep holding the Christian's trophy. I tried to take it out of her hand so she didn't drop it and she woke up crying till I put it back in her hand.

What an amazing weekend! Two of my favorite teams win Championships. Go Keller Blue and Go Mavs!

4th Tournament - Haslet

2011-06-13T23:26:00.000-05:00

This was a weeknight tournament. We played at between 1-3 games a night. It came down to Keller Blue and Keller Gold in the Championship game. Way to go Keller!!!

3rd Tournament - Grapevine

2011-06-06T15:42:00.000-05:00

Ready to go play ball!

Ready to go play with her friends!

Waiting to recieve trophies.

Chance handing out the trophies.

Keller Blue Pinto 8U All Stars!

Victory Party!!!

We had another winning weekend! Our boys played so hard and in the awful heat. Saturday we had the first game won, but in the last inning we had a few bad plays and lost the game. We won our second game. On Sunday we won our first 2 games and that put us in the Championship game. We unfortunately lost, but we know we will see that team again and beat them when we are not completly tired and when it isn't 4000 degrees.

Nash Farm Free Fridays

2011-06-04T20:01:00.000-05:00

Friday we visited Nash Farm in Grapevine, TX

The home that Thomas Jefferson built in 1869 has been fully restored!

The Farm was purchased by Thomas Jefferson in 1859

Chloe loved this old stove.

Christian watering the garden.

Reed watering the flowers.

Chloe watering everything!

Old wooden toys to play with. This was Christian's favorite!

We talked to the Cow.

Our friendly tractor driver.

The tractor ride. It looks like Christian is about to sneeze.

Nash Farm

We really enjoyed our time at the Nash Farm. The best part is that is was free! We donated $1 per kid for the tractor ride, but what a deal. Family fun for $4!

2nd Tournament - Grapevine

2011-05-30T15:27:00.000-05:00

Our second Summer Tournament was in Grapevine this weekend and we won 2 and lost 2.

Can you see Reed and his friend Carson keeping score? They did a great job!

Last Day of School

2011-05-27T15:06:00.001-05:00

The Loot:

We gave all of Christian's teachers a SKOR bar and an A&W:

This bucket of pencils and cake pops was for the office staff. They are wonderful!

I made these cake balls for Christian's end of season baseball party! Yummy!!!

Christian's teacher Mrs. Pachiano

Christian handed out sticky hands and candy to his classmates.

Summer has officially begun!!!

Look how much I grew...

2011-05-17T14:45:00.001-05:00

First Day of School:

Last Day of School:

Chloe wore the same outfit on the last day of Sonshine as she did the first day. So I had to take a comparison picture. Wow, she changed so much this school year!

"SKOR"ED

2011-05-17T09:00:00.002-05:00

I saw this on eighteen25

You can print out this tag and tie it to a Hershey's SKOR bar.

So I used it and made some more! Feel free to click on them and save as to use as well. I thought this was a super cute idea! And everyone likes chocolate!!!

I made these on my Creative Memories Storybook Creator. I love this program!!!

1st Tournament, 2nd Place

2011-05-15T22:15:00.000-05:00

Can you see Chloe? It was cold for our first game!

Chloe got in a nap during one game today.

Christian is at the very bottom of the dog pile!

It is time for Summer All Stars again. Our team was announced last week and we played in our first tournament this weekend. These boys haven't all played together or even practiced together and they were amazing!!! They played 2 games Saturday, won one 15-11, lost one 20-18. Then today we won 10-9, 8-6, and then lost 10-2. We recieved trophies for 2nd place!!! We are so proud of Christian and the Keller Blue All Stars. This was a great way to start the Summer.

Write it Down

2011-05-15T21:00:00.001-05:00

I made these for a gift for an event at our church and forgot to post them. These would be a great gift for Teachers. It is a composition notebook and calendar that I just used some scrapbook paper and mod podge. Simple and I think they turned out great!

Play Ball

2011-05-13T22:00:00.001-05:00

I promised some baseball pictures...

Sweet Girl!

2011-05-10T22:26:00.001-05:00

My Graduate

2011-05-10T21:51:00.000-05:00

Reed officially graduated from Sonshine Academy on Tuesday. This is bittersweet...I am so proud of the young man he is becoming and excited to see him continue to grow, but we have been together everyday for the past 5 years. Next year he will be at school full-time. I will miss all our little inside jokes and his hugs all day long. He is such a sweetheart that I love to have him around all the time. I know he is going to love school and making lots of new friends!!!

Mother's Day 2011

2011-05-08T22:22:00.000-05:00

Not a great quality picture, but these are my precious babies taking me out for dinner for Mother's Day at Pasado's!

He Is Risen...Easter 2011

2011-05-01T22:00:00.001-05:00

Every year we have a egg hunt the night before Easter at our house with our old neighbors. Sometimes it is the whole street and sometimes it is just our 2 families.

For Easter we went to Chance's brother's house. We had a fabulous lunch, celebrated Chloe & Hallie's birthdays, egg hunt, adult "hot egg" and played.

Our Newest Addition

2011-05-01T21:08:00.000-05:00

Chloe recieved a puppy for her birthday! He is a 8 month old Shitzu. We named him Ranger. He is very good and easy. The kids love him. Champ our other 4 legged baby is still getting used to him.

BFF's

2011-04-23T22:15:00.001-05:00

Chloe's bff, Shiloh turned 2 on Easter. She had a big Easter themed birthday party. This was Chloe's first birthday party to attend for one of her little friends. Cason her other bff was also there!

Girl's Night

2011-04-22T22:11:00.001-05:00

Chloe and I went out to eat with a friend for her birthday and I had to take a picture of her before we left. She is such a girlie girl!

Chloe 2nd Birthday

2011-04-16T21:06:00.000-05:00

Look Who's Two!

Deep

and Wide!

We went to Colleyville Cinema Grill to see Rio.

After the movie we had a little family party. Minnie Mouse is Chloe's favorite thing right now.

We love you Chloe!

Every night I thank God that He blessed our family with this sweet little girl! She is full of Joy and Love. I know God has great plans for her one day. I am so glad that I was choosen to be her mom, so that I can watch her grow and share her love and joy with others.

Kidville

2011-04-16T20:45:00.000-05:00

We found our new favorite park! Kidville in Colleyville just renovated the whole park and it is awesome for all ages. The kids loved it. They have a pavillion with tables right next to the playground as well.

Tooth Fairy visits...

2011-04-11T23:42:00.000-05:00

Reed lost his first tooth, Thursday, April 7th. He tried all day at school to wiggle it, but it didn't fall out until he got home and daddy got out the pliers. I promise I won't let him use pliers on Chloe! Reed was so excited when it came out. He has been showing everyone and can't wakt to show his friends at school Tuesday!

All Dressed Up

2011-04-11T23:37:00.000-05:00

Dosen't she look old! Tear!!

My baby is turning 2 on the 16th and the shoes, purse, tiara, and jewelry were an early birthday present from Chance's parents. She loves the shoes!

These are My Rangers!

2011-04-11T23:31:00.001-05:00

For our "We Are Family" event this month we all went to the Ranger game. We went to game 2 along with 4 million other people! It was loud, exciting and the Rangers hit at least 42 homeruns. Ok, ok, they hit 4, but it felt like 42. Yay, Rangers!

Baseball has begun...

2011-04-11T23:13:00.001-05:00

Baseball has begun...that is one reason I have not updated the blog in so long. I am also always chasing this little cutie around at the games so I have only taken a couple pictures of the boys playing baseball.

Christian's team, the Red Sox are 2-1 and Reed's team they don't really turn in a score, but his t-ball team is really good! We are having fun and hopefully I will take some more pictures.

Anniversary Getaway

2011-04-11T22:58:00.000-05:00

I mentioned in my last post that a guy I went to high school with offered Chance and I an amazing Anniversary getaway. He works for the Crowne Plaza Suites Dallas Park Central. He gave us 2 free nights, chocolate covered strawberries, champagne, and breakfast both mornings! We had a great time!!! The hotel was very nice and very clean. All the rooms are suites, which was so nice. This would be a great hotel for women's retreats.

Thank you again Del! Give him a call if you need to book an event or a personal stay!

Good Deals

2011-03-13T18:21:00.000-05:00

Lately we have been incredibly blessed by some great deals and thought I would share how God is in the details and cares about the small stuff.
Chance and I will celebrate 11 years on March 18 and wanted to celebrate by staying in a hotel in the DFW. I posted on my Facebook status, What is your favorite DFW hotel and a guy I graduated from High School with posted the name of his hotel and said he worked for them and wondered if I wanted a good deal. I talked to Chance and sent him a message back saying sure. He offered us 2 FREE nights, strawberries, champagne and breakfast both mornings!!! Can you believe it? I thought it was too good to be true, but he said this is one of the reasons he does his job. How Cool!!! I will post more and where we stayed after we get back.

Friday, March 4, was a day of good deals and free fun! Chance and I were going to dinner at the Victory Tavern and the Mavericks game that night for FREE with Chance's work and I wanted to buy him a new Mavs hat, so I stopped by Academy and when I walked in there was a big bin full of Texas Ranger hats for $.88 each. $.88!! So I bought one of each.

After Academy I took Reed to a birthday party and on the way I drove by a Farmers Market where on the marquee it said, Blueberries for $.99! This is a big deal for us. Chloe, Reed and I can eat a whole container of Blueberries in one sitting. So I stopped an bought 2 containers. Yay!

When we got home I had a surprise in the mail. I love to open the mail box and there be anything other than bills. So I was thrilled to see this:

I won a giveaway on Twinkie Dinks facebook page. You should go check her out. She has an etsy store and sells some adorable baby stuff!

TwinkieDinks Boutique

Crib and Changing Table for Sale!

2011-03-02T21:58:00.000-06:00

My baby girl is a rebel! I keep telling her she is my baby girl and I want her to stay that way, but she refuses! She has been climbing out of her crib for sometime and the mattress is as low as it goes. She would still sleep in it at night until last Friday. She now refuses to get in it at all. I have tried so many different ways to talk to her, pray about it, wait till she is more tired, let her fall asleep first then put her in, etc. Nothing is working! She is happy sleeping in her big girl bed, but when she wakes up in the middle of the night instead of just going back to sleep, she gets up and comes out of her room.

Check out pictures of the crib and changing table here! If you or someone you know are interested email me at stephers333@hotmail.com. We are asking for $200 for the set.

Birthdays

2011-02-21T22:29:00.000-06:00

Reed celebrated his birthday at Great Wolf Lodge this year. It was perfect! His birthday February 2, was the week that it iced and snowed. We had the whole place practically to ourselves. I did not take any pictures though.

Chance's moms birthday is the day after Reed's birthday. We usually all get together, but due to all the crazy weather we did not get together till yesterday. They exchanged presents and shared a cake.

Family Fued

2011-02-21T22:22:00.000-06:00

I apoligize that I have really been slacking on my blog lately. Chance got a new TV in our gameroom, so we have spent a lot of time that I would normally sit in bed and blog, watching our awesome new tv. We have never been huge TV watchers, but lately it has been fun. I will take a picture of our gameroom when we finish it.

My family enjoyed another We Are Family Event. Bowling at Main Event was this months activity. Fun was had by all. My dad told us someone was going to win $50 but we didn't know how he was going to determine the winner. After we were done bowling we went to El Fenix for dinner. He announced that the winner was the top score minus the lowest score, then closest to that number. Chance WON! Yay!

I am so glad these girls have each other!

Texas Rangers Fan Fest 2011

2011-02-03T12:59:00.000-06:00

I may have won mom of the year for this one! A friend and I took our boys to the Texas Ranger Fan Fest. We had to stand outside in the cold, in a long line. Once we got inside we went to get in line to get wrist bands to get autographs and all of the autographs the boys wanted and we wanted were all gone. You had to be one of the first 800 in line for each one. Luckily there was still some hope for us to recieve Josh Hamilton's autograph. While we were in that long, cold line to get in they gave us tickets and then entered our ticket numbers into a lottery. 200 out of 40,000 would recieve Josh Hamilton's autograph.

We WON!!!

I won one and my friend Stephanie won one. It must be our awesome name! Our boys were so happy! After a day of standing in long lines and not getting anyones autograph's this was the needed pick me up! We did have to wait in line for about an hour for Josh's autograph, but well worth it. He was so nice to the boys and gave them a baseball card and we had a baseball signed. He is our favorite baseball player for sure! We Love You, Josh Hamilton. Yes, even Chance loves him! So, he is okay with my crush.

Get Organized!

2011-01-04T21:48:00.000-06:00

Those of you that know me, know I love organization and do not like clutter! I have been sick so I have not done my usual January organizing yet. I am ready to feel better so I can get this house in order. I thought I would write up some of my thoughts on what I like to do to stay organized. This system works great for me, I hope it can help you!

1. Be well rested (if that even exsists) - basically don't wait till the end of the day. Wear comfy clothes and turn up the music.

2. Unplug - Commit to yourself that you are not going to turn on your computer or check your email until you feel you accomplished what you wanted to for the day. I struggle with this one. I love my iphone!

3. Pick a room - Don't overwhelm yourself, decide where you want to start and stick with that room till completion.

4. 3 box system - This is the best system for me! Get 3 boxes or you can just make 3 piles, Keep, Trash, Donate. I usually put the boys to work on the trash pile. They like to go through things in the big trash can in our garage for me. It is freeing! When I am trying to decide whether to keep or get rid of something, I ask myself if I love it? If I have used it in the past year? Does it have all it's parts?

Kitchen: check expiration dates on spices, mixes, etc.; put all utensils, gadgets, small appliances in a box and take stuff out as you need it over a period of a month, anything you haven't used in a month really ask yourself if you need it.

Closet: Does it make me feel good? Does it fit me right now? Is it comfortable? Have I worn it in the past year?

Kid's rooms: It is easiest to do this when the kids are not home!!!

5. Clean - After you decide what to keep and get rid of, vaccum, move furniture and vaccum some more. Wipe down everything! Put everything in it's place, everything should have a place!

6. Day End - At the end of the day before you go to bed pick up anything that isn't in it's place, straighten pillows, etc. You will be glad you did in the morning.

Christmas 2010

2010-12-28T21:57:00.000-06:00

Happy Birthday Jesus!

Annabelle

Max

Reed

Christian

Simon

Nana & Chloe

throwing Grandpa's wood in the fire

Grandpa

Nana

Darren, Julie, Max, Annabelle, Simon and Nana

Christian and Chloe

Reed

Chloe

My mom wanted to clean out all of our old stuff out of her house so she packed it all up and wrapped it. In Darren's box was several of his old wigs. They were a hit!

Chloe loved on Biskit all night!

Chloe's only girl cousin, Annabelle!

Christmas Eve Pajamas

Wow, Santa was here!

Chloe is so obsessed with shoes this year, she was trying to put LaLaLoopsy's shoes on her feet.

Chloe's kitchen

Chance gave me the Willow Tree Nativity that I have always wanted! I love it and can't wait to add more pieces to it each year.

We had a wonderful Christmas. God has blessed us with so much and we are so grateful. It was so nice to spend time with most of our family and focus on the true meaning of Christmas.

Winterfest 2010

2010-12-21T23:25:00.000-06:00

Christian won a trip to Winterfest at Pine Cove this past weekend. This was his first time to spend the night away from family. He has been to Pine Cove with me a few times so he was comfortable with staying. He had a blast and is ready to go again.

Fun on the Farm

2010-12-21T22:30:00.001-06:00

Welcome to the farm

kick back and enjoy

roasted marshmallow's,

gazing at the horses,

wide open spaces,

tractor rides,

and brushing the horses

we had fun and are now tired, so goodnight!

We had a wonderful time at the farm this weekend. We enjoyed getting away to slow down and enjoy each other and make memories. When the story isn't so fresh I have a story to share about our time on the farm. Soon we will all look back and laugh, but right now I am just so thankful to God for his hand of protection. I woke up singing God is so good, God is so good, God is so good, He's so good to me!

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas...

2010-12-14T21:59:00.000-06:00

Here are a few of things I have been doing lately...

This stuff is so good!!! My Director at Sonshine gave us a small bag of it and my family fought over it so I had to go get the ingredients and I have now made 2 batches. 1 batch for gifts and 2nd for us to enjoy this weekend.

Banana bread for neighbors

The boys and I made these crayons for their school friends. I found the silicone trays in the dollar spot at Target and we used old crayons we already had!

I am linking up to

Santa Baby

2010-12-12T23:41:00.000-06:00

Christmas party at Sonshine Academy

Dressed up for church

We have been so busy lately and I have not taken near enough pictures, but knew I better post some cute pictures of Chloe before I lost all my readers. Maybe I can take some pictures this week and not neglect you anymore.

The Heady's 2010

2010-11-28T23:12:00.001-06:00

We wanted our pictures to represent who we are and these pictures do that, for sure!

Rene @ Roots Photography from our church is taking photos for donations for her trip to India with Rahab's Rope. If you want a family picture taken for your Christmas card or just to preserve memories give her a call. She is an amazing women! I would love to go to India with Rahab's Rope one day, so this is close to my heart. Thank You Rene!!!

OH, Christmas Tree

2010-11-27T22:16:00.000-06:00

The Christmas Tree

The Living Room

The Dining Room

The Formal Living Room

The Kitchen

One of the 2 ornaments broken today by Chloe!

Giving Thanks

2010-11-27T21:24:00.000-06:00

We had a wonderful Thanksgiving! We have so much to be thankful for. I reminded the boys of this everytime they started to fight. It seemed to work...can we just go ahead and call everyday Thanksgiving!

Snip, Snip

2010-11-27T20:16:00.000-06:00

Chloe got her 1st haircut. She did so great! I think she loved all the attention she recieved. And I think it made it even easier for her since the Jennifer's room is PINK and Black, just like her room!

End of Season Parties

2010-11-27T20:10:00.000-06:00

The boys both had their end of season parties and recieved their trophies. I only have pictures from Christian's party though. Reed's party was the night I got home from a women's retreat and I was so tired I forgot my camera. I hope to get some pictures from one of the other moms on the team. They both had a great season and we are so happy to have a winter break.

I Love Fall Ball

2010-11-08T20:05:00.000-06:00

Fall Baseball Oh How I Love Thee!
The weather has been gorgeous!
The boys are so CUTE!
They are both having so much fun playing ball with their friends!
They are both improving with every game!
The parents are all having fun!
The game have been close, intense games!

I could go on and on....

Menu Monday

2010-11-08T14:04:00.000-06:00

Monday: Grilled Burritos (fill tortillas, roll and stick them in the George Foreman)

Tuesday: Bow Tie Pasta

Wednesday: Jambalaya

Thursday: Chicken Pot Pies

Friday: I am going on a church womens retreat. It will be nice, but I am a homebody, so I will be happy to come home Saturday night!

Sunday: Frito Pie or Sloppy Joes

Stick People

2010-11-01T22:20:00.000-05:00

Christian & Reed

The boys wanted to be stick people for Trick or Treating. Can you see them? If you look really hard you can see their faces. Everyone we passed commented on how awesome they were. The boys were loving the attention!

Sweets and Treats

2010-10-31T22:02:00.002-05:00

Our church does a Trunk or Treat each year and this year was our first year to do a trunk. We did Wacky Washers, square bean bag in a round hole. The kids had a great time and got tons of candy!

Evaporation

2010-10-30T21:50:00.001-05:00

Christian's school does a science hat parade each year for Halloween. The kids get to choose a word out of the approved words and then they have to show the word on a hat. Christian chose evaporation! I thought it was going to be hard, but it ended up being our easiest hat yet.

Buzzzzz

2010-10-28T21:34:00.001-05:00

I made Chloe this Bee costume for our school costume parade. Reed wore his baseball uniform and I did not get to see his class do their parade, but he will wear his uniform again.

Texas Rangers Day

2010-10-26T21:22:00.004-05:00

In honor of our Texas Rangers going to the World Series we had Ranger Day at school. We are all so excited and proud of our Texas Rangers. Go Rangers, It's Time!

Athletics

2010-10-18T21:22:00.000-05:00

Reed's Fall 2010 T-ball team! Soooo cute!!!

CCA Football

2010-10-18T21:19:00.000-05:00

Covenant Christian Academy offered a 4 week football clinic for 3rd-6th graders and then formed teams of those that were interested and we will have 4 weeks of games. This was perfect for us because Christian has never played, it was only $25, it is from 8-10 am on Saturday mornings and we get to see our good friends the Mercers every Saturday morning. Perfect! Christian is really enjoying learning all about football.

We Are Family - 1st Event Putt-Putt

2010-10-18T21:12:00.000-05:00

The "Holt" side of our family has decided to get together and do some type of event every other month. Our first event was putt-putt and dinner. We all had a good time and dinner was awesome. I love that our family all lives close enough to be able to do things like this. I also love that my kids get to have so many fun memories with their grandparents, uncle, aunt and cousins!!!

Go Pottsboro Cardinals!

2010-10-18T20:43:00.000-05:00

Cheering, GO KAMERON!

My nephew Kameron plays football for Pottsboro High School and they were playing in Boyd (which is much closer than anywhere else they play), so we went to cheer him on. It was a great game! It was so fun watching Kameron. He did awesome! And to top it off, they WON!!!

Semi New Projects

2010-10-05T22:01:00.000-05:00

Ok, so the truth is the only thing that is new is that I finally painted and added hardware to the cabinet. My dad and I built this cabinet back in April and life was crazy busy and then it got hot. So as soon as the weather was tolerable I finally painted. I hung the cork board and the 2 white boards in April. We have relied on these boards to keep us organized. This is our family hub!

I hung these in on the wall in the laundry room. So, as soon as we walk in the door after school they hang up their backpack. Then I come back and go through them. I love these hooks! It's the little things in life that make me so happy.

In My Shoes

2010-10-05T20:32:00.000-05:00

Chloe has decided that my shoes look better on her lately. Of course she is right, she looks cuter in anything!

Friday Night Lights

2010-10-05T20:26:00.000-05:00

Friday night we had 2 baseball games. We lost the first, but won the second. I had to run the score board in the second game and I enjoyed the view! I forgot my camera, so this picture is off my phone. These boys are so cute!!!

Girls Night at the Ranger Game

2010-10-05T20:18:00.000-05:00

BNSF Family Fun Day

2010-10-05T20:12:00.000-05:00

Chance works for BNSF and every year they have a Family Fun Event. It is all to raise money for United Way. They have toy trains, bounce houses, car show, food, music, etc... Our boys love it! They look forward to working the crane all year long. Boys and their toys!

Chloe waved at everyone and enjoyed dancing to the music. I enjoyed the Dairy Queen Dilly Bars, just keepin it real!

Pine Cove '10

2010-09-20T22:38:00.000-05:00

This year since Reed is in Kindergarten it was his turn to go to Pine Cove. So, Stephanie and I took our little boys instead of the big boys. We had a blast! The boys got along great. We were so proud of them! Friday night our trip started with awful traffic and the boys needing to go to the bathroom three times, but we missed all the storms. When we finally got to Pine Cove we unpacked the car, got our swimsuits on and headed to the pool for a Dive In Movie and snack. Saturday morning we had breakfast, session, and then our scavenger hunt. On the scavenger hunt we had to do a mommy makeover where the boys got to do our make-up. Reed was such a sweetie! Lots of the moms were walking away covered in red paint all over their faces. Reed knows how I love polka dots, so he just gave me a few red dots on my face. After our scavenger hunt was lunch and then free time. During free time the boys wanted to ride horses, archery, bb guns and swim. After free time we took showers, went to dinner, session, and then Pitch Black Attack. Pitch Black Attack is a game that you get in groups and you are given a clue and have to sneek around camp going to each clue without getting caught. If you get caught you have to start over. Our group got all 4 of our clues without getting caught. It was awesome! Sunday morning we woke up, packed, session, brunch and then headed home. The boys wanted to stay at Pine Cove, so we bribed them with a Blizzard on the way home. Yummy!

Fall Ball 2010

2010-09-20T21:54:00.001-05:00

Christian, 8, Red Sox, Coach Pitch

Reed, 5 1/2, Athletics, T-ball

Chloe, 17 months, Cheerleader!

Baseball has begun again and it is hot!!! I am ready for some Fall weather.

Playing at the Park

2010-09-05T22:42:00.000-05:00

The weather has been so nice lately that we picked up some Chicken Express and headed to the park to meet some friends to play. We were the only ones there so it was very fun and relaxing. I am so thankful for how well our kids play together. The last picture warms my heart. They were just sitting and talking like little old men. After this picture Chloe walked up and got right in the middle of them. They all love her and she loves them!