Well, I think it has been a good 497 days since I have been on this blog, and I think it's time to come back. You see, pretty much the only person who read my blog went to be with Jesus over a year ago and I just couldn't bring myself to write for only me.
My good friend, Brie, is with the Lord and I couldn't be more excited for her, but I also couldn't be more sad for her sweet family. It has taken a good year or so of the Lord working in my heart and showing me more of who He is to bring about healing in my own life. This is a work in progress, my friends.
Words simply cannot describe how great my friend Brie was. She was incredibly kind, thoughtful, fun loving and treasured her kids and husband. She was a great mom who always had fun things planned for her kids and who prayed for them daily. She wanted the very best for her family and truly was one who sought after the heart of God. She was an encouragement to me as a mom, friend and wife and I truly miss her. I know the Lord has a great plan for all of this and just to see how many people heard about the love of Jesus from her family and friends after her death was nothing short of amazing. It's a reminder of why we are here....to share the love of Jesus with everyone we meet. Brie did this every day of her life and her family continues to do this today. I am blessed to have known Brie and am encouraged to love my family, my friends and those who are not as easy to love more each day because we don't know how long we have to love.
Which is why I think it's time to begin writing again. For the handful of you who will begin to read this blog again, I thank you. I hope it's a place of encouragement. That's the intent, anyway. With a little funny thrown in here and there. I am the mother of Sawyer, you know. It's kind of hard to not have funny when he is around.
Until next time.........Blessings to you~
Shonda
Thursday, September 6, 2012
Tuesday, December 21, 2010
Thanksgiving in Texas
We enjoyed spending time in Texas for Thankgiving this year. It was a whirlwind trip with Rusty driving for 36 hours, but well worth the time the kids were able to spend with family. Hallie had her last soccer game Saturday morning so we decided to head out after her game. The original plan was for me to drive by myself with the kids and at the last minute, my awesome husband decided to drive with us. I was so grateful for that spontaneous decision. We arrived in Texas late Saturday night and were able to stay with my mom and my sweet brother in his gorgeous new house!
On Sunday, the kids wanted to surprise Joanee and Poppa with a special visitor.....their daddy! Russ and Joan didn't know Rusty decided to drive down with us and that was a fun surprise for all of us! We spent most of the day with them and these wonderful people!
I can't tell you how thankful I am for these crazy cats! Mema and Papa have brought us so much joy and we treasure every moment we get to spend with them. Most moments are filled with laughter and we wouldn't have it any other way! They both love the Lord and strive to serve Him every day. They have a nack for making people feel welcome and loved no matter what and that is a true gift. They are prayer warriors and we are so thankful for the values and faith they have instilled in their children, grandchildren and great grandchildre. Thank you Mema and Papa for all that you do!
Honey bought Hallie some beautiful dress up clothes so we enjoyed surprise visits from Belle and Cinderella and the Little Mermaid all week! So fun!!!
Of course, we couldn't go to Texas without spending time with Tater and Austin! So, we decided to go bowling so that I could show Austin some of my fantastic bowling skills! :)
These three are quite a crew! They like to have fun wherever they go! Sawyer wasn't too interested in bowling, but he had a great time playing firetruck man and helping everyone carry their bowling balls. Austin bowled a great game, as long as he had the bumpers! Ha! (You know I'm kidding, Aust!) We decided to head to Chick-Fil-A to celebrate us finally breaking 100. Luckily, Tate and Hallie were persistent and bowled a 105! The rest of us could use a little practice!
This post has been a little long, so I am going to take a break. I'll be back in a bit to share the rest of our fun times! I know you will be waiting on pins and needles........................
On Sunday, the kids wanted to surprise Joanee and Poppa with a special visitor.....their daddy! Russ and Joan didn't know Rusty decided to drive down with us and that was a fun surprise for all of us! We spent most of the day with them and these wonderful people!
Rusty and Mema
Papa and Hallie
The kids loved their time with Joanee and Poppa, as always. We are blessed that the kids have such good grandparents.
Joanee and Poppa and the kids
We spent most of the day on Sunday with the Reneau's and then headed out to get Rusty on the airplane so he could fly back to work for a few days.
The kids and I spent the first few days of our vacation with my mom and brother. We all LOVE our time with Honey and it has been so nice to have quality time with Uncle Pudge too! We played games, played dress up, watched talent shows, made cookies, watched movies, played with Uncle Pudge's dogs, went shopping and even had a few visits from "Firetruck man!" And that was all in the first day! HA!
Hallie and Honey
This post has been a little long, so I am going to take a break. I'll be back in a bit to share the rest of our fun times! I know you will be waiting on pins and needles........................
Monday, November 22, 2010
The Finished Project
Count Your Blessings Christmas 5x7 folded card
Make a statement with custom Christmas cards at Shutterfly.
View the entire collection of cards.
We are proud of our finished project! We hope you enjoy it as well! If you are looking for high quality photos for a good price, you should try shutterfly! We had a savings of over $100 on our order and that is a huge blessing, especially at this time of year!
Wednesday, November 17, 2010
Christmas Cards!!!!!!!!!!
I absolutely love Christmas for so many reasons. One of the things I love about Christmas is sending and receiving Christmas cards in the mail. We were going to send a "We've moved" card, but we were so busy from the move, that we are just now getting around to doing this, so we will just combine it all together in a Christmas card.
We are going to use Shutterfly this year for our cards. I have recently been introduced to Shutterfly and I love their products! They have everything from calendars to blankets to photo books and tons more! I have really been impressed with the quality of their products as well, and to make them even better, they run lots of specials throughout the year to get their already inexpensive products even less! I love a good bargain!
We get the grandparents a calendar with the kids' pictures every year for Christmas. In the past, I have pictures printed from shutterfly and I just attach them to a pre-made calendar. This year, I think I may surprise them with something like this.
There are so many cute Christmas cards this year. I have had a hard time choosing! Of course, you will have to wait patiently by your mailbox to see what we chose this year, but if you want to find some for yourself, I highly recommend Shutterfly.
I'm getting 50 free cards from Shutterfly this year just for blogging about it. That's a pretty good perk, just to have a blog! If you want to blog and get free cards too, check it out here.
We are going to use Shutterfly this year for our cards. I have recently been introduced to Shutterfly and I love their products! They have everything from calendars to blankets to photo books and tons more! I have really been impressed with the quality of their products as well, and to make them even better, they run lots of specials throughout the year to get their already inexpensive products even less! I love a good bargain!
We get the grandparents a calendar with the kids' pictures every year for Christmas. In the past, I have pictures printed from shutterfly and I just attach them to a pre-made calendar. This year, I think I may surprise them with something like this.
There are so many cute Christmas cards this year. I have had a hard time choosing! Of course, you will have to wait patiently by your mailbox to see what we chose this year, but if you want to find some for yourself, I highly recommend Shutterfly.
I'm getting 50 free cards from Shutterfly this year just for blogging about it. That's a pretty good perk, just to have a blog! If you want to blog and get free cards too, check it out here.
Monday, November 15, 2010
Hot Wheels!
Have any of you seen this before?
Do you know what is called?
According to my precious daughter, it is a Hot Wheel! She is wearing a shirt today that Mattison and Trinity gave her and it has peace signs all over it. She was talking about drawing a picture for her Grandma Margaret this morning and she was going to put hot wheels all over it. (I was thinking hot wheels as in the little cars that Sawyer plays with, but Hallie had another object in mind.) She said, you know, like the ones all over my shirt. It made me giggle!
You learn something new every day! :)
According to my precious daughter, it is a Hot Wheel! She is wearing a shirt today that Mattison and Trinity gave her and it has peace signs all over it. She was talking about drawing a picture for her Grandma Margaret this morning and she was going to put hot wheels all over it. (I was thinking hot wheels as in the little cars that Sawyer plays with, but Hallie had another object in mind.) She said, you know, like the ones all over my shirt. It made me giggle!
You learn something new every day! :)
Sunday, November 14, 2010
Pumpkins, Pumpkins, Pumpkins!
One of the things we love about Missouri is the Fall! It is a time of festivals, crisp air, cooler weather, beautiful scenery and pumpkins! We have had a lot of fun with pumpkins over the past few weeks. We took the kids to one of the many pumpkin patches here in the area. The Pumpkin Patch has been a tradition, even before we moved here. Rusty and I would love to go with the G's to take Jordan, Chelsi and Bre to pick out a pumpkin and enjoy all the fun activities Rombach's had to offer. We loved taking Hallie when she was not yet a year old and we are thrilled to be able to take both of our kids today.
We also had a fun night of Pumpkin Carving! (Just a side note.....the pumpkins at the patch were $10 and up, so we opted to pick out a tiny $1 pumpkin from the patch and head over to Aldi to buy our larger pumpkins for $1.99. I love a bargain!)
Hallie was really into pumpkin carving this year. She drew her own design and carved her pumpkin all by herself. She did a great job!
Daddy had to help get it started.
Working on his own masterpiece!
Rusty's finished STL.......Go Cardinals!!
Meet Hallie's pumpkin, Arthur Reed.
And, my happy pumpkin!
I thought I got a picture of all three lit up, but I can't seem to find it. I'll let ya know if I come across it.
Happy Halloween! (a few weeks late :)
We also had a fun night of Pumpkin Carving! (Just a side note.....the pumpkins at the patch were $10 and up, so we opted to pick out a tiny $1 pumpkin from the patch and head over to Aldi to buy our larger pumpkins for $1.99. I love a bargain!)
Hallie was really into pumpkin carving this year. She drew her own design and carved her pumpkin all by herself. She did a great job!
Playing in the garage while Mommy and Daddy finish carving.
I thought I got a picture of all three lit up, but I can't seem to find it. I'll let ya know if I come across it.
Happy Halloween! (a few weeks late :)
Saturday, November 13, 2010
The next Mia Hamm
Our daughter is an awesome soccer player. I mean that with all my heart. She has never made a goal and she has only kicked the ball a handfull of times, but she is an incredible player. Let me tell you why......Hallie has passion. She is dedicated. She has endurance. She has heart!
Hallie started the year very excited about soccer. She was excited about playing a game that she knew nothing about because her friend, Lucy, was going to play too. Rusty had to show Hallie a game of soccer on TV so she would know what she would soon be playing. Hallie was excited about picking out her soccer ball, shin guards, soccer cleats and soccer socks. Aunt Connie even bought her cute t-shirt sleeve ties with soccer balls on them to wear when it gets hot. Hallie couldn't wait to wear her new gear to soccer camp! It was to be a 3 day soccer camp to get the girls acquainted with the game, their coach and new teammates. The first day of camp was a busy day....Honey was in town and we were busy playing with her. It was a rush to get to camp that evening and we even had to stop at kmart to buy shorts because we didn't have enough time to make it home to change. Hallie was a bit nervous but walked out on the field and listened as her coach prayed for her team and the time they had together. You see, Hallie has been fortunate to play for a Christian Homeschool team that values prayer, encouragement and friendships.
Hallie was, understandably, apprehensive in the beginning. She was fine as long as Rusty or I was there to watch her and cheer her on. The first few practices did not go well. In fact, Hallie stood still for the first 20 minutes of one practice and wouldn't participate because she was afraid. As soon as I came back from taking Sawyer to the playground, she ran to me and started crying saying she didn't want to play soccer anymore. As parents, Rusty and I were ready to pull her off the team and shield her from anything that upset her. We just wanted to hold her and love her and tell her it would all be okay and she would never have to play sports again! :) But, we also knew we couldn't do that. We wanted to teach her that we don't give up on things when they get hard or scary. 2 Timothy 1:7 tells us that God has not given us a spirit of timidity, but of power, love and discipline. We constantly prayed with Hallie and encouraged her to persevere and she did not disappoint!
It has been inspiring to watch God transform Hallie over the past 15 weeks into a strong and courageous girl who is excited to play soccer every week. She counts down the days until practice or her soccer game and she is truly joyful! Granted, she does not have an aggressive bone in her body and she rarely gets in there to kick the ball, but she loves playing the game and she has such determination and endurance! She never stops running after the ball and she cheers on her teammates the entire game. I believe that playing for a Christian homeschool group has been extremely beneficial for Hallie. She has coaches who truly care about her as an individual and who pray for her and her teammates. That has been such a blessing to us and we are so thankful!
Hallie has much to learn about the game of soccer, but, over the past few months, has learned many valuable skills to help guide her through this game of life. To God be the glory!
Hallie started the year very excited about soccer. She was excited about playing a game that she knew nothing about because her friend, Lucy, was going to play too. Rusty had to show Hallie a game of soccer on TV so she would know what she would soon be playing. Hallie was excited about picking out her soccer ball, shin guards, soccer cleats and soccer socks. Aunt Connie even bought her cute t-shirt sleeve ties with soccer balls on them to wear when it gets hot. Hallie couldn't wait to wear her new gear to soccer camp! It was to be a 3 day soccer camp to get the girls acquainted with the game, their coach and new teammates. The first day of camp was a busy day....Honey was in town and we were busy playing with her. It was a rush to get to camp that evening and we even had to stop at kmart to buy shorts because we didn't have enough time to make it home to change. Hallie was a bit nervous but walked out on the field and listened as her coach prayed for her team and the time they had together. You see, Hallie has been fortunate to play for a Christian Homeschool team that values prayer, encouragement and friendships.
Hallie was, understandably, apprehensive in the beginning. She was fine as long as Rusty or I was there to watch her and cheer her on. The first few practices did not go well. In fact, Hallie stood still for the first 20 minutes of one practice and wouldn't participate because she was afraid. As soon as I came back from taking Sawyer to the playground, she ran to me and started crying saying she didn't want to play soccer anymore. As parents, Rusty and I were ready to pull her off the team and shield her from anything that upset her. We just wanted to hold her and love her and tell her it would all be okay and she would never have to play sports again! :) But, we also knew we couldn't do that. We wanted to teach her that we don't give up on things when they get hard or scary. 2 Timothy 1:7 tells us that God has not given us a spirit of timidity, but of power, love and discipline. We constantly prayed with Hallie and encouraged her to persevere and she did not disappoint!
It has been inspiring to watch God transform Hallie over the past 15 weeks into a strong and courageous girl who is excited to play soccer every week. She counts down the days until practice or her soccer game and she is truly joyful! Granted, she does not have an aggressive bone in her body and she rarely gets in there to kick the ball, but she loves playing the game and she has such determination and endurance! She never stops running after the ball and she cheers on her teammates the entire game. I believe that playing for a Christian homeschool group has been extremely beneficial for Hallie. She has coaches who truly care about her as an individual and who pray for her and her teammates. That has been such a blessing to us and we are so thankful!
Hallie has much to learn about the game of soccer, but, over the past few months, has learned many valuable skills to help guide her through this game of life. To God be the glory!
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