I love this picture. Nawna looks so cute (on the left) but one reason I love this picture is because of the way Yaya looks. She is my BIG girl and in this picture you can really see how she is growing up. She is starting to have more of a defined look, less of the 'baby fat' kids have. She will be 7 in December and that is just CRAZY! I can't believe that. I can remember everything that happened on the day I had her. I can remember the first time I got to hold her and watching her daddy cry like a baby when she was born. So sweet. That is and will always be one of my favorite memories! :) I am so happy to have her home with me. We love homeschooling. Some days are hard and frustrating and some days I think wow, how am I going to get it all done. But then I remember that God is with me every step of the way. And that is all I need! :) Today I talked to a very sweet lady about a co-op here in town and I am so excited about it. I get to go to a meeting about it this week and find out more. Hopefully God can use me and this will be the one the kids can participate in, make new friends, and learn even more.

Thank you God for always being there, for surprising me with new things, your plan every day/week! God is GOOD... ALL the time! :)

I have been working on some of my Headbands and have some new ideas. I am so excited! I also have a fun photo shoot scheduled for next Friday night with some of my best Girlies. Yay!

Today we had a Tea Party. I haven't been feeling well this week but I decided to have my mom come to the tea party for the girls anyway. I didn't want to break their little hearts and cancel! :) It was so fun and they were so cute all dressed up!

So, Justin and I went on a date last week and we were talking... I decided to start a list of things that I want to do before I am 35. Some are more 'important' or 'serious' and some are kinda silly but it has been fun thinking about that and the things I want to put on my list. I thought I would share a few of them with you. I thought that some of them we can turn into unique/fun dates! :)

*Sing a song in front of church, lol.

*Go down the zip lines in Branson.

*Play Golf.

*Run a 5k, I would like to do that once a year.

*Go roller skating like when I was little.

*Try to water ski.

*Go Snow boarding.

*Play paintball again, at least once.

These are just a few. I will share more later. I am excited about my list. I have some other things that are more like Goals, not just 'silly/fun' things that I will share another day. I just thought this was fun and that some of you would like to do the same! :)

I hope you all have a blessed night! Smiles...xoxoxoxo *Christie*

Homeschooling Fall 2011 Classroom...for now, lol!

This is our classroom/play room. It is working really well. The kids are doing great helping me stay organized and having a good attitude about school, even when they aren't excited about the subject at the time! :) We have had fun so far and I am excited to watch them learn together.

They grow WAY too fast!

Above- this is something hanging in our dining room. I made three different clothes pins decorated for each kid and put three of my most favorite pictures of them on there. I love looking at these everyday! :)

Below- This is their closet. Their clothes are not so small anymore! :( The girls are all on the left and then bubby's goes on the right. I remember when their little dresses were shorter then the shirts they wear now! :(
I LOVE being a mommy. I love all of my kids soooooo very much. They bring so much joy into my life. I am excited about them growing up and I am excited to see what kind of teenagers and adults they will become. I want them to grow up and run for their dreams. I want them to know God is with them and through Him anything is possible. When God is their strength and their motivation they can never go wrong. I want them to watch their daddy and I as we make decisions, good and bad. I want them to learn from our mistakes and learn from us that even when you make mistakes God is there to rescue you and pick you up. When we are weak that is when God can be strong through us, and I want them to know that, that is a good thing! I am excited about them growing and learning but I am also enjoying them now. I want to enjoy them while they are little. I want to have fun and laugh with them. I want them to grow up and have amazing childhood memories like I do because of my family.
Today I want to encourage you to enjoy your life, right now, wherever it is that God has you, RIGHT NOW! Enjoy it, make is mean something to you and the people you are surrounded by. God wants to use us ALL the time, not just when WE think we are usable! :)

This week I am writing about my G-ma Barb. I think back from when we were little and remember having lots of emotions toward this amazing lady. Sometimes she scared me, she was strict about certain things and she always got our attention, lol. I remember going to her house and playing in the back sun room filled with toys. I remember Christmas at her house and how much fun it was to get together with our family, we were always laughing at her house. Sometimes she was my babysitter, I remember when I was around 8sh she lived with us for a while and would babysit us when my parents went out. I remember watching TV on the couch with her, coloring, and laughing at shows we would watch, like Americas Funniest Home Videos. I remember when she got married to grandpa Bill in my childhood backyard. I remember going to grandpa Bills work and sitting with her. We weren't allowed to touch anything but she always gave us paper and a pen to write with to keep us occupied. I remember staying the night at their house every once in a while and Nikkie and I would share the spare bedroom. I had two cute twin beds in it. They had shelves on the back so we would pretend we were in a collage dorm and that was our room. So funny!
Isn't she just the cutest? I love her so much!
Below- this is her holding my cousin Lace and I when we were babies.(I am the smaller, alien looking one.) We were 5 weeks apart so growing up we were BFF, wonderful memories of playing with her at grandmas.

Below, this is Lace and I with grandma again.(I am the one in the middle) So cute!

Below, this is Lace (on the left), Ely (Lace's Brother in front of her), Sky (Lace's other brother in front of him), Nikkie (my sis in front of Grandma), and Me with the funny scrunchy hump on my head and the adorable Garth Brooks shirt on, lol.) We all grew up with grandma a HUGE part of our lives. She was always there for us. Sometimes we thought she was strict (with the 5 of us she had to be) but we NEVER once questioned her love for us! The older I get the closer I get to her. I love having her in my life!

Below- I decided to share this picture because it is really funny! From left to right, Nikkie, me, Sky, Lace, and Ely. This is us now (well a year or so ago). We are all grown up but we still LOVE our grandma and cherish who she is to us. She never misses a birthday, a holiday, or anything that is important to us, she is always there! :) We are so blessed to have her!

Below, this was her on Easter. My cousin had her put his hat on so we took pictures. So funny! She will do anything to make us laugh! :) And believe me she makes us laugh all the time! Lol!

Below, Grandma with Sky and Ely.

Below, this is from about a month ago or so. Grandma with me and my kiddos. Love this!

Thank You Jesus for my hands!

"I am FEARFULLY and WONDERFULLY made!" Ps. 139:14

I want my girls to know that they are fearfully and wonderfully made by God and I want them to always believe it. I want them to be confident in who God made them. I also know that I am their #1. example of what a woman should be and that they look at me all day everyday to show them how they are to be. I pray that I can be what they need and that God can show them through me what he wants them to know, to be, and to believe. I am so thankful for my sweet precious little girls and our first week of homeschooling has been great! I am excited about our future as a family, in our homeschooling and just being together! :)

Spring 2011 School Photos

Saturday I took pictures of the kids. I wanted to start out our year with new ones. I would like to take some new ones more frequently then I have been lately. I love that

now they are their 'school pictures'! They are so cute and so photogenic! :)
We started school yesterday and it is so fun, hard at the same time but totally fun. They love it. Sophia and Derrek are still learning that during school time you have to sit and be quiet but I am a lot more lenient on them obviously because they are younger.

I am excited about what God has planned for our homeschooling and even more importantly our family in the next six months. God has been so good to us!

I LOVE this man soooooo much! He has made me a happy woman. We may not have much as far as this world is concerned but my heart is full! I feel very blessed to have this life God has given me! He has given me so much more them I could have asked for! Thank you Justin for loving me and working soooooo very hard for our family and to make me happy! :) I love you!