http://www.aholyexperience.com/2011/12/5-steps-to-making-new-years-resolutions-happen/

The 12 DOG DAYS of Christmas; written by Karen & Greg and performed by Daniel for Nina

I have been an awful "blogger" this last month... so I offer an apology to anyone out there who is actually try to stay up to date with our family via this site.  I think I'll post a lot of photos and see if I can tell about our last month through pictures.
http://karensphotosfrom2009.shutterfly.com/#editPictures:albumId=3043

We had Thankgiving at our house ON Thanksgiving Day,Greg FRIED up his first TURKEY!  He also smoked another turkey since we had a house-full.  I loved having so many people here.  It was awesome!  Our neighbors, the Lander family (Adam,Laura,Braden,Camden & Payton), joined us along with Andy, Lindsey & Lennox Turcotte, and Grammy & Grampy Turcotte. 

That afternoon, after my crew of guests had thoroughly helped in the cleaning up (which I thought was very generous!), all of us but the neighbors drove down to San Antonion to stay with Lindsey's folks, as well as her brother Gavin and his family. 

That night, we all watched the A&M VS. UT game... and revived after our "depression" by Black Friday shopping at MIDNIGHT at Old Navy.  Well, 5 of us went out that is... It was pretty fun, but I don't think Greg's going to make it a regular tradition.

That next day, Greg and I took our kids to the River Walk in San Antonio, and we had absolutely PERFECT weather for a day outdoors - 70 degrees or so from dawn till dusk. 

We met up with the relatives for lunch at Casa Rio and although the wait for the food was long, it was deeeeeelicious and a good time of fellowship!

Update on us:  November is upon us and I am so glad it is!  I LOVE NOVEMBER!!!  While I enjoy SaraKay's birthday being in Oct., I don't like Halloweeny stuff very much.  It gets Daniel all hyped up because it's so stinkin' commercial.  Our kids did trick or treat this year in our new neighborhood, but we didn't make a big deal out of it.  It was innocent, done early, and enjoyable.  And while we attended our church's fall festival, the highlight of that event was volunteering alongside all our small group members, stuffing and packaging the hot dogs that were served free to guests.   We even took a neighbor kid along with us.

I'm always thankful when November 1st arrives and this year I'm looking forward to hosting our entire TEXAS family here at our new home for THANKSGIVING.  I cannot FIND a tote of my Thanksgiving goodies to put up, but oh well.  Oh shucks. Maybe next year.... we'll be frying up a turkey this year.  Relatives are bringing sides and desserts.  Grammy's going to make PUMPKIN PIE whoopie pies this year - yay!  I feel a new tradition coming on for the Turcotte family with that dessert!


Greg, the kids, sister-in-law Adele and 15 yr. old Stephanie went to Dewberry Farms this past Saturday.  Adele sent me a link for a GROUPON for it.  We're all a little sniffly now, but it was a fun outing with the extended family here in Houston.  Here's some pics of it:

The four of us had an awesome time this weekend with new friends from Cypress Bible Church too. Dawn and Bill invited us over to bbq Saturday night (no pics, sorry) and then we had lunch together as small group families after service and class on SUNDAY.  Here are a few more pics.  Don't we look lovely with Potbelly Sandwiches and root beer bottles making their appearance in every photo?  LOL

October 19, 2011

Our little girl isn't so little anymore... in fact, she's a whole year older now - 8 years old!  We celebrated her birthday a little differently this year: no big creative arts birthday party, but rather, an outing like no other and a day of memorable meals with family and new friends here in north Houston.  The event occurred at the Texas State Fair, and we made a day of it last Friday, Oct. 15th.  SaraKay had a caramel apple for the first time and stuck with her favorite, the mini-corndogs for lunch.  We fed lots and lots of animals in the "petting zoo" there, and were delighted by dog shows, piglet races, and a birds of prey adventure.  We also got to see the coolest giant pumpkin carving demonstration and to drive new cars at the Chevy Test Track.  Daniel and Greg thoroughly enjoyed the CAR show, and even SaraKay found herself seated in her "dream car."

 
We met "BIG TEX" and even saved enough tickets to ride the GIANT TEXAS STAR FERRIS WHEEL!  There was much fun to be had and while our feet reminded us just how much we'd walked, we were so glad that we went and that SaraKay had the chance to experience this fair again, at an age where she will remember much of it. 

MIDWAY prizes... both found the "duckie" game to be the most
"user friendly" if you actually wanted a prize.  LOL













We rode it after sunset so that we could see everything lit up... it's quite an

experience requiring courage  for an 8 and 9 year old!!!

Because I like to learn about "traditions around the world" after we arrived back at Grampy and Grammy Turcotte's house that evening, we "camped out" in their RV on their land.  We did this because we are trying to honor and celebrate the JEWISH FESTIVALS/Feasts this year, and our visit up to the Dallas area fell right during the time of the "Feast of Tabernacles" or SUKKOT.  The whole point of the festival is to thank God for all of His provisions and for His generous forgiveness and to learn to really appreciate the promises He gave to our forefathers, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.  By building a "sukkah" or temporary, outdoor house, one can begin to appreciate and understand the dependency that the Israelites faced as they wandered in the Sinai desert those 40 years after the EXODUS.  The Sukkah is usually made out of natural materials, and has at least one opening in the ceiling so as to view the stars each evening/night.  Our sukkah was anything but "au naturale" but we did leave the windows open... that counts, right?  Seriously... we felt quite a bit closer to nature when those coyotes were yowling at 1am and the birdies were chirping at 4am.  Alas, if we have time, we'll put up our temporary TENT here at the house today and eat at least dinner in it tonight and then all meals in it tomorrow.  On the 20th of October, we will read through as much of the journey through the desert and recall just how and what God provided and is still providing for His beloved people. 

Earlier in the month, our little family celebrated "Rosh Hashanah" which is the Jewish New Year by learning about the stories behind these Autumn Feasts and partaking in the tradition of eating "apples and honey" to celebrate the SWEETness of the new year.  On Yom Kippur (the Jewish Day of Atonement) we fasted from dairy and all bread products and focused on the need for spiritual provision to feed our souls.

Now, things don't always go splendidly, and the enemy prowls around like a hungry lion looking to steal our joy and kill our witness to others, so don't let me lead you to believe that everything was perfect as we honored these feasts this Autumn.  Life is a journey, and God promises to give us peace like a RIVER... not a stagnant stream.  I think we're all learning to see God as not only the God of America, but as the God of His chosen people, Isreal, and all the nations and tribes around the world.  And again, let me clarify: we are NOT seeking to BECOME Jewish, only to celebrate our biblical roots that were founded in the Jewish faith, and lived out by our Savior, Jesus, who was born into a Jewish household and from the line of King David as prophesied over and over again in the Old Testament.

We serve a very powerful, faithful and generous God!  Above and below are a couple of pics of us in our "Sukkah for the Night" at G&G's house:

On Saturday, we celebrated SaraKay's 8th birthday by having lunch, pumpkin cake, and presents from Uncle Andy, Aunt Lindsey, Cousin Lenox, and Grampy & Grammy Turcotte.  SaraKay has been overjoyed to be back in Texas with her extended family, and we're looking fwd to getting to see Nana and Poppa Rehm at Christmas this year! 

On Tuesday, I (aka Mom) made SaraKay's favorite meals throughout the day: super-cheesy omelets with Greek yogurt in a mini-pie-crust for breakfast; mac n cheese for lunch, and then Zaxby's for dinner.  I also had made a flop of a cake the night before, but thankfully, was able to salvage enough of it to make a white gourd-pumpkin cake for the 4 of us to eat after our outing with our new neighbor friends at Zaxby's.  On that note... praise the Lord for His provision for Greg that afternoon through our neighbor, Adam.   Daddy's Dodge RAM Pickup Truck broke down on him on the highway on his way back from the FMC class he was co-teaching all day here up at Lonestar College.  The PowerSteering went completely out just as he was pulling into the FMC parking lot, and thankfully, he was able to "muscle" it into a parking space.  He took leave from his class to work on it after lunch... what a stud!  But here's the real miracle, if it wasn't enough that God spared Greg from getting in an accident on the way to work, on the way home from work, the truck began to overheat and it began to leak fluid just off Beltway 8 and Hwy 249 and stall again!  Greg pulled off the side of the road while fluid leaked all over the ground.  Oh no... what to do now?  Our AAA coverage is expired!  Well, let me just tell you how God graciously provided for my personal sanity and Greg's safety, through our neighbor Adam.  He just happened to have left his Secret Service office 40 minutes late that night, and just "happened to be" driving that same route just as Greg needed the lift.  Adam's wife, Laura and I were just in awe of the perfect timing of that rescue!  We were both at our homes, supervising our girls at my house and our guys at her house, while we burned up the cell phone texts back and forth to help guide our hubbies toward each other.  Because Adam was able to pick Greg up, the 9 of us were still able to go out to dinner at Zaxby's to celebrate Skay's birthday, as we have previously planned to do.   Now that's what "community" is all about, people!!!  What a day, what a day!

 

SaraKay's 8th Birthday!!!

SaraKay has been havin a BIGGER THAN TEXAS kind of 8th birthday!

The four of us went to the Texas State Fair on Friday, October 15th.
SaraKay was treated to a caramel apple with nuts and corn dogs. She was plenty happy to help us
eat the fried autumn pumpkin pie before we headed home to Grampy and Grammy's house for the night.

The next day, Grammy made up cookies and SaraKay decorated them. Then, Uncle Andy, Aunt Lindsey and almost 3 year old cousin Lenox came over for lunch and for birthday cake. We watched the A&M game but Skay didn't find that too interesting, so she, Lenox and Grampy went out and rode on his tractor/wagon. They had a ball!

On Tuesday, SaraKay was treated to super-cheesy omelets & greek yogurt in a mini-pie crust for breakfast, homemade mac-n-cheese for lunch, and then went to Zaxby's for kids meals with our new neighbor friends, Payton, Camden, Braedan, Ms. Laura and Mr. Adam. We made cupcakes and then mommy brought out the super-duper-deliciouso pumpkin mini-cake for Skay to enjoy as she closed her big day!

So it's move-it-all-outta-the-apartment week!
We had a ball ministering alongside about 15 new friends at the nursing home last Saturday
in celebration of Cypress Bible Church's BREAKING DOWN THE WALLS outreach day.
SaraKay, Daniel & I played a whole lotta BINGO with the residents and SaraKay's new friend even won a round w/her help.  Daniel was trying to keep up with 2 different bingo cards, so it was a good challenge and it stretched him, both mentally and spirtually.

Greg unbended and rebent wire coat-hangers for about 2 hours to help them prepare for their next in-house craft - the yard doggie.  Gotta say that it looks like more work than it's worth, but then so much for my two cents!
I also did a couple of manicures for the residents and that was fun.  It's been a long time since I actually had to FILE DOWN someone's nails.  Skay and I are both nail biters (yeah, I know... nasty habit) but I have always justified the habit with the piano teacher montra: short nails lead to faster fingers on the keyboard!

Sister-and-Brother-In-Law Barry & Adele came and helped Greg move a whole bunch of boxes and odds and ends out of our storage unit last Saturday.  What a blessing!  Greg's goal is to have it emtied by Sept. 30th, so that we don't incur another month of charges at "Uncle Bob's Storage."  Come on baby... we can get 'er done!

This week, the kids and I have been trekking back and forth from the apartment to the new house with all sorts of odds and ends that won't "pack" well this weekend.  We

SCHOOL most all day between 9am and 2:30pm over here at the house and then I've let them swim in the pool... what a reward!!

Saturday, we are hoping to have several new friends from our small group at church help us move furniture and our freshly REPACKED boxes from the apartment over here to the house.  We are grateful for anyone who will show up.
I'm hosting a hamburger and hot dog lunch here at NOON to motivate all of us!
Then... let's change out of our nasty clothes and get in that awesome pool!  Please be praying for the safety of Greg, myself and the other adults and teenagers that help us move this weekend.  We are so appreciative of the help!

Here's a few pics of the last week... they'll be a lot more cardboard in my next three days... for now, it's just school work, weeding, and painting to the __th degree for this mama!

SaraKay helped babysit a friend's little girl while we painted bedrooms.

I love DATE nights though - and am very thankful to have one a week again now that we have the kids in an evening activitiy that allows us one night of total freedom.  It's wonderful.  Blessings.  ~K

My friend, Lauren, from the apartment complex, came and helped me get started painting Monday morning.

Today, Greg the kids and I are going to rock out calling out BINGO with lovely elderly people, possibly give a few manicures to a few 80 year old beauties and then move a ton of boxes, with the help of Uncle Barry & Aunt Adele,  from our storage unit  to our new house's garage.  It's going to be a day of helping out around town, beginning with Cypress Bible Church's "Breaking Down the Walls" visit to the Nursing Home Facility. at 10am. 
http://www.cypressbible.org/