Operation Christmas Child

This season, we helped with Operation Christmas Child at our church. We were thrilled with the great response that we had at Keystone! Here we are with all the boxes before we took them to the drop-off location! We loved being able to help with this amazing ministry, and we pray that the children who receive these boxes are blessed through the gifts & the message of God's love!

'Tis the Season...

...to be thankful!

"Enter His gates with thanksgiving and His courts with prase; give thanks to him and praise His Name. For the Lord is good and His love endures forever; His faithfulness continues through the generations." Ps. 100: 4-5

Even though this has been a very hard year for us, we still have so much for which to be thankful. This Thanksgiving, I am especially grateful for...

*my loving and compassionate husband. I have always thought that we have had a strong marriage, but this year has brought us even closer together. I absolutely love living my life with David, and I am beyond thankful for his constant love and devotion to me.
*our church. We feel so blessed to be a part of Keystone Church! We honestly wake up every Sunday morning excited to go, and we can't wait to see what God has for Keystone's future!

*a job that gives me so much joy, so many hugs & smiles, and so many laughs! Even though this is a very busy time of year for me with holiday concerts and programs, I truly feel blessed to be in my position at my school. My kids are so precious to me!

*close relationships with my parents and my sister. God couldn't have blessed with a more wonderful family! I love them dearly.

*true friends who love and care for me, even when I'm unlovable. In addition to my sweet friends from Minnesota and Taylor, God has been so good to provide wonderful friends for me here in Texas, too. I am beyond blessed!

*and most of all, for my God, Who gives perfect love that drives out fear, even when I walk through the valley of the shadow of death; Who gives strength like an eagle as I wait on Him; Who is my testimony and the reason that I sing and live.

Three Years Ago...

Happy Anniversary (one day late! Forgive me--my students had concerts both Monday and Tuesday night!) to our sweet friends Nicole and Scott! It's hard to believe how fast time flies!
May this third year be your best yet! Happy Anniversary!

"Man of La Mancha"

On Saturday night, Dave and I enjoyed a wonderful time downtown at Bass Hall seeing Casa Manana's production of "Man of La Mancha." Dave sang the title song from the musical at his senior recital, so before we went, we listened to his recording of it. (I think it's always better to go to a musical where you know at least some of the storyline and/or pieces.) The show was amazing, and even though we were in the upper gallery, the acoustics in Bass Hall are so fantastic that we had no problem enjoying it all! (For those of our friends who don't live in Texas, we must take you to Bass Hall the next time you are here; it is absolutely incredible!)

"Man of La Mancha" is based on Miguel de Cervante's book "Don Quixote," a one thousand page book written in the 1600's. (Dave is on page 450!) He's determined to finish it; I think I'll just skip reading it and consider seeing the musical to be good enough for me! :)

P.S. Auddy, like my dress?

Gazebo Progress HALTED!

Dave was very excited to get in a full day of work on the gazebo today; so, even though it was Saturday, our one day to "sleep in," the alarm went off at 6:30! Dave headed out to the backyard, where he saw this..."an evil mandate from the Fort Worth planning and development dictatorship" (Dave's exact quote). Apparently, Ed, our beloved inspector, had been by on Thursday to take a look at the gazebo.
Since it says "STOP ALL WORK!!," a very disappointed Dave had to cancel his building plans for the day & tell all his workers (i.e.: my uncle, dad, and cousin) that they could have a restful, relaxing day instead of slaving away on the gazebo.

Our gazebo has not had a foundation inspection, AND, even worse, it is 3 feet into the utility easement. Hopefully, when he talks to Ed on Monday, he can lead Ed to believe that 3 feet into a utility easement isn't really a major (or even minor!) problem. (Wish him luck!)

(This might cause you to think more deeply about your vote for our current poll.)

On a bright note, this means we get to spend a day at the mall finishing our Christmas shopping! Yay! Dave is just overjoyed....

5K Fun Run

Yesterday morning, Dad, Dave and I ran a 5K that benefitted low-income children in our school district. It was a beautiful morning--perfectly cool for running!! Even though he's turning 55 in a few weeks, my dad can really turn the speed on, and he ended up getting 2nd place for his age group!

My Favorite Trick-or-Treater!

Last night, Kimi, Rob, and sweet baby Lake stopped by for Lake's first trick-or-treating! He was definitely the cutest Superman we've ever seen!!