Three's a crowd

Parrot Posts

2011-03-08T12:39:00.002-06:00

Sometimes God tells a truth to my heart so good that I just have to repeat it. It's usually where I can't write it down (shower, driving, etc..)

Today it was this: I see so many women (and men for that matter) striving to look so good on the outside by various natural and not-so-natural means, or having the newest, biggest, flashiest stuff or other forms of ego feeding. Unfortunately, it's not hard for me to recognize because I've been there myself. Now, it makes me sad.

As I was pondering this, God said to my heart, "What is the lust of a man or the jealousy of a woman compared to the love of God?"

Yes Lord! You are right! Why do we settle for scraps on the floor when God has a banquet for us? First Peter 3:3-4 says, "You beauty should not come from outward adornment, such as braided hair and the wearing of gold jewelry and fine clothes. Instead, it should be that of your inner self, the unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is of great worth in God's sight." Does it say we shouldn't wear braids or jewelry? No, it says our beauty shouldn't COME FROM those things.

Our society force feeds us the lie that we aren't worth anything unless we are beautiful and/or rich. God says we are beautiful to Him because He bought us with the most costly price, His own Son.

One day, God willing, we will all get older and our outter appearance will not be what it was, no matter how we fight it. It is good to eat right, excercise, bathe and be presentable? Yes! But what are our motives for these activities?

I often day dream of what I would wish for if I had three wishes. I know, silly as it is, it is fun for me. One wish that keeps resurfacing is that every person would turn inside out. By that I mean, their outsides would reflect their hearts. The only way to become more beautiful would be to grow in Chirst adorning ourselves with love, humility, and all the fruit of the Spirit. The closer we grow to Him, the less we will care how we appear to others. Wonder if that's how heaven will be?

Three's a crowd

2011-02-09T16:37:00.000-06:00

http://brittishdesigns.blogspot.com/2011/02/this-weekend-babypalooza.html

2011-02-09T16:35:00.001-06:00

Baby shower

2009-03-23T13:17:00.001-05:00

The shower for Dera will be on Sunday April 5th from 2-4 at my house! See you there!

More pics

2009-03-22T15:58:00.001-05:00

Dera is even cuter than her pictures. She's just a tiny little lady. Luke asked to hold her and he didn't want to give her up. He asked on the way home when we could bring her to our house.

Dera's first pics

2009-03-22T10:29:00.003-05:00

We are so excited to announce the arrival of Dera Marie Smithson. She was a little earlier than expected, but mom and baby are both doing fine. She weighed in at a heaping 5:14! Congrats Matt and Diane!

Punch some body!

2009-03-03T14:45:00.002-06:00

Liam told Joel after soccer practice that he didn't like one kid on the team because he didn't follow the rules (Liam loves rules) and he would kick the ball out of bounds as hard as he could. When Liam asked him why he kept doing it, the kids said, 'because I'm good!' Apparently he's not good, but he's been told that over and over so he's a believer! Liam said he would like to punch the kid in the face and tell him that he isn't any good. But then he said, "but God says we're supposed to love our enemies, so I'll pray for him instead even though I don't want to." Joel and I are so pleased that he takes God's word and hides it in his heart. He's such a blessing to us!

before and after

2009-02-25T10:43:00.003-06:00

Liam and Luke had their teeth yanked yesterday, 3 each. They both did great without even a whimper! Neither one of them had much pain afterwards either. God is good!

Sweet Liam

2009-02-23T21:56:00.003-06:00

Liam and Luke are going to have some teeth pulled tomorrow. I asked Liam if he would like to pray and this was his prayer:

God I know that you will be with Luke and me when we have our teeth out tomorrow. I pray we have a fun time and a little bit hurting time. We know it might hurt a little bit, but we don’t have to be afraid because You’re there. We can close our eyes and just think about how amazing You are. Amen.

I wish that I had gotten IT like Liam when I was eight years old. We are so proud of him. He's going to be baptized on March 29th with his good friend Morgan. We pray he will be full of the Spirit his whole life though.

sleigh bells ring.... are you listening?

2008-12-15T13:23:00.004-06:00

'Hats off' to my aunt Susan for having another wonderful Christmas get together at her house. Our adult gift exchange was a hat exchange. It was a riot! We decided next year we are going to do socks... I really enjoyed meeting my little 'cousin' Logan. He's the new son of my cousin Dustin and his wife Christy. What a smiley little booger! He was so happy all day. I also enjoyed my cousin Matt and his wife Melissa's little 18 month old foster daughter Olivia. She and I liked each other at once and she cried when I left which tore my heart out! Grandma and Grandpa really seemed to enjoy the family album book that I created for them. Several other family members are ordering one too. You can view the book at this link: http://www.blurb.com/my/book/detail/504645 You'll have to cut and paste it since I can't figure out how to add the link correctly. It was a fairly nice day outside, besides the wind, so the kids (big and small) played outside and went to the park. You can see by the picture that Matt really enjoyed his ride on the little girl bike!
Matt on the bike.
Stefani and Olivia
Little Logan

Luke's word of the day

2008-12-04T08:19:00.002-06:00

This morning Luke asked me if he could watch the weather.

"Weather?!", I asked, a bit confused.

"Yeah, you know, the meteorologist." He replied.

He never fails to surprise me with his vocabulary.....

Pete smiles

2008-12-03T15:14:00.002-06:00

Finally I got Pete to smile for a picture! Do you know how hard it is to get a cat to smile?

Sooooooo long......

2008-11-25T08:03:00.003-06:00

It's been so long since I've posted on my blog. So sorry! I've been busy with creating Christmas gifts and all sorts of other projects. My blog got neglected. Luke reminded me this morning that I needed to post something when I asked him why he was still sitting at the breakfast table instead of getting dressed (like I asked him to three times!). He replied, "Because I'm dating someone..." What a weird sense of humor! You NEVER know what is going to come out of that kid's mouth.

Fall Fest

2008-11-01T15:25:00.005-05:00

Well, Joel has been gone about a week now...one more to go. I hadn't felt like pulling my hair out until this morning. I'm better now...Anyway, we had a great time last night. Liam won 3rd place for his Indiana Jones costume and Lily won second place with her nurse costume. Thanks to Willa Rae (aka Granny) for making both costumes. Our friend Shawn went with us. He was a convict...we hope he never wears the outfit for real!

Nora Schwieger

2008-10-23T21:58:00.002-05:00

I am writing to let you all know that our beloved Grandma Nora finally got to go and be with Jesus today! She was so ready to go and Joel and I got to be right by her side until the end. What a blessing! I’m not sure when services will be, but it will most likely be next early next week. The family is all doing well, but they are sad of course. Joel is leaving tomorrow for Trinidad along with 4 other family members. Nora asked that they NOT cancel their plans because it was more important to do the Lord’s work than to go to a funeral. She’s a remarkable lady and has left an amazing legacy of which I am privileged to be a small part. I only hope that I can continue her ‘work’ and make her proud. I know when it’s my turn I will see her in Heaven and I’m filled with joy and hope. Xo, Stefani

yellow makes me sing

2008-09-28T13:06:00.003-05:00

There's a praise and worship song we've been singing in the car and it goes, "Hallelujah, Hallelujah, Hallelujah, Your love makes me sing". Luke misunderstood the lyrics and sings it, "howareyoula, yellow makes me sing!" A few days ago, Liam was trying to say, "Curses you truck!" (something he heard on TV) when a truck pulled out in front of us. Instead, he said, "cursive you truck". Lily calles Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory "Hoo Ha Doopy Doopy" because of the song that the Oomp Loompas sing. I really enjoy each and every funny thing they say!

Lil & Pete

2008-09-27T21:17:00.002-05:00

Pete is really growing. He's so big now that when Lily holds him, he's feet drag the floor. He tolerates her so well. I can't believe how she wallers him and he just sits there and takes it.

Skateboard party

2008-09-27T21:03:00.005-05:00

Luke wanted to skate board for his birthday, and so we did! We had a nice, safe time. The birthday cake Granny made was so cool!

Sharpie alert!

2008-09-27T20:54:00.005-05:00

This is what happens when Mommy is too sick on the couch to pay attention to Lily.....

Luke's party at Shogun

2008-09-27T20:43:00.006-05:00

We had such a great time at Shogun for Luke's bithday. He loves cooking so this was right up his alley! I had the flu that night but I went anyway and I'm so glad I did. Lily enjoyed the food so much she said, "Daddy, I yike it, you yike it?!"

Well......

2008-09-21T14:21:00.002-05:00

Okay, I don't know if I FOUND my mind or not, but God has been so merciful to me. I've been away from my computer (at least, on it very little) and spending more time with Him. Here's a short synopsis; I have reflux, my medication quit working, switched, switched, doubled the dose, switched again. Started getting numb and tingly in my arms and legs. Then the weekend before labor day weekend my whole left side of my body was numb to the touch. Spent the weekend in the hospital. Doctors said I have anxiety. Taking Zoloft. Helps with anxiety. Still numb in spots and have muscle twiching all over. NOT taking any medication for my stomach and it feels great! Neurologist is doing lab work, MRI of the neck, and a nerve conduction study. So....all that to say, only God knows what's wrong with me and He will heal me in His own time or not as He sees fit. Until then, I'm learning to be patient and trust in Him, thankful that His hope is new each day.

Crazy

2008-08-26T18:11:00.000-05:00

I've gone a bit crazy.... be back as soon as I can locate my mind....xo, S

Isn't she lovely?!

2008-08-20T22:22:00.004-05:00

I know, I know, I'm TOTALLY biased, but I think Lily is so lovely. Her personality is really starting to show. As much as it can be a trial, two is my favorite age. It has been with all of the kids. Lily is my choleric personality, with a little sanguine thrown in for fun. We watched a friends little boy last Saturday and she mothered him the whole time. Liam is melancholy and Luke is sanguine/phlegmatic. Or in other terms, I have an Eyore (Liam), Tigger (Luke), and Rabbit (Lily). Lily loves to sit at her 'desk' while I'm working at the computer. The desk is really a set of 3 nesting tables, but they are just the right fit for her.

Good bye old friend

2008-08-15T13:01:00.003-05:00

It was a hard day for Lily. She had to let both of her brothers go to school then I decided that it was time for her highchair to go too. I have to confess, it makes me a little sad to get rid of it, just because it holds so many memories for me. We've had it since Liam so all three kids have used it. Lily was so upset when I moved it to the laundry room. She just stared at it and cried like she knew it was gone for good....

Luke's 1st day of kindergarten

2008-08-15T12:56:00.002-05:00

Luke did great today. He was nervous, but excited. I walked him to class and he was like, 'yeah, yeah, would you go already!' He didn't need me at all. What a big boy!

1st day of second grade

2008-08-13T09:35:00.002-05:00

Liam was so nervous this morning. He kept having to go to the bathroom and he said he felt like he was going to throw up on the way to school. I felt so sorry for him. Once we got there, he seemed better. The teacher across the street from us told me there are 1,000 students in the school this year! Many of the teachers have 25 students!

Piggy tails

2008-08-13T09:32:00.004-05:00

Lily looks like a little Swedish doll with her 'half' pig tails. This profile of her looks just like her ultrasound profile. I remember thinking that I hoped her big lips and prominent nose were going to be cute!

Two-thless

2008-08-09T22:02:00.002-05:00

Liam came to us one day last week and said he had a tooth loose (remember, he just lost his first one not too long ago). The next day we were eating and Luke complained about his tooth and said he thought his was loose too. I couldn't believe it, but then again, he got teeth at a much earlier age than Liam. Sure enough, his exact same tooth as Liam. It was practically falling out. Anyway, this morning I finally talked them in to pulling them out with some thread. Luke was very reluctant. He said he was wanting to wait until he was 6 (five weeks away!) so he could get more money. They get a dollar for each year old they are. I KNOW! It's robbery! But the ol tooth fairy does that for their friend across the street and he was so kind to share that information with my boys, so now tooth fairy feels compelled to do the same for them.... I finally remembered to take their picture before they went to bed.

Hip Hoppers

2008-08-09T21:51:00.004-05:00

Since it has been so stinkin' hot outside, the kids have invented some things to play indoors. One of these is a dance party. They put in one of their favorite cds and dance and jump around the living room. For some reason, it includes removing shirts and putting on hats sideways. Lily comes running to me saying, "I want shir off!" Luke got out the video camera to get some footage. I'm so glad that he thought of it! We haven't done much video lately. School starts on Wednesday and I'm going to be sad when the boys aren't here. It makes my heart ache to know that most of their day will be spent away from me and I won't get to see every little thing they do and hear what they say. On the other hand, my house SHOULD stay a bit cleaner...

So Two

2008-08-09T20:58:00.005-05:00

Lily is well.....two. What can I say? She's adorable one minute and a brat the next. Just now I was trying to get all the kids in bed. Lily got in to my purse and took out some gum (after I took a permanent marker away from her). I made her put the gum back and told her that she was not allowed to get things from my purse. I went to change the laundry over and she came along chewing on a piece of gum... from my purse. She said, "I got gum!" and smiled, so proud of herself. She got her first 'big girl' spanking after that comment. Which means she had to come to the kitchen and put her hands on the counter... I asked her to go to her room while I tucked the boys in and she screamed the whole time until I came in to her room. She's got the drama act down for sure. Whew! Girls are sure different... Here are a few pics of her being adorable. We took the side off of her bed so she could get in and out. Then she learned to open her door to her room, which lead to the garage, which leads to outside.... you get the picture. She loves her daddy, especially when he will 'nuggle her and read her books.

Today's funnies

2008-07-29T13:58:00.002-05:00

The boys have been playing Guitar Hero on the Wii. One of the songs is called 'Slow Ride', but Lily sings it Snow White! She shakes her hips back and forth sings, it's really adorable.

We were leaving to go to the pool and Lily was saying something that none of us could understand. Luke says, "I can't speak Spanish!" What a goober!

Layout

2008-07-17T16:43:00.004-05:00

I just finished this layout of my stepdad and I loved it so much I had to share it. (paper and wordart are from Taylormade designs casually blending in paper and Oscraps anniversary word art freebie)

Luke's phrase of the day

2008-07-16T17:48:00.004-05:00

Joel cut the boys' hair when he got home from work. I was commenting on how nice they looked and Luke said, "This haircut looks dashing!" He's right, it does, but where did he get that word?!

Tree climbing

2008-07-12T12:16:00.005-05:00

The boys have been having a blast with the neighbor boys this week. They climbed their first tree and they've been playing in the flooded park. They've had so much boy fun. It's a hoot watching them do things that I did as a child!

July 4th Happy birthday USA!

2008-07-11T16:29:00.004-05:00

This is a little late getting posted, but better late than never right!? We had a great time on the 4th and again on the 5th. We enjoyed Harry's deeeelicious BBQ at Charla and Jason's house, then when to the Ferguson's for fireworks. Jake had fun on the swing, but Owen hated the loud booms. On the 5th we headed over to Wayne's house and ate, rode the 4 wheeler, and shot off fireworks. Here's one cute picture of Lily with a surprised look on her face as the neighbor's shot off their fireworks.

Luke's phrase of the day

2008-07-01T09:23:00.003-05:00

Pete the kitty ran away from Luke and Luke said, "But Pete, I thought we had a friendship!"

Introducing...... Mr. Toothless

2008-07-01T09:14:00.004-05:00

Yesterday was a huge day for Liam. He finally lost his first tooth. Everyone of his friends has started losing teeth forever ago. He was anxious to join them. He's had a jiggly tooth for weeks, but I couldn't get him to work on it. Last night I offered to pull it out with a string and he agreed, much to my surprise! I tied on a piece of dental floss and pulled on the count of two! The tooth came out easily and flew out so fast, it hit me in the knuckle and made it bleed! He bit me without the tooth in his head! The tooth fairy brings Anthony (see picture) our friend across the street a dollar for each year in age, so that's what the tooth fairy brought Liam. Now he is one tooth shorter, $7 richer, and soooo adorable!

Little Lil

2008-07-01T09:11:00.003-05:00

Here are a couple of pictures of our little girl eating watermelon and wearing Barbie shoes she put on her self. She thinks she's pretty 'bunny'!

Lily is 2

2008-06-26T14:26:00.009-05:00

Here are just a few of the pictures Foster took of Lily. I can't believe that she's 2 already!

More Cozumel pics

2008-06-25T12:12:00.002-05:00

I just added another slide show of Cozumel pictures that the Littles took on our trip. Scroll down to find them! I didn't realize until I looked at these pictures that I pose with one leg behind the other. It sort of silly, but I guess it's better than standing like a buffalo. Oh well, I'm no model that's for sure!!! xo, S

Barbie house

2008-06-24T15:02:00.003-05:00

Thirty plus years ago, my uncle Jeff built his daughter Heather a Barbie house. The house has had MANY miles put on it since then. Seth, Heather, and I played hours and hours with it at her house and then it came to ours as she grew out of it. Next, it went to stay with the Kerschen family and then to the Anthony elementary school. Finally it ended up back with Heather and Pam. Now that Lily is developing an interest in Barbies, it is back at our house. With all those years of play on it, you can imagine that the house was a bit worn. Joel's dad Darrell took it home for the week and gave it some much needed tlc in the form of a new roof, refurbished sides, paint and some caster wheels! We, I mean, the kids are having a blast playing with it. It is so fun to see them enjoy something that we enjoyed as children too!

Family pictures

2008-06-24T14:35:00.006-05:00

We have been so blessed to have my brother and his family here this week visiting. While they are here, we took the opportunity to have family pictures made. Our talented and fabulous friend Foster Cryer came and took pictures we will cherish for a life time. Here's the link you'll have to cut and paste as I can't seem to figure out how to attach a link and I'm too tired to figure it out right now!
http://fostercryer.com/ferguson_teaser/

Cozumel vacation

2008-06-24T09:45:00.004-05:00

We got back Friday from our wonderful Cozumel vacation for our 10 year anniversary. Our friends Cody and Carrie Little went with us. It could have been longer, but we were missing the kiddos by Friday too. We drove down to Dallas and Carrie's sister-in-law was so kind to take us to the airport. Good thing she did, that place is MASSIVE and we would have had a hard time finding our way around. We really enjoyed our first day there, a little too much perhaps, because Cody, Carrie, and Joel were all burnt. We used the spray on sunscreen, which by the way, doesn't work well, so be careful! The next day, we rented a Jeep and cruised around the island. We stopped at beaches that looked good to us. We ate at a 'restaurant' at the end of the road. I had chicken fajitas and the other's had fish. It was a great meal and the scenery was breathtaking! We stopped by some Mayan ruins, they weren't much more than piles of rocks. Then we shopped around town for some souvenirs for the kiddos. There are about 100 jewelry shops in Cozumel. Seems a bit overkill. Our last full day, we saw dolphins just off shore while we ate our breakfast. Then the rest of the day we lounged around in the hammocks and chairs. After lunch we snorkeled a bit. We got to feed the fish swimming all around us. One of the fish got a little excited and tried to take part of Cody's thumb too. Out of reaction, he actually punched the fish! We all came up laughing because laughing and snorkeling don't mix very well. It was such a relaxing trip! Just what this crazy mom needed!!!!!

Luke and the wish

2008-06-08T21:56:00.002-05:00

At El Tequila, Luke wanted to throw a penny in the wishing well. After he threw it in, I asked him what he wished for and he said, "A penny...." We laughed and he changed his mind and said that he wished to have a safe trip to Nana's next week.

America, the land of the free and the home of the brave

2008-06-07T16:01:00.003-05:00

Okay, by my personality, I LOVE a reply to insensitive comments so concise that there is nothing that anyone can say afterwards….. it’s better than kicking them in the shins, hee, hee, hee…... I usually just delete most forward messages I get before I even read them (sorry folks!) but a few people send ones that I always try to read. These tidbits are from one of those forwarded emails. Who knows if these stories are true or not, but they make me want to yell, "Yeah! Take that!" none the less. This is for my brother Seth (Iraq), my grandpa Nute (WWII), my great grandpa Ed Schubert (WWI), and my great, great, great grandpa Jonathan Cole Fuller (Civil War).

When in England at a fairly large conference, Colin Powell was asked by the Archbishop of Canterbury if our plans for Iraq were just an example of empire building' by George Bush.

He answered by saying, 'Over the years, the United States has sent many of its fine young men and women into great peril to fight for freedom beyond our borders. The only amount of land we have ever asked for in return is enough to bury those that did not return.

You could have heard a pin drop.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Then there was a conference in France where a number of international engineers were taking part, including French and American. During a break one of the French engineers came back into the room saying 'Have you heard the latest dumb stunt Bush has done? He has sent an aircraft carrier to Indonesia to help the tsunami victims. What does he intended to do, bomb them?' A Boeing engineer stood up and replied quietly: 'Our carriers have three hospitals on board that can treat several hundred people; they are nuclear powered and can supply emergency electrical power to shore facilities; they have three cafeterias with the capacity to feed 3,000 people three meals a day, they can produce several thousand gallons of fresh water from sea water each day, and they carry half a dozen helicopters for use in transporting victims and injured to and from their flight deck.. We have eleven such ships; how many does France have? '

You could have heard a pin drop.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

A U.S. Navy Admiral was attending a naval conference that included Admirals from the U.S., English, Canadian, Australian and French Navies. At a cocktail reception, he found himself standing with a large gr oup of Officers that included personnel from most of those countries. Everyone was chatting away in English as they sipped their drinks but a French admiral suddenly complained that, 'whereas Europeans learn many languages, Americans learn only English.' He then asked, 'Why is it that we always have to speak English in these conferences rather than speaking French?' Without hesitating, the American Admiral replied 'Maybe it's because the Brits, Canadians, Aussies and Americans arranged it so you wouldn't have to speak German.'

You could have heard a pin drop.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

A group of Americans, retired teachers, recently went to France on a tour. Robert Whiting, an elderly gentleman of 83, arrived in Paris by plane... At French Customs, he took a few minutes to locate his passport in his carry on. 'You have been to France before, monsieur?' the customs officer asked sarcastically. Mr. Whiting admitted that he had been to France previously. 'Then you should know enough to have your passport ready.' The American said, 'The last time I was here, I didn't have to show it.' 'Impossible. Americans always have to show your passports on arrival in France!' The American senior gave the Frenchman a long hard look. Then he quietly explained. 'Well, when I came ashore at Omaha Beach on D-Day in '44 to help liberate this country, I couldn't find any Frenchmen to show it to.'

You could have heard a pin drop

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

What Is A Veteran?

A 'Veteran' -- whether active duty, discharged, retired, or reserve -- is someone who, at one point in his life, wrote a blank check made payable to 'The United States of America,' for an amount of 'up to, and including his life.'

That is honor, and there are way too many people in this country today, who no longer understand that fact.

Only two defining forces have ever offered to die for you,
Jesus Christ and the American G.I.
One died for your soul, the others for your freedom.

I say, "let's live our lives in appreciation to both!"

Luke's phrase of the day

2008-06-06T18:58:00.002-05:00

Luke, "I want some Cheetos, I love them!"
Anthony, "Then why don't you marry them?"
Luke, "Give them to me! They're my bride! They're my sweetie-poo!"

Where does he come up with this stuff?!

New blog look

2008-06-05T22:49:00.002-05:00

Hey ya'll! With the help of Shabby Miss Jenn Designs and my handy, handsome husband, I have a new blog look. Let me know what you think! xo, S

Ferguson Family Fun Weekend

2008-06-02T17:12:00.003-05:00

We had a great time on our Ferguson Family Fun Weekend at lake Tenkiller. The first evening, Grump hooked up the lazy swing. Lily and Joel enjoyed swinging, and no one had to push them! Saturday was a lovely day on the lake in the pontoon boat. Few fish were caught, but we had a great time anyway until the weather started to turn nasty. After a couple of hours, the sun was back and it was swim time at the beach then at the pool. We had steaks and smores that night. Yummy! On Sunday morning, the weather was rainy and so we grilled indoors after a brief trial outside. We never did get our family picture! Oh well, maybe next year!

Workin' on the house

2008-06-02T17:06:00.001-05:00

The boys worked hard on the house Memorial weekend. Liam and Luke carried all the debris to the back of the truck. They were great helpers!

Meet Pete

2008-06-02T16:45:00.006-05:00

Some of you know that we welcomed a new kitty to our home a few weeks ago. Little Pete is a very tolerant soul. Good thing, because Lily pesters him relentlessly! The boys are very gentle with him and love to have him sleeping in their laps.

prayer from Luke

2008-05-12T13:12:00.002-05:00

I forgot to mention that one of the sweetest parts of my mother's day was Luke's 'prayer'. When they were trying to fly the kite, there wasn't enough wind to keep it aloft. I told Luke that he needed to pray for some wind. He raised up his arms and looked up and yelled, "Wind!". Wouldn't you know it, not 1 minute later the wind picked up... Oh to have faith like a child!

Mother's Day

2008-05-11T22:37:00.002-05:00

I had a really great Mother's day. I wish I could say that the kids were angels, but they were all grumpy today! I enjoyed my day anyhow. Didn't have to cook or clean! Joel let me scrap book all day. So nice! We went out to the park and flew the kite and took some pictures in the front yard. Now I'm posting bunches...

Flippin' Out

2008-05-11T22:26:00.005-05:00

NOTICE! No children were injured during this photo shoot! LOL!

Liam and Lily had a great time doing gymnastics last night. Liam was reminded after this picture that he has to use his hands and protect his neck. I'm sure I went in to too great detail, what can happen to him if he injures his neck, but I believe he got the point. None the less, this was a fun picture to get.

Lily invented this 'routine' one night and was so proud to show us. She slides off backward from the couch until her head reaches the floor, then flips over. I'm thinking we're going to get her in to gymnastics soon...

Rooster Days

2008-05-11T22:11:00.008-05:00

Here we are at the BA Rooster Day parade. The parade this year was the best I've seen, but it was cold! Good thing we brought blankets to sit on. We used them to snuggle in instead. The boys love the Shriners and their funny cars.

Once again, we saw my friend Heather's (see blog to right) parents, Roy and Barbara Cail, in their Model A. It's fun to watch for someone you know coming along in the parade.
I was also lucky enough to get a picture of my hubby smiling a REAL smile, not his 'special' picture smile. Unfortunately, Liam has also inherited this 'picture' smile. Ah, well....
Lily loved seeing the cheerleaders, Miss Chick candidates, and of course the puppy dogs. She started waving back when they waved. It was adorable!

Oooo la la!

2008-05-11T22:02:00.003-05:00

Lily looks so chic in this pink and black stripe top with her black skirt and patent leather shoes. She gave me a big smile for this photo 'shoot' so I had to share....

Seth's cuties

2008-05-11T21:57:00.001-05:00

I just have to share a couple of pictures of my adorable niece and nephew! I get to see them in about 6 weeks. The last time I saw Kevin he was 3 months old and he'll soon be 2 years! Mallory has the cutest freckles on her nose. I doubt you can see them in this picture, but they are wonderful!

Lily's word of the day

2008-05-07T16:25:00.002-05:00

Okay, Luke hasn't said anything funny lately. Mostly he's been a pain in the rump.... We love him anyway! Lily, however, has been saying all sorts of new things. The most frequent, and annoying at this point, is 'mere' which of course means, come here. It's ususally high pitched and drawn out. It was only cute the first 72 times she said it.... She's learned that she likes to 'talk' on the phone which means you talk and she listens. On her play phone she will say, 'hel', 'hel', 'bye'. I'm trying to get her to say hellOOOO, but so far it just sounds like a bad word. We were talking to my 'niece' Abby on the phone the other night and Lily said, "I wanna hel." That meant, I want to say hello or talk on the phone. It's a lot cuter when she says it....

I've created an online gallery for my digital scrapbook layouts with a spot called scrap orchard. You can click on the link to the right and see the pages.
xoxoxo, S

Luke's word of the day

2008-04-24T08:31:00.001-05:00

Cereal monster, Luke's term for a serial killer. Aren't kids funny?!

Luke's phrase and word for the weekend

2008-04-21T12:15:00.003-05:00

As we were leaving the ball field on Saturday, Luke said, "Let's make our way to Nana's!" Then later he asked if we were in Nana's world yet.

Laugh-tiverty = (we have no idea what this means!)

Luke's word of the day

2008-04-19T08:55:00.003-05:00

Joel and I were discussing a topic of the day while riding along in the van. When we were through, Luke replied, "Astonishing!"

Luke's phrase of the day

2008-04-17T12:28:00.003-05:00

Our Lukers is a 5 1/2 year old sponge. He remembers all sorts of phrases and words that he hears. He really enjoys vocabulary and he uses it in the correct context. However, he doesn't always get it right, but that's the best part. I try to write them all down because it's so funny I want to always remember what he said. Here's a cute picture of him with Grandma Nora's cat. Oh wait! The cat left, but Luke was still posing for the picture so I took it. Then he looked down and wondered where the cat had gone. It still makes me laugh....

Luke's phrase for today is:

"You stretch me out people!"

What he was trying to say was that we 'stress' him out. Close enough!

Last week he said, "on your mark, except, go!"

I'll try to add new ones as he says them!

Heros are in disguise

2008-04-09T11:50:00.003-05:00

I received an email from my Aunt Debbie today. It was very inspiring, as most military related stories are. However, this one had a catchy little phrase attached to the bottom. It exactly fit with how I've been feeling lately towards all the people complaining about our presence in the middle East. I take it personally! My brother has risked his life and his family has sacrifice having him away for months and years at a time so that these people have a right to complain. I couldn't be more proud of him. I sleep safe at night, I go to church, I have so many rights because of his and other's sacrifices. The story was about an old man with car trouble. So many of us would see him as just an old man. However, he was a war hero who just happened to live in an old man's body. His younger 'brothers' rallied around him to help. If you love your freedom, thank a soldier or a veteran won't you? And finally for the quote, "If you don't stand behind our troops, PLEASE feel free to stand in front of them!"

Luke's first game

2008-04-01T21:45:00.009-05:00

Our little Cardinal did a fantastic job in his first ever baseball game. I didn't realize, until Joel told me this evening, that Luke is playing Tiger ball, not t-ball as Liam did. In Tiger ball they actually keep score and pitch the ball to the kids. Luke hit most of the time with out the tee. Many of the other kids needed it. After the game, which they won, he wanted to go out in the yard and play catch with Daddy. You'll notice his shirt is a bit large for him. Most of the other kids were ordering mediums and seeing that there were no examples to show the sizing, we just went along with everyone else. Needless to say, we should have gotten him the extra small....

Nora & Joel

2008-03-31T15:00:00.002-05:00

We had a wonderful time this weekend getting to see our nephew Joel. He's growing up so fast and changes so much every time we see him. I snuggled him for at least an hour. I even got some giggles out of him. What a cutie with his chubby, chubby cheeks. We popped over to Grandma Nora's house for a quick visit. She beamed as she held Joel. It was so neat to see the two of them together. Nora is 98 1/2 and Joel is 4 months old! Nora's kitty got a bit jealous of all the baby attention. As soon as Joel was off her lap, she wanted her spot back. The kitty is sooooo fat. We've thought kittens were coming since December, but apparently she was JUST fat then. Now she is actually pregnant and going to have kittens in a few weeks. After our visit, we went to dinner with Darrell and Willa Rae. Luke requested Ollie's which is a train themed resturant. The boys like it there, but Lily was amazed. She kept yelling, 'Whoa! Big train!' when one would come by. It was a really fun evening!

14 things about me

2008-03-29T23:49:00.005-05:00

Most of you know that I've recently started digital scrapbooking. There are so many aspects to this hobby, I can't begin to list them here. One of these aspects are challenges. The free kit I can earn by doing this particular challenge is so cute, I just had to give it a try. So, here is my layout for the 14 things about me challenge. I was having a hard time coming up with things about myself. I petitioned many of you for words or phrases that you felt described me. I think every list had 'organized' in it! Am I really that bad?! Anyway, it was heartwarming to get all of the positive feedback. I guess I can add 'fisher of compliments' to my list! Love you!!! xoxoox

P.S. For the designers looking at the layout, my real name is Stefani, but friends call me Fani!

Credits for layout:
Paper-TracyAnn Peekaboo words papers, Frame-Just for You from New Life Dreams, Drop Shadow from Traci Murphy Designs, Font-Bodoni MT, Blue Flowers-Lauren Reid Recipe Challenge, Green flower-Kara Perrin Little Dreamer Apprentice Week 2, Stapled tag-AManning PTM, Hanging tag-Flergs Deacon's Closet, Branch- Twitterpatted Passion Kit. Grandma's pressed flowers from Weeds & Wildflowers Designs.

Easter! He has risen!

2008-03-26T20:00:00.003-05:00

Easter services were fantastic! Lily did a great job. The boys and I had been practicing at home with her. We would hide the eggs and she got the idea to put them in her basket quickly. Easter weather stunk! It was so cold while the kids gathered eggs, we couldn't wait to leave. I wasn't feeling very well anyway and dinner was in the oven. After everyone left, I really started to feel crummy. I thought I might have strep throat. A visit to the doctor (I hadn't been in almost a year)confirmed I had strep. Antibiotics and some sleep and I was cleaning under the oven and the fridge the next day!

Tidal School Winery

2008-03-26T19:14:00.004-05:00

For nearly two years, Pam and Joel have been planning for us to go on a tour of the Tidal School Winery near Drumright Oklahoma. We finally got our chance. The kids didn't enjoy it as much as the adults, but it was interesting none the less. We found out that most of the wine made in Oklahoma is from imported grape juice. It gets too hot here in OK for the grapes to grow. Shirley, Pam, and I were really pleased with how thin we looked in the shiny wine vats. Apparently, they have to watch carefully while running the juice through their filters or even the color will be removed! After the tour and wine tasting, we sat out on the deck and visited with one of the owners while Joel and Pam listened to the Flamenco guitarist inside. It was a beautiful day!

Spring Break Camp Out

2008-03-26T18:50:00.003-05:00

We had so much fun camping out with my best friend Janie and her family one night of spring break. Her dad was so gracious to let us camp out on his land. And her step mom, Janice, was so nice to let us camp out on her living room floor... but more about that in a minute. The boys were in heaven playing in the creek and exploring. Lily caught her first fish. (Lily wore a life jacket the whole time we were there. The girl has no fear of the water!) She walked over to Joel's fishing pole and picked it up just as a perch took the bait. He ran over and helped her reel it in. She kept saying, "Daddy, I wanna beeeesh!" (I want a fish!) after that. Later we walked over to look at the remnants of an old school house. Of course the boys were most facinated with the creepy cellar filled with water underneath and the remaining portions of the outhouse. We told ghost stories and embarassing stories around the camp fire while we ate s'mores, of course. Flash light tag was the ender for the evening. Janie found Liam hiding face down in a old dried cow pattie. All went well until bed time. As soon as Joel and I lay down, Lily woke up. The wind was howling and the boys' tent broke a pole. Janie and I took all 5 boys, Hannah, and Lily and went up to the house. Lily didn't go to sleep. From about 11pm until 5am she was awake. I have to say it was one of the most miserable nights I've had in a long time. In the morning, we made breakfast. Then the kids rode the 4-wheeler and we closed up camp. All in all, we had a really great time. Next time we'll go when it's not windy and hope that Lily will sleep through the night!

Lots to blog....

2008-03-26T16:04:00.007-05:00

We had a great time on Wednesday the 19th. I took Mrs. Sheila's place with the 5th & 6th grade girls. Mrs. Michelle & Mrs. Charla always make each night extra special! Luke, Liam, & Anthony (our neighbor friend) really enjoy themselves. Currently Wednesday nights are all about Summer Camp. This particular night we had a camp fire and roasted marshmallows for s'mores! The previous Wednesdays there was chocolate syrup tug o war, Safari Joe brought all sorts of animals, water fight, and soon to come slime night and maybe a water slide!

Ask and you shall receive!

2008-03-19T15:26:00.004-05:00

I have been overwhelmed (in a good way) lately with opportunities to give to those in need. Recently I have been asking God for ways to be a help to those in need. Boy did He ever answer! Here are a few of the opportunities we have been presented with in the past few weeks:

Church of God Missionary projects
Campus Crudsade for Christ
One of our church families
Long time friend going in to missions

A missionary couple our church supports talked with us last week about what they are doing in the Ivory Coast. One of the things is starting a radio ministry in French. My mother-in-law shared some of her favorite charities with me including an orphanage in India and helping children in Ecuador with schooling. A great friend of mine is on staff with Campus Crusade for Christ, she is the reason that I aske Jesus in to my life in the first place. She sends me a monthly newsletter to keep me up on all her travels and training. Being on their mailing list, I received a letter from their headquarters concerning 41 of their staff memebers who were imprisoned last year in a Christian hostal country. Many of these folks have young children left with out parents! All for the sake of spreading the gospel! They need prayer and financial help! It also came to us that a family in our church has needed some help. It has been a blast working on blessing their socks off! And most recently, the other day I got a phone call from one of my friends that I hadn't talked to in a LONG time. She and her husband are going in to full missions and are taking classes in Texas to be Bible translators! Wow! God is moving and working! The best part is that He gives us a part to play. It is truly better to give than to receive, if you don't believe me, just try it once!I've included these links to my worthy causes in the right hand column. I've posted an excerpt from one of the Campus Crusade newsletters below. The one that I referred to above was removed from their log due to the sensitive nature of it's content.

""Dear partner in reaching the world for Christ,

I originally wrote to you about this particularly urgent situation several months ago-sharing how, despite the strong possibility of persecution, interrogations, and even worse, 67 men and women from extremely sensitive nations were ready to join staff with Campus Crusade for Christ.

Thanks to the generosity of people like you, those men and women are even now in training to become full-time staff members! I wanted to pass along this "from the trenches" report as it shows how your prayers and investment are already bearing fruit. This comes from the genocide-torn nation of Sudan:

"The new staff's lives are in danger physically. Sudan is a cruel, war-torn country. Some of the new staff recruits are going into the toughest parts of Sudan. Several are going into the Darfur region, which is in the news so much for genocide ... They will start five to eight new churches in their first year as new staff in some of the hardest, toughest parts of Sudan ... There is war, guns, fighting. The health care in this area is very difficult, so some new staff get very sick. There is not very much clean water, no medicine, they minister to many people who are displaced by the war.

"[The new staff work in] areas controlled by guerrilla leaders [and others strongly opposed to Christianity]. Some new staff will probably suffer from being persecuted, beaten, and scorpion bites ... They will average exposing six to eight people to Christ each day through personal evangelism. From the people who accept Christ with them, they will start small group Bible studies and eventually challenge some of those believers to go through [further] training ... One new staff and their disciples will train over 14,000 people."

War, guns, beatings, scorpion bites, little clean water ... Hard to imagine, isn't it? But this is what these men and women are willing to endure in order to proclaim Christ to hurting people. Praise God with me for their perseverance and bravery!""

All I can say is, WOW! These are brave people! They surely are storing up their treasures in Heaven!
xoxoxo, Stefani

Soccer pics

2008-03-15T13:17:00.002-05:00

We had a fun, freezing cold time this morning at Liam's soccer game. I thought last weekend was cold when it was below freezing. However, the sun had been shining and there was little wind. Today, the temp was around 45 degrees, but the Oklahoma wind was roaring. Burrrrr!!!!

Liam did great in his second game. He is really getting the hang of it! However, all the boys were running a little sluggishly in the end. Luke always makes a cute picture. I had Luke to take a shot of Lily and I too. It was a little difficult with mittens on! Liam is number 8 in orange....

Baby Jaxon

2008-03-09T17:31:00.003-05:00

Here are a few pictures of my new nephew Jaxon. He was born in February. What a cutie!

Weekend of Fun

2008-02-20T16:59:00.006-06:00

Last weekend was jammed full of fun. On Saturday, my mom came over. The kids were so excited. They love it when Nana comes to visit! Later that day, Auntie Pam showed up too to spend the night! The kids really enjoyed teaching them both to play on the Wii. Pam was great at boxing and Nana got the bowling down. Sunday morning we got up and left early for OKC to attend Neil & Mary's church for baby Joel's introduction. He's getting so big, holding his head up and really smiling! What a cutie pie. But really, did we expect anything less?! Lily enjoyed going to Dollar General to spend her Valentine's Day money. She picked out this baby doll and didn't want anything else! We named her Ebony. She's just the right size for Liy's premie clothes that we kept. Mommy is having fun playing dress up. Ebony can suck her thumb, a binkie, or a little bottle and her eyes close when she lays down. She takes a nap with Lily. Lily loves to push her around in her little stroller. It's so cute to watch her take care of her baby!

A Wii, a weird smile, el libro, and a fat lip

2008-02-13T21:22:00.005-06:00

After about 4 weeks of calling Wal-Mart (almost) every day at 10am (when they unload their delivery truck). We finally got a Wii! The kids had saved most of their Christmas money to get one. I'm not a big fan of video games, because I think they can turn kids in to zombies, but this game is different. You have to get up and move to play it! Here they boys are bowling I think. We've really enjoyed it as a family. For Valentine's Day, I gave Joel 'Guitar Hero'. This is a game that comes with a 'guitar' and you have to play the notes as they come down the screen. If you miss too many, you get booed off the stage! He loves it. I got a brand new flat screen monitor for the computer. Those of you who've seen our old one will know it was about time!

Lily has become quite sassy, dramatic, and a camera hog lately. I can't get a picture of the boys with out her running over to get in to the picture. She has just started using this weird little smile when a camera comes out. She pulls back the corners of her mouth and bares her teeth. It's cute and hideous at the same time. Pictures don't do it justice.

The kids all sat down one day for Liam to read books to them. He and Luke can write down all the books they read on a log for school. They can earn a free Pizza Hut pan pizza when they read enough. They all looked so cute lined up with their books! Yes, Luke is wearing a helmet. Joel bought him a new bike helmet the other day (his was falling apart) and he wanted to wear it everywhere!

Poor Liam had a little accident at church the other night. He was playing tag in the gym and ran right in to the metal cart used to haul around the round tables. One of his front top teeth was hurting him and bleeding around it. He had a pretty good fat lip too. He must be growing. He's been eating two of everything at dinnertime, he's clumsy, and his pants are looking too short again.

I'd love to hear from all of you. Miss you lots!!! XO, Stefani

Someone special

2008-02-08T13:33:00.000-06:00

We received a photo in the mail from our dear friend Carolyn yesterday. A photo of her husband Jim. He got to go be with Jesus in December of 2003. As Carolyn wrote, this photo is so 'him'. He lived simlpy, honestly, and worked hard. No one could ask for a better friend. He is missed dearly to this day by everyone who knew him!

Tag I'm it, again.... I must be the slow kid....

2008-02-05T16:31:00.000-06:00

Okay, I've been tagged again. Let's see... I'm supposed to go by these rules:

Link to the person that tagged you and post the rules on your blog. Share 5 random and/or weird facts about yourself on your blog, or share the 5 top places on your "want to see or want to see again" list, or share 5 things you never pictured being in your future when you were 25 years old. Tag a minimum of 5, maximum of 10 random people at the end of your post and include links to their blogs. Let each person know they have been tagged by leaving a comment on their blog. The tagees have a choice of which they want to do.

The first choice is easy since I've already listed all the reasons I'm a dork on one of my earlier postings. So, I'll tackle the 'when I was 25' issue since I'm just a BIT older than that whippersnapper Mary.

When I was 25, I never pictured that:
1. I would be excercising on a regular basis, because I hated it so much.
2. I would be doing something called digital scrapbooking.
3. I would be driving a mini van.
4. There would be something called a Wii and I would be great at Wii bowling, I beat Joel with a 197 last night! Take that sucka!
5. I would have my own cordless drill and know how to use it.

Okay, I only know a couple of people who blog, so my list is going to be much shorter than 5 I'm afraid! So, help me Heather, you're my only hope! (Yeah, it's a quote from Star Wars, see 'reasons why I'm a dork')

Weather predictions

2008-02-01T13:03:00.000-06:00

Yeah, we were supposed to get 4-8 inches of the white stuff, but we only got about 1.5 inches. Never mind, Joel and the boys had a nice time making a snow family. Luke was a little disturbed that the momma snow person lost her head and torso in the evening. First thing this morning he had to go out and fix it, which meant that I had to go out and fix it. Lily looked cute in her boots checking out the progress.

I got a much needed break and went out with Diane, Janie, and Charla for a girly night last night. We ate and went to the movie '27 Dresses'. It was pretty good for a chick movie.

How much wood could a woodchuck chuck?

2008-01-16T16:27:00.001-06:00

Here's some pics of my little woodchucks over at Granny and Grump's house. Joel, Darrell, Matt, and Neil worked many long days to clear their house and Nora's of tree branches broken by the storm. They had to cut down trees too! Then, they hauled them all to a burn pile. That should be quite a weiner roast!

HAPPY NEW YEAR YA'LL!

2008-01-16T16:20:00.000-06:00

I'm sure that most of you recieved this card in the mail or email, but here it is again. It was one of my first digital scrapbooking attempts. I was pleased with the turn out!

December cuties

2007-12-18T14:43:00.000-06:00

I just had to share these pictures of my cuties. We've already had our Christmas celebrations with my dad's family and my mom's family. We've also celebrated Liam's birthday, several times! He got a really nice bike from his mom and dad.

I know I am a slacker this year and didn't send out Christmas pictures, but I sure have enjoyed getting cards and photos from everyone. They are posted all over my fridge. If you'd like to see the family pictures we WOULD have used, go to the Foster Cryer link to the right and click on proofing. I'm considering this blog as my Christmas letter too. Told you I am a slacker.

60 years and counting....

2007-12-04T14:35:00.000-06:00

We had a great time on December 1st celebrating my grandparent's 60th wedding anniversary. That's quite an accomplishment these days! Here are a few pics from that fun family time. I don't know what was going on with my hair, so just ignore that....

What about November?!?!

2007-12-04T13:56:00.000-06:00

Some of you that are used to reading my blog may have found yourselves saying, "What about November?" when you are looking for updates. All that I can say is that December comes WAY too early. It's starting to take over November's events. If I were November, I'd be very upset with December. Anyway, here goes all of the posts I should have done in November...

I made my first cake, or I guess I should say, I decorated my first cake.

Lily has been doing and saying so many cute things. I didn't think she would ever talk and now she is talking in sentences. Of course, I have to translate much of the time. She says, I need help, I change (remote control), I sweep, don't touch it, let me out, and her favorite is NO! MINE! There are some pictures included here of her in a pink dress and red stipe pjs that were mine when I was the same age.

Luke keeps us laughing all of the time. His vocabulary is very large for a 5 year old (he watches too much TV) and he always amazes us with the words that he uses and uses correctly.

Liam is already a little engineer. He's constantly drawing. The drawing you see here is of a bike ramp, side and top view. He came up with that on his own. He also got a pretty good knock on the chin playing at school.

Lily is quite the diva, but she doesn't like the paparazzi as you can see...

We also got to go visit our new nephew, Joel. Here are some cute pics from that snuggly visit. Liam LOVED holding baby Joel. Even though the baby was crying loudly, Liam wanted to hold him one last time before we left. Luke took a bit to warm up, but after some bribes, he really enjoyed himself. Lily, however, wasn't sure what to think of the new kid in town....

Slideshows on YouTube

2007-11-19T15:05:00.000-06:00

Southpark Church has been a bustle of activity the past few months. Our friend and wonderful photographer has been capturing church events and families on film. He put together some slide shows for our Fall festival and another montage. Please take a look by clicking on the link at the right. You can view both videos from there or click on our pastor's link to see the latest 'commercial'. xo, S

Welcome baby Joel!!!!!

2007-11-16T16:30:00.001-06:00

We are so excited to announce that our newest nephew, Joel Emmitt Ferguson (named after his uncle and great grandfather), was born today at 12:03 pm. He weighed in at a whopping 9 lbs and 6 ounces and was 21 inches long! Whoa! He will need 3-6 month clothes very soon I'm sure. He's still smaller than his daddy who was 9:15 and 23 inches!!! We're told mom and baby are both doing well. Although I'm sure that baby is feeling quite a bit better than momma. Their family has a new blog site. Click the link to the right to see how Joel grows, and grows, and grows, and grows... I'll post more details and pictures as I get them.

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Pator Tom Hopkins on You Tube

2007-11-11T22:16:00.000-06:00

Just a quick blog to let you know our new pastor has done a commercial for our church. Long story, but a big blessing. We got to do the whole thing free! God is good! Anyway, check it out when you get a chance.Click on the link to the right or go to YouTube and search for Tom Hopkins or Southpark Community Church.

Tag, I'm it.

2007-11-02T18:40:00.000-05:00

A good friend of mine has 'tagged' me which means that I'm going to have to write about what I was doing 10, 20, and 30 years ago. Gee, thanks Peggy! I'm not the writer she is but I'll give it a try....

Ummmm, let's see.... 10 years ago... 1997... that would make me 22 years old. I was waiting for Joel to ask me to marry him, which he did in December. I lived in OKC attending UCO for nursing school. I didn't like the school much having gone to OSU for 3 years previously. I lived with a gal I met at OSU who happened to be an old high school class mate of Joel's. I can't remember which job I had at that time. I think I was working in the office of a hospice care center. I pretty much studied all the time and spent as much time with Joel as I could. He was in Stillwater getting his engineering degree. Here's a picture of us at the Cass's wedding. I have very short hair and Joel looks like he is about 11 years old.

Okay... now for 1987... 12 years old...6th grade...here's where it gets fuzzy. I don't remember too much of this time. Hormones raging, boy crazy, dumb looking and awkward. First year of Jr. High. I remember standing in front of the mirror crying at my changing figure thinking that I was fat. I wish I still had that figure.... I hated being a teenager. Everything was so emotional and such a big deal. If you woke up with a zit, it was like the world was coming to an end... I had a step-dad that I needed (and still does) God so badly, but drank to drown his pain instead. I stayed in my room most of the time where everything was neat, clean, and organized. My little land of complete control! I loved watching Mama's family and Star Trek and Shark Week with my brother. We played Mario Brothers on Nintendo. My favorite memories are of Christmas and Thanksgiving with family. I believe this picture is around this time. The yearbooks are in the attic and I'm too lazy to get them down to check.

30 years ago I was only 2... I was sure cute if I do say so myself. This is a picture of me, holding my new baby brother with a cast on my arm (although you can't see the cast). This would have been in June, just before I turned 3. Apparently we had a mare with a new baby which I wanted to pet. I waited until my dad was busy behind the barn and my very pregnant mom went in the house to cool off, then I crawled in the pen. The mare must mistaken me for a threat and she kicked me. My dad found me laying in the pen, unconscious with a very bruised left leg and broken right arm. I spent a week in the hospital. I remember shadows of events there. There was a nice nurse there that happened to also be my mom's nurse when she delivered me. I received a set of books from her. My cousin Heather pushed me down the hall in a wheelchair and I got to take a bath with plastic around my arm. As a mother now, I can't imagine my parent's horror finding me like that!

Okay Peggy, there you go, I hope that will suffice! xo, S

Happy Fall Ya'll

2007-11-02T16:49:00.000-05:00

We had a great time at our church's annual All Saint's Party. The kids ran around like they were insane and charged themselves up with candy. I'm surprised that no one barfed! Anyway, Lily actually won 2nd place in her age group costume contest. Her outfit wasn't anything great, but she did actually look like Boo from Monsters, Inc. We were hoping that Luke would win a prize. He looked so cute and Willa Rae worked so hard on his chef costume.

Bunco Debunked

2007-10-24T13:46:00.000-05:00

I was so excited to do a blog posting of our annual Halloween bunco. Everyone puts on a good show with their costumes. Alas, I had to cancel the occasion due to illness. I wasn't sick, however, Owen, Luke, Liam, Harry, Margie, Jake, Jason, Charla, Matt, & Diane all have had a stomach virus this week! Yikes! Apparently it is very contagious! Anyway, I didn't want to pass it along to anyone else, which they appreciated. So, I cancelled bunco. I had to take pictures of the things that I could anyway. Carrie worked so hard on her sugar cookies and dirt cake. They are so yummy that I was going to drive over to her house last night to get some, but she offered to bring them to me today. I guess two good things came from bunco getting cancelled (besides no germ spreading!). My house is VERY clean. Joel even helped me scrub and polish the kitchen cabinets. He also made my room scrapbook table screen (which I didn't get painted) and fixed the toilet paper holder to prepare for bunco. What a guy! And, I got to keep the bunco gift! Hurray!

Pumpkin patch

2007-10-21T08:53:00.000-05:00

We were having a grand time at the pumpkin patch on Wednesday. The kids were excited to pick out a big pumpkin to decorate our front porch. As we were searching, a 9 year old boy came running up to his mother, holding his head with bloody hands. He went to sit down and I asked if I could help since I was a nurse. His mother mouthed, "It's pretty bad" over the top of his head. She removed her hand and there was a two inch gash on his forehead, through which his skull could be seen! She said, "They can stitch that up, right?" I reassured her that they could. I stayed with the boy as his mother walked a few blocks away to get her car. He did great but I started to feel like I was going to pass out! There's just something about a child being injured that bothers me a lot. They boys and I prayed for his quick recovery. The next day, we returned to the pumpkin patch and the church ladies running the booth said that the boy had returned after getting 12 stitches because he wanted free his pumpkin! Liam is bare foot in the picture because he took his shoes off at Jazzercise and left with out putting them back on! I refused to turn around to get them, so here he is, shoeless!

He's HOME!!!!!!!!!!!

2007-10-13T14:10:00.000-05:00

Thank you Lord for the many thousands of prayers that You answered for my brother's safety. There is NO doubt that You alone brought him home safe and whole, just as we asked in Jesus' powerful name. Please make his adjustment to home life as smooth as possible. Give he and his wife Dustin grace and understanding with one another as they adjust to married life again. I ask too, that You would cause any undesirable memories to fade for him, never to return. Thank you also for Rob's safe return and for Your miraculous protection and healing of Pat and J.B.. Please continue to heal them body, mind, and spirit. Thank You, thank You, thank You, for our freedom and for those who pay so dearly for it. May we NEVER take it for granted and may we stop to consider how high the price is for it. Lord, please continue Your mighty protection on the others that are still in Iraq and all over the world. In Jesus precious name, Amen!

Grandpa Steve's new digs and some pigtails

2007-10-10T13:38:00.000-05:00

Monday we took a little trip over to Jennings, OK to see my dad's new place. He just completed the move of all of his belongings. Soon he will be settled and be working on land improvements. Before long he plans to build a small house where we can all come to fish and camp and relax. The kids had fun looking at the horses, inspecting wild flowers, throwing dirt clods, and climbing on tractors. After we looked everything over, we ate some Charlie's Chicken then visited for a while. Before we knew it, it was time to go!

I had to include a couple of pictures of Lily with pigtails in this blog. She just looks so cute! Please continue to pray for Seth. His return has been pushed back a couple of days. He and Dustin can hardly wait! Check out our second set of family pictures that will (probably) be added to Foster Cryer's proofing area next week. Also, I've updated the OFRT blog. They had a fun and safe trip to Arkansas last weekend. Luke and I had strep throat while they were gone. My mom came to spend the weekend with us and now she'd sick! Sorry Mom! Hope this finds the rest of you well! xo, S

Recap

2007-10-03T14:32:00.000-05:00

Okay, I haven't posted for a while. We've been really busy going and doing, what, I can't say... Anyway, here's a little recap of what we've been up to.

My sister-in-law Diane and I went to our other sister-in-law's baby shower. It's too bad the poor girl has so many friends, she had to sit and unwrap gifts for about an hour and a half! The father-to-be (Joel and Diane's brother) Neil dropped by just in time to load up gifts. Mary isn't fond of his fanny pack that he sometimes wears, but I felt that little baby Joel might need one too. You can see a picture of the proud papa trying it on. My mom and aunt Pam attended the shower too and afterwards we went to eat at P.F. Chang's. Yum!!

Next we did some miniature golfing with our church. Luke said, "Mommy, who's that brown guy that we watched on TV?" I guessed that it was Tiger Woods and he said that's is who he wanted to be. Luke and I both got a hole-in-one on the same hole!

On Sunday we had a welcome party for our new pastor, Tom Hopkins. We are all excited to have some one at the helm again and looking forward to some structure and changes in our church. I didn't get any pictures of this event as I forgot my camera. Can you imagine!?

Last night we attended the Tulsa State Fair. Yes, I know it was raining, but we went anyway. The first hour we did outdoors things since the rain was holding off. We watched a dog show and Lily was captivated. Next we went to the petting zoo, she loved that too. Once the rain started, we moved in doors and looked around at all the 'man' items. The boys climbed around in an ambulance and a semi truck then Joel and the boys went in to an exhibit of antique motorcycles.

That's it for now! Look for an update to the OFRT blog next week. The guys are going to Arkansas this weekend. Pray for a safe ride! Also, be looking for our family pictures in the next couple of weeks. If you want to see the first set, click on the link to the right for Foster Cryer. Go to his proofing area and you can see the Ferguson family pics. xo, S

Luke's 5th Birthday

2007-09-21T19:12:00.000-05:00

Last night we had a WILD time as we celebrated Luke's fifth birthday. We were initially going to celebrate just as a family, but in the spirit of fun, I decided to invite a few 'regulars' along. We were a crew of about 27! After eating, we went to do some bowling! Everyone had a wild time and Diane bowled a career high of 167! Congrats Diane!

Third Annual Ferguson Family Fun Weekend

2007-09-21T16:06:00.000-05:00

It seems anticlimactic now, but we had such a great Ferguson Family Fun weekend on the 14-16th. We stayed in a cabin at lake Murray in south central Oklahoma. Each year the trip gets better. There was so much to do and see!

The first night we celebrated birthdays for Luke and me. It was extremely windy so we decided to take the party indoors for gifts and cake. When Neil and Mary arrived, we all rubbed her belly. Baby Joel is really growing and we look forward to the day he arrives!

The next morning we boarded a pontoon boat and cruised about the lake a bit. We didn't discover we weren't provided with an anchor until we were underway, so in order to fish we tied off to several old tree stumps. With the first cast of the day, Liam caught the largest fish, a 3 lb drum. He did all the work himself and was really proud. Someone, I won't say who, got his line hung up and Neil volunteered to jump in to the rescue. When we weren't tethered to a branch, he also pushed and pulled the boat in the desired direction. We took a break from fishing and a nice lunch and Lily had a nap. At the boat dock we enjoyed feeding the massive and slightly creepy carp. In the afternoon, we split up and did our own things. Some played golf, regular and miniature. While Matt and Diane tried out their new boat motor and later were pulled back to shore by some nice people when the motor had a glitch. Meanwhile, Matt got a nasty gash in his foot when he stepped on some glass as he waded out to the boat. Later we had steak on the grill and made s'mores while we sat around the camp fire. Before bed we glued Matt's foot back together with some super glue made for surgical wounds. I almost got my fingers glued to his foot in the process!

On Sunday morning, we took a bike ride and then went to Tucker's Tower. The views were impressive! Every day we were there the weather was perfect. The breeze felt great on top of the tower. Lily was most impressed with the 'kittykittykitty' roaming the grounds. On our way to have lunch at the Ferguson's RV, we packed up our stuff. After lunch we Lily played in the water for a bit and then we were on our way home. Look for the fourth installment of Ferguson Family Fun in May!

Remembering Mildred

2007-09-19T09:05:00.000-05:00

Today we got the news that Joel's paternal grandmother, Mildred, passed away from a sudden stroke. We will miss her so much! She had such spunk and wit! I know that Joel gets his dry sense of humor from her.

The past few years, she has lived with Darrell and Willa Rae. We are so glad that she came here from Pennsylvania so that we could spend more time with her. She enjoyed her great-grandchildren very much. In fact, I had a hard time finding a picture with out her holding Lily!

Over at Darrell and Willa Rae's home, we had a lovely dinner provided by some of the ladies from South Sand Spring Church of God. During dinner, Joel suggested that we honor Mildred by taking our time eating and making sure that we went back for thirds! For those of you who didn't know Mildred, she was a tiny little gal (about 4'11" and 90 lbs) who could really put it away! We often teased her that she had a hollow leg! I still don't know where she put it all.

I can't believe we won't see her again! But she'll forever be in our hearts. I smile when I think that she's seeing Virgil, Kathy, and her parents again. Most importantly, Jesus! Thank you Lord that she didn't suffer. We love you Millie!

Kevin and Mallory

2007-09-09T19:02:00.000-05:00

I just had to share these precious pictures of my niece and nephew. I really wish that they were close, so I could see them grow. Their daddy has been in Iraq for over a year and should be coming home soon! We are all still praying for his safety and quick return!

For those of you who don't know, I am becoming a bit of a fanatic about my posts. So, if you haven't check the blog in a few days, you might have missed some stuff! Be sure to scroll on down. Also, I will be finishing the OFRT blog site within the next few days so click on the link to the right and check out Joel's adventures!

Girlfriends

2007-09-07T22:21:00.001-05:00

I am blessed to have so many precious girlfriends! Each one is unique and makes me a better person in her own special way. I'm glad to have them around to get me through this crazy life. Unfortunately, we can never all get together at the same time to visit and eat. If we did, we would have to rent out a whole restaurant! Tonight, Carrie, Stacy, Janie, and I got together to catch up. We had so much fun! I think we were at Carraba's for about 3 hours. Our poor waiter! We took up his table for so long, but he was a good sport. Eventually, we just went and sat on the benches outside so we could visit longer. While we were out there, we got a nice man to snap our picture. We decided that next time, a slumber party is in order! Here's to all my girls! Love ya!

A laborious weekend

2007-09-03T21:06:00.000-05:00

I think we packed as much in to our Labor Day weekend as we possibly could! We got an early start wtih Lily and Joel both sick on Thursday and Friday. Saturday morning I took the boys to the Lane's house for Owen's birthday party. It was a golf par-tee. There were adorable visors for all the kiddos and a mini mini-golf course in the back yard. Charla always out does herself and we had a blast.

As soon as we left, we headed home to load up our stuff and off we went to Wakita. While we were there the boys went dove hunting and we visited with some of my Schubert family. That night we a small celebration for Luke and my September birthdays. We were blessed to have Frank and Debbie Lambert with us. They were good sports around our crazy, grumpy toddler!

We debated on our many options of carnivals, parties, and chores that we could have done today, but ultimately we just drove home and got our stuff put away. With three children to keep up with, we had to come home to get a vacation from our vacation!

We make the 1980s look gooooooood......

2007-08-28T21:56:00.000-05:00

I can't help myself, I'm posting twice in one day! These photos are just too good to keep all to myself. My sister-in-law Diane hosted 80s bunco at her house tonight and we had a blast! Her house was decorated with My Little Ponies, Cabbage Patch dolls, Pound Puppies, and Strawberry Shortcake to name a few. She also had great candy like pop rocks and nerds for us to enjoy. I didn't win any money, but I still had a blast. Thank you to Brenda for taking pics of us!

We're lookin' good!

My attempt at a 'feathered' hairdo.

Okay, so I'm a dork....

2007-08-28T14:18:00.001-05:00

I was thinking today, as I sometimes do, and I'm in agreement with my husband who has lovingly reminded me lately that I'm really, deep down inside, a NERD. Now remember, he's the engineer that sits behind a computer all day...

Here are a few reasons why I am that dork...

*I keep my shopping list (categorized of course) on my computer desktop for easy data entry

*I use and love Jott.com

*I check my email about 10 times a day

*I have my 2008 calendar and it's filled out with birth dates already

*I love Sci Fi movies and books (Lord of the Rings, Star Wars, Harry Potter...) I have maps and notes on Lord of the Rings.... I read the same books over and over....

*I subscribe to Merriam-Webster's word of the day and get recall lists each day via email

*I like things like vaccum cleaners, sinks, clothes, and other practical items as gifts

*I love my minivan. However, it would be much better with some flames airbrushed on it's side...

*I buy Christmas gifts all year round and usually have my shopping done by November 31st (as well as my Christmas cards sent out) because I hate going out and fighting the crowds

*I own, and use, a label maker (one of my practical gifts)

*I have a box fetish. It's very difficult for me to throw one away. There's a ton of empties in the attic.

*I like things like NASCAR and Horsepower TV... I can tell you how a motor works and I think Stacey's mullet rocks!

*I like to go fishing

*I love geneaology and I have a program with around 2000 names that I've entered in to it.

*I have my own blog site.

So, there you go. I think that Joel is correct after all. I have to remind him that he still married me though...