Christmas, more shopping, and an accident...

Isaiah 7:14 Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign. Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel.

Matthew 2:10 When they saw the star, they rejoiced exceedingly with great joy.

Luke 2:12 And this will be a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in swaddling cloths and lying in a manger.

Our group selfie before heading out to the Candlelight service at FBC! We are always at a family Christmas Eve get together during the candlelight service but this year Autumn had the flu and the get together was cancelled. I hate that she was sick and we missed the family time but I REALLY enjoyed the service. If you have never been to one you should. Jesus is the reason for the season and it's nice to get down to what it's meant to be. Plus, it is really good for the soul.

This year I had more Christmas spirit than I have had in a while. Madison LOVES Christmas. She starts planning months ahead. She loves the decorations, the movies, the music, well...all of it. Maybe she wore off on me...maybe part of it is just having them back home for the holidays. Who knows, but it has been a really nice Christmas break...until tonight when we got the phone call that Madi and Charlie were in an accident (posted below)But I am NOT going to let Satan steal my joy. I am casting my worries on the Lord and I know he will sustain me!

Gift opening time.....We always open gifts Christmas Eve morning because we go to Sam & Helen's (Randy's parents) for Christmas Breakfast on Christmas morning and we have to be there by 7. Way to early to open gifts...most of the pictures Logan is just humoring me but Madi was working it up for me..:)

Harley enjoying his Christmas treat

Madi is using her Christmas money to buy some much needed clothing...so this is our 2nd day of bargain shopping...

Isn't she adorable? I'm just the weirdo momma in the background...

Charlie and Madison were out for date night and had an accident. I'm sure it will be considered a no fault since it was a parking lot but I think it should be his fault since he was backing out of a spot and they were not. We will see what the insurance says. From the pictures Madi sent me he's been in several accidents...Didn't even hurt his truck but sure messed up her car. :(

Love my babies...even if they are all grown up

Christmas Shopping Trip/Dallas 2014

What a fun weekend we had. Mom, Madison and I went to Dallas for a girl's trip. The plan was to finish Christmas Shopping but I think we might have bought ourselves a little more than we bought others, BUT we had a GREAT time and hit some big sales. Truth is we are a very giving bunch so to actually get ourselves a few things felt good and it was fun. Plus, now we get to have the fun of finishing up our shopping this week.

We left Friday morning at 6:30. We hit the outlet mall in Allen, TX first. It was fun but we actually did not buy anything there.

This was when we first arrived in Allen before hitting the stores! Only group pic of the trip

Then we went on into Dallas and hit Sam Moon. We LOVE that store. Madison bought a new duffle bag (super cute) and I bought a few small Christmas gifts. We ended up at Uncle Julio's for dinner. Very yummo. If you have never been it is a must eat if you are ever in Dallas. On the way back to the hotel we stopped at a HUGE Tuesday Morning and bought some Christmas Cards.

We stacked our dinner plates in front of mom and then teased her about eating so much.

Saturday morning we were up and at the mall when it opened. We started out at Grapevine Mills, which is actually where we bought the most stuff. All of us left the mall w/a pair of shoes. Good deal, right?!

My sweet friend, Bonnie, had given me money for Christmas and made me promise to spend it on myself. I bought 2 really cute shirts in Burlington. 1 more dressy and 1 more casual. I had Madi send her this picture as proof I bought something for myself!

Mom got these really cute rocket dog tennis shoe/boot type shoes. She tried them on w/her pjs and of course she looked adorable!

After Grapevine Mills we went on over to the Galleria. Parking was INSANE. Took forever to find a spot and it was on the 4th floor of the parking garage. Creepy garage too, it was to low for my taste. Felt like we were boxed in!

HUGE Christmas Tree at the Galleria Mall. The ice rink is around it and they also had a Choir singing Christmas Carols. The mall was 4 stories and they had about every store regular malls have plus all the rizty stores where I do not shop!

After we left the Galleria we hit some other shops that were not in the mall. Sunday morning we got around and headed home. So overall we shopped for hours everyday...ate some good food....did some people watching...had some great laughs...


Mom and Madi at Texas Roadhouse when we were on the way home. VERY good food. It's kind of like a Logan's but they have this delicious cinnamon butter they bring out w/the rolls and their sweet tea was delicious!!!

Overall, it was such a good time. Quality time spent w/the 2 most important women in my life. Came home feeling very blessed!

Cousin Love & Loss

Psalm 34:18 “The Lord is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit.”

We have lost 3 family members in the last 3 months. It's been tough. Hard to wrap my mind around. Not sure what to do or what to say.

We lost Josh in September. He is my cousin on my dad's side. Josh is the youngest son of my dad's sister Jeanie. I remember him as a very ornery kid. The only time I really ever saw him was at family reunions but he sure loved them and loved family. He had just started college at NWACC and had decided to study journalism. He was loving it and doing great.

(*I did snatch a couple of these pictures off of family facebook pages.)
Josh

Family Reunion - This is not all the cousins. I'm not sure we have ever all been together at one time, but that year there were several of us that made it. Josh is on the far left and Tonja is kind of in the middle.

Rodney in October. This was really odd for me. Somehow everyone in our family knew all about him but me. I do not remember him or being around him. He belonged to my uncle Willis (Dad's brother). You can tell it too. He looks exactly like him. He was also taken way to young. I pray that he was a Christian and that we will meet someday. I'm saddened by the loss and wish I had gotten the chance to meet him and get to know him.

Rodney

Tonja we lost last week. She is the oldest daughter of my dad's brother, Donnie. I have MANY good memories of her. There are 2 I think about the most. 1. She Loved singing the Devil went Down to Georgia when we were kids. She knew it by heart and would sing the entire song w/out music. :) 2. Playing incredible Hulk w/Uncle Donnie. He was the Hulk and we would all run and squeal and he would throw us around and scare us into fits of giggles. Tonja got hurt one night while we were playing and Aunt Teresa put a stop to anymore Hulk. :( I will forever cherish those times.

Tonja

Please keep our family in your prayers. Especially Donnie and Teresa, Aunt Jeanie, and Rodney's mother. I could not nor do I want to ever imagine the pain of losing a child.

I pray they rest in peace and I look forward to rejoicing w/them in heaven.

Sing the wondrous love of Jesus,
Sing His mercy and His grace;
In the mansions bright and blessed
He’ll prepare for us a place.

When we all get to heaven,
What a day of rejoicing that will be!
When we all see Jesus,
We’ll sing and shout the victory!

While we walk the pilgrim pathway,
Clouds will overspread the sky;
But when trav’ling days are over,
Not a shadow, not a sigh.
Let us then be true and faithful,
Trusting, serving every day;
Just one glimpse of Him in glory
Will the toils of life repay.
Onward to the prize before us!
Soon His beauty we’ll behold;
Soon the pearly gates will open;
We shall tread the streets of gold.

Grandpa

Grandpa has been on my heart and mind a lot the past few days. Oh, how I miss him.

Some of my most remembered times w/him...

He was w/me when I went to take the driving part of my driver's test. He teased me the whole way so I wouldn't be nervous.
He was also the one who loaned me the money to buy my first car. (I paid him back my all of my paycheck except for $30/wk until I paid him back.)
I used to walk to his house from our house to meet my friend Belinda. :)
He would tell me I was going to get fat anytime I ate anything unhealthy except when I was pregnant and then he said I wasn't eating enough.
We had an ongoing argument over biscuits and gravy. He thought Braums had the best and we all know Hardees has the BEST! ;0)
He was in court w/me when I went through my divorce. It was a rough time for me. I had been w/Dan all through HS and getting divorced at 20 years old was not a part of my plan. Grandpa was there and once again teasing me to keep my mood light.
Days sitting in the nursing home w/him while we visited grandma.
He drove like a crazy person!
Our trip to take his sister home. I drove. We talked, laughed, and stopped for ice cream. I will never forget sitting on the porch of that old county store. Precious memory.

Someday we will be together again.

I love you grandpa!

We stopped by the nursing home to see grandma before prom. We got a picture in the hall w/grandpa.

Hawks Bill Crag & Lost Valley Hiking Trails

Kevin, Madi and I left early Saturday morning for a little hiking fun. We went to Hawks Bill Crag first. On the way up that terrible mountain road we came across 3 young hikers that had flipped their car and was waiting on a tow truck. Scary that they flipped like that but wow, there were way worse places on that road for them to of flipped and thankfully they were not hurt. Their car was a different story. The road was narrow, steep, and creepy. I did not enjoy that at all. Once we made it to the top and started the hike it was fun and a few cool places along the way to look. The hike back to the car was the pits. I am way to out of shape for it. Overall it was fun, I'm glad I went but I do not think I will ever go back to hike there again. Just wasn't all I thought it would be w/all the hype around the place.

Madi and I. This is where we stopped and had a little snack and hung out for a bit. :)

Madi, Kevin and I on the famous point of Hawks Bill Crag

Madi & I - Selfie w/the beautiful fall trees!!

We were hoping for bright colors but it was still very beautiful and peaceful. A little to high for my comfort but I really enjoyed it!

My dear friend, my brother - Oh how I love him.

A different angle but still on the cliff at Hawks Bill Crag

My friend, Bonnie, told us while we were out that way we should check out Lost Valley. So, this was Lost Valley which is also in Ponca, Ar. I LOVED it. It was absolutely beautiful there. We didn't have enough time to get to the caves but we will be going back. Much more left to explore!

It looks huge when you are there but when you see how small the people look in the picture it makes it seem even more HUGE.

I love that this is something Kevin and I both enjoy doing. It's nice when you have common interest w/those you love. Cherished memories!!

If you know of any wonderful places to hike w/in a reasonable driving distance from NWA please let me know!

Much Love,
Danielle

We are going to have 2 UAFS Lions in the family!!

Logan has decided to transfer from Lyon College to the University of Arkansas - Ft. Smith. He has thought a lot about it over the last few months. He is sad to be giving up Football, but feels it is what is best for him. Lyon is a hard school and trying to stay up on his studies w/the added hours of football practice is taking it's toll on him. He feels very stressed. We told him we would support him no matter what he decides to do. He registers for classes on Nov 11th. There are many great things about him being at UAFS:
His sister is there. They are so close and will be a great support system for each other.
They can carpool home.
He will be an hour and 1/2 drive away instead of 4 hour drive away.
If we need a kid fix we can drive up and take them to dinner. :)

Madison has declared her minor! She is going to minor in biology. She in interested in it plus she feels it will look good on her application for the OT program. Those of you that know how hard it is for her to make a decision will know this is a great thing! So she is majoring in Psychology w/biology for her minor. Sounds like she is on her way. I'm so very proud of her. She is working so hard to get what she wants. Go Madi!!!

Randy's 53rd B-day

Randy turned 53 on the 15th of this month. We went out to dinner but his actual bday celebration is this Saturday. We are heading to the casino for a little gambling and fun w/friends and family. Hopefully we will win some money! We haven't won at the casino in years but we usually have a great time. In honor of his bday here are some random pics of him. Isn't he handsome?!

Happy Birthday Baby!!!!