Well, Joe has now met Sexy Steve!!!
My sweetie Dajia!
Camille, what is that look?
Elliana just waking up from a nap!
Elly is showing us her new tutu skirt that I made her! I have to say I was underwhelmed by the response the girls had towards their new skirts. I suppose all those other presents were more exciting at that moment!
Girls doing a little dance with their Daddy!
Elly is showing Grandma her new present!
Family picture! What a cute looking family!
My baby sister the poser!!! LOL...she is ready when you say SMILE!We have a tendency to complicate Christianity. Jesus simplified it: Love God with all of your heart, soul, mind, and strength. If we are to live out the essence of Christianity, we must commit to being great at this Great Commandment.
In Primal, Mark Batterson explores the four elements of Great Commandment Christianity: compassion, wonder, curiosity, and power. Along the way, he calls you to be a part of God’s reformation, starting in your own life.
As Mark writes, “Is there a place in your past where you met God and God met you? A place where your heart broke for the things that break the heart of God? Maybe it was a sermon that became more than a sermon. Maybe it was a mission trip or retreat. Maybe it was a vow you made at an altar. In that moment, God birthed something supernatural in your spirit. You knew you’d never be the same again. My prayer is that this book would take you back to that burning bush—and reignite a primal faith.”
Primal will help you live in light of what matters most and discover what it means to love God. It will help you become great at the Great Commandment.
Author Bio:
The author of Wild Goose Chase and In a Pit with a Lion on a Snowy Day, Mark Batterson serves as lead pastor of National Community Church in Washington, D.C. One church with nine services in five locations, NCC is focused on reaching emerging generations and meets in movie theaters at metro stops throughout the D.C. area. Mark has two Masters degrees from Trinity Evangelical Divinity School in Chicago. He and his wife, Lora, live on Capitol Hill with their three children. www.markbatterson.com
**This book was provided for review by WaterBrook Multnomah and no monies were received to do so**
My niece Dajia keeps seeing the commercials for the movie The Princess and the Frog so yesterday I thought I'd surprise her with a little trip to the movies!
Here she is waiting for the movie to start...we got popcorn and M&M's to snack on!
She and I before the movie started!! I love this sweet girl...the theatre allowed the armrests to be raised so we were able to cuddle together during the movie! She is so sweet...she'd lay her head against mine and said "I Love You Auntie"!
First picture..."I'm not so sure I want you to be holding me Auntie Rachel"
Second picture...not so bad by I look half drugged...let's try again!
Third picture...
Fourth picture...I was pushing my luck and thought she'd let me take just one more...but she is now trying to throw herself out of my arms...stinker!
This was a Bayou Christmas brought to you by Ty and LiAnne...
This lovely farm, complete with candy corn fields, a silo, a tractor and an animal cookie farm was made by Dan D. and Cecelia....
This "Cowboys and Indians" gingerbread theme was made by myself, Christina and Alicia. Notice our Cowboys are hiding behind the tree waiting to see if the Indians were friendly or not. Some others called our creation "Custer's Last Christmas"!
And this lovely snowman factory was made by Clayton and Katie! A few years ago they made Mr. Smileys Reindeer Jerky Factory and this year Mr. Smileys' brother-in-law Mr. Happy was showing off his snowman factory!
And this picture shows that once inside you don't come out the same! In this case the snowmen come out as Freezer Pops (aka...Otter Pops)....
Both are written by Lisa T. Bergen. The first, God Gave us Love, is about a young polar cub going fishing with his Grampa when some otters start causing problems. He asks why they need to love others, even those who cause problems. This is a great book for kids to learn about love for others and the unconditional love Christ has for us!
invented Christmas and who is more important: Santa or God. Great book to introduce the meaning of Christmas to young children and to remind us older kids that Christ is the center of our Christmas! Both books would be great presents for any youngster in your family!Lisa Tawn Bergren is the award-winning author of nearly thirty titles, totaling more than 1.5 million books in print. She writes in a broad range of genres, from adult fiction to devotional. God Gave Us Love follows in Lisa’s classic tradition of the best-selling God Gave Us You. She lives in Colorado, with her husband, Tim, and their children, Olivia, Emma, and Jack.
considers tangible reminders of God’s active presence and guides readers in discovering evidence in their own lives of his attentive love. “The idea for the book came from a cigar box filled with odds and ends of my grandfather’s life that arrived a few months after his death. Sifting through the objects in the box, I experienced him in a fresh new way. This made me wonder what treasures might be tucked away in Scripture that could frame God for me in an equally intimate, tangible way. This process also helped me uncover my own “treasures” of my walk with the Lord: objects that remind me of my history with him and his faithfulness to me,” says McLeroy.
Drawn from the pages of Scripture, the author considers twelve such treasures and personalizes their meaning for readers, such as a green olive branch that offers proof of God’s “new every morning” mercy and a scarlet cord that demonstrates his willingness to adopt “strays” of every sort.
Weaving these treasures together with scenes from her personal history, Leigh McLeroy invites readers to discover God’s heart for them and embrace their unique role in his redemptive story. Treasured offers readers a guided experience of God’s love and character and invites them to consider their own treasures that point to their part in God’s ongoing story.
Author Bio:
Leigh McLeroy is the author of The Beautiful Ache and The Sacred Ordinary. An avid collector and recorder of everyday moments, words, and wonders, Leigh’s keen eye for God’s presence in ordinary life infuses her writing and living with a deep, insistent joy. A frequent conference and event speaker, the author makes her home in Houston, Texas, and posts often on www.leighmcleroy.com and www.wednesdaywords.com.
This book was provided for review by the WaterBrook Multnomah Publishing Group.
This is the sign you are eligible to win (and personalize)! This is a $65 gift to you...just for you reading my blog and entering my contest! It probably will not make it to you in time for you to hang it out before Christmas; however, I think you can hang it out until the end of January or so!
Group shot
Camille and Elliana....hug time!
My favorite way to take pictures....self-portrait style!
Me and Brittany! She had the whole week off of school so we got to spend a lot of time together!
Sisters...Maddy and Brittany with little cousin Elly
Almost all the grandkids (Ernie's weren't here this year).
Just different facial expressions in this picture...
Maddy's at that awkward stage...too little to hang out with the older kids and too old to play constantly with the little kids! But she sure does love the little kiddos....what a great big sister and cousin she is.
Should I be concerned that she was digging through my hair?
Not only do I look a little drugged in the picture below, but she has red eyes...I wonder what we were smokin'?
We put my nephew Brandon and his friend Jennifer to work by cleaning the kitchen! Why is cleaning the kitchen the worst job imaginable? 
I have no idea what I was doing here! Brittany is in the background and it looks like Ernie's butt is back there too!! 
My sister Shannon busy making stuffing.
Keeping busy in the kitchen!
Last week my niece Elliana decided to biff it on the floor with a water bottle in her mouth...unfortunately, it gave her a big fat lip!!! This picture doesn't really do it justice...but her whole left side was swollen and fat! 
Elliana....isn't she just a cutie patootie!
ook and I am really enjoying it. It is about a small town girl who moved to LA and is called back to her hometown to see to family matters. Along the way she has changed her name in order to not be connected to her hometown family; however, she is learning how important family (and God) really are! On top of it she is falling for the gardener for her Uncle's estate while trying to remain focused on the good and proper man she has picked out for her life!
le because she had what it takes: money, youth, fame, and above all, beauty. But age has withered that beauty, and a crooked accountant has taken her wealth, leaving the proud widow penniless and alone.
