Wow, I'm posting again????

Ok Girl, here is some pics over this past month...

No explanation needed

flattering......

My honey does a great job!

I just love this picture of us. I am having a good hair day and Greg doesn't look so bad

Getting to know me at Christmas

WELCOME TO THE CHRISTMAS EDITION OF GETTING TO KNOW YOUR FRIENDS.

1. WRAPPING PAPER OR GIFT BAGS ? wrapping paper even though I suck at wrapping

2. REAL TREE OR ARTIFICIAL ? Fake all the way

3. WHEN DO YOU PUT UP THE TREE? Week of Thanksgiving

4. WHEN DO YOU TAKE THE TREE DOWN? Week after New Year's

5. DO YOU LIKE EGGNOG ? No-Way

6. FAVORITE GIFT RECEIVED AS A CHILD ? Hmmm..

7. HARDEST PERSON TO BUY FOR ? Greg

8. EASIEST PERSON TO BUY FOR ? Shelly

9. DO YOU HAVE A NATIVITY SCENE ? no, does that make me the biggest loser? I always wanted one, but never bought it. So sad...

10. MAIL OR EMAIL CHRISTMAS CARDS ? Mail cards,

11. WORST CHRISTMAS GIFT YOU EVER RECEIVED ? No comment

12. FAVORITE CHRISTMAS MOVIE ? I love them all

13. WHEN DO YOU START SHOPPING FOR CHRISTMAS ? When I have the time and money

14. HAVE YOU EVER RECYCLED A CHRISTMAS PRESENT ? sad to admit, but yes

15. FAVORITE THING TO EAT AT CHRISTMAS ? Christmas brunch

16. LIGHTS ON TREE ? yes

17. FAVORITE CHRISTMAS SONG ? Little Drummer Boy

18. TRAVEL AT CHRISTMAS OR STAY HOME ? Since moving to Florida, we don't leave at Christmas. We love Florida Christmas

19. CAN YOU NAME ALL OF SANTA'S REINDEER'S ? yes

20. OPEN THE PRESENTS CHRISTMAS EVE OR MORNING ? Christmas Morning!!!

21. MOST ANNOYING THING ABOUT THIS TIME OF YEAR ? That it has become politically incorrect to say Merry Christmas

22. FAVORITE ORNAMENT THEME OR COLOR ? No preference

23. FAVORITE FOOD FOR CHRISTMAS DINNER ? Not much since our family tradition is to eat a huge Christmas brunch. Usually we snack the rest of the day.

24. WHAT DO YOU WANT FOR CHRISTMAS THIS YEAR ? A digital non-delay camera

25. WHO IS MOST LIKELY TO RESPOND TO THIS? Carly since I stole this from her

26. WHO IS LEAST LIKELY TO RESPOND ?

Emotions

I usually don't "vent" on a blog but here goes.....I hurt emotionally today. I have cried for most of the day. I absolutely hate to admit this as I am not much of a crier. I am the touch one of the family. Greg cries more than I do. Shhh... don't tell him I said that.

Why am I this way you ask? I had a hurtful conversation with a family member that I adore and love dearly this morning. I feel like I am being left out to dry by this person. Rejection, that describes the conversation. It took until tonight that I realized that this is just a test of my faith. My Heavenly Father, the one who will never ever turn His back on me was rejected. He was made fun of. He was alone. Through my pain today, He reigns. Nothing I will ever go through on this earth will never compare to what He went through. That is today's lesson.

That you my Father, my Redeemer, for loving me, for choosing me when my earthly family does not. I am reminded of this song..yes I am going to share the words which I know is illegal but I am not selling it!!!! This is just a simple reminder for me today as tears stream down my face;

Sometimes Your calling, comes in dream
Sometimes in comes in the Spirit's breeze
You reach for the deepest hope in me
And call out for the things of eternity
But I'm a man (woman), of dust and stains,
You move in me, so I can say
Here I am, Lord send me
All of my life,
I make an offering,
Here I am, Lord send me
Somehow my story is a part of Your plan, Here I am
When setbacks and failures, and upset plans
Test my faith and leave me with empty hands
Are You not the closest when it's hardest to stand
I know that You will finish what You began
And these broken parts
You will redeem Become the song that I can sing
Overwhelmed by the thought of my weakness
And the fear that I'll fail You in the end
In this mess, I'm just one of the pieces,
I can't put this together but You can
Here I am, all my life an offering to You,
to You Somehow my story is a part of Your plan
Here I am

Thankful

I am reminded of when Shelly was in kindergarten and her class recited Psalm 100

A Psalm for Thanksgiving.
Shout joyfully to the LORD, all the earth. Serve the LORD with gladness;
Come before Him with joyful singing. Know that the LORD Himself is God;
It is He who has made us, and not we ourselves;
We are His people and the sheep of His pasture.
Enter His gates with thanksgiving and His courts with praise
Give thanks to Him, bless His name.
For the LORD is good; His loving kindness is everlasting
and His faithfulness to all generations.

There are many things to be thankful for. God is Good!!

• I am the King's daughter
• I am blessed
• I have an amazing family
• My husband is a dedicated man and a great father
• I have a great mini-me daughter
• My health
• That I live in sunny Florida
• In this touch economic time, both my husband and I have great jobs
• For our parents
• For the many friends that I have in my life
• FBA...FBA
• My church
• A bold preacher of the Word, My Pastor
• Food!!!!

I'm trying Carly.. I'm trying

So here is the deal, last Thursday was an exciting day for me. Hope and Libby brought their mommies to school to visit us. Seeing those two beauties were the highlight of the week! After having the opportunity of seeing them during lunch, Libby brought her Mommy to my office for a chat. I love talking with her Mommy. Her Mommy has no idea how much I miss her. Not long into our visit, Lib decided she had had enough visiting for the day and wanted out! Nothing her Mommy did worked. So, as I was walking them to the elevator, her Mommy looks at me and said "By the way Renee, those one line blogs with no pictures just don't cut it!" Can you believe she said that to me! Seriously, I'm tearing up, knowing that I have no idea when I will see her again, and those are her last words to me.

Here is the deal....at work, I am computer savoy. I so know what I am doing and with one touch, I can fix a printer (jam), and can help April R. with her print jams. I can walk into a classroom, fix anything ad when I can't Eric is usually a phone call away. I sure love him being at our school.
BUT.... when I am at home on my laptop..... I am computer stupid! I cannot download pictures to this blog without my wonderful husband computer guru Greg. He's the man! He makes me look good on the computer.

With all of that being said, my husband is great at running his business and with his greatness, Shelly and I have learned that we don't get much of his time. He is so busy and working very hard for us right now. So, my blog is placed on the back burner with him. Once Naples Season is over, (in March), he will help me with pictures and all of that jazz.

Love you Carly!! :)

Living in Florida

I love living here. The beauty of God's glory never ceases to amaze me. I remember when we first moved here almost 6 years ago thinking that I would never like it here. Why would I? It was hot all of the time. The bugs are terrible. The humidity never goes away.

I am happy to report that daily God open my eyes to being here. He placed our family here for His purpose. He is preparing me for what He has planned for me. He is molding and shaping me into His likeness.

On that note, another advantage of living is here getting the small chance of seeing America at it's finest. Last Friday night, the space shuttle launched. Unfortunately, there were far too many trees in our neighborhood for us to view. However, 2 nights ago, Monday evening at exactly 6:30 p.m., I happen to flip the news on and overheard Robert Van Winkle mention that the Space Station was over us at that very moment and that we would catch a glimpse of the shuttle landing on the space station. With all of my might I literally grabbed Shelly off of the couch (in only her under garments) and headed for the door. Can I just say WOW!@ It was the most amazing thing I ever saw in the sky. It was so incredibly bright that it was blinding. It was moving at a pace that you had to continue to adjust your eyes but it was there, plain as the naked eye could see.

Decision Made

A very good friend of mine talked me into training for the 1/2 marathon coming up in January. Once the commitment was made, fear ran down my spine. Don't you hate when the enemy does that? When those thoughts rush through my mind I simply say "Satan, you are not welcome here!".

Saying Hello

Just saying hello to all of my friends..... still "Cheering" away in the new season with my girls!!