I have a 5 year old!!

Since my last post i have become the mother of a 5 year old!! my little girl is growing up so fast! she told me that now that she is five she is not going to call me mommy anymore, but "mom" because she is big now....tear! and of course daddy is now "dad." thankfully she often forgets! We had an awesome birthday party at jump'n'jive in prairieville with a great turnout. Gabby definitely felt special for her big day.

This weekend is an eventful one with our church. Today kicks off the annual servolution event. We will be doing a widow's outreach tomorrow with our connect group and my mom is going to join us too. I am excited to get Gabby involved in these outreaches. I pray that she will adopt a sense of service early in life. As with most things the earlier they are introduced the easier and better they learn. It is our goal to create a culture of service in our family, one small step at a time.

Also this weekend are the first Sunday services in the new arena. this has been such a long time coming and we are so excited to see what God has in store for the future of HPC. We know that so many lives will be touched and changed, as ours have, through their ministry. It is just an amazing thing to be a part of. We are so blessed to have found an fabulous church home.

Will report back about servolution and new arena!!

A LOT HAS HAPPENED!

So it's been a while since my last post (why cannot i not keep up with this as much as i am on the computer?!). Since then we have had yet another snow day that did result in actual snow, but not nearly as much as we got last year! Also since my last post the SAINTS WON THE SUPERBOWL!!!! It was AMAZING!! It was just Carter, Andrew and me watching cozy in our house (Gabby fell asleep in our bed watching The Sound of Music) but we had SO MUCH FUN and were on the edge of our seats! (It was a close game almost the entire time.) Also on Superbowl Sunday we dedicated our children and family as a whole at Healing Place Church. We were so pround to make a public commitment to raising our family for God's glory. Before the service we hosted a brunch at our home. We thought this would be a great time to get the family together and also for some of our family who has never been to experience our church, which is such a big part of our life.

Carter and I, along with John and Adrienne, have started leading a monthly connect group for married couples. We started in January and in March we (should) have our first couple!! We are blessed to have amazing "coaches," David and Lisa Latona, to guide and support us on this journey! They are so down to earth, easy to talk to and just plain fun! As part of becoming leaders in the church we are also taking a leadership development class on Sunday mornings. We had to miss the first because of the family dedication and I had to miss the 2nd because Andrew had fever. So this past Sunday was my first class. I am really looking forward to it. I think it is going to really challenge me to get it in gear when it comes to not only reading, but studying the Bible daily.

Other than that, life is great!! We are looking forward to a very busy spring. Gabby is turning 5 in a couple of weeks and we are having a blowout birthday bash at Jump-n-Jive!!

Gotta Love Louisiana!

Gotta love Louisiana! Temp drops below 25 and every school system shuts down! I was supposed to have a productive yet relaxing day off today while the kids were at school. instead they were home with me!! my meeting with ms. tate (principal at oak grove primary) was moved to tuesday since school was closed today. so i have a little more time to prepare. BUT i did get to keep my hair appointment with trish (Salon Dolce Vida) thanks to a great friend (CARA!). busy weekend ahead: leadership training in the morning (BRRRR!!) followed by jump-n-jive birthday party. then we are watching the maginnis kids so they can have a date night. Sunday is my first tutoring session with Noah (cara's son). I really hope I can help him. I am praying for wisdom in this area. I am new to this! Then sunday night, we have accountability group.

Monday starts the HPC fast. I am going to really pray this weekend about how to go about it. 3 weeks of prayer and fasting to start off the new year.

Kate's Christmas Confections 2009

Baking Christmas goodies is a longstanding tradition for me and my mom. I love giving a mix of treats as gifts to neighbors, co-workers, kids' teachers, etc. In the past our staple every year we have made "Neiman Marcus" cookies. They are absolutely to die for! BUT they are a lot of work and I just did not feel up to it this year.

Instead, all of my recipes came from Sandra Lee's Semi-Homemade magazine Christmas issue. This (in my opinion) is her best issue that I have received. It has some great party food and even meals, too. The "White Trash" mix (or some call it "Puppy Chow") was inspired by my sister-in-law Adrienne.

As soon as I get a chance I am going to post pictures and recipes for my 5 Christmas Confections fo 2009 (and I am also going to throw in a bonuse appetizer recipe, also from Sandra Lee Semi-Homemade magazine!)

45 minutes left!

It's currently 11:15 p.m. have not seen this time in a while!! We had an INCREDIBLE Christmas Day!! We spent the day at home playing with the kids new toys and we even ALL got a nap in!! I am typing this post on my new MAC. THANKS DAD! It is such a blessing to have a brand new AWESOME computer. our old one is a joke!

We feel so blessed on this day. We are so fortunate to leave near family, who are our best friends. We have one more Christmas celebration tomorrow. We are going to meet mimi and poppy at perkins rowe. we are going to see "the princess and the frog" and then eat pizza and open the last round of presents.

Still have to put together Gabby's 3 story barbie doll house! that may take some time!!

It's Friday! welll...sort of!

Last day of work before Christmas! Gabby is SOO excited this year. Every year becomes more and more magical for her! I just hope I did not blow it this year....she found the wrapped Santa presents I so strategically placed under my bed! I had to quickly come up with a believable story, though I am not so sure she believed me! We will find out on Christmas morning! I would not put it past my little four year old to figure it all out!