Merry Christmas and Happy New Year

Cousin Stephanie and I.

Papaw and Jo with the kids (and Christmas pj's-a tradition)

Our family Christmas morning in Arkansas

Reese and cousin Allie

The family in Tennessee at Pops and Barbar's.

Visit w/Santa at Santa's Village. Reese is scared of Santa, so this is our Santa pic 2008. Lovely, huh?! (our power at the house had gone out so we quickly decided it was a Santa's Village night and loaded up and went to Santa's village. No cute christmas outfits!)

Decorating the Gingerbread House. I'm loving these pre made kits!

Merry Christmas to you! We had a wonderful Christmas and were able to travel to both Tennessee and Arkansas and see lots of family-what a blessing!

In Tennessee we spent time with Andy's family-7 grandkids in one house means lots of Christmas craziness! We had a blast. Barbar pulled out some of Andy, Matthew, Michael, and Amy's old toys-Star Wars men and ships and carebears. The kids loved them.

Then we were off to Arkansas to celebrate with my family. We were able to see all our cousins and family from SC, GA, and FL. My parents showered the kiddos with gifts-they loved it. My brother and his wife have a 2 month old baby-Reese loved "taking care" of her.

Santa brought Drew a wii (which we all are enjoying!), skateboard, and 2 wheel scooter. (Visions of scrapes and ouchies are dancing in my head!) Reese loves princesses and Santa delivered- she got a 3 wheel scooter and a set of 7 Disney princesses-she loves them!

After a delicious Christmas meal at my 91 yr. old Grandma's we opened lots of great gifts then hopped in the car and drove home. We were up and at 'em early the next day with the team over at the house at 7am and a game at 9am. Our guys played great-the won the first game and lost to Butler HS by 2-Butler's ranked #29 in the country by ESPN-we were so close to a win! Andy's team is having a really good year and they are fun to be with.

Most of all we enjoyed the chill time with family-it's nice to slow down. It was great to spend time catching up with family that we haven't seen is a while. Lots of fun memories!

Enjoy the rest of the holiday season and make sure you watch lots of football and basketball!

Rewind

Here's what's been going on with us...the pictures are from most recent to past pictures..... Drew has started playing basketball-he LOVES it. He's #1 in the picture. He's hilarious-he acts like he's a high school player on the court-yelling plays, pointing, pressure defense....you can tell he's grown up on the court. In the next picturue Drew is hanging out with the reindeer at Santa's Village on his field trip. It was a COLD day!

Reese loves playing dress up-everything was pulled out of her dress up box and she's inside of the box!

MVP of the basketball tournament-she took these from one of the girls.

Drew has resumed his coaching spot on the bench with Dad

I'll put some Christmas pictures up soon....

Opportunity to help someone

I have a quick prayer request/ opportunity to help with you....Just a few minutes ago I talked with a life long friend, Brittney (Barber) Cornwell. Some of you know them, some of you do not. They have have been on a tough road over the last few years, but are remaining faithful that God will provide.

Brittney and her husband Tim have 2 sons: Cooper who just turned 5 and Christian who is 1 1/2. Cooper was born with a cleft lip and cleft pallette. And about 1 1/2 years ago was diagnosed with Autism. Last year, Brittney and Tim moved their family to Tampa, FL for Cooper to attend a special school for Cooper. Tim is working two jobs to make ends meet. On Tuesday, Cooper will be having some much needed specialized tests done to help with further diagnosis. Unfortunately, it's not covered by insurance.

Making ends meet month by month is a big struggle for them right now-Cooper's school and diet are very expensive. They are taking a leap of faith that some way, some how the money to pay their rent and make it through this month will come in the next week.

I know with the economy so slow, times are tough for many. My question to each of you is to:
1. Pray for them-especially Brittney as she has been "the rock" over this past year and she is growing weary.
2. Can you help them in any way financially? ANY amount will help them.

Thank you for taking the time to read this and pray for Tim, Brittney, Cooper, and Chritian Cornwell. If you feel led to do this, please write your check today and put it in the mail tomorrow morning. What a blessing it would be for their mailbox to overflow with encouragement and financial blessings.

Their address is listed below if you are able to send them anything and there's also a link to their website.

Tim and Brittney Cornwell
10129 Haverhill Ridge Dr.
Riverview, FL 33578

http://coopercornwell.com/

Happy Halloween

First, let me start by congratulating Andy for surviving me being gone for 4 days on a trip for work. I work part time with the Fellowship of Christian Athletes. We had a training camp in Kansas City where the FCA home office is. This is a picture of me and the girls I work with on the porch overlook ing Arrowhead Stadium-Kansas City Chiefs and the Kansas City Royals Stadium . We had a great time but we were glad to get home to our family!

Andy managed to juggle Reese and Drew in the midst of lots of stuff going on. Drew even got to spend the night with a friend on a school night (big deal for a kindergartener) One morning Andy had practice at 5:45am...Reese joined him there and they didn't get home till 11pm after the volleyball state tournament-what a day it was for them! I made it home and everyone was still in one piece.

Happy Halloween from the Cowboy's! We trick or treated with friends in their neighborhood then went to a Halloween party at a friend's house. We roasted marshmallows, bobbed for apples, and played games-what a fun night! (Drew is making his "cowboy face" in the pics.)

Welcome Back

To those of you who check in on us.....we're back- I've been a blooger slacker. So much is going on-Here are some pictures of what we've been doing...

Andy's entire family at our baby cousin's baptism. (big accomplishment to get everyone together-everyone lives in different states!)

7 great grandkids and their Bubba, their great grandmother from Colorado

Our new cousin/neice-Allie. This is my brother and sister in law's first baby.

Drew's field trip to the pumpkin patch with his Kindergarten class-we all had a blast-kids and parents!

Sy and Dasha are two of our really good friends. Andy coached each of them in college and last year they moved across the street from us. They are following the Lord's call to move to Iceland, where Sy is from. He's going to play basketball there and Dasha will be having their first baby in May. We're going to miss them!

The girls and Dasha-last Wednesday we took Dasha to the airport. Reese loves her Dasha!

Happy 2nd Birthday Reese!

Happy 2nd Birthday Reese!

Hope everyone is having a relaxing Labor Day weekend. We kicked off the weekend on Friday with the first official high school game. Saturday we took a trip with some friends to the aquarium. It was really crowded but the kids had a blast. That night we went to some friends and watched the Alabama game...it's officially football time and you can feel it in the air in Alabama-Alabama and Auburn shirts, flags, you name it, it's everywhere!

Reese celebrated her 2nd birthday Sunday at the park. We had a great time, but were definately HOT. But Reese LOVES swings and slides-so we endured the heat and were thankful for the covered pavillion and ever so slight breeze. Now the night before, Andy and I stayed up till 1am (and Andy had to preach the next morning) putting together her new kitchen. (there were at least 8,000 screws-again, the things we do for our kids!) But, in the end, it turned out super cute and she's been cooking up good stuff on it.

As for the theme of the party-we went with butterflies. Her cake was a cupcake cake in the shape of butterflies. Gift opening was a blur-between Drew and Reese and others tearing in to them,....I just hope we made it home with her gifts! Some of her favorites were the Barbie tricycle, the kitchen and stuff to go with it, and chap stick. My favorites....the fall clothes! We ended the day with a trip to Maggie Moo's for another friend's birthday and played in the water spout area for kids. We all got a good night's sleep last night! Here's some pictures from the party and weekend

Rewind...

What's been going on.....



One of our dear friends being baptized by his Dad-What a blessing!



Reese's favorite book, Sam I am as she calles it-she loves to "read" it to us






Reese trying to get into the water fountain. We had a great time at the playground and eating at Cheeburger Cheeburger with Jenn's mom, Mrs. Deb.





Happy Birthday Andy! Andy, Drew and friend, Sy at dinner. Sy and his wife Dasha are some of our dear friends that will be moving to Iceland in October (where Sy is from). He's going to play semi-pro basketball there. They live across the street and Andy actually coached each of them when he was at UAH. We're going to miss them so much!

Reese helping Aunt Amanda at her baby shower. Baby Allie will be here in the next few weeks!

Drew's playing flag football & loves it! Cheerleader Reese!

First school project-stick horse. Blue is Drew's favorite color thus, the blue hair.

Well, I'm a few weeks behind.... The start of school has brought lots of excitement! Reese turns 2 on August 31 and we're getting ready for her party at the park. She loves swings and slides. With Drew in school, Reese and I have enjoyed our girl time on the days that I don't work. It's hard to believe August is almost over. You know what that means....Football!!! I love it!

Kindergarten

Drew asked Dad to put "jelly" in his hair and spike it (just like Dad)
Reese and Drew acting silly before we left
Drew and his teacher
After school ice cream (a very messy experience on a hot summer day in the car )
Drew and DeeDee


Yes, you read it correctly....my baby started KINDERGARTEN today. My, my how time has flown by-He had a great first day (except for Mom taking pictures but so was every other mother!) We walked him in then Reese and I went to the library for a parents breakfast-yum!





This afternoon he gave me the play by play of the day. He even said his little "girl friend" tried to hold his hand-funny! The only part of Kindergarten that he doesn't like is that his "best buddy" is in another class. (that will only happen how many times in life?!) After school we went up to the big school to see Dad and tell everyone about our day. Then, we topped it off with a trip to Sonic for some ice cream. Reese enjoyed all the excitement too- the bubble machine was on as we walked into school. Bubbles are so fun to play in!





We also have a friend of ours, DeeDee,coming to school with us. Andy and I have the joy of being some of the many "extra" parents for him this year. He is a sweet, smart kid that lives in the inner city. There will be some tough times, but we pray that his experience and the opportunity at our school will help him grow spiritually and intellectually.

Another topic...

Have you read The Shack by William Young? It was amazing. I have not been much of a reader since I've had kids and usually cringe at the idea of reading a book. But, Andy told me I had to read it-I'm so glad I did. I cried the entire time and the book was truly a worship experience. It's a must read!

Meet Weston

Savanna and Drew playing on the computer
top left:Caroline, Weston, Reese-having an in depth conversation about Weston
above: Proud Dad Clancy

left: Stacy and Mandi

Since Mandi's not a blogger-I told her I would post some pictures of the family. On Thursday, July 24 Mandi gave birth to Weston. He was 19 1/2 in. and 6 lb 4 oz. On Sunday, we went to meet Weston and spend the afternoon with them. He's a sweet baby-very content and handles the noise of siblings well. Drew, Reese, Savanna, and Caroline were wild and crazy. It was great to catch up with Mandi and Clancy! Here are some pictures from the day.

The latest adventures

Us in front of the lake-it was so hot!
We stopped at the chapel and rested a bit

Casey and me
Drew in the rocket's shower
Andy and Scott ready for the Space Shot
The whole gang at the end of the day
Drew (in the middle w/hat) riding the kid version of Space Shot
Reese and Drew


Since I began working with FCA, one of the perks has been being able to go on some great couples getaways. Last weekend my parents came in town to take care of the kids and Andy and I went to Callaway Gardens for the retreat. I had never heard of it -what a great find! It's in Georgia. (Courtney, I saw signs to Palmetto and thought of you!) It's beautiful-butterfly gardens, bike trails, walking trails, beach, golfing, and much more. Andy and I spent Saturday afternoon biking and watched the Florida St. circus. (yes, you heard me right-FSU had a circus act that performs there in the summer) After biking the trails, I am now wanting a bike. If you have any bike buying tips, let me know!





This past weekend, our good friends Scott and Casey from TN called and we planned a trip to the Space and Rocket Center for the day. We had a good time....Reese enjoyed running around, Drew thought the rockets were cool. Has anyone rode the space shot before? You strap in and all of the sudden, you are shot up in the air-it's been a long time since I've rode a "thrill ride" . We ended the day with a fabulous meal at Rosie's-the absolute best mexican place to eat. Thanks Scott and Casey for making the trip!





Drew starts Kindergarten in 2 weeks. He tells everyone he sees, stranger or not, that he's 5 and going to kindergarten. Reese's new favorite things are going to the big girl potty, singing abc's and counting to 10. (then clapping and saying yeah, so everyone knows she's done)