Favorite Quotes...

One of my favorite Christian authors is C.S. Lewis (Chronicles of Narnia). Here are some of my favorite quotes by him:

"There are two kinds of people: those who say to God, ''Thy will be done,'' and those to whom God says, ''All right, then, have it your way.''

"The salvation of a single soul is more important than the production or preservation of all the epics and tragedies in the world."

"The safest road to hell is the gradual one -- the gentle slope, soft underfoot, without sudden turnings, without milestones, without signposts."

"A proud man is always looking down on things and people; and, of course, as long as you're looking down, you can't see something that's above you."

"Has this world been so kind to you that you should leave with regret? There are better things ahead than any we leave behind."


Another favorite is a book I'm reading right now called Crazy Love by Francis Chan!

"The irony is that while God doesn’t need
us but still wants us, we desperately need God but don’t really want Him most of the
time.
"
— Francis Chan

Have a wonderful Wednesday!! Enjoy this last day of September!! :-)

Mueller Majestic All-Stars

Shelby began another year of choir!! This year it's only for 4th and 5th graders.



Her first practice was today and it went great! She will practice every Tuesday after school. I'm not sure when their first performance will be yet but I will keep you all informed.



Shelby gave me a little sample on the way home from practice and her little voice sounded so beautiful. We are so proud of her!! :-)

Prayer Request!

Today, my Popa starts his radiation treatments for his lung cancer!! Please join my family in praying for him today and over the next 5 weeks as he endures this first round, that all may go smooth for him and that he will maintain his strength.

Thank you and God Bless,
Karen

Touchdown Baby!!

I couldn't wait another day to post this, and not because we won, because we didn't, but because of the sweet video at the bottom! And don't cheat and scroll down - you have to look at the pictures first. :-) The Dolphins beat us today but as usual our boys gave it their all. Here's a few pictures from the game and then the awesome, super cala- fraga-listic-ex-be-ala-docious video of Thomas' first touchdown!!

Here they are lined up at the start and doing the coin toss...

Love that arm, lefty...

Love the puckered lips T.J.

Planning a play (T.J. on the right side of Coach)...

Thomas played center a lot today...

This was one of the two plays where Thomas knocked the ball down from the other team (almost interceptions). He also had a couple of assists today but no flags (tackles). Our boys were not pulling flags today which caused them to lose. Thomas was awarded three more Hot Wheels cars from coach today for most knockdowns, most assists, and most touchdowns!


And the sweetest and best of all from the day...Thomas' first touchdown of the season!!! This happened only two minutes before the game was over. How sweet it is!! Too bad it wasn't enough to win the game but it was still awesome and he was on cloud nine!! Afterwards, Thomas told me he "almost cried" because he was so excited and happy.
FYI...it took a lot for me not to get overly excited so I could film the whole thing!! This time his Daddy got really excited!!! :-)

Next game is next Saturday at 3pm!! Thomas wants to win another game so bad he can taste it!! It just kills me to see them get beat a lot when they try so hard and do so well. Our record is currently 1 win and 3 losses. Thomas is officially signed up for Season II. Season I ends the weekend of October 24/25th and Season II starts immediately after and goes through the middle of January. We are looking forward to lots more football on the weekends for the next few months, win or lose. Thomas is having a blast and learning a lot and that's what matters most! Plus, it's probably the last time he'll be coached by Coach Bobby since Thomas and Bobby's son will start playing tackle next Fall.

Francis Chan - The Balance Beam

Francis Chan is quickly becoming another one of my favorite Christian authors and preachers. I am currently reading his book called Crazy Love.

He is the senior minister at a large church in California. Here is a small piece of one of his sermon's called "The Balance Beam".

The Doves

Look what was taking refuge in my flower bed yesterday during the rain...

so sweet!! They stayed there a really long time, nestled in peace, warmth and quietness until... the kids got off the bus and ran like little screaming maniacs to the front door. I haven't seen the poor doves since - I think they had the feathers scared off of them and are hiding somewhere in terror. :-)

More Gymnastics...

Last night, I missed going to gymnastics because I've been sick, so these pics and films of Shelby are courtesy of my sweet husband. Yes, I trusted him with my beloved camera!! :-)

Stretching out and warm up...FYI...it is very challenging taking pics in the gym without using a flash so considering that, he did a great job!!

back rolls...

front rolls...

quick break for a pretty smile...

concentrating on the balance beam...

waiting patiently for her turn...

Belle - doing front rolls

Belle - doing back rolls

Belle - doing the vault - hop up

Belle - doing the vault - roll over

That's it for this week. I hope to get some different pictures next week of her doing the uneven bars and more floor work...they always rotate every other week. Shelby has improved already in just the one month she's been back into it. She almost has the cartwheel perfected too. She likes all four events (floor, beam, bars and vault), but especially the vault! ;-)

Tenth Avenue North - You Are

Brandon sang this song in church Sunday. I had never heard of this band or song until Sunday. I fell in love with it and wanted to share it. Listen to the words and take it to heart. Enjoy and be blessed! Have a wonderful Wednesday!!

Happy Fall Y'all

As you all know, today is the first official day of Fall, and while it still doesn't feel like it here in Houston, I am still celebrating!!! :-)

Hopefully, we'll get a taste of some cooler weather very soon, at least in the mornings would be nice!! Fall has always been my FAVORITE time of year...I love the colors of Fall, not to mention it's a prelude into the holiday season!! It's also pumpkin time, festival time, chili and soup making weather, not to mention lots and lots of football!!



Yep, Fall is definitely here and I hope you all are blessed with each and every day!!
HAPPY FALL Y'ALL!!!

More Football Pics!

Here's the rest of my favorite pics from Saturday's game:

I love the shots of them busting through their banner, they get so excited about it.

Getting a Flag:

Getting another flag:

Running the ball, when his cheeks are blown out, he means business!! :-)

love this shot too, he's still running even though his flag just got pulled...

getting another flag:

Love this look as he's quarterbacking...

Notice another flag in his hand he had just pulled...he looks so confident out there!!

Great hand-off from Jackson...

Great hand-off to Nicholas...

I finally got a pic of coach picking Thomas up off the ground...he was celebrating one of Thomas' "almost" interceptions of the game. It was so cool. He is the best coach!!

Game 4 is Saturday at 1pm!! Maybe we'll even our record at 2-2. I hope. These boys deserve it so much!!

Giants vs. Seahawks - Game 3

This is the first of two sets of pics that I will post from Game Three - there are just too many I don't want to leave out. :-)

Thomas had a first yesterday, he was team captain for the first time along with Joshua.

He was happy when we won the toss...

Here he is waiting patiently to get back in the game...I think this was the only time Coach rotated him. We have 9 boys on the team and two were missing yesterday so Thomas got LOTS of playing time on offense and defense.

Getting one of his FIVE flags of the game...the boy he is getting is Ethan, a friend of Thomas' from his last elementary school.

Run, Thomas, run!!!!

Thomas was awarded two Hot Wheels cars by coach, one for the most tackles and one for the most assists. Technically, he had another one for most attempted interceptions but some of the boys didn't even get a car and so we capped it at two cars. He was the only one this week awarded two prizes and only two other boys were given one.

I have several more really good pictures I want to post from the game, I'll try to get them on here later today. Time to get ready for church. Have a wonderful Sunday!!

Best Clips from Game Three...

This is what happens when Moma is filming and Moma gets really excited about a beautiful pass T.J. just completed to a teammate!!

One of Thomas' flags today...

another flag...

and another flag...Coach called Thomas his flag monster!

and a great run with the ball...

In all today, Thomas was the MVP of the game with 5 tackles, 3 assists, and 2 knockdowns of the ball (almost interceptions). He also completed two beautiful passes as quarterback. And even though we lost again, all of the Giants played great, had good sportsmanship, never gave up, and had lots of fun!! Our record is 1-2 now. I will post some of my favorite pictures from the game tomorrow. Enjoy!!

P.S. Thomas made $15 bucks off of us today - $2 per flag and $1 each for the others. But it's SO worth it. :-)

R2, a New Blaster, and Flowers

Finally, I'm blogging again. :-) These pics are about a week old now but too cute not to post. Last Saturday after Thomas' game we went to run errands and the kids decided to buy something with some money they had saved up. Shelby chose this, a miniature version of James' big R2D2 robot. It's really cute and remote control but Trinity had a different opinion. I don't have it on film yet but you can get the drift. She was really checking him out here and of course he makes noises too.

Shelby started moving R2 around here...

And Miss Trinity had enough...she was fussing at him right here...

Then Shelby made R2 turn around and go away from her so she thought she had taught him who was boss!! It was so funny.

Thomas bought a huge Build-Your-Own-Blaster. Yes, it's a Star Wars: The Clone Wars toy. He can build different size guns but the one he is holding here is as big as it gets. This will also give a clue as to what he is going to be for Trick-or-Treating this year and that's all I'm allowed to say at this point. My lips are sealed about Shelby's costume right now but they both are going to be SUPER cute!!

Some of my flowers that the hummingbirds love.

My giant oleander!!! I want it to grow as much as it can before winter!!

That's it for now. Have a great Saturday!! Wish Thomas some luck this afternoon about 1pm!!

Highlights of my Day!

1. Conquering a bad mama jamma migraine!
2. Getting lots of naps in!
3. Listening to my children play quietly together so Moma can rest!
4. Listening to my children squabble with each other so Moma can't rest!
5. Watching James and Thomas play football in the street!
6. Watching 3 hummingbirds at the same time fight for my hibiscus nectar in the front yard. However, I missed getting a picture because my camera batteries went dead!
7. Realizing that my biggest Hawaiian Oleander in the back is now as tall as my fence and blooming like crazy!
8. James finding a dead mouse in our garage - we had no idea - but it explains why ants have been swarming around the front of our garage and front of the house!! Problem is solved, hopefully. We haven't killed a mouse since we moved in here but James keeps the traps set in the garage just in case.
9. Reading my Crazy Love book by Francis Chan.
10. Finally blogging after a few days hiatus.
11. And that it's Friday and we have NO plans!!

Looking forward to watching my little man play football tomorrow!! Go GIANTS!!! Have a wonderful weekend!! More posts coming...

A Game of Cat and Mouse...

I took some film clips of the kids and Trinity this morning before school. This turned out to be the best one even though my lighting is off...again. The kids get so tickled when Trinity plays this game with them. It's hilarious to witness. Enjoy!! Have a wonderful Wednesday!!

Giants vs. Chargers

Happy Sunday!! Yesterday, our boys took on the Chargers in Game Two of the season. It was misty, muggy, and muddy!! I wanted to show some highlights from the game. Here's Thomas gaining some yards...

My baby...our little guys really played their hearts out yesterday and we lost. It was a great game though. The boys on the Chargers team are the best in Thomas' league - they have been playing football and baseball together under the same coaches for the third year and believe me when I say, it shows!!

Thomas played QB more yesterday than in the first game. He did a great job!!

There he goes on defense trying to get a flag.

You can't see the ball, but Thomas had just thrown the ball to one of his teammates and they made their first reception of the season! It was awesome!! =)

A future Peyton Manning...

One thing about Thomas...he is fast...

You can see in these pictures how he even outruns his friend and teammate, Landry.

Coach Bobby giving some pointers - he is awesome!!

Thomas going after that same kid again...the Chargers ran this kid with the ball more than any other kid. Some coaches do that but not Coach Bobby. He likes to rotate the boys and let them all get a piece of the action which is great.

Thomas at QB again, handing off to Landry.

I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE this shot just as the ball is getting to him and with Coach in the background...

Handing off to Joshua....

Yep, there's that same kid again running the ball....and look at my baby's grit and look of determination on that little face.

Well, our record now stands at 1 win and 1 loss and thankfully, we won't have to play the Chargers until near the end of the season. =) Next up, we play the Seahawks on Saturday at 1pm.