The Ratliff Roundup

I Love Halloween

2011-10-24T15:58:00.003-05:00

I put this together today and it was so fun looking back at all of the girls costumes. We love Halloween!! I can't wait till this year, they are going to be Southern Belle's... so, we will see how it goes!!

These Are The Days

2011-05-24T15:22:00.006-05:00

I am blessed

I am thankful for one simple day, this past Saturday. It started with a 5K in the morning and skating at night. One activity for adults and one for kids, right?

Not us.

The thing I love the absolutle most about my family -- we do life together. Elle and Emme ran the 5K with us and we turned around and roller skated with them at a birthday party.

I know to hold on to these precious days because I don't know how long it will last.

I do think that joe and I have always made this our priority....I think about when joe and I started dating, we were always together no matter if it was a night out with the guys or a night out with my friends.

This way of life has naturally made its way into our family now, and I just feel so lucky.

I am so blessed that God planned joe for me because of this moment we are in right now.

Sure, he was a great boyfriend, great husband pre kids, but

This is the day

This is the time that the lord truly knew that I would need joe.

Joe is the reason we do so many things as a family.

Joe is one of the good ones -- and I know that I take that for granted everyday.

Yes, I take him for granted -- its just one of my many battles that I have with myself on a daily basis.

These are the days that I want to slow down. These are the days that I will always treasure.

If I am one of those people you pray for, please pray for this: that I take advantage of every moment that presents itself to us and enjoy it as a family.

Here's to a great April and May!

Emme's school picture. It was another great year at CCDC. We repeated the 3's class with Ms Allena and made many new girl friends. Emme really blossomed this year and loved to go to school -- especially to see Addison Fox and Holden

We spent Mother's Day at the Horse races, it was so fun!

Weekends are spent together -- here at Fat Daddy's, we had a great time!

We love celebrating Easter. This year, we went to Granbury

Here is the 5K, I was so proud of them. They ran the first mile in 10 minutes!

Highlight of the year - Powder Puff Football Game. I am on the Cheer board for Coppell Youth Cheerleading. Our annual fundraiser is a game of football! Here's our team. It was a great three weeks of training and competition. I was the starting safety and back up quarter back!

Elle and Emme got to stunt with the big Cheerleaders!

Girls wishing me luck on my jersey

Coach John put me in as QB in the 3rd quarter. we had a great drive, but didn't score!

March Madness

2011-04-05T15:35:00.003-05:00

This year's BRAT's trip (Burnfield, Ratliff and Tinsley) family trip was in Conroe. We rented a house on the lake, just down the street from my parents house. Elizabeth and Emme were really into fishing this year and their Uncle Brad loves it! Elizabeth caught two fish, here is one, really big one. She was so happy! This was also the week my mom had her mastectomy. She was just a champ! I stayed with her the first two nights back from the hospital. We stayed up late because we couldn't fall asleep and we had some funny talks about when I was younger. She is hanging in there!!

Helping our marriage stay strong are date nights once a month. We swap with the Smouse's every month so each of us can go out. We had Hadley, Harleigh and Hunter over for movie night -- Star Wars! I can't believe they are old enough to all sit on the couch and Hareligh almost likes me! It's great.... the Smouse kids wait until they are 2 to really like me and understand that i am "fun mom!"

Elizabeth had her first slumber party in March. These girls were GREAT! They all had a great time and were so nice to each other!

L O V E this! These are Elizabeth's 3 wishes. Oh to be 6!

Wish 1: My Family Getting Together

Wish 2: To have the cutest clothes in school

Wish 3: To be sweet to my family

Rodeo day at CCDC, so much fun... always!

Green Day at school...OK, I LOVE when they have dress up days at school,it makes it so fun!

And on a final note - my March Madness bracket was AWFUL this year. I had San Diego State winning it all... didn't even come close. And the Lady Bears, oh, so sad!

Rock Star Photo Shoot

2011-03-01T13:39:00.003-06:00

We had such a great time this past weekend going down to Deep Ellum for a Rock Star Photo Shoot. My friend, Scott Birdsong, took these for us. Elle is having a Rock Star Birthday party and so I thought it would be fun for her to have some rocker photos done. Emme was onboard too and the shoot went great!

We went to a family brunch after at Dream Cafe, it was a great day!

For the Love of Shoes

2011-02-27T16:09:00.001-06:00

I love shoes... and so do my girls, and they are way more fun to buy shoes for than me! So, to make sure I have a good record of their shoes, we took pictures. Here are Emme's shoes. Her favorite ones are called out in the colored boxes.

Craft Day

2011-02-20T15:08:00.003-06:00

Elizabeth had to make a tshirt with 100 items on it for the 100th day of school. We made the shirt at the very top during our snow days, I think she did a great job on it!

Friday, she had early dismissal and I asked her what she wanted to do and she said make a craft. I thought she would love to have her own iron and rhinestone setter and make more shirts. Sure enough, she loved it and made 4 shirts. It was fun!

Back in Gymnastics

2011-02-18T09:08:00.003-06:00

The girls have been in Gymnastics since 18 months old -- and we have tried many gyms in the metroplex. We are now at Texas Dreams and the girls are having a really good time and learning so much. I am most impressed with Elle's handstands and Emme's bar work. It is fun going to the classes.... my good friend, Michelle, her girls are in the same class, so we have fun gabbing and then we all go out to eat.. every Monday. It's so much fun!!!

The Perfect Easter Dress

2011-02-17T09:59:00.001-06:00

I love finding the perfect Easter dress for the girls. I found this beautiful one yesterday…. at ofcourse, Ross! Elle loved trying it on last night and Emme thought it was itchy, that's right on par.

Chef Mickeys

2011-02-08T14:03:00.003-06:00

Disney Hollywood Studios

2011-02-08T14:02:00.002-06:00

Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique

2011-02-05T13:17:00.002-06:00

RV and Ft Wilderness

2011-02-05T10:22:00.001-06:00

MK Day 2

2011-02-04T12:39:00.001-06:00

Finally- Another Disney Page

2011-02-03T14:16:00.002-06:00

So, some of you know that my computer fell off my counter and it completly crashed the hard drive. I lost all of my high res digital scrapbook pages of Disney (oh, i lost alot more too) but, anyway. I redid all of the ones that were on this blog first, and then started new pages. I am excited about them and hopefully will be able to finish this weekend with the entire book!!

Update on Mom

2011-01-25T13:55:00.002-06:00

Mom just called and said that MD Anderson scheduled her for an appointment on Feb. 29th. This will be a doctor's visit and probably some more test. They want to schedule her for surevery, probably that following week. Because it is small enough, it doesn't appear that she will have to do any radiation or chemo -- and just do the day surgery to remove the lump.

My prayer is this: Praise God that she is in a location that can handle these types of illnesses. Praise God that it is not something the doctor is "very worried" about. Pray for mom's anxiety as she waits over these next few weeks. Pray that it won't spread in the meantime or ever.

Thanks Friends.

Update on Mary1

2011-01-22T08:41:00.003-06:00

Mary 1 is what my friends in high school called my mom. Dad got mom a license plate for her Suburban and said Mary 1.... so there the story goes.

Mom called yesterday, she already got the pathology report back and she does have Cancer. I have to admit that this Cancer land was not one that we expected in our family; but then again, nothing in life is certain.

The great news is this - it's the very early stages of Cancer and they are optimistic that they will be able to remove the lump via a day surgery. I will keep you posted!

I love this picture above. This is almost 6 years ago, when Elle was born. My Mom, Elle, Me and My Grandma.

Scary Situations Call For Tons of Faith - Do I have enough this time?

2011-01-20T10:43:00.002-06:00

Well, my mom has a biopsy today on a mass they found during her mammogram yesterday. We are all pretty shaken up by it and I just keep saying, it can't be cancer, please God don't let it be cancer. I won't jump to any conclusions now, I will just keep praying. Joe reminded me of Hebrews 11:1

Faith in Action: Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see.

I studied that this morning, but brings me to my next point. Why is it that I haven't looked in my Bible in weeks.... but suddenly have to do that first thing this morning because I am terrified of what the results might be with my mom.

I think Elle said it best... "Mommy, I am real sad. I don't think about God all day, but I know He thinks about me all day. I don't think about him and I know that makes him sad. On the inside I believe in him, but on the outside I don't." She was crying when she said this. At first, I was very very confused.

But, now I get it. In the face of the unknown, liking finding out if you have cancer, you all of sudden believe him in on the outside; or pray that you have enough faith too!

Is my good luck running out when it comes to asking Him for healing? Take these examples just in the past few years....

Prayed that my dad's kidney's weren't failing and that he would find the right medicine to keep him alive (so far so good)
Prayed for Ann's baby not to have Downs, and he didn't. That was an awful time of waiting for results
Prayed that Tommy would survive, and he did

Have I asked and received so much that this time it could be the result I am not looking for?

Animal Kingdom

2010-11-15T07:50:00.004-06:00

We started our day at Animal Kingdom in front of the Tree of Life. It was so pretty and big! While we were taking pictures, Joe ran across the park to get fast passes.

We were heading to see the Lion King show and Elle said, "Pocahontas." And I told her that we would look at the dolls later, after the show. She said her name again and I looked to my left and there she was! No one was around her and she was just waiting to say hello. It was our first character to see that day!

Meeting Minnie was a wonderful time. She was so nice! We didn't see Nemo, the character, but we did have a chance to see all the cute stuffed animals after we attended the Nemo Live Show

On our way to see the Lion King, I noticed that all of the Mickey characters were out in safari gear! We raced over there to see as many as we could. I remember Goofy and Donald being so funny and we were so excited to see them and get their autographs.

Animal Kingdom was full of greenery and exciting shows. The first show we saw was Lion King. It was fantastic. They had the audience really involved and the acrobats were amazing.

One of our favorite "moments" on the entire trip happened on the Kali River Rapids. We followed Mimi and Poppy in their scooters down the handicap line. We boarded the raft and didn't know what to expect. It was a very thrilling ride and we all got wet. We had so much fun that when the ride was over, we all screamed, we want to go again!! Well, they LET us! This time around, we thought we knew when we would get wet. At one dip, the water came over the raft so high that it drenched Elle and Papa Joe. Elle's face, her little smile was priceless. We all busted out laughing and then her face lit up -- like she really understood and was living "Disney magic."

While walking around the park we got the chance to play some African drums. It was a nice break!

Disney World -- Finally :)

2010-11-08T17:48:00.007-06:00

Well! I haven't done much blogging in a long time -- I don't even know where September and October went. I was in NY and Chicago for work, then went to Disney World and then was out with a day surgery so I will have no more babies and now am back to work part time -- 30 hours a week. So, that's what has been going on with me!

I am working on my Disney album on Monday's and Wednesday's in the afternoon while my 7th grade neighbor takes care of the girls. Hope you like them! These are scrapbook pages for Magic Kingdom, one of the days we were there.

Enjoy! It was the best time of our lives!

Update from Elizabeth's School Days

2010-09-13T09:34:00.006-05:00

I am amazed that we are so far along into school already. Her teacher emails us atleast 3 times a week with updates and pictures, it is so neat!!

Last night, Elizabeth was pretty upset because - she only wants to play with her best friend during recess. She doesn't want to play with anyone else, and she doesn't want her best friend to play with anyone else. Elizabeth was saying that this was all very upsetting to her and her feelings are hurt. Joe and I were telling her everything we could think of and reminding her that she has so many other friends. She said, "I know that, but I only have one best friend and that is the only person I want to play with at recess." She was crying and so upset. I looked at Joe and just gave him that "look" that says, "oh, this is just the beginning of this girl stuff." He was upset for her and I was too. God is good -- that next 10 minutes or so, her mom called and asked if Elizabeth could come over afterschool to play the next day. I was able to reassure her that Lindsay loves her just as much as she loves her and that girls need to have a lot of friends.

We went upstairs and she was still pretty upset and just very tired. I told her that I wanted to pray for her. I said a prayer and asked the Lord to specifically be with her during recess and the other things we talked about. When I was done, she looked at me and said, "sometimes I cry when I am so happy."

"Mommy, I am crying now because of how happy I am, because of your prayer for me and now I can't stop crying because I am so happy."

I almost lost it right there -- i told her about the day she was born and how happy I was that I cried for a long time.

These are the days/nights that are so fun -- just seeing them develop their emotions.

Here is what she has been doing at school:

On 10th, 20th, 30th, and so on day of school, a super hero comes -- Zero, the Hero. He brings gifts that are circles, in the shape of a zero. They had their first one last week or so and here are the pics.

One day they discussed family we talked about what moms and dads do! They made circle maps and brainstormed as a group. Elizabeth said "Laundry and Play" for moms and "Swing and Energy" for dad.

Elizabeth was chosen to be the First Star of the Week -- it was fun to fill out the poster and send her stuff to school.

She and her friends in her class at recess. She has made a lot of new friends, and they are so sweet.

5 Days of Kindergarten

2010-08-27T10:59:00.004-05:00

The Bible Book

2010-08-04T16:22:00.003-05:00

I came home from work yesterday and Elle showed me what she worked on that day with D'Ann. She loves making "books" and she loves her stapler! I bought these cool desks from Amazon for the girls and they sit and make crafts on them all the time; and they double as vanities too; I will get some pictures of that soon.

Anyway, Elle drew the pictures and then told D'Ann what to write. This means so much to me that this is what is in her heart and head. She certainly doesn't act like this the majority of the time, and sometimes I worry about her attitude. I just keep praying that her heart is being filled and fed; and I think this is a little answered prayer... and I will take it.... scan it and publish it to the world ;)

Enjoy!

"I have Finished the Race, I have kept the faith"

2010-08-02T10:56:00.004-05:00

Tim 4:7 "I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith."

In January, I made 3 goals.

1. Complete and receive my PHR (Professional in Human Resources)
2. Train and complete the Triathlon Sprint
3. Loose weight (standing goal, right?)

Goals. Something that I have always tried to set, each year. It's really fun to look back and see what all God did through my life once I set a goal. After all, it is in my weakness, he has made strong. So, I looked up that verse, because it is really all I said to myself when I was trying to finish the last leg of our Tri Sprint. It is 2 Corinthians 12:19: But he said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness." Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ's power may rest on me. My weakness: running!!

I remember listening to Ben Crane (PGA Golfer) speak at my church, and he said that it was all about the "process." It hit home to me. The Tri Sprint was no longer this anxiety ridden date; it was about the process of getting there. My process was the training. The training for the tri sprint was pretty grueling. There were rainy days, cold days and the really hot days. Days I didn't feel like working out, days that I never felt better. I managed to train at the end of my work day, and before my mom duties kicked in for the evening. This meant, waking up, getting dressed for work, getting the girls ready for school, taking them to school, coming into work, working a full day and then going to train. When it got to July, the temp at this time of day was well pretty HOT. I just kept asking the Lord to continue to be with me and push me and I yelled at the devil a lot when he would say "oh, you should stop running now, aren't you hot, aren't you tired, you are not a good runner, so you should stop." I looked pretty silly on the jog trail when I would fight off the devil and start singing, "How Great is our God."

Well, I did it. I swam in 8 minutes or so, biked in 59 minutes and ran in 40 minutes. All and all, I beat my goal by 20 minutes! I honestly thought it would take me longer. So, I am ready to do it again next year.

I did pass my HR test -- which I was so happy about too. It was very difficult and I really never want to take any sort of test again…. oh, the days of SAT / ACT haunted me in preparing for the test.

So, let's not talk about the 3rd goal. The good news, I still have the rest of the year.. )

Another huge mile stone, was my 10 year anniversary with PepsiCo. They had a big cocktail party for me and my parents came in and so did Joe's folks. It was so fun, something I will always always remember. I just can't believe it has already been 10 years. It's a been a great company to work for!!

Emme's 4th Birthday Bash was a success. We had all of our great friends and family over for the celebration. My sister, Brian and Tommy surprised us by driving in. I saw Tommy walking and I was like, "I know him" it was strange! When you don't expect to see someone, it catches you off guard!!

Papa Joe made this. The kids went through 150 water balloons in 10 minutes!

Momo made Emme's froggy cakeFavorsWishing Well

Entrance Massive 2 lane blow up slideThis was the toddler bounce house, a big hit!!

Cupcakes

Through Her Eyes

2010-07-06T14:13:00.007-05:00

Last night I had the worst dream -- well nightmare! I dreamed that I was at a friends wedding and I was looking at the program. The last item on the program listed my mom's name and it said, "Through Emme's Eyes" and it was my mom talking about Emme's life, because she had passed away! I was trying to get out of my dream as fast as I could! I finally woke up. It was awful!

Anyway, I was driving in this morning wondering why on earth I had that dream! I found these pictures on my camera. We took these last week, Emme tried on every pair of glasses -- and we took all of these pictures. Anyway, still don't know why she had to die in my dream. But, after a big hug and kiss from her this morning and looking at these pictures, I am feeling a little calmer!

Emme turns 4 on Monday! Joe and I were talking about her yesterday and just how sweet she is to other kids; it is so neat to watch as a parent. I am proud of her and proud of our relationship.

We have a Frog Party planned for her next Friday and we are getting a water slide and a bounce house. So, I will have plenty of pictures to post next week!

I will post 4th of July pictures this week. I am back at work today after a long weekend and need to get back to working.

Sadness and Joy

2010-06-14T21:00:00.003-05:00

I am writing this blog because I have a little free time to myself. Wow, I should type that sentence again, because time is rare around here and it down right makes me mad. I hate that time keeps slipping, and am frustrated that I can't influence it to stop, or slow down!

Lately, I am glad to say that that I have spent has been with my immediate family (or former immediate). Spending time with my parents and my sister and my nephew over the past few months have been amazing and I know that it is right where God needed me to be and I can't thank God enough for giving me a husband that wants to be with my family just as much as I do. It probably has something to do with my parents loving Joe!! With my dad's ever-fragile health, Ann thought it would be a great idea to take family pictures. I agree and started to ask my mom why it was that we never did take family pictures. She replied that there was the one Christmas where we took pictures in front of the tree; it made me laugh. The photo session was amazing! The photographer had me, Ann and my parents all taking these funny pictures where we were literally cheek to cheek! It was also wonderful to see my dad with all of the grand children and I just can't wait to see the pictures. I will post as soon as we get them. Being out of town is hard, but I am so glad I have made those trips.

So -- I have actually had a pretty hard March, April and May.

For PepsiCo, I facilitate how to "manage change." I think it is so ironic that the change process has hit me personally pretty hard and has really tried my faith and the philosophies that I am so proud to own and teach.

I think I was in denial when Abby, our nanny, left to start her career. I was trying to act so cool about it all and deep down inside I was so scared and so sad to see her leave. She was great with the girls and I was completely confident when I went to work. I knew that she would take care of their needs, teach them about the Lord and help grow them. The nanny search lasted quite a while. We did end up hiring D'Ann, and I really like her. She has been with us for about three weeks and I just like her temperament and I pray that she will be able to be with us for a long time.

That was March

and April

May brought about a horrible, horrible accident. I was with my mom and Elle. We just had a great time shopping and I stopped at Which Which to get lunch for everyone. We were having a blast! The phone rang and my friend Brooke said "are you driving?" I replied that I was and then she insisted on me to pull the car over. At this time I was like she is cra-zy. So, I pulled over and my mom started driving. She continued to tell me that there had been a horrible accident -- Lakeysha and her kids were killed. I'm like, what? She told me again. I just couldn't breathe. I told her I had to go. I had to call the other 2 in our foursome. Yes, our four-some. The old gang. We had been together since 2006. No one laughed like we did. No one told the truth like we did. No one embraced and challenged diversity issues like we did. We all loved the Lord and Mark would always end our team meetings with "This is the day the Lord has made." It was an incredible two years until "they" accepted other jobs within PepsiCo. But other jobs didn't stop us. We still continued to meet once a month and it was at that point in 2008, when Lakeysha's and my relationship grew. We were still on the same team, but just doing different roles. She was the one I could email at 10 am and say, "let's go to lunch" and she would. We would talk about everything. There was nothing to hide with her. She also gave me great direction and feedback. We had amazingly open conversations. I mean, you should have heard our discussions about Obamana vs McCain. Ok, wait, back to the story. So, this was my girl. She was gone. Of course, I had other friends that were in my little "circle" -- but friends at work, that's another story. She was the first adult I would see after dropping the kids and the last face I saw before going home and starting my second job. She was there every day. It's taken me a long time to write this blog. I don't really expect anyone to read this; I usually don't write this much. But to be honest, this is therapeutic. I have been so sad over this. It has been quite hard, and what is worse is that Wyndell is still in the hospital and I can't imagine what he is going through. Here is a picture of me and Lakeysha -- "Foxy Greene." Every time we had a work function, we were arm and arm. I went to my first work function last week, and it was very hard. Did I mention I had way too much wine?

So -- I have been grieving the loss of my friend. I have also been trying to study for my HR Certification exam. I have been studying the material for a few months. I attended a 3 day session in Atlanta and I was 1 week away from taking the test when Lakeysha died. I thought I would postpone the test; but decided she would wave that index finger in my face if I didn't. I went to take my test on Thursday. It was a long 3 hours and 45 minutes. I reviewed every question. Talked to myself. Prayed to Jesus! Then I was done. I clicked submit and waited…. and PASS showed up. I was elated.

These past few months, so many wonderful things have happened and I must make sure I keep count of those too!
1. Elle finished CCDC and is on her way to Kindergarten. I am so proud of her. She and I have a very special connection and I thank the Lord for her in my life.
2. Emme continues to crack us up. For those wondering, our relationship is awesome. She truly makes me smile and I envy her willingness and courage to meet new people and help her older sister meet new people too.
3. The girls did a great job in their spring recitals. They were too cute!!
4. I celebrate 10 years with PepsiCo this week!!! Can you believe it??? I sure can't! We are having a big happy hour (what else?) to celebrate!

If you are still reading this, bless you. Please be in prayer for Lakeysha's husband. Be in prayer for our staff and the grieving we are going through. Be in prayer for me and Joe as we continue to make this dual working marriage/parenting thing work. We are doing great; but it is hard. We are both so eager to succeed and be a good corporate citizen. We also strive to be great parents and too often fall short. Above all we strive to be in great relationship with Christ. Here are some great pics, hope you enjoy!

Me and Keysha at Corp Party

nu=5238>;39>255>WSNRCG=32957;;243346nu0mrj.jpg"> Elle and Emme - Spring Pictures
Bible Study at Work, miss you girl!

Fun Austin trip with my High School Friends and their kids

I call them my high school friend, but really, with these gals, I have known them since 5th grade!

Rock Star Day at School

50's Day at School. Lindsay said "I better get in the middle because they will fight about who will be next to me."

Madison and Elle - Fun in the boat

Emme before her recital. She is wearing Wesleigh Greene's tap shoes

Elle and Lindsay at Dress Rehearal

Emme - Spring Pictures

Elle - Spring Picture

White Rock and Roll

2010-05-04T07:42:00.003-05:00

Wow. Honestly, I can't believe that I am writing a post about running. Something I have always hated, even when I was younger and in shape. I could never do the 8 minute mile for volleyball and my dad would try to get me to run and try, I just hated it and wasn't very good at it.

The first thing my dad said after I called him and told him I finished the 5 Mile race, he said, "what does your face look like?" Meaning, is my face red, and of course, we all laughed. Sorta an inside joke with my family. I get so red in the face after running -- always have.

Anyway, when I woke up Saturday morning to get ready for the race, I was just not mentally ready. I have been training since January for a triathlon sprint in July and so Meredith had said that we should enter as many races as we could to prepare. Well, these past two weeks have been rough, with no working out at all and being sick, I was scared to run this 5 mile race.

God couldn't have provided a better morning for the race. The weather was perfect and the scene was beautiful at White Rock Lake. As the gun went off to start the race, I just did what I always have done, kept at my own pace and just talked to God. Everyone was going by so fast! I just kept saying to myself, slow and steady wins the race! Sure enough, I was keeping at the same pace around mile 3 and I was so proud! I did walk after that for about another mile or so, but tried to walk as fast as I could.

As I came upon the finish line, Meredith and Steve were there to cheer me on and run along side with me and then Elle and Emme came and ran with me for the last 100 yards.

No, I am talking about a marathon; but this 5 miles was a goal that was great to complete.

I finished in 1 hour and 4 minutes. I was 314th out of 355 -- so i wasn't last!! Yeah!

Again, I am not a runner at heart and only was able to finish because of the strength God gave me. I am actually excited to run in another race; I think the more times you do it, the more confidence you get.

They had a 1K for the kids, the girls had a lot of fun!

Florida Pictures

2010-04-26T11:47:00.002-05:00

This was a on the patio at the Ritz during one of the parties on the trip Yes, we sang all night. We got everyone else going too. Here I am singing "What's UP" by Four Non Blondes. It was a success!
From our room at the Ritz. Just a beautiful place!
Here is our Salsa dancing insructor in Miami. She was awesome!
We look so cheesy! We are in Miami on Ocean Drive eating at a great breakfast place!

Here is the beach in Miami - -it is pretty!!
Here is Elle and Ritz, the girls love him!

Six From April

2010-04-20T10:58:00.004-05:00

How many times have I started a blog "it's been a long time since I have posted an update?" Honestly, as much as you hear this -- I am amazed that we are heading into the last weeks of April.

I thought it would be easy/fun to post the 6 big things about April!

1. Elle's Party -- We have been talking about this party for a while and it was so great to see it play out -- except for the fact when we got to the theatre, I had purchased tickets for the wrong day!! Thankfully, the ticket manager was able to find us another 25 seats -- and didn't make me pay. All of their friends were so cute and had a great time. I am so proud of Elle, she really makes me happy and is growing up so fast. I just found this email that I wrote to myself one night in bed (I wrote it in the past tense, not sure why, maybe I thought that I would post it in her scrapbook later on) -- Here it is " Elle at age five always wanted to know when she would become a mommy. She asked me about each birthday and what each year would bring. She asked when she would go to college. I told her 18 and then she asked would she still have a mom when she goes to college and who would she would live with. She then asked would she be a mommy at that point and I told her when she was older and was married and she said, so all I have to do is choose which one to marry and then she can be a mommy." Just that easy, right? Anyway, enjoy these pictures.

2. Easter - Success! -- Easter, my favorite holiday, was just magniciant. We spent the day with the family and reflected on the Love and the Sacrifice Jesus made and gave. Here are the kiddos, they love them some Easter too.

3. Another one bites the dust? Emme's Guinea Pig died too!! This time, Cody, our dog, got in and sorta wrestled with it until it no longer lived. She said she didn't want another one, so we still have our new one "Scratchy" and he seems to be doing good -- but this Guinea pig thing is a day to day thing, and each morning I pray he is still alive.

4. Hair CUT! Wow, both girls got their hair cut so short. But, we love it and it will be great for the summer.

5. Best Vacation! Joe and I went to Miami and Naples on his company Top Performers Club trip. What an honor! I am really proud of Joe, really am. It was funny though. On the last night of the Awards Ceremony, everyman was getting up there after given their award and they would always say, "I love my wife. I owe this to my wife.My wife is so special" blah blah. Aren't I bad???? Anyway, I turned to him and said don't go up there and gush all over me. You did this, you persevered those long nights and crazy days. You placed your family first, and still had time to make work successful. I wasn't any help -- if anything, when you called, I probably complained that your plane was running late. Anyway, we were laughing and sure enough he got up there and gushed over his boss, Pete. And took a jab at me, and everyone laughed. Seriously, he did deserve this trip and it was great to see him around all of the Leaders at his work, they truly respect him and like him. Some of the highlights from the trip -- Salsa Dancing, Para sailing, Massage, Golf for Joe, Drinks by the Pool, Great Shopping, etc.

6. Another pet. We sure did have a lot of pets come and go in April. This time, it's another dog. While we were in Naples, a neighbor found this dog and kept it for 5 days looking for the owner. They were about to take it to the pound -- when I emailed them to wait until we got back. They brought the dog over and we named him "Ritz." So far, the dog is great. He is potty trained and very calm. Joe doesn't want to keep him -- I am not sure what we are going to do… we will keep you posted!

R.I.P.

2010-03-31T09:22:00.004-05:00

I found Zoomer hard as a rock this morning with his eyes open. It was pretty strange. I called Elle up to her room and told her that he had died and she cried and cried.

Little does she know that her sister flung poor Zoomer last night across the room and he hit the wall. Emme is a little rough with them. Anyway, she went with Abby this morning to get another one. Hopefully this one will make it more than 5 days at the Ratliff house.

Also, today is Elle's 5th Birthday, what a way to start the day!

New Furry Friends

2010-03-30T09:11:00.003-05:00

We got the girls Guinea pigs this weekend. They are so cute and the girls love them. Elle cuddles with hers (named Zoomer) and Emme is a little loud and rough with hers (named Pacey). Actually, as I type this blog, I have Pacey in my lap for some "social" time. The guy at Petsmart said to get atleast 1 hour of social time in a day. It is amazing how the little guys just stay in one place, they literally don't move.

On another note, Abby's last day is Thursday and it is one of those things we are trying not to think about. She has been so perfect for our family and really know that she was God-sent. The good news is that we hired a new nanny - named Vanessa. She is 21 and lives close by. She is full of energy and into swimming, arts and crafts --- all of which are Elle and Emme's favorite hobby's.

2010-03-22T09:28:00.005-05:00

March is almost gone -- it's been a great March, alot of fun things and some upcoming changes for our family.

Abby is leaving us after almost a year... but we kept her alot longer than we ever thought, so we are very happy for her and the start of her new future. We will continue to be great friends with her and Cody. So, now the hunt is on. We are already talking with two girls we found on enannysource.com and seem to be really sweet. This week we will have some phone interviews and then meet with them and hopefully her first day will be April 5.

March was awesome -- strange weather -- but some really fun times. We had Spencer and Carlee Jo over for Camp Uncle Joe -- and we made hobby horses, pizza, rainbow cupcakes, swam and just played and played! Here are some pictures.

Joe is so crafty -- he cut these horse heads out of cardboard and then covered with this plastic stuff Here are the girls ready for Rodeo Day with their horses.

Here is Rodeo Day at school. These are Emme's gal pals... apparently they are all very close! We are trying to have them over for playdates. We had Aubrie (far right) over last weekend and she was so cute and they had a blast. sweet emme girl

Here is Elle and her friends. Same thing with Emme, we are trying to have these girls over -- where the moms just drop them off and the play dates are going so well! I love seeing my girls in their environment and with their friends.

While Joe and Me ran the St Paddy's day run, Elle was at Momo and Joe's for her Special Weekend. They had so much fun. I love this picture of Elle about to get on the train - she looks so grown up!

This is a classic Grandpa picture!

Papa Joe got into the "Tea" Spirit, surprising Elle with dressing up as a pirate!
Steve and Meredith brought home these cute outfits from China and so we had a Chinese Tea Party

Rite of Passage

2010-02-23T08:59:00.001-06:00

When I got home from work yesterday and I was walking Abby out, she said, oh, Sara, today Elle cut her bangs. She told me she was going into the bathroom to look at herself in the mirror and then she cut her bangs. She really didn't want me to tell you. So, I said ok, and went into see what this hair cut looked like. I had her hair in braids, so the "natural" part of the bangs were already down, because they are not long enough really to tie back into the braid. Honestly, it looked a little like my bangs and I was very thankful that she didn't cut above her eye brow line! Anyway, I have not officially "done" her hair yet to know how it will turn out, but I am not too worried about it.

I was thinking a lot about Elle last night -- being that next month she will be 5. It seems like a pretty big birthday to me -- knowing that she has been here on earth of 5 full years. I can see how much she is trying to change already and morph into this next stage in her life. So, it is natural, I guess, that she is taking interest in her clothing choice and her hair bow color and how her hair looks. To me, I thought this "cutting" of the hair was a rite of passage in sorts. I thought back to the time I cut my hair --

1. In college, right after I tried out for cheerleader, and didn't make it, I cut off all of my hair
2. When I got pregnant with Elle, I cut off my hair
3. After Emme turned 3 last year, and I felt like I was coming out of the deep sea I had been drowning in -- I cut off all of it, probably the shortest it has ever been

This morning, I looked up rite of passage and exactly what it means and the history, and it is funny to me, that they use the illustration of a person cutting their hair when joining the army -- they are "cutting" away from their former self.

A rite of passage is a ritual event that marks a person's progress from one status to another. It is a universal phenomenon which can show anthropologists what social hierarchies, values and beliefs are important in specific cultures. Rites of passage are often ceremonies surrounding events such as other milestones within puberty, coming of age, marriage and death. Initiation ceremonies such as baptism, confirmation and bar or bat Mitzvah are considered important rites of passage for persons of their respective religions.
Rites of passage have three phases: separation, transition, and re-incorporation. In the first phase, people withdraw from their current status and prepare to move from one place or status to another. There is often a detachment or ‘cutting away’ from the former self in this phase, which is signified in symbolic actions and rituals. For example, the cutting of the hair for a person who has just joined the army. He or she is 'cutting away' the former self - the civilian. The transition (liminal) phase is the period between states, during which one has left one place or state but hasn't yet entered or joined the next; the person adjust to the new status. In the third phase, having completed the rite and assumed their 'new' identity, one re-enters society with one's new status. Re-incorporation is characterized by elaborate rituals and ceremonies, like debutant balls and college graduation.

You can see on the right side of her hair, the edge of the bangs, right by her eye

4 Day Weekend of Fun

2010-02-15T09:05:00.005-06:00

Well -- I have enjoyed seeing everyone's snow pictures on Facebook and on email. The snow was so amazing and we all had such a great time. We had 2 days at home with the snow, not at work and Joe took the girls out to play in it when ever they wanted -- I stayed indoors, where it was warm and where there was plenty of cleaning to do! I did manage to organize the girls closets, how fun.

Anyway, the weekend was great. Saturday night we took Abby and Cody to Via Real and ate and ate and ate and had a great time getting to know them. We probably scared them a bit though! Joe and I are very transparent about our marriage and Abby and Cody got married in January, so we were asking them all of these questions -- it was funny.

The kids had a party that night too and they came in thier pj's and ate pizza. Sunday was valentines day and Joe gave E&E these heart necklaces, which they loved and won't take off. Also, Joe got me some new PJ's, so comfy! Then Elle wanted to go back out on Sunday to get me some "clothes." She picked out a blue dress, like a long bathing suit cover up and then a Kiss Me, I am Irish shirt. It was too cute.

Ms Beth, Elle's teacher sent me this video and I had to post it on my blog - http://sharing.theflip.com/session/17ed297795f3d58de59622974f32484d/video/9301993
Anyway, back to work -- back to normal, back to some Mommy time! :)

For those that know my friend Adrienne, I think this pic of Elle looks like her

This is from Super Bowl Sunday, Spencer likes to get in our family pics, it's too cute. He fits right in!

With so many pics of Hadley and Emme, it's nice to get one of Emme and Hunter for a change!

Pretty Fun Parade!

2010-02-08T15:56:00.002-06:00

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One of Elle's favorite shows is Olivia. One day, Olivia had a parade in her neighborhood and so Elle thought it would be fun to have one too. She invited her friends over and asked them to make a float for the parade. We had music and candy to throw and the kids were crazy. I have more pictures I can share this week, but these are some of the ones my mother in law took. Anyway, it was great to see it all come to life on Saturday and I was really proud of her! These are the things that are really important and memories we will treasure!

10 Updates

2010-02-01T08:35:00.004-06:00

Wow, didn't realize that it has been a month since I blogged. I decided to give an update on what is going on in a "list" format -- seems more efficient!

1. One of my best friends from high school, actually since 6th grade, got married in January. The wedding was so fun and it was great to catch up with everyone

2. We went skiing with Ann and Brian and Tommy and my parents came too -- we went to Santa Fe and it pretty fun! The girls did really well skiing and mommy did horrible at Black Jack!!

3. Joe and I decided to participate in a Triathlon Sprint this summer -- so we have been figuring out our training programs and it seems like a pretty lofty goal! But, I think we can do it!!

4. Abby is looking for a career job - so that means that we potentially could be loosing her soon -- and that has occupied our thoughts a great deal. We really think she needs to do what is right for her and Cody and that probably means to find a job with a salary and benefits -- but it will be hard to loose her on a daily basis -- I will keep yall posted

5. Work for me is going really great right now, a lot of fun and challenging projects

6. We are in planning mode for our trip to Disney! I think we are going to go in September and we are planning on making it a "BRATS" trip -- with a trip in an RV to the magical land!

7. I am still in this weight loss battle. It seems that I am working so hard on it and I think I am actually gaining weight -- so frustrating

8. The girls start swim class today. They are going to go on Monday's and Wednesday's for February. Elle wants to try out for the swim team in the summer -- so I think this will be a fun thing for her and Emme to do, we will see how it goes

9. Elle added a day of class at CCDC, so now she is going 3 times per week to school. I think that this will be really good for her -- she gets so bored during the day!

10. There really is no place like your own home and your own bed. The travel has been fun -- but there is something about walking in your back door and seeing your home -- it just relaxes you!

Where did Christmas Go?

2010-01-07T09:57:00.006-06:00

CHristmas was so wonderful! We had our Christmas in Conroe and it was full of fun events! We spent a lot of time with Kirsten and the kids and of course, Elle and Emme just loved every minute of it!

The girls got a bunch of great toys -- this was the year for some new toys and they are all so much fun.

Of course, they got the Zhu Zhu's -- after my wild selling ride with those, it was sorta a non event for me, but the girls loved them and they are cute.

I love these pictures of the Candle Light Service. We went to a Kid Friendly service in Conroe and the girls loved lighting the candles and singing.

On New Year's eve, we "recreated Christmas Eve" at the Ratliff home. New Years day was so much fun too, great things all around!!

Abby got married on the 1st too, and the ceremony was beautful. Elle and Emme loved going to the wedding!!!

We are off to Santa Fe next week... for Christmas, my sis and mom and dad fore went the presents and we are treating our selves to 4 days in Santa Fe.

Christmas was

Crazy Christmas Sweater

2009-12-21T09:25:00.002-06:00

We had our annual Christmas party with the Home Team this weekend - and we all wore Crazy Christmas sweaters -- it was a lot of fun. We also do a "re-gift" exchange and joe ended up with a bread knife and I ended up with a hat and scarf - so we did pretty good!

The weekend ended last night with Christmas Spectacular, me, Joe, Momo and Papa Joe took the girls and they loved it. Elle was glued to the stage -- she said that she loved every act and every song and when I asked her again what was her favorite part of the show, she said "why do you keep asking me this? I have told yall 15 times that I liked every song." well -- that is just our little sweet 4 year old!

Emme on the other hand, after the intermission -- she walked out of her seat and whispered to me -- "I am going home now." So anyway, we took turns taking her up to the top or outside for breaks.

I would say over all my girls did pretty well -- however a lady in front of me thought different. She looked back everytime anyone of us said anything. Even as Elle was singing along with the Rockette's, she looked back at us. I finally said to her "Can I help you with something?" She said "what?" and I said "Can I help you with something?" She didn't look back again.

I am hoping I will blog alot this week considering all of the activites we have planned in Conore. Needless to say, we are all ready for this week and can't wait to spend some time with the family.

Yes, Joe won 2nd place in his category -- but I am not sure if it was the female or male category!

Am I Still Cool? I Still Am, Right?

2009-12-09T12:29:00.007-06:00

I have not blogged in forever! I am so behind on this, but I have a lot of things to write about.

One of my best friends from home, Stacey, is getting married and Joe and I went to Houston for her shower. As I sitting by an old friend, a guy friend of mine and we were talking about high school, of course -- and he said something about my cool Mustang Convertible I had -- of course ;) and I was just trying to convince him that I am still way cool in my 30's!

When I started to tell him how cool I was -- I had to mention that I drive a Minivan and drive really fast with my window down singing "I put my hands up, their playn' my song," I workout at Curves, go to bed around 9 pm and just probably some more things about how cool I was. Anyway, it was an interesting conversation and you probably think that I was left depressed -- but not really... because I just kept thinking about my sweet hubby and my 2 great girls and you know what -- that makes me the coolest person, or at least cool mom. My friend Rachelle calls me "the fun mom" sorta making fun at me at the same time, but I secretly love it!!

Stacey and me at the shower! The shower was so fun!!

Joe and I went to New York last week and it was a great time. We saw all of the fun things in NY, ate great food, shopped and saw Wicked and Mama Mia.
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By far the best play I have ever seen -- Wicked!!

Before Joe met me in New York, I was north of the city at an HR conference and we had a 70's night. This is my team, Jessica, me and Betsy (my manager).

I love this time of year and especially running out to my mail box each night checking to see if there are any Christmas cards!!

On another note about Curves. I joined back 1 month ago. From the time I left 17 months ago till November, I had gained an embarrasing 16 pounds -- ouch!!! So, back on it and today I had my first weigh in... after a month, I have not lost any weight, but I did drop 3.75 inches (total for my body) including numbers like: 1.5 inches off my arms and .5 inches of my abdomen. So, that encourages me to keep on keepin on!!

My Talented Husband!

2009-11-23T12:13:00.002-06:00

I have not blogged in a while -- lots going on, but all good stuff.

Joe bulit the girls this book shelf that is attached to the back of our couch that is on risers in our game room. We put everything in last night and trying to organize all of the toys before Christmas.

Joe also built this computer desk for the girls. Mom got these computers at an Estate Sale and the girls love it! I found the pink chairs, just love those! We also put up these dimploma frames where we can switch out the images/coloring sheets. They really like seeing thier "work" hung next to our Diplomas.

One of the biggest praises the last couple of weeks is Grand Lilly's health. She has gotten so much better and went in and out of 2 rehab facilites and now has moved in back home to the Nursing Home in 3 Rivers. Here we are with her saying Goodbye before she moved. The girls loved visiting her and she has been such a blessing to our lives.

Joe created and printed his own Christian Magazine, set to come out next week. Those closest to me know that I have been fighting this huge battle with the devil over this one. He as torn away at me and taken my "support", but the Lord has one this battle and my heart is really very happy for Joe and think this magazine is more in line with what Joe really strives to be in his everyday life: One of God's soldiers on a daily mission to spread the Good News. I think that this magazine, which outlines all of the areas events for Christmas as well as a two page article from Mary's point of view, will be a wonderful tool for him. I am so proud of him!!

I Love Halloween

2009-11-02T17:28:00.003-06:00

I think this was my title of my blog last year too..... we love Halloween and this year was one of the best! We had our traditional dinner with the Smouse's and then we went to our 'hood to trick or treat. Our neighborhood goes all out with pre and post parties!

The girls were thrilled to dress up as brides and they were so cute!!!

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A Great Homecoming

2009-10-28T09:11:00.003-05:00

We all went to Baylor Homecoming this past weekend. Joe and I have not been back for about 9 years, it was fun to be back and see how much the campus has changed and even more special to see my kids running around where we used to walk! It just brought back so many awesome memories, I truly loved my Baylor experience!!

Here is Jenni and the kids watching the parade

The Tinsley Family
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Tommy "walking" around the Bonfire

Go Bears!

When we got home from Homecoming, we had a Dallas Cowboy party with our Home Team and here are the kids.... and we were missing 7 kids, yes, I said, we were missing 7 kids! Can you believe how many precious kids we have in our group. It is a true blessing!

Prayer

2009-10-19T15:07:00.003-05:00

I have to record this or I will forget years down the road. When I take the girls to school, I try to pray with them in the car. I usually do the same prayer each time.

Last week, when we were getting in the car, Elle said, I want to pray this morning. I said ok.

Here is what she said (mind you, she is using alot of the same words that I use, but adds her own in at times)

"Dear Jesus. Be with Emme as she goes to school today to play with her friends. Be with Daddy as he goes to work on the plane. Be with Mommy as she goes to work, allow her to have a good time and allow her to see the candy lady and bring me candy. Let us all come back together again"

It was just so cute... and she was using "be with" and "allow" -- It really did fill my heart with joy!

Halloween Craft & Silly Pictures

2009-10-16T09:24:00.006-05:00

Last weekend, the girls and I (and Joe too, even during the Cowboys game) made a center piece for our dining room table. We had a great time, although it was terribly time consuming! Elle stuck with it for a long time and Emme ended up just playing with the beans!

Step 1: Gather sticks in the yard and paint them

Trace circles on brown paper bags

Use a wine cork to make dots as your leafs on trees

Fill the vase with beans!

Joe made these cute creatures out of corks

Final Place mats

Final Centerpiece

Did you know we painted our red room blue?

Another look! Next on the list -- new chandelier!

We had family pictures on Saturday.. and the girls were so silly.

Silly

Oh my... so silly

Elle joining in on the silliness

A really really early save the date notice.... for those that read my blog that have girls. I think for Elle's 5th Birthday party (yes, next spring) I am going to take her girl friends and their moms to see Cinderella at Casa Manana. So, if you have even bought your 2010 calendar yet, put April 3 @ 2pm on your calendar ;)) Plans may change, but Elle said that would be something she would want to do.... you can go out to casamanana.org/cinderella.htm

NNO

2009-10-07T11:30:00.003-05:00

NNO - National Night Out! A new term for me, but I went to my first National Night Out last night and it was so fun! All of the neighbors come together for a night of fun and rally against crime. The Fire and Police Departments came by and the kids had a blast.

The kids on the truck

Here are the girls in our hood.
Rylie and Emme with McGruff!

Emme had fun on Ally's princess ride on

The Ratliff Rules

2009-09-25T09:26:00.003-05:00

A little less than a month ago, we started a new discipline structure. I wanted to wait to blog about it until I had a full cycle completed. There are those standard things that Joe and I struggle with when parenting Elle and Emme. We decided to write down 5 rules that our family feels strongly about and if you broke the rule the first time, then there was a consequence. We also wanted a way to praise them for the "everyday" things they should be doing without complaining.

So, we started a marble system. I will tell you all about it and it if you have any other suggestions that you think would work for our next cycle, please let me know.

Here is sweet Emme this morning, because today is the day they reached their "goal marble count."
Step 1. We bought jars and marbles.

Step 2, we determined the rules. The Ratliff Rules, such as Listen on the first time and no fighting are listed with pictures for them to understand.

Step 3, we listed out the Happy Face Jar rules -- if you complete any of these items, at any time, without complaining, then they automatically get a marble in their happy face jar. Items on this list include putting on seatbelt by themselves, without being asked. Getting dressed for school, gymnastics and church. Drinking a glass of water. and so on......

Step 4: The Reward -- if they got 100 marbles, or marbles to the line on the jar, then they get what ever toy they want.

Step 5: The consequence. Everytime they break a Ratliff Rule, the get a marble taken out of their happy face jar and into the frowny jar. It just delays the time/days until they get their toyHere is Elle's sad face showing you how many marbles they got in their frowny jar over these past couple of weeks.... I think we were pretty nice, probably should be alot more in there ;)

Here is the toy they picked out a month ago. We printed a picture and put it by the rules. When I pick them up from school today, we are going to get the toy for them. They are so excited.

Final Thoughts. I really do think this system is working. Are my girls perfect? No. Do they still fight? Yes. However, it has given me and Joe a mechanism of encouraging them and disciplining them that means something to them. All we really have to say is, "that just cost you a marble" and we make them go get the marble out of their jar and place it into the frowny jar. They are crying the whole time, but, they see the consequence of their action -- without Joe and I having to yell or spank or mess around with time out.

Are there times we have to still spank and implement time out, of course. However, I have seen this system work so well -- especially in the area of putting their seat belt on (this used to be such a fight) and washing their hair -- now they still hate washing their hair, but if they do it without complaining, they are able to go put a marble in the jar!

Monkey Party -- Tommy Turns 1

2009-09-24T15:17:00.003-05:00

We went to Tommy's birthday party in Houston this past weekend and it was very fun and quite the success. Here are a few pictures.

Here is Tommy eating his cake!

Here are the cupcakes I made for the party, I was pleased with the way they turned out.
Elle and Emme with the monkey masks. They had a great time with Tommy and the other cousins

Tommy

2009-09-15T12:49:00.003-05:00

Just wanted to post this to make you smile. Tommy is having a Monkey party this weekend, I can't believe he is one year old!

I Never Believed Other Moms When They Said

2009-09-10T10:56:00.002-05:00

When other moms said, "my kids always tell me they want that toy on the tv advertisement." I never believed it. I don't know why.

I work for Pepsi, so I pay attention in the news when they say kids are impacted by advertisements, but again, didn't believe it,or guess I never thought i would have a kid who would be influenced.

Well, i was wrong. And I am sure there are other things that I have already done that I swore I would never do or that my kids would never do.

Every freaking morning, Elle is like "mommy mommy come here" in this frantic voice. All turns out to be something she wanted to show me on TV. And heaven forbid i miss the product advertisement, she breaks down in a fit.

So, we have started making a list and everytime she sees one thing she likes, we write it down for Santa. This is what she looked like before school today, begging me for some gerbil or hamster roller coaster thing, called Zhu Zhu Pets. Does anyone know what these are? She just kept saying "this is it, this is it."
We are painting the living room/dining room. The girls were helping with the priming. They actually did really good. They were great help.

Also, today is a big day... It's TOMMY's first Birthday. Can you even beilve that 1 year ago today, he was just 1 lb 13 oz... and it looked like a very scary road ahead. I am going to his party next weekend and can't wait!

First Day at School

2009-08-31T08:46:00.006-05:00

I wanted to call attention to the needs that God has met in our lives…. he always meets our needs, but I never stop to take the time to really analyze and recognize the specific things he does. As a working mom, there is a great deal of stress in deciding where your children will go during the day. Last year, the Montessori was great for Elle and Emme. It taught them a lot about structure and education. They also learned a lot about our diverse world we live in. When my neighbor told me she was going to give her kids a break from school for the summer, I thought that was an awesome idea. I found Abby! Or Abby found us… or, the Lord brought us together! When summer was coming to an end, I was in denial of having to find a day care for the girls. I wasn't worried about it at all. there was this peace over me that God would work it out. I didn't know how, but He did.

Long story short, Abby is with us for the fall and the girls are in Pre School 2 days a week. The Lord had it all under control -- from knowing how the girls would be picked up a 2 pm on those days, to meeting Abby's financial and career needs. I didn't know how to put this in my own words, so I started looking for verses online and found this one: Matt 6:31-32 "So do not worry, saying "what shall we eat, or what shall we drink or what shall we wear For the pagans run after all of these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them." The author on this one page, stated this: When we recognize God’s abilities, we can be confident that God knows what we need and that he will take care of us.

CCDC is where the girls go and I couldn't be happier with the school. I look forward to the new learning's, friends and growth that Elle and Emme will experience.

They have a lot of friends at the school -- including our pals Hadley and Hunter
Elle, so excited!

Emme, all grown up!

This past weekend, I went to one of my best friend's baby shower. I just get so excited when my friends are having babies! I just know that they have so much to look forward to and their lives will never be the same. I am so hapy for Jill!!

This weekend, Chase got baptised. He is the first kid in our group that has made this decision. It was a fabulous ceremony and it sparked very good conversations with Elle and Emme.

nu=3293>899>682>2384899773247ot1lsi.jpg"> This picture cracks me up. Elle and Emme see something in the water "Look at that!!" and Hadley is trying to protect them, "Stay back girls, let me look first"

The Smouse Family-- Four under four! Emme just had to be in their family picture.

So, here was our family picture, Emme woudn't come over for it. Is she trying to tell us something?

Random, Interesting (I think) Thoughts

2009-08-27T14:28:00.003-05:00

1. I usually put off going to the bathroom until I really have to go! When I am at work, I practically run down the hall, and everytime, I mean every darn time I round the corner, I see the yellow signs "Bathroom being cleaned." Of course, me, who really doesn't care about these rules, rush right in and look at the lady and say "I gotta go." Everytime I am in there, she is talking away in Spanish. I am like who are you talking to while you are cleaning these toilets? I saw her today and she wears an ear piece for her phone while she cleans.

2. While I am working, I like to listened to church sermons, so if your church has a great one that I need to listen to, please send to me. Today I listened to two messages. One from my church, IBC, and our pastor was back after 6 weeks of being out with cancer -- and his cancer is getting worse and he spoke. Also, other leaders spoke and led me through praying for me, my children, their teachers and our community. If you want to listen to, here is the link: http://www.irvingbible.org/index.php?id=1274

I also listened to a sermon on Life Saving, by Ed Young. This message was about how we has Christians need to be life savers... it was very good.. listen if you have a chance http://www.fellowshipchurch.com/currentseries

3. Here is a picture from BRAT's. Can you tell that Steven and Joe are related?

nu=323;>754>6:2>WSNRCG=32927398<633:nu0mrj.jpg">

The BRAT's Go To Conroe!

2009-08-26T11:29:00.016-05:00

Well, chalk up another great BRAT's trip! This was our 4th Annual Trip, and this year, we headed to Conroe. It was full of great activities and good family time!

My parents celebrated 40 years of marriage, can you believe that? Joe and I are so lucky that both of our parents have been married so long and have given us a great example of love, perseverance and priorities. Ann, Brian, Joe and I took them to Perry's for the celebration.

Thursday afternoon, all of the guys went fishing and caught a crazy number of fish. They had a great time! The ladies took the kids to The Children's Museum. They had so much fun.

Carlee Jo, Emme, Elle and Spencer are playing in the sandbox.

Thursday night, we went to Grampy Larry's, a neat little restaurant on the lake. We all wore our shirts. This year, they were so neat! Of course, I had found these dresses before I knew we were wearing the shirts that night, so I just had to take a picture of them!

Here is the family (well, extended family)... Missing Ann, Brian and Tommy & Meredith and Steven. But, they joined us the next night!!

On Friday, the guys treated us to a Limo, shopping and eating at PF Changs! What an afternoon!

On Saturday, we had a big cook out! Here is Papa Joe making the food. My dad got him this apron, it's so cute and food was so yummy!

We rented a bounce house and Water Slide... it was perfect for the kids.

Steve and Meredith kayaked the lake. They were gone for like 2 hours!

Here is the Waterslide... all adults got in on the fun too!

Tommy and Carlee Jo! Too cute!

On Sunday, we rented a boat and had a great time... the cousins look too cute!

So, the 5th Annual BRAT's trip will be a RV Trip to Disney World. We are not going to stay in the RV, but just a means of transportation!

Rock Star & Princess Camps

2009-08-14T10:21:00.004-05:00

Elle and Emme have had a great summer. Abby (our nanny) has been a wonderful addtion to our daily life and praise the good Lord, she is going to stay through the Fall. The girls are more than excited.

Here are two of the fun things they have done this summer

They went to Princess Camp and Rock Star Camp. Both classes taught them a dance and they made crafts

Here is the group shot for Princess Camp. Elle, Piper, Emme and Lindsay are all on the top row, starting from the left

Lindsay and Elle
The girls being silly in the front yard before camp

Sweet Emme performing the dance

Here is Rock Star Camp. Lindsay and Sydney (in the pink sunglasses) and Elle in the green boa, are all on the top row on the right. Emme is bottom row all the way to the right.

Emme, Elle, Lindsay and Sydney

I set up a mini stage at our house, so they could practice, they loved it!!

Happy Birthday Emme Lee

2009-07-16T13:08:00.003-05:00

Well -- Emme is 3! I just can't even tell you how over joyed I am that I have such a sweet and funny little girl in our life. As many of you know, I struggled last year with my relationship with Emme. I was getting very frustrated with her and she really wasn't taking to me. After your prayers and suggestions, we have become so close. Last night, she placed her head on my chest and we watched The Bachelorette together... yes, what a moment ;) But seriously, I was so worried about us being close and forming a bond, and we really have, it's never too late or early to focus on your relationships with your children.

I have learned that Emme is very funny and makes all of us laugh. She is also a fast learner and very athletic. If you could see this child swim -- you would be amazed. She can just about swim the length of the pool. I just have to brag on her, this is my blog, right?

Anyway, enjoy these sweet pictures of her last 3 years of celebration. Again, Praise to God for all of the blessings that Emme has brought to our family.

The day Emme was born. Already bonding with Papa Joe -- a funny "for shadowng" of their current relationship. Emme and Papa Joe are very close.

Happy 1st Birthday! She had her birthday at the local Coppell pool

Happy 2nd Birthday, loved Dora! We had her party at Bedford Splash

Still loves Dora at 3! She also likes Tinker Bell, coloring and candy. We had her party at Flower Mound Waterpark -- do you see a trend here with her parties? Where will we be next year?

Great Long Weekend.. and Yes.. a Pedicure

2009-07-07T08:14:00.006-05:00

We had a great weekend full of fun activities to celebrate the 4th. We headed out to Granbury to visit The Burnfield gang.

Yesterday, I had a Holiday day at work, but Abby was still here, so I was able to get some closets organized... and I am now ready for my upcoming Scrapbook Weekend! A bunch of ladies go to my friends house for the weekend and we scrapbook. I got all of my pages ready yesterday and got my supplies. And yes, I finally got my pedicure. I snuck out of the house yesterday several times when the girls were there with Abby. Last night, Elle looked at my toes and said, "mom, when did you get your toes painted?" She was very confused and totally busted me for going to get them painted without her.

Here we are at the Pecan Plantation Street Dance

Elle, Emme, Spencer and Carlee Joe having a great time

Here is Emme at the Parade in Granbury

Spencer and Elle at Lunch

Brad and Joe took the girls fishing, and they had so much fun. I went the next day with them and caught a few my self! We had a net that caught bait fish and then the kids picked up the bait fish and placed them in the bucket.. gross!

Princess Fishing pole caught 3 fishes!

No Bows

2009-06-28T21:09:00.005-05:00

Well on Friday I took the girls to get their pictures taken at Studio1 -- and it was amazing. They did a really good job... both the photographer and the girls. The girls wanted their hair down and no bows and no shoes.

Look Who Got A Pedicure....

2009-06-23T06:41:00.004-05:00

… not mommy! The girls and their 2nd cousin, Madison, went to Sweet and Sassy last week with their grandma's. The girls love getting pampered… too bad mommy wasn't there too. But that is ok, I was at home catching up on some movies I hadn't seen and starting my tennis lessons.

First off, I am so sore from tennis -- my brain understands the moves and I understand the game, but from my neck down, my body isn't cooperating with where my brain wants to take it. All that being said, I love the lessons and will continue to do them!

This past weekend we went to Conroe to pick up the girls, it was so good to see them, I missed them a ton.

I started my workout at my work gym yesterday and am making an appointment with the trainer this week. I am looking forward to starting my weight loss journey. I really need those prayers that the journey lasts atleast until my friend Stacey gets married in January!! Did I mention that ALL of my friends from high school are skinny??

My little brown child -- look how much sun she got!

nu=32<2>844>;82>WSNRCG=3285<23567336nu0mrj.jpg"> Madison and Elle

Fathers Day at the Yacht Club

Elle and Tommy -- he is so cute!

This is a family pic from the retreat that Stacy took

Stacy took this picture! It is so amazing.

Retreat Recap!

2009-06-16T15:17:00.003-05:00

This past weekend we went to our Home Team Retreat -- this is the 7th Annual trip and it was one that stands out for sure! 10 adults and 9 kids headed to Glen Rose and stayed at amazing Ranch and Retreat… First Class all the way! We went to the Dinosaur Park, went swimming at an old fashioned swimming hole and my favorite -- went to Fossil Rim. We literally had Giraffe's eating out of our sunroof. It was amazing! We had our "typical adult parties" at night on the front porch of the Smouse's cabin and had wonderful conversations!

The girls are at Mimi's this week and Joe is out of town too. Last night I took MomO and Grand Lilly out to eat and tonight I am going to go home and watch the end of The Tudors, season 1. I do miss everyone, but it is nice to get some quiet and down time.

MY LIST UPDATE
I wanted to update you on where I am with my list of things to do for myself.

#1 - My tennis lessons were delayed due to that horrible storm that came through, so, I start tomorrow. But, I got a cute pink racket and I am ready!

#3 - I did quit the YMCA, I am just waiting for my membership to start at work

#4 - Abby started and has been such a God thing, what a blessing she is! The girls are having so much fun with her!

#5 - Went to Chicago, it was great and got one training class under my belt. I have 1 more this week, I am teaching Team Leaders how to build strong teams, it is interesting material.

#6 - No mani and pedi yet! I will get to this soon.

Here the girls are at the Dinosaur park, they loved it! Before we went in, Elle said, "I wish I was a boy, then I could like dinos." I told her that many girls like dinos and that it was ok for her to like dinos too -- and then she had so much fun!

Here is the giraffe that came to our car, this was my favorite animal there by far!

Here is the zebra. This one scared me a bit, he kept trying to get in the car!

Here is Elle feeding one of the many deer-looking animals.

Here is Elle at the Ranch looking at the horses. We had dinner Saturday night served from a Chuck Wagon!

Sweet Emme looking at the horsey

Emme and Carson at the BBQ Place on Friday night

Hadley and Elle look like teenagers straight from a teen-movie, just hanging out, saying, ok, what's next?

These kids are so cute! Elle and Emme were the oldest (combine/average ages) of the group, it was kinda crazy having kids younger then them... that is usually not the case! I was extremely proud of all of the children, they did soooo good!

Item # 2 - Complete!

2009-06-02T08:12:00.004-05:00

Well, here is my new hair cut. I got about 10 inches cut off and will send it off to Locks of Love.

On Sunday night we had a Goodbye party for our good friends, Andy and Kimia. They are moving to Bahrain (outside of Saudi Arabia). We will miss them so much!!

This past weekend was packed full of fun. Elle and Emme had their dance recital, and they did so good. During the tap performance, Elle did a kick and kicked her tap shoe off into the air. It landed on the stage and her eyes got really big and then looked at me and I said "you can do it, just keep going." And she did! She finished the routine with one tap show, at the end of the performance, I said, Elle, "you did it, the show must go on!" I was proud of her.

They also ended a two week swim lesson and both are doing great in the water and off the diving board.

Sara Refresh!

2009-05-28T14:11:00.003-05:00

Be sure to check out my Memorial Day Blog below this one too!

OK -- So, things are going pretty well these days. Job is great, Joe and I are happy and the kids seemed to be a little bit more manageable these days!

SO -- it's time to concentrate on me. The last 4 years it seems like every bit of energey has gone to those things mentioned above, so it's time for me to refresh myself. Here is a list of things I want to do in the next few months, some of these things I have alrady started -- so I look to all of my blogging friends out there to keep me honest in these goals!

1. Take tennis lessons -- I signed up and start June 10
2. Hair Cut - I have an appt tomorrow at 2:00 -- getting it chopped off!
3. Quit YMCA, but join my gym at work with a trainer - Getting signed up next week, I need to drop 20 pounds or more!!
4. Hire a Nanny - Done! Abby starts Monday, and I am looking forward to not having to dress the kids and take them to school everyday!
5. Spruce up my Training Skills - Done! Traveling to Chiacago and NY this summer to teach 5 classes on Trust and Leading a Team! Can't wait!!!
6. Mani & Pedi -- OK, I have not had one all Spring, I know, crazy, but I will get this done soon.

Anyway, did I miss anything? Any other ideas for a "refresh"???

Here are some pics of Elle and Emme at thier Spring Muscial, they were so cute!

Memorial Day Weekend Fun!!

2009-05-28T14:00:00.004-05:00

WOW! What a jammed packed Memorial Day Weekend -- but what can you expect when you go on vacation with the Panno family ;)) JK. Anyway, we had so much fun -- going on the boat, hanging out with family, sneaking into water parks and a date night.

elle, chase, emme and sydney

family and friends
family!

We went to 7 Acre Wood, and they had a zip line, the kids loved it!

Print Your Blog!

2009-05-14T15:17:00.001-05:00

You may already know this, but I found a site today that will print your blog. I did the $2.95 download to PDF and I think I will just print if off my self or take it to Office Max. Anyway, I am going to stick it in the back of my 2008 Scrapbook, so I know what was going on in my life in 08, since I don't do much journling in the actual scrapbook.Here is the link http://blog2print.sharedbook.com/blogworld/printmyblog/index.html

Scrappin' Toddlers

2009-05-11T10:15:00.004-05:00

Well, as we were going to sleep last night, I told Joe, "this was one of the best weekends ever!" Friday, the girls said they wanted to make their own scrapbooks.... so, being the person I am, I went to Michael's and Jo Ann's and started going crazy with all of the scrapbook stuff! I thought to my self, this is going to be so fun. Then, I stopped. I told my self something else -- Sara, don't get too excited and get too many expectations in your head, they are after all, 3 and 4 years old, this could go not as expected.

But, I continued to shop anyway. Joe and I picked up the girls from school and brought them home to 2 tables set up with their scrapbooks, glue, stickers and pictures. For about 2 hours, they scrapbooked! It was so fun. They have looked at the pictures over and over, and it really was one of the most fun "family crafts" we have done!

Saturday night, we took the girls to Studio B Theatre in Flower Mound and we saw Alice in Wonderland. It is a Children's Theatre, and the girls loved it! Elle now wants to try out for a play!

Mothers Day started with Waffles in Bed, a nice bath and a great church service! We then spent the day with the Ratliffs and had a wonderful time!!

The girls and me before the play

Scrappin!

Is it May?

2009-05-05T12:45:00.004-05:00

WOW, it's been way too long since I have blogged. I honestly, honestly, don't know where April went or even what happened in April. March and April are my "busy" months at work and boy, was it busy. I am literally flipping through my calendar so I can tell you what I have been up to….

Ok, so Easter was in April, that was fun and I already blogged about that. Let's see…. well, I guess the biggest thing is that Joe and I went with my sister and Brian to New Orleans for Jazz Fest. It was so fun and so relaxing. We saw Better Than Ezra (shout out to my high school gals) and also Dave Mathews Band. Better Than Ezra were fantastic, I mean, just so great. Also, Dave was the best I had seen, and I have seen them many many times. It probably helped that the weather was gorgeous and we were just chillin. No pictures from New Orleans, none of us had our camera, but it was refreshing to go somewhere and not have to stop for pictures. If you have not been to New Orleans, or it has been a while, you've got to back, it was too much fun!

We went to Spencer's birthday and it was a great time. I am looking forward to this weekend, Mothers Day. Not sure what is planned, but it just serves a reminder of how blessed I am with my little girls. Speaking of Elle and Emme, they have been really sweet lately. The morning times have been unusually good. One morning we had Crazy Hair day and we put as many pony tails as we could. The girls are looking forward to the summer. We have hired a nanny to come and stay with them so they can have a break from school.

One morning, Emme got out of bed while I was working in the office... she was in a happy mood, so I captured it.

Crazy Hair!

Before School

Spencer's Party
This is Brad... pretty amazing at his age :)

I was trying to get them to scoot together, but oh well!

He Came Back Alive

2009-04-14T15:10:00.002-05:00

Well, the Easter weekend was sure fun... and busy. We had Easter at our house this year and the Ratliff Family came to enjoy all of the events.

On Sunday, after an amazing sermon at IBC, we went to pick up the girls and Spencer. They had made booklets during Sunday School. Elle ran out of her class and said, "Here, they ate. Here is the x and Jesus was dead there." Then she flipped to the last page and said, "Here is the rock station, then He came back - alive!"

Couldn't have said it better! He is risen indeed!

HEre are Elle and Emme at the IBC Eggsperience Carnival

I am sure like many households, we had our egg hunt inside!

Proud Grandparents!

Our Family

Spring Cleaned and Rested!

2009-04-08T10:20:00.003-05:00

This past Saturday night, the girls went to MomO and Joe's and my Joe and I cleaned out the garage and the closets. It was hard work, but well worth it! We also got some really good sleep on Saturday night. We just rarely get a night where everyone sleeps through the night. Someone has to go to the bathroom, or already has, or has a nightmare or is cold, or well, it's always something and if it isn't the girls... it's the dogs - right? You know what I mean if you still have your first furry children!

Anyway, we also went to our annual Home Team Easter Egg Hunt. It's the first of many hunts this Easter season and it was a great one at that!

The Princess is Four!

2009-03-31T07:53:00.004-05:00

Elle is 4 years old today. As I was watching her sleep this morning I just praised God for this little girl who continues to amaze us and bring joy to our family.

Born 2005

As a baby, she was a great eater!

1 Year Old Party

As a 1 year old, she loved swimming

2 year old party

As a 2 year old, she loved Dora!

3 Year old Party

AS a 3 year old, she loved the Princesses!

Her 4th Birthday Party

Still loving the Princesses! She also loves Mermaids, Ballerinas and Barbie

Elle's Party at School Today.

E&E Lodge

2009-03-18T09:51:00.004-05:00

It's hard naming your swing set! We came up with a lot of ideas, but E&E Lodge was the choice.
The girls are having so much fun!

Happy St Patty's Day!

2009-03-17T09:42:00.004-05:00

The girls went to school in their green today! Here is our new outdoor play set. Joe is putting up the swings and the other accessories today, so I will update my pictures on here tomorrow. Hope you are having a very lucky day!

Pray for Sara :)

2009-03-16T13:51:00.002-05:00

Last night Joe and I watched Fireproof, a cheesy, yet good Christian movie about keeping your Marriage together. It really did have a great message and as we were talking about the movie, I said to Joe, "You know, one thing I learned from that movie is how important it is to pray for yourself. I spend alot of time praying for you and your heart and just thanking God for the man he gave me and that I pray that the love continues and that you will feel this way forever. I never think about praying for me and my heart. I don't know why, I just don't ever pray for me."

Kirk Cameron's character in the movie spends his 40 days praying for himself and how he can change for the better and be more loving. So, I thought this was a great thing. I mean, I pray for myself in other ways, to be a good mom, friend, co-w0rker and a wife -- but I never pray for me to have a loving heart and that my heart would stay committed. I am committed now for sure and don't doubt my future commitment to the marriage at all... but I guess I just always pray to God that I will continue to be Joe's one and only true love.

So, I was saying all of this to Joe. He turned to me and said, "You know what started doing for Lent? I have started praying for me and my heart that I will continue to love you and be the husband you need me to be."

So, I said "I am praying for you and you are praying for you."

Joe said, "I guess nobody is praying for you."

We started cracking up... I don't know why it was so funny, but it just was!!

Anyway, I think I will also start praying for me... but if you who are reading could also pray for me, then we would have more people praying for me... ;)) He he!!

I hope you took this blog as light hearted as it was supposed to be. It was just a funny moment.

Emme's First Haircut

2009-03-02T07:54:00.005-06:00

Yes, that's right... Emme, who will be 3 in July, just had her first haircut. She never really had any strange hair growth, so we never took her. The other day, I saw this little girl and she had the cutest hair and I thought that Emme would look cute with the same do. I just loved how it turned out and she does too!

This is at Valentines Day, to give you and idea of her "before look"

My new cut!

Emme is holding up her hair that they gave to us as a keepsake. It's funny, because Elle's keep sake hair is literally just a little curl.

Hanging at Mimi and Poppy's... I am sassy!

From the back

Family Fun

2009-02-24T16:09:00.003-06:00

I have not posted in a while, been sick. Feeling better and having some good moments with my kids. They are starting to get easier and I think Emme is liking me a bit more everyday! For those of you who don't know, she is obsessed with her daddy and rarely wants to be with me. But, I have taken some extra steps to ensure that the relationship with her is a priority and I think it is paying off!

I have also blogged about not knowing exactly what she likes and I have learned a lot about her in the past few months... and she is also getting older, which helps, because she is able to express what she likes. The other day just out of the blue, she said "I like Chicken Nuggets, Candy and Crayons." It was just one of those cute moments that I had been dying to see from her!!

The last couple of weekends have been fantastic with the family, we are all having so much fun together!

Here they are before their Valentines party at School.

Scooting around the neighborhood to drop off Birthday party invites

Hadley came over on Saturday to play. I thought this was a cute picture

Here are some photos of Tommy. I think these are so great!

"What?"

I love tying to figure out what babies are saying/thinking

Community with a little "c"

2009-02-05T11:03:00.004-06:00

I heard a great sermon this past Sunday on "Community" -- with a little "c".

Community with a big "C" is your local church that you attend on a weekly basis. It offers so much (a place to come worship with music and a message that helps us get through the week).

Community with a little "c" is your circle of friends. Our pastor was encouraging each of us to invest in a community with a "little c". I loved how he didn't use this message as a "calling for volunteers," because I am sure our church needs all of the help on the weekends it can get -- No, he was challenging us to get involved with a group that we can do life with. Joe and I looked at each other and had that "Praise God" for our Life group look -- we have been involved with our Home Team for just about 7 years now.

Now, he did give examples of ways to find groups to belong to and I will go into that here in a second.

But, let's talk for bit about what to do if you already find yourself a part of a group of people who you share your greatest and saddest moments with. Andy (our pastor) said first and foremost Jesus has commanded us to "Love one another just as I have loved you" (John 13:34). In the verse, it actually says "A New Command I give you" when he was talking to his 12 disciples -- notice how He had 12 close friends he was doing life with?? Kind of gives you chills to think Jesus had his own life group. Are you loving your friends just as Christ loved us. Wow, that was huge wake up call! I love my friends so much, but what I am doing specifically to let them know?

Andy then started a challenge -- to use our God-given gifts in combination with our life groups to help further the Kingdom of God!! Romans 12:4 -8 says " Just as each of us has one body with many members, and these members do not all have the same function, 5so in Christ we who are many form one body, and each member belongs to all the others. 6We have different gifts, according to the grace given us. If a man's gift is prophesying, let him use it in proportion to his faith. 7If it is serving, let him serve; if it is teaching, let him teach; 8if it is encouraging, let him encourage; if it is contributing to the needs of others, let him give generously; if it is leadership, let him govern diligently; if it is showing mercy, let him do it cheerfully."

So, if you are a part of a small group, then I challenge you (along with me and Joe) to use our different gifts in not only helping each other - but in helping build the Kingdom! I think of the group I am in -- and I could sit down and write a list of things that I need, I then could easily put a name by each need. and, I think for my next Blog, I will do that -- it would be a fun exercise.

If you are in a Life group, Home Team, Home Group, Bible Study, etc… How are you using your unique gifts to help each other and to help Christ?

If you are not in a group, what is stopping you from joining one? When Joe and I walked into Lisa and Mike Mathis's house for the first time in 2002, I walked behind Joe because I didn't want to talk to anyone. There was no way that I would have anything in common with these people. I didn't know that I would walk with them as their parents passed away. I didn't know that I would be able to make dinner as each of us when our 24 children were born. I didn't know that they would eventually relate to me as a working mom… etc… the stories are endless! So, why have you not gotten involved?

Andy ended the sermon with a few examples of how the various people in our church found their "Life Groups." Some were through the "official" path of signing up for a Home Team / but many were simply by finding a passion within the church - like working with the children's ministry and before they knew it, they were in a life group of their own!

I would love to hear how influence your life groups have been in your life. I would also like to hear ideas of how you are going to Love one another and encourage one another by using your gifts!!

Here is our Home Team at our annual Retreat! On our 10th annual, we plan to go on a Cruise, do you think the boat will let us all on?

Hanging out a local buger joint on a Friday night.

Life is good!

South America?

2009-01-28T09:05:00.004-06:00

I am at home today, due to the bad ice storm we had last night. The girls are doing good and I am able to sit down and blog for a second.

This past weekend was so great and relaxing. We took the girls to get their toes done and they both picked purple and to my amazement... the color is still on there today! Elle usually picks the paint all off within a day or two!

Saturday night, we got a surprise... The Smouse's called and wanted Elle to come over and play. So, Joe and I took Emme on a date to La Hac Ranch.. it was so nice and quiet with one kid and Joe and I got to really enjoy ourselves. We have been working out so hard everyday and eating right, that our treat was fajitas and they were sooo good!

Sunday night, we had Home Team. The Polk's are leading a study on Parenting and has been very good for Joe and I to not only read the materials, but also, gain perspective from the other moms and dads who have kids older than ours. On Sunday, we talked about how to raise a God loving child and one who comes to know Jesus. The study encouraged us as parents to be the inspiration and encourager behind your child's relationship with Christ. One challenge to us was to go home and really talk to our kids about Jesus and see how much they know from the day to day things we do as parents to bring God in all that we do.

I sat down with Elle with a devotional for kids and the message was about Friendship. It ended with something like "Jesus is our friend too." I told Elle, Jesus lives in our hearts. And she said why, I want to see him. Well, I told her I wanted to see him too, but before we get to, he lives in our hearts. She said, "Can I see him when I am 49?" She has this strange obsession with random numbers.

The next night at dinner, I asked Elle, "Can you tell Daddy where Jesus lives?" And Elle said, "South America."

Did I also mention she has a strange obsession with the Continents? Funny, since her mommy doesn't even know the names of the Continents, or even where Puerto Rico is!

Kids are cute, you got to love em!

I would love to know your ideas on continuing to educate and bring Jesus into your daily conversations with your child.

The girls stopped to take a picture before Church. Everyday they get up, they say "are we going to church today?" They love their church so much!
This is a card I made for my mom to send out on Valentines day. Thought I would share. Tommy is doing so good and getting so big! I just thank the Lord everyday for his survival and know that he will bring such joy to Ann and Brian!

Wonderful Winter Park

2009-01-20T09:38:00.003-06:00

Last week, we went to Winter Park with Steve, Heather and Savannah. We both left our little ones at home... but sure missed them while we were there. I read in Parents Magazine a great travel and scrapbook tip. It said to get a post card from the city you visit and on the back of the card, write down special memories... because most likely our kids won't remember much of this trip. So, here is what I wrote on the back of my post card:

To Elle: You are almost 4 years old and this was your 3rd time to Snowy Mountains, but it was your first time to ski. We watched you on the bunny slopes and then took you up your first ski lift. You got on like a champ! You thought it was so fun. You didn't fall off when we unloaded and you skied with Daddy all the way down. You and Savannah had so much fun summing in the heated pool. You are still so in love with the princess and I am so impressed with your willingness to try new things. You missed Emme so much and we won't ever leaver her at home again :). Your favorite part of the trip was going tubing. You wanted to go on your stomach, alone... you are so brave and crazy! You have to be 8 years old to go down alone!

Is It Over?

2009-01-09T15:48:00.005-06:00

Oh My! It Christmas really over? We had such a wonderful Christmas holiday. I, like Kara, have started this post in my mind so many times, but have just not sat down to write it. I can't believe that 2008 is over. It was filled with so many wonderful memories and so many of God's blessings. For me and Joe, it was one of the best years of our marriage as we start to lead our family to its future. We are thankful for our family. Joe and I are both very blessed to have great parents and siblings. Our kids don't know how lucky they are to have such caring, prayerful, helpful and loving Grandparents. It is truly a blessing that we don't ever take for granted. My nephew was born and came home and it is so amazing to see my sister as a mom. For those moms out there, you know how terribly excited you are when someone you love gives birth!

Anyway, Joe, Elle and I are off to Winter Park tomorrow with the Zisler's and can't wait, so look forward to that post for pictures of Elle and Savannah's first attempt at skiing!

Christmas Eve. It was our first annual "Ratliff Variety Show" it was full of funny sketches, great songs, and Christmas bible stories

Part of the reason this Christmas was so special was because all us us "Parents" were setting up all of the toys from Santa!

Mom-O snapped a picture of the kids asleep, just before we woke them up to tell them Santa had been there!

The kids were so cute coming out to see what Santa had brought them!

For the New Year, we spent it in Conroe and spent time with Kirsten & John and the kids and Ruth and Rick

WOW! What a great picture. Elle and Emme seeing their cousin, Tommy, for the first time! They talk about him every day!

I Want Mashed Potatoes

2008-12-23T12:37:00.005-06:00

Hello and Merry Christmas! We have had such a great December, full of fun activities and good family time.

My blog story is about Mashed Potatoes.

Every night Elle wants French Fries for dinner. Always! Well last week I baked some french fries and said "Elle, we are having french fries tonight!" She looked at me and said, "I want mashed potatoes." What? I didn't have mashed potatoes and tried to tell her that, and she just kept saying, "Well, I want mashed potatoes." So, I threw the french fries in a bowl and added some milk and mashed it like crazy. She did like it!

So, last night before dinner I told Elle that we were having mashed potatoes and she was going to make them. She and Emme had a blast making them and they turned out great!

This morning, Margarita (our maid) was here and she asked me if I was going to cook for Christmas. I said, "No, I don't really cook alot," Elle quickly jumped in and said, "Remember, I made mashed potatoes." She just loves rubbing it in my nose ;))

Have a great Christmas!!!

Santa Claus at Southlake

The North Pole Express Santa

Elle and Emme before school. Elle is really into long dresses and I found this one. I plan to blog in January about the 5 long dresses, more to come!

The North Pole Express, Santa was coming down the aisle!

Elle hugging Santa. Her wish list has remained the same with each visit to Santa. Princesses, Mermaids and Barbies

It's rare when Emme is this happy to take a picture with Mommy!

Christmas Party at School today. Some of Elle's friends.

Emme's friends

THe Smouse's took Elle and Hadley to ICE. They had so much fun!

Elle during her CHristmas Program at School

Emme singing during her program