Fundraising!!!

Fundraising has begun!! Each team member is responsible for raising the funds to go on the trip. Since there are five of us going, we have to get to work. We kicked off our sales in December with hot chocolate sales. We got to school early with our coats and gloves ready and sold hot chocolate. We got a great response! Tacos are a big part of our Shepherd family on Sundays. The whole team has taken this task on. This is great for fundraising but it also serves the needs of our family here at Shepherd. . Georgia led a fundraiser in her 4th grade class. The coin drive was quite a success!! The children donated all the coins they could find. She also had a friend each day for a week take donations in our parent pick up after school. I am so proud of her dedication!

We are soo thankful for the donations that have come to us in response to our letter to you!! God has made your gift a part of his plan in this mission. You are on our team as well by your support. If you have not received a letter it is because I don't have your address. Please let me know I can send you the information about how to be a part of this mission!

Coming soon is a talent show. If you have a talent begin practicing, we cannot wait to see it!!

Please continue to pray for our preparations and for the mission God has set before us.

Humbly in His name,

Amy

Food for the Poor

Many of you already know that our family is going on a mission trip this summer with members of our church. Many of you have already shared with us your support financially and/or with prayer, for that we are so very thankful!!We are really excited about this mission and the opportunity to be a part of the team. We will be working with Food for the Poor. They will show us the needs of the people and how we can serve to help meet those needs. I will use my blog to keep everyone posted on the journey we will be on for the next several months. I would like to share a video of a similar mission trip. It is a short term mission trip to Jamaica. We are not going there but the set up is the same and you will get an introduction to Food for the Poor.

Please stay tuned for more updates. I will blog about everything I can. And always, keep us in your prayers.

Happy New Year!

Happy New Year! Welcoming the new year always comes with a sigh of relief and hope for tomorrow. Most people have a slight determination to do something differently even if they say they don't make a new year's resolution. We had quite a year! I could whine through this whole blog about our sorrows this year. I could list in detail everything that went wrong this year. Most people would agree that we had it a little rough. But, the truth is God blessed us more! I never understood provision (and there is way more to learn) like I do now. God provided for us in ways I didn't imagine. Several times Aaron and I had to look at each other and remind us it was real. Brakes on the van went out twice, Aaron tore his ACL requiring surgery and out of work from April 1 to July, our bedroom flooded, tile in the upstairs bathroom caved in, I had ear surgery(got a new eardrum), our family dog passed away.....those are the major ones that stick out in my mind. BUT, we got laminate flooring in the living room and brand new carpet everywhere else for a crazy steal of a deal from a friend in the business. Insurance paid for it. God sent an angel to completely replace the tile in the upstairs bathroom (that happened when Aaron couldn't even walk). Thankfully, Aaron had plenty of sick leave and that silly white duck Afflac paid off! My ear surgery is successful but has had quite a recovery as well. Derek was blessed with a free truck. The added blessing is he can now legally drive himself everywhere. Aaron was also blessed with a truck. Not free but super good deal.  We couldn't put a price on our dear Rita. She was a blessing and I will need to do a whole different blog entry to honor her. But, because her cause of death was unknown, we took Molly in and made sure she was healthy and caught up on shots and all. She has definitely got all of our attention. I am not ready to get another dog yet.

Ultimately, God is in charge of my 2012, he was obviously in charge of 2011. If it is good or bad, I have had just enough proof that I can wait on Him to tell me what to do next. I am ready to put 2011 behind me. I am ready to count the blessings too. Onward we go into the next year!! Can't wait to see what it holds.

We rang in the new year out in Poteet with some of our best friends. It felt good to be there again. I got to see one of my very best friends in the whole world. JENNA!  The whole Davidson/Smith crowd was there. JD and Beaux got to hang out again! Hope you enjoy our pictures!!


Me and my BFF Jenna! (pregnant with #5!!!)




Katie, Sharon,Julia,Kate, Emily, and Daniel





 

Cliff, Jenna, and the twins Becca and Gunner



JD and Best Bud Beaux




ready for fireworks!



Kate Kate, Julia, Georgia, JD



 

Truett, Malcolm, Ian,Beaux, JD





Operation De-clutter and Christmas Clean Up

What better way to start out the new year than with a cleaned up home. I try to take the time during the summer and Christmas breaks to go through things. I usually start with the kids rooms and go from there. Sometimes I can have the kids with me but most of the time I sneak it in while they are gone. Fortunately for me, Georgia was super cooperative this time and we did it together on our girl day. JD just needed some help from a fairy while he was gone. I usually find all kinds of treasures! Trash, broken toys, unwanted toys, and such. Today, I found a tooth! Yikes, I guess I owe him some tooth fairy money. Mostly his room just needs some extra help organizing his legos. But, I must be careful not to interrupt any battle scenes. I usually find some sort of weird art made of silverware or shoes. I always find a science experiment in Georgia's room. It is neat to come across memories and that tends to slow me down. BUT, I must move on.

I accomplished quite a bit! 2 bedrooms, a closet that has been screaming for help for quite awhile, took down Christmas decorations, laundry, and the normal dishes then dinner and then dishes again. Whew! I am tired. I have one more day until 2012! I hope to have everything done and ready to go. What peace I look forward to January 1st!!

I can't wait see my dear friends in Poteet to ring in the New Year!! I hope you have a great New Years! - Don't forget your black-eyed peas!!!

Christmas 2011 Summary

Every year Christmas is a big deal. It has been since the birth of our dear Savior, Jesus Christ! Praise the Lord! We kicked off our Christmas celebrations by praising his name in music. JD, Georgia, and I all play the handbells in our church handbell choir. We begin practicing our pieces in September. This year both the adult and childrens' choir did a piece together. What a blessing to worship together!!

 

Christmas Eve was spent with Aaron's parents Tim and Chris. We all gathered at their house for a great turkey dinner and shared gifts with each other. Georgia was super excited about her new hair dryer and Bop It game. JD loved his new lego set. Derek was super excited about his new memory foam pillow. Aaron and I recieved some much needed kitchen items.  Aaron got a really cool irish t-shirt and I got a much needed laptop case! Tim got some travel accessories and a sweater vest (which I later found out was made in Peru!) Chris got jammies and a new yoga mat. We had a great time and are in enjoying our new gifts! Thank you!!
After a wonderful time, we headed out to our Christmas Eve Candlelight service. What a beautiful service it was!! Full of singing and a great sermon! The service ended with each person (710 people!) holding candles and singing traditional songs as a reflection of our dear Savior's birth.
 Christmas morning awoke with great suprises!! Both JD and Georgia recieved Ipod 4Gs and Derek recieved a netbook from Santa. Aaron and I finally took the plunge and got a new TV!  After our gift exchange we got ready for church. After all, it is Jesus's birthday!! Aaron preached a great sermon that morning!

We then went to my mom's house and exchanged gifts. Alyssa and Marley got their very first Build-a-Bears. We (except Aaron) got Fiesta Texas season passes!! Aaron got a much desired chronilogical bible. Melissa blessed me with a minstry wives devotional and other well recieved goodies! It was super exciting to spend time with everyone and enjoy Alyssa and Marley's first Christmas!

  

Rambo and Ram-z

Well, if you don't know those names it is because you have not had the pleasure of meeting them and/or seeing them in action. I am sooo proud of them. Derek is Rambo and Matt is Ram-z. They are the Marshall Rams!! Football season is here and so is all the excitement that comes along with it. Sitting in the bleachers you can hear the band play songs that just want to make you boogie! The dance team and pep squad put on a great show. And the cheerleaders lead us all in school spirit. Our football team seems to be fighting pretty hard however has yet to produce a win. I know they can do it.

So, I get asked (as well as Derek), how do they do that in the costume when it is sooooo stink'n hot?? Well, they don't stay in the suit for long. They take breaks. They also wear a water pack on their backs and wear ice packs as well. They stay really hydrated.

Last week, they were able to get in the stands and hug lots of children and jam out with the fans. Rambo got carried away and knocked over a trash can! Oh well. It was really cute to see the little kids just run up and give him so much love. It was also Alyssa's first football game. He stopped to take a quick picture.

I am so proud of him. This is not just putting on a costume and goofing around. These guys come up with new skits every week. New material, props, and new presentation. A lot of time and effort goes into this. I am really proud of them and how hard they work, together.

So, apparently I ate squirrel. As we were talking to some good friends of ours, Aaron casually mentions a time when he and some buddies of his tricked me and my girl friends into eating squirrel. Jenna and I went into town to do some shopping. He and the guys decided that since there weren't any dove flying to shoot, they would shoot some squirrels. Poor things... They cooked them and presented them as dove. We all ate them not knowing. Once we were done, he says they told us. I do NOT remember being told.

I had no idea!! Gross!!! I could go on and on about how grossed out I am. I have since learned that it is not uncommon. I poured out my woes to my grandpa. He assured me that I would be okay. He said, " Amy, it has been two years and you have not turned into a squirrel." Thanks gramps.

I will definitely be raising an eyebrow every time those boys cook up some meat to share. I will never look at a squirrel the same.... the shame...heehee.