"If you go for it, I'm in it", God.

Don't forget to quiet my music on the side before you start the video.

The Boy's Big Bend Trip

The boys took a trip to Big Bend the beginning of our Thanksgiving break. Aren't they a good looking group of men? My brother's family met up with them there. They had too much fun!

They love taking pictures at this spot. It's a great place to trick your eyes! 

I love this picture of Ross showing off his muscles as he's hanging from the mountain side! :)






Love this picture of Garrison! Love it.





How cute are these kids? They are such sweet cousins!

They all had a good time and I enjoy them going. The only thing that I worry about is them falling off of cliffs and running across fellows like the one below. EEK! Garrison stepped right over this rattlesnake! 

I THINK I have worked out some of the earlier kinks I was having with the new edit version. Still being a booger. The cool thing about it is that the pictures are bigger! Yay to that!

~Sunday Snapshot: My Katie~

Stefanie at Ni Hao Y'all started Sunday Snapshot and I thought it was a great way to focus on taking pictures of my OTHER kids! :) I do have other kids you know. Four of them. Well, actually five of them counting my son-in-law Blake.

I decided who better to start with than my oldest daughter, Katie!

Katie is an awesome kid. Everyone will tell you that! Not only is she beautiful, but she's got an incredible heart. And she can talk. I mean this girl can talk. And the wonderful thing about Katie is that she can talk to anyone! And everyone falls in love with her. My sweet Katie.

Katie is my first K.M. :) Her legal name is Katherine Mary Alice. She was named after my grandmother, Mary Alice. Katherine also means "Pure", which when I named her this I really didn't know what it meant. But God did. He's so cool when He shows Himself like this. You see, I had Katie when I was only 16 years old (a month from turing 17). Obviously because of this fact I didn't remain "pure" before marriage. As a young teenager, Katie made the decision, on her own, to remain pure before she married. She knew that doing this for herself was a wise decision, but she also wanted to do it for me. How do I know this? Because when she graduated from high school she told me this. I cannot begin to tell you what a gift this was/is to me! She saw and understood the pain of my past decisions of my life and redeemed me in a way. Yes...she restored my honor. My darling girl Katie.

Katie even took it a step further than most people. She made the decision as a young teenager that not only would she remain pure, but she would not kiss until she married. People, I'm thinking the same as you!!! Wow!! The incredible part of this is that she started dating her husband when they were only sophomores in high school. And then they went to the same university. They even studied abroad together in Oxford.

But oh, what a sweet wedding it was and when the time came for their kiss, everyone was watching! :)

I say all of this because this gives a mere glimpse of the strong woman she is. When Katie thinks of doing something, she does it! She is one of the most reliable people that I know. I wish there were more Katies in the world. A lot would get done. :)

In high school Katie fell in love with photography. She especially loves taking pictures of people. Her dream full time job would to just be able to do this. The Lord is slowly blessing her and she's keeping busy doing what she loves.

This past weekend we had Thanksgiving At The Beach with my whole family! I mean....my WHOLE family! It was all my side of the family AND Karl's side of the family. People, I'm telling you I'm a blessed woman. Who can do that? sigh. Me.

Katie took pictures of everyone's immediate family (I can't wait to show them all off!). I got some shots of her in action.

I like this one 'cause you can see the chaos on the side. :)

I have to give Lex the credit for this next photo. LOVE this picture.

And because Katie is the photographer, she needed someone else to get behind the camera to take some pics of her and her husband Blake. I loved being able to take these shots of them. Katie also has one of the most beautiful smiles I have ever seen. A smile that lights up any room!

Aren't the newlyweds cute!?

~Wordless Wednesday~

Birthday Pics!

Some pics from our "Lexie Celebration" last night! I get VERY distracted VERY easily, and so, once the candles were blown out and the cake eatin' was started, I stopped taking pictures. :) But, just for record sake, Lex got a new black wool coat, 2 pairs of T*M's shoes, a groovy purse, a groovy long sweater cardigan, some TALL pj pants ('cause she's a tall girl and tall pj's can't be found at just any 'ole store), st*rbucks giftcard, and itunes* giftcard. And hugs and kisses from her favorite Peanut!

After Karleigh Mei "helped" Lex blow out the candles, she told Lexie, "Thank you for helping me blow out the candles!" We have an issue with wanting to blow out everyone's candles. Her friends Maliah and Libby can attest to that! Sorry Maliah and Libby...we're working on that!!!

We had fun celebrating Lexie last night! Last year, on her birthday, we had just gotten TA (travel approval) and were preparing for our trip to China! Wow....what a year it has been!!

HaPPY 17th BiRTHDaY LeXie!!!

Happy 17th Birthday my Lexie girl!!! I could NOT be more proud of the young woman you have become. Seventeen years ago, Daddy and I laid eyes on you for the first time and we asked the Lord to always keep His hand on you, that you were His. He has been so faithful!! What incredible JOY it is to Daddy and I, that you follow the Lord with your whole heart, soul, and mind!! The Lord has some pretty amazing things planned for you my Dear...of this I am SURE!

To all those who may or may not know Lexie, Lexie has the biggest heart of anyone I know. When I read 1 Corinthians 13: 4-7 I can see Lexie in EVERY description of what love is. Yes. EVERY one. Wow. There are several....ahem...that I struggle with on a daily basis. I love The Message version of 1 Corinthians 13: 4-7. I can see my girl in this verse.

1 Corinthians 13: 4-7 (The Message)

Love never gives up.
Love cares more for others than for self.
Love doesn't want what it doesn't have.
Love doesn't strut,
Doesn't have a swelled head,
Doesn't force itself on others,
Isn't always "me first,"
Doesn't fly off the handle,
Doesn't keep score of the sins of others,
Doesn't revel when others grovel,
Takes pleasure in the flowering of truth,
Puts up with anything,
Trusts God always,
Always looks for the best,
Never looks back,
But keeps going to the end

My Beautiful Alexandra Lillian...

And the following pics are just mere glimpses into her big 'ole heart...

Can't wait to celebrate YOU today!!!

10 Days

Today marks the 4 year anniversary of the day that Karleigh Mei's birth mother placed her in a spot where she would be found quickly. I don't know the reasons why she did this, I can only speculate. There are MANY reasons that COULD answer the why, but we just don't know. Was it because she knew she would not be able to get the medical attention she knew Karleigh Mei needed because of her eye? Was it because she already had a child and knew that the implications of having another were severe? We may never know.

I can guess that the decision to leave her was a torturous one. Oh the pain she must have felt! Karleigh Mei's birth mother kept her for 10 days. For 10 days she held her. For 10 days she took care of her. For 10 days she looked on her. Did she know for 10 days the inevitable? Did she try to will herself to do it sooner? How long did her heart break for her once it was done? Was it her birth mother's decision? Her birth father's decision? A mutual decision?

For many years, even for years before Karleigh Mei was even conceived, I have been praying for her birth mother. I almost sense that we have a "history" together. I have no doubt that the Lord placed His merciful hand on her birth mother. I know that she had to have sensed His presence. Whether she knew what it was or not. I pray that the Lord continues to place His hands on her, and give her peace that all is well with Karleigh Mei. I pray that someone, somehow, tells her about our Father in Heaven and the ultimate gift He gave to us all. I hope to meet her one day in eternity.

For the last 10 days I have thought about what it would have been like to have my baby with me for 10 days only. I was surprised, during the days, to realize how much time 10 days really feels like. I took some pictures of SOME of the events that took place during these last 10 days. We've made lots of memories, as I'm sure Karleigh Mei's birth mother did for the 10 days she had her.

10 days between November 2, 2009-November 12, 2009

She has dressed up~

She has danced with the Wiggles*~
She has licked beaters~

And opened birthday gifts~
She has been celebrated~
She has been bike riding~
She has helped her dad paint his work bench~
She's been loved on~
She has painted~
She has played outside on her bike (lots of this has been done this week!)~
She has eaten pixie sticks~
She has been to a football game~
She's been bossy (and sassy!)~
She's played with her trains~
She has been to dance class (twice).

She has gotten her hair cut.

She has eaten 30 meals and countless snacks.

She has slept in her bed 20 times (counting naps too!).

She has brushed her teeth and taken baths.

She has gone to Targ*t and to C*stco.

She has taken walks with her dad.

She has gone to get the mail.

She has watched t.v. and listened to music.

She has talked on the phone.

She has been to a birthday party.

She has been out to eat.

She has hugged and loved.

And the list goes on...

All in just 10 days.

~Wordless Wednesday~

Candy. Necklace.

I just have to add this story, and it has nothing to do with candy necklaces. I just want to get it down before I forget it.

Last week we were in Tar*get and we were walking to look at the Christmas decorations. Even though Karleigh Mei was with us last year on Christmas, she was in such a state of shock that she doesn't remember any of it. At all.

So...back to Tar*get. Walking towards the Christmas decorations section, I started to tell Karleigh Mei that Christmas was coming up and that it is Jesus' birthday! And as soon as I said this, she just FLIPS out! She was yelling that it's NOT Jesus' birthday and that she doesn't like Jesus. Oh my. Oh my, oh my.

You see, she has had to wait a WHOLE year for HER birthday to come up. Everyone has had a birthday except her. So she was feeling a little birthday stingy. Not even Jesus was allowed to have a birthday. Well, it doesn't matter whose birthday it is, but ESPECIALLY because it was Jesus we were talking about, I was not a happy mama. We immediately left Tar*get, we didn't look at the decorations, and she had a talkin' to by her mama and her daddy.

So today, we were back at Tar*get and I leaned down to her and said, "Let's go look at the Christmas decorations." She immediately piped up and said she wanted me to tell her about whose birthday it was again, but I had to wait until we were in the EXACT same spot as her "flip out" incident last week. So we get to where we were last week, and I say, "Karleigh Mei, did you know that Christmas is celebrated because it's Jesus' birthday!?" To which she replied, "I love Jesus! Yay!" And people....she doesn't even know that SHE gets gifts on Jesus' birthday! Ha ha!

I just loved that she wanted a do-over. I love this girl! And so...we came home and I let her make her candy necklace and I let her eat almost the whole thing in one sitting. :)