a scrapbook several months ago. Being that I do not scrapbook anymore...bummer,
I have decided to use this blog as a way to do that!
And what I thought would take me a couple of hours took me oh...
a couple of DAYS!
I thought I would put together some highlights of the year so when I turn my
blog into a scrapbook I will have this as a reminder of the year 2011!
January
Jaden turned 10...wow double digits!!
We took some of his friends to play paintball...Cody Street & Baylor Haynie.
For His Bday dinner he picked
Joe's Crab Shack & took his buddy Baylor. He loves crab legs.
Jaden doesn't like cake very much so we get him a dozen of Krispie Kreme donuts
& stack them up & make a donut cake.
He has really gotten into guns, hunting & such this year.
Lauren turned 14 this year. I don't know how we will top this bday!
Our friend Sean is buds with Toby Mac & he got Lauren back stage
passes to see Toby Mac & we got to stand in a private area during the
concert & watch. I have to say...it was an awesome time.
If you have never been to a Toby Mac concert...you need to go!
She also wanted a Krispie Kreme cake.
We took Hanna Scott & Alex Cook with us to the concert.
For her Bday dinner she picked Teds Mexican Restaurant.
February
Brooke turned 12 this year. She had several friends over for a night of
Minute To Win it games & the famous chocolate fountain. It was a lot of fun!
Hailey Scott, Avery Taylor, Marti Tibbles, Emma James & Emily Shields came
to the party to hang out.
The big present this year for her was a her cell phone!
Oh this girl has loved the phone before she could talk so
she was so happy. For her bday dinner we went to Los Cabos.
Brooke wanted a homemade Chocolate chip cookie for her cake.
Snow...snow & more snow.
22 inches of snow was the BIG news this year! I have never
in my life seen that much snow in Oklahoma. We were out of school for
2 weeks & we couldn't even get the Expedition out of the driveway for a couple of days.
We pulled the kids behind the 4 wheeler on the sled. They will do that until
their faces freeze off! Matt got the old tractor out to shovel the snow.
The girls took the dogs to obedience school. We remodeled the kids bathroom &
the living room/kitchen area. We almost poisoned our family one night when
we put the sealer on the concrete floor. I'm not kidding either!! The fumes
seriously were to strong. Everything in our house tasted like sealer for months.
The girls & I went to Winter Jam with some friends.
Love worshipping with my girls & as they are growing up we are
having more & more opportunities to do this.
March
We celebrated a life well lived...Eunice McCroskey, Matt's Grandma
passed away. We watched as her mind slowly slip away from us in the last few years.
Grandma McCroskey was a Godly woman who loved her husband of over 70 years
& was so proud of her family. I will always remember her laugh & how she & Grandpa
would tell stories & kept us all entertained. We will miss them both.
We spent a couple of days in Kansas with Matt's Brothers family during Spring Break.
They just moved into their new building this year so we loved being able to worship with them & their church family.
Matt & I went to the Chris Tomlin concert with our FCC staff.
April
Mom & I hosted Danielle's wedding shower. We had all kinds of delicious treats...
one of my favorite was these yummy cupcakes my friend Grace made.
One of the best moments of the month was Greg giving his life to Christ & be
baptized on Easter weekend. Praise the Lord!!
Every Easter we dye eggs in our garage with the kids. Even though the
oldest grandchild is 23, they all still come up with the most colorful eggs
& look forward to it each year.
One of their favorite parts of dying eggs is, the Egg toss!
As you can see...we make a mess!!
May
Armed & Dangerous...3 days full of fun, encouragement,
relationship building, Amazing Race, sleeping in a 5 star hotel, Nashville,
worshipping with my PWs, tears, prayer time & a retreat that left
my cup over flowing in ways I haven't yet found the words to express.
Those ladies are precious to me.
I subbed in Kindergarten another 6 weeks for Mrs. Hensen.
Danielle & Lonnie graduated from The U of A.
May 22 we attended church at Carterville & had the JOY of hugging on
some of our first youth group kids who are now all grown up.
Then we attended Kenzie & Amanda's graduation, little did we know as
we left we were in the middle of the biggest storm ever to hit.
As we drove to Christy's the tornado sirens were blaring.
We waited out the storm & from the news we had no idea the
devastation that was happening just 1 mile from us.
As we headed out of town, we saw just a small glimpse of what
the tornado had destroyed. It wasn't until we were home that it
all began to unfold before our eyes what had happened to a town
we once lived in...& still loved.
June
Danielle & Lonnie's wedding was the big news of the month!
It was so much fun! We danced, had a photobooth, a wonderful dinner
& Matt did an amazing job! Everyone looked so beautiful. Probably
one of the most fun weddings I have ever attended. So proud
of this couple & I can't wait to see how God uses them.
Lauren went to HS camp & one of their days was spent cleaning
up debris at a park in Joplin. Service projects always help put
things into perspective.
Jaden went to Galveston with his Grandma & Grandpa
Thomason. To quote Jaden...the best time of his life.
They went to the Space Center & if you know Jaden,
he is all about that kinda information!
I went on my annual trip to OKC to spend time with some
ladies that always build me up & refresh me. We were in
the youth group together & we have a blast each year.
Brooke went to Jr. High camp also.
July
We took our annual summer trip to Branson, except this year
my crazy family talked me into Ziplining!! I bawled like a baby
when we pulled into the parking lot & almost wet my pants!
I was so scared. But I bucked up & did it & I liked it so much
that when we went to YQ I went again. GASP!
We took the kids to the Dixie Stampede, so GOOD!
We spent the 4th at the lake with my family. So relaxing &
the kids look forward to it.
Jaden went to 5th grade camp at Cyokamo.
After 18 years...we finally got to take one of our own to YQ.
I so enjoyed having Lauren there! For the first time we had
a bear get into a tent & pretty much scared the pants off us all!
God is so good & many lives were changed in the Colorado mountains.
August
We had our first mud bowl with the kids & some of their friends.
I think it will become an annual event.
I started my full time job as the Principal's Secretary at the 6th grade Center.
Celebrated my 39th bday by going to the Cheesecake Factory with my
sweet family. YUMMY!
The kids started school...big year for Lauren. She is officially a High School
Student at the Mid High. Jaden began his last year of Elementary.
And Brooke is a 7th grader now. Time seems to fly faster these days.
Their first day outfits always show their personalities. Nana comes down before
our first day of school to pray with us.
August always brings the start of football season...hot...hot & did I mention
that it's been a HOT summer? Day upon day over 100 degrees.
September
Celebrated Matt's 39th bday at the lake over Labor Day...that's him with his
favorite Strawberry cake! Jaden's football team rides on a trailer in the
Homecoming parade each year. Jaden wanted that gun in the picture & I told him that if
he could turn off his light for 7 days straight he could earn that gun. Only took him
3 weeks to make it all the way to 7 days. Shocker!
Meet my PW friend Kendra from Iowa! She was helping one of her friends move & she
stopped by & stayed with me for a night! That's what I'm talking about when I say
I love these PW ladies!! I was so blessed that she decided to come stay with me!!
Great conversation & a friendship was made in person!
October
Jaden played his best bud Baylor in football this year. We took the kids
to the Walk Around at OSU, it's a Homecoming weekend celebration.
That is a treat! The things they make out of
tissue paper is incredible! Matt went to Highpoint with Brooke. I guess it
was colder than Matt ever remembers at HP this year. They hike & have
all kinds of fun activities in the outdoors w/ our Jr. High students.
Lauren didn't want to trick or treat this year...:( I knew it was coming soon.
She is growing up. Jaden was an army man & Brooke was a baby.
We took them to a couple of neighborhoods. Jaden had practice that night
to get ready for the playoffs so our night was cut shorter than usual.
But that's ok...we still managed to get more candy than we needed!
November
3rd time is the charm! Jaden's team has went to the INFC championship 2x's &
this time THEY WON!!! In the last 15 years they are only the 3rd team from
Owasso to win! GO Rams! I felt like I was at the Superbowl!
Matt picked up the team from school in that race car limo. They
thought it was so cool!
And meet Peggy & Caramel...Lauren's new piggies!!
They are so cute & have a lot of personality! Never thought I would
own a pig to be honest. Lauren is so good with them. We will show Peggy &
eat Caramel. I know...seriously?
My mom always makes the best stuffing for Thanksgiving. I
am so Thankful I have a lot of family to hang out with & laugh
with for the day.
December
We have so much going on in December. One of our traditions is to
go to Branson for the weekend. We hang out in the condo & play games, go shopping & eat!
Silver Dollar City is a big part of our experience. We love the food, the lights
& especially the train ride where they tell the story of Jesus' birth.
Praise the Lord they celebrate His birth!!
Hard Luck Diner is always on the menu for Lunch. Matt loves him a Strawberry
Shake from there! Love old diners where you can still get a burger & ice cream.
On our way we stopped & visited my BFF from College Lana. Don't know what
I would do without her friendship all these years.
Again...Jaden took his hot Condo bubble bath!
Branson
FCC Christmas this & that!
The Pitmans host our annual staff Christmas party in their home.
We play a white elephant game & just chit chat!
Our Senior minister's wife Pam, host a Christmas dinner for the PWs
with an ornament exchange. These ladies always brighten my day.
We helped welcome MacKenzie into her new family. The Adsit's
will adopt her soon. Watching God work in this situation has
been a JOY!! My niece Danielle has taken on a small group of girls
this semester & had the privilege of baptizing them!!
I was one proud Aunt!!
Family Time
We spent a couple of days in Stillwater with Matt's family.
The cousins has such a good time hanging out. Wish
they lived closer to us.
My family gets together on Christmas day & has a big dinner.
This year Danielle & Lonnie were in Louisiana. We sure missed them
but understand we have to share them.
December Fun &
Happy New Year!
Brooke has a group of 4 girls that are a blast to hang out with.
So couple of their moms & I took them to dinner downtown & then went ice skating,
made a craft & had some yummy desserts. So thankful for God placing such
great friends around my kids.
Jaden had to get 6 stitches from the pocket knife his grandma Z. got him.
We asked her to get the knife so it was our idea for him to have it!
I jokingly said...I'll call you when we go to the ER, um didn't know it would be
within 24 hours of receiving the knife! Oh the life of having a BOY!
We ended the year with the Taylors & the Johnsons playing
games & hanging out.
2011 has been a year of some changes in our lives. We added some
new family members & said goodbye to others.
God continues to work in our
lives & in our hearts. I am very blessed.
Looking forward to the journey ahead.
My prayer is that we love God & others deeply.
Let us go with God.
