Another Valentine Day has come and went. Some happy daughters in the house - some not so happy!! HA!! We finally all got healthy in our house. I think Ray, Sarah and Grandma were the only ones that escaped that virus from hell.
Valentine was on a weekend day so that was nice. Our day started out with breakfast by Ray and Grant. It was SO precious!! They made breakfast for all of us girls. After that Ray and Grant handed out their Valentine gifts. Ray and Grant had gotten all us girls our standard homemade cards (which are ALWAYS awesome&different) and chocolates and Grants conversation hearts that he loves to get the girls and read them to "the sisters". Ray usually gets all of us a bundle of flowers but he didn't this year, but the girls had another Valentine for the flowers! Austin came to pick Hannah up and brought all the girls flowers and precious poems that he had written each of them. So, they all really felt blessed even if they didn't have a Valentine for the day.
ALOT of years Ray and I stay home - usually we do because the restaurants are SO crowded. Since Ray is such a good cook he usually makes me a yummy dinner because Valentine is for girls only, or that is what he has always said. He usually makes something we don't have at home - crab, lobster - something special. When our kids were little we would have to be very creative...since nobody wants to babysit on Valentine Day at their house, we would do silly things. Ray loves surprises so 1 year he made steak/lobster and the works. He set up a table in our bedroom in front of our fireplace and it was SO special. He had music, candles and the thing I remember the most is, to drown out the kids downstairs - we turned on the box fan! It was a HOOT - I don't know what they were doing down there but Rach was in charge, usually, so I am sure they were fine.
SO, since Olivia didn't have plans which was shocking (plans with a girlfriend that is) she joined us for our dinner and it was yummy as always. Rachel went to help out a cousin with her kids so that she could go out. She was home fairly early to join in on the movie that we watched which I don't remember. It's usually a chick-flick but it got them all sappy and not enjoying being single.
Sarah being single, she wasn't looking forward to the day but she too embraced it and is enjoying her single days. She however had plans and left that afternoon to head to Waco for the rest of the weekend. She went to see a GREAT, new friend, Anna. A precious, AMAZING young lady that did the internship at IHOP when Sarah did it so she wanted to share the "single awareness day" with her. Anna's guy friends wanted to bless some of their girl friends with an awesome dinner outside, to serve them and bless them. After the dinner the guys took the ladies to a house and had a couple of artist come and sketch pictures of all the ladies - Sarah's turned out amazing. She had a great time and was VERY blessed to be with some amazing people and she was SO excited to meet new friends. Here is a few pictures of Ms. Sarah on V-Day...
Sarah and Anna
Then there was Hannah. This was her and Austin's 1st Valentine Day together and Hannah's 1st V-day with a boyfriend so she was very excited. She had gone to get a new outfit so she was ready. Austin had a whole day planned to celebrate and it started early in the day with a trip to the zoo. Here is a pix. from the zoo.
After that they got ready to go out for the evening. Sushi and a movie!! They are SO CUTE! It was everything Hannah had hoped her 1st Valentine Day would be! Here are a couple of them dressed up for the evening.
And that is the end of another kind of silly holiday. I love that Ray does something special on that day but he does things like that SO MANY OTHER DAYS of the year!! Since we have 4 daughters he has always wanted to show them that this is how you should expect to be treated by your guy 1 day. It is up to them how they want to celebrate the day. But Ray cherishing us girls is a great example of how you honor the women in your life.
HAPPY 26th ANNIVERSARY RAY!!!!!
This is a little recap of our love story.... I will write this because inevitably I write things that my girls say, I didn't know that. Then I will get to a love note to HIM, my PRINCE!
Today marks 26 years of being married to Ray. We are starting tomorrow on year 27!! WOW!! I have been married to him twice as long as I wasn't dating/married to him. Our journey started when I was 11 YEARS OLD!! He was almost 14 and he actually was IN LOVE with 1 of my older sisters. She was his age, they were in the 8th grade and he asked her to the homecoming game for our high school football team. He had been madly in love with Tricia for a good couple of years (who wasn't in love with her, sounds like someone else I know ; ) ). She had decided to go with him on the date and Ray and his Dad came to pick her up. They sat in the back seat and away they went. She was VERY mature for her age and not only was she mature but she was TALL. SO, being about a 1/2 a head taller then him - "she just wasn't in to him". She is amazing but she along with my other 4 older sisters usually dated OLDER guys so Ray and Tricia were really destined not to last. Well, when he brought her home he decided that he had 1 chance with the famous "Tricia Short" so we took a chance and made his move. Along with it being his 1st kiss it was also her 1st kiss!! HA!! The funniest thing was - she was SO much taller, that he had to stand on the curb to accomplish the deed, also he had hurt his arm so it was bandaged! OH MY!! Anyway, the relationship didn't go anywhere. But here is the pix. that slightly confused my children, "Is that Aunt Tricia"?
That is where I come in. After that football season basketball season started. Tricia was a cheerleader so we went to the basketball games and who do you think was on the 8th grade basketball team - RAY!! OH HOW CUTE HE WAS and IS!!! I was IN LOVE!!! I seriously can still remember the day that I saw him and feeling like I LOVE HIM!! It is funny to think of now. SO, here this 11 year old - almost 12, 6th grader is in love with this awesome, 1 of the most popular, athletes, ALL the girls liked him - GUY!! Here are some cool guy pix.
The only thing I probably had going for me was that I was a Short (my maiden name) and that I looked probably 16 when I was 12. SO, I went to ANY bb game that I could just to see him and I began to daydream. I daydreamed and prayed and confessed and believed that he would be MY husband. That last statement IS the TRUTH, that is EXACTLY what I did and believed. Well bb season came to an end and then shortly after that was the summer. Me being alot like my younger girls - I hung out with my older sisters, therefore I acted older and I indeed looked older. SO, this is where the 1st recollection that "The Ray Baker" noticed me. We were at Mustang Park near Crowley Texas where we grew up and I was in a black bikini (that's what he tells me because I don't remember this but those were the days). He saw me walking at the beach area there and he turned to his friend and asked who that was. His friend told him that I was Tricia's little sister - Ray quickly turned back to me and told his friend that he would MARRY ME!!! Well, being 12 and 14 1/2 there was NO cars involved so the only time that we saw each other was at school sports. BUT, he did begin to call me and our budding relationship started, we could talk FOREVER. That winter I had a school (at my ELEMENTARY!!!) carnival and he came with some of his COOL friends. Here enters in the 1st GIFT he got me. I of course STILL have it, it is a silver ID bracelet that they engraved right there and it says Merry Christmas and on the back it says, December 1976!! WOW!! That is A LONG TIME AGO!! So after that I began to babysit his nieces and nephews for his sisters. He has 6 sisters and 1 brother and him being the 7th - he had LOTS of nieces and nephews - SO, I became the babysitter for most of them. WELL, 1 night I was babysitting for 1 sister and conveniently Ray and his friend came over. His friend left and Ray stayed - probably not smart. After the kids went to bed we watched a movie - its OK people this is rated G!! Our 1st kiss happened that night - I WAS A BABY!! But anyway I knew NO BETTER - just a kiss though people. From that night on we were going steady, aaahhh. I got him - I got the best - my sister WAY missed out (she has an AMAZING husband too)!! Our dating went through me in Junior High and then I got to highschool with him and we were in HS together for 2 years. It was a BLAST!!! Here I am sitting on his knee - I was never taller then him, HA. I was probably 15 and Ray was 18.
Then I moved the summer before my Junior year to Arlington - Ray had graduated and he was living here and there. Then the summer that I turned 17, 17--OH MY GOSH!! We decided to get married! He was tired of taking me home - nothing spiritual, sorry. But I knew in my knower that he was my PRINCE!! So after my Mom went with us to get our marriage license to sign me away because I wasn't 18 - we got married!! A great wedding and reception & REALLY good pictures!! YAY!!! It was magical!! Here are a few pix. of the BIG DAY!!
This is a picture when I was 18 - I think it looks like Sarah and Hannah - a mixture. Sarah CONSTANTLY puts her hand on her face like this!!
We were married for 2 1/2 years before Rachel was born. It has been the MOST WONDERFUL marriage I have ever known. He is TRULY, THE BEST HUSBAND in the WORLD!! We have NEVER had 1 time that we even had 1 tiny thought of not wanting to be married! We have had SO MUCH FUN together! We are really a perfect team. He is such a better person then I am - he is SO selfless, it puts me to shame. He is near perfection for sure!!
I will stop there and maybe some time I will pick the love story up from there. I am going to try to scan some pictures of us WAY BACK THEN - *I did it!
What I thought I would do is something that Ray did for me on our 15 anniversary - I will write 26 reasons I LOVE HIM!!!!
1. He LOVES the LORD our GOD with ALL his HEART, SOUL and MIND!!!
2. He seeks GOD for our FAMILY and he never stops PRAYING for us ALL!!!
3. He is THE Spiritual LEADER of our home and he is a husband and father that we can follow.
4. He is the BEST Daddy - I have found NO Dad that compares to him!
5. He is MY BEST FRIEND! There is NOBODY on this earth that I would rather go anywhere with, do anything with, experience anything new with!
6. He has the BEST character, the most AMAZING integrity and the strongest convictions!
7. He LOVES me with ALL HIS HEART!
8. He has a deep commitment to Our Marriage Covenant!
9. He brings such PEACE to ANY situation!
10. He is VERY HANDSOME, his smile MELTS my heart!! He FILLS our home with HUMOR!!
11. He is an AMAZING cook and he LOVES to serve his family! He is just a wonderful example of Jesus. He lays down his life for us.
12. He is a FANTASTIC example to our daughters of the man they should wait for and for Grant to strive to be!!
13. He has searched the Word of God and he ministers to our family DAILY!!
14. He LOVES adventure and is usually up for ANYTHING!
15. He is a MAN'S Man and he REALLY connects with women. I LOVE THAT!!
16. He is VERY handy - can pretty much fix anything!
17. He is such a servant to anyone that needs him - HE IS THERE!
18. He LOVES to be with ME! We can do ANYTHING and we just LOVE being together!!
19. He has patience like none other!! Especially with me, over the years.
20.He saw me through the Lord eyes when I wasn't such a prize.
21. He is a WONDERFUL provider and has worked 3 jobs in our marriage to provide and let me stay home.
22. He helped make 5 of the most AMAZING, WONDERFUL, INCREDIBLE people I know!! His genes w/ mine make REALLY PRETTY babies!!
23. He is an AMAZING example to so many young men that need a GODLY example in their relationships. I LOVE that!!
24. He humors me with being interested in ANYTHING that I am interested in. He REALLY does a good job at this!!
25. He has SO MANY more words then most men - we can seriously still talk ALL NIGHT LONG!!
25 1/2. He loves me NO MATTER what! He looks at me like I am that 17 year old he married.
26. He is the ONE and ONLY person that I CAN'T WAIT to grow old with!! I can't wait to be sitting with him and holding hands, talking about what the Lord is doing through our children and grandchildren (oh wow, that will be AWESOME) and really knowing what each other is thinking -- FOR THE REST OF OUR LIVES!!!
I COULD go ON & ON & ON!! For REAL!!! He is such a MAN among MEN!! He is SO HUMBLE and doesn't take ANY credit for any of the above!
SO, as our Anniversary draws to an end we reflect on 26 years of serving the Lord side by side -- parenting our children and going through 5 PREGNANCIES! -- trying to do our best to be parents to children that have such DESTINY and PURPOSE! -- continually being used by the Lord, for HIS glory! -- and just enjoying this JOURNEY that we are ON TOGETHER!! We are SO not a glimmer of what we were 26 years ago (OH how thankful I am for that). I thank Ray for seeing something inside of me that gave him hope that someday I would turn out to be a good wife and the wife that he so deserved (it was touch and go at first). I told 1 of the girls today that my prayer for them is that the Lord brings them someone even 1/4 as amazing as their Dad is. Of course I really pray that their husbands are even more amazing then their Dad but that probably isn't possible - well after 26 years maybe. He has FOR SURE gotten better with time/wisdom/knowledge (don't we all)! We are EXCITED about the next 26 years! We have many more memories to look forward to - GRANDCHILDREN, I think we are most excited for!! He will be the BEST Pop! Seeing the call that the Lord has placed on our life as a couple and on our children - that will be exciting to see come to it's fullness. But in all of that we are just ready for tomorrow - the simple things of waking up and loving each other. Laughing through the "getting older" stuff - being there for eachother when 1 is up and the other could be down!! But I will stop for now.... Thank you Ray Baker for choosing ME! Me to be the LUCKIEST WOMEN IN THE WORLD!!! I will DIE never FULLY thinking I deserve you! You are MY HERO for sure!!! I love you more then words could EVER, EVER, EVER say!!!
Can I just say WOW!?!? YES, I can... It has been not so fun around here for about the last week! It all began with Austin, last Saturday him and Hannah had a date. They went to the Mavs game and the guy felt HORRIBLE! That was the 1st sign around our house that someone in our midst was SICK! Then the next day all the girls went to the Benjamin's for the "Destiny made it to her due date" party. Well Rach was starting to feel bad that afternoon but by the time she got home she felt really bad (sorry everyone at the party)! So for the next several days after that it was Austin and Rachel coughing and coughing and coughing (Rachel mostly). They felt SO bad and by Tuesday I made Rach go to then Dr. to get something, ANYTHING!! Well by Wednesday evening Olivia started feeling bad and SO DID GRANT!! OH BOY! Whatever this virus is that is straight from hell - it usually starts with fever, fever that last 3 to 4 days, a NASTY cough, body aches, headache, some had congestion. Pretty much every symptom of the flu. So Rachel, Sunday - Liv and Grant, Wed. and then there was Ms. Hannah. She started feeling bad on Friday at work. She came home early and was pretty pitiful all evening. Most of my kiddos are really tough and they don't like to give into feeling bad. Hannah is 1 of those so Friday was bad but Saturday is date night and she was going out. After they got back from the movies Austin told us that at a really important part of the movie she lets out a cough that was loud enough that someone near them said - what did she say (on the movie). It seems that the 3rd day for them all have been the WORST and that was Hannah's day today. She passed on church to sleep in and headed to her boys to spend the day and evening. THANK GOD! 1 less kid to take care of - let him do it. She had a MISERABLE day and Liv was here at home thinking her throat was being stabbed with a knife. SO, enough for me! Ray took her to the Dr. - side note for the future - any emergency visits that aren't planned Ray takes the kids to. Unless it is of course a real emergency and we would both be there. But if it is not a planned visit - he takes them. Its worked out nice and he gets to share in the fun. Of course the unplanned visit are when the kids are usually the most miserable so SORRY HONEY! Anyways, Liv got a shot and an antibiotic! OH BOY!! OH, how could I have forgotten sweet Casey! She came to join the fun of Saturday. She lives in Dallas, she is living here away from her Momma so when she talked to the kids and said she was miserable - I said come on and we will take care of you! She felt SO BAD too! It was a CRAZY weekend for sure.
I praised the LORD all weekend because Ray worked some Friday but he was home the whole rest of the weekend. We are such a good team - sometimes we would look at each other and only be able to laugh. 1 evening they were all coughing (driving us NUTS) and we would make fun of them to each other like only a Dad and Mom can. Some would throw up from so much coughing or congestion (Ray's the throw up cleaner upper--did I mention he is the BEST). We both went to the store to shop and it was heaven - we were OUT OF THE HOUSE!! We came home with Gatorade, waters, juices boxes and every known kind of Popsicle - more cough drops, more ibuprofen and more flu medicine! WHAT A WEEKEND!! We also bought the fixins to make an AWESOME homemade chicken noodle soup - it was FAB!
I think Rach is on the mend and I think by tomorrow Mr. Grant will be better. Liv is a couple days away maybe, maybe the shot will do her right and she will be SO GOOD tomorrow (I'm believing for that). Hannah is taking off work tomorrow and hoping to feel better. Big thanks to Austin for taking care of her. Funny story - Austin called me sometime today while she was there and she wanted him to ask me what she could take because she was feeling SO BAD. Well I told him and after I got off the phone I told Ray that Hannah wasn't do good at all. He instantly said she needed to come home because she needed her Dad. Well we have always been a team when our kids were sick and we would actually fight over them because I am the Mom and I wanted them and he was the Dad and he wanted them - sometimes it would be tug-a-war. So anyways, I had to tell him that she didn't need her Dad she was right where she wanted to be and Austin was taking very good care of her. He didn't want to believe it but of course he knew that was true! A little sad but true!!
So, Praise be to GOD, Ray and I are not sick, Grandma is NOT sick and the only child that isn't sick and hasn't gotten sick and really refuses to get sick is Ms. Sarah! She said she is clearly the only 1 living right - HA, what did Grant do... SO, she is very grateful to be healthy! She is flying out to go to Kansas City on Wednesday for about 3 or 4 days and then she is making a trek with her old roommate to go to Tuscon, Arizona. A 21 hr. drive that I think they are gonna go a couple of hrs. out of the way and come here for a night or 2. SO - she has NO TIME to get this JUNK! NO TIME AT ALL!!! She's got places to go and stuff to do! I am believing with her and pumping her full of vitamin C, mannatech, airborne and anything else we can find.
OH, in the middle of the week (Wednesday) Destiny had her precious baby boy Shiloh. Hannah, Liv and Sarah got to go be at the hospital to wait for his arrival. Rachel was to sick and she was ticked about that! We are so happy Shiloh is here. Of course that was the evening that Liv started feeling bad - sorry everyone at the hospital. I tell you, you can feel guilty about infecting people but like my Mom has said before - people can get this stuff off of a shopping cart.
So anyways, NO PICTURES with this blog. NOBODY needs their picture made around here but Sarah. She's still looking cute as ever but the rest, aren't picture ready!! OK, I am writing this to show my children 1 day that they OWE US for taking care of them! HA, I wonder if it will work.... My next blog will be that everyone is healthy, Sarah didn't get sick and we are all healthy, happy and wise...ha!
HOWDY!! Something Adam probably didn't care about hearing while he was here! HA!!
Well the very 1st day of 2009 we had a special guest come to stay for almost a week. Sarah had met Adam when she went to IHOP in KC back in July. They became fast friends and he was a big source of strength, encouragement and help to her while she was in Kansas City those 3 mths. Adam had never been to Texas and we needed a way to get Sarah's car and stuff back to Texas and being the servant he is, he offered to make the trek to Texas! He had just ended a job so he was able to stay a while so we tried to give him the Texas welcome and show him some sights!
Also on New Years Day (actually around 2 in the morning) Mia and Blaire came to visit from Mississippi!! Blaire was a surprise because we thought only Mia was coming for the long weekend, so that was awesome. They stayed with Megan at her place. So, Adams 1st day we had hang out time with our family and friends - dinners, movies, xbox, wii, playing music and talks - you know the stuff we do at The Bakers!
The weather could not have been any more perfect then it was while he was here. Coming from Kansas City and some already really COLD and SNOWY days this winter - he was in heaven with the Texas weather. So the girls wanted to take him to see the Dallas sights, it was Friday the 3rd. Mind you some of the sights my kids had never seen so some of them they all saw for the 1st time together! They had a LONG, full day that started out with BEAUTIFUL weather and ended up a little chilly. It was the 3 girls (Hannah was at a wedding that Austin was in) and then somewhere in the day Casey met up with them. She actually became the city guide and was a lifesaver!
The pictures are pix of their DAY IN DALLAS!!
1st stop was West Village
SILLY LOOKS!
Adam couldn't stop!
Coffee stop at Gachets
The 6th floor museum - place where they believe the shots came from that killed JFK!
Place in the road that JF Kennedy was shot in his car.
They went to the AA Center HOPING to get cheap tickets to the Dallas Mavericks game that was going on. NO GO!
AA Center
They ended their evening at Cafe Brazil for dinner.
After dinner they went to Emanuel's apt. to see Travis - it was his birthday!
This is Adam and Liv on Emanuel's balcony - NICE!!
They saw many others things that they didn't take pictures of. They actually found a House of Prayer somewhere near downtown. Sarah and Adam ran in, because of parking they didn't all get out but I think that was his highlight. He loved how quaint it was and he really felt the presence of the Lord. SO, I think their Dallas trip was a success and Adam got to enjoy a little piece of our GREAT STATE!!
The next day was FORT WORTH!!! We started a little late of course but we ALL went so enough said. Actually everyone but Mr. Grant because he went to a cousins and then went to a sleepover/birthday. So it was the rest of us, Adam and Austin. Everyone was STARVING so our 1st stop was Joe T. Garcia's, which is a very popular Mexican food restaurant in Ft. Worth. We waited for a table outside and it was WELL WORTH THE WAIT. What a beautiful day again it was - the Lord shined down on Adam, literally! He of course wanted to have Mexican food on his visit and he was not disappointed at all. Here is a couple pix. of us there and our wait - pix. taking always helps the time go by when you are waiting for a table.
This was the Fab 3 in the back of the van - I think they stopped long enough from playing on iphones for a picture!
WAITING...
This was the spot we ate - we had favor and had the BEST spot in the patio/garden!
This is the cute couple trying out a "new pose"!
SO, after a VERY long lunch that was filled with visiting and LOTS of stories we thought we would head to the stockyards. We tried to hurry the lunch so we could all hook up with Austin's 2 sisters and their families that were already down in the stockyard area. We wanted to see the cattle drive that is re-enacted every day down there but we missed it. The street is Exchange (i believe) and while driving down it we spotted Austin's family. So everyone but Ray and I jumped out to go see them and visit for a bit. We couldn't find anywhere to park so we went around a few times and then they met back up with us. Adam saw from the van the famous Riscky's Barbeque and the place where farmers still buy and sell cattle downtown. He saw many Cowboys - no Indians and who knows if they were "real" cowboys! We also drove by all the buildings downtown - its so pretty.
Here is the street that is famous and to be honest - I have NEVER been down that street! I have for the most part lived here all my life and I have never been there! LOTS of great places to take pictures so I will be back.
This is really cute pix. of Austin with his niece Ashlyn at the Stockyards.
SO, our "Day in FORT WORTH" ended a little quicker then planned. Our intentions were to walk around in the downtown area - go to the HUGE Barnes and Noble, maybe go to Starbucks and stay gone long enough to take Adam to a barbeque restaurant to have Texas barbeque for dinner. WELL, the girls weren't in the walking way, if you know what I mean - ALL 4 of them!! SO we headed home! It wound up great - Blaire and Mia came over and the piano & guitar magically appeared. Austin sang for us and made us very happy - Blaire and Sarah sang for us and made us very happy so it was a SOLID day! WOW, I am tired thinking and typing it all!
The next day was Sunday! Sunday was the Benjamin/Baker gathering at our house. It was the 1st time since Hannah and Austin have been dating that we have all been together. Every Benjamin came, we were all here of course, Megan and Jenae (she is actually the person that is responsible for us meeting Austin and then his family - thank you Jenae). We had such a wonderful time with them all. We had dinner and visited the evening away. Sad to say, NO PICTURES!!
So that concludes a few days... We had such a nice visit with Adam. Ray enjoyed SO MUCH talking about the Lord with him every morning, as the rest of us slept. Grant had a ball doing boy stuff. He is such a great guy and he will be a family friend for hopefully a REALLY long time!! So that is 3 of the days that Adam came a visiting to TEXAS!!
Well it's been a while since I have updated this and I am not to happy about that but time has, gone who knows where. After my last update we have had many things happening around here. I guess shortly after that the next big holiday/event was NEW YEARS!!! YAY, out with 2008 and in with 2009.
2008 for The Bakers was full of ~ beginnings and endings ~ growing pains and great learning ~ joys and sorrows ~ starts and finishes ~ darkness and light ~ adventures and limitations ~ waiting and going forward ~ so all of that to say we are all on a journey... the journey was tough for some, beyond joyous for others but a grand journey that we are all on with the Lord by our side.
So to put that all behind us and start NEW is always great. I will start my update from New Years Eve and on... Rachel and Sarah celebrated their New Years Eve with cousins. They had a great night of snacks, games and fellowship. Nothing like COUSINS!! They did the unpardonable sin and didn't take a pictures but take it from me they looked cute - HA! Hannah, Liv and Austin started out their evening going to Casey's apt. for dinner - OH, Preston was with them too. Casey fixed an awesome dinner for them. Then off they went to Emanuel's new COOL apt. that overlooks downtown Dallas. They enjoyed friends and actually rang in the New Year in downtown Dallas. Of course they always want pictures (they know how to make Momma happy)! So the next pictures are from their evening out. Starting at home - it was a black and white themed party so they were dressed up quite cute, of course.
The last night of 2008
The cute couple
The AMAZING dinner Casey cooked
Beignets that Hannah helped cook
The Host of the PARTY!!
Matt and Becca with Austin and Hannah
Lots of people
Ready for a New Year together
Where she likes to be - close!
YEAH!! for 2009!!!
1 more SISTER pix! They are TRUE BEAUTIES
Then there was Ray, Grant, Grandma and I. Well we rang in the New Year with ordering in a yummy dinner from a much to expensive restaurant, watching an old movie and Grant constantly asking his Dad - are you still awake. I of course waited for everyone to come home and the boys went to bed shortly after the clock stuck 12! It is very surreal to think that I have spent almost 30 New Years Eve's with my guy! I can't remember ever NOT being with him on NYE! We usually spend a little bit of time reflecting on the year - what we would do different, what we wished we would have done, what we are GONNA do in the New Year. But we always end our talk with THANKING the Lord for ALL of our MANY BLESSINGS!!! Our children are our truest riches and we could NEVER thank Him enough for them. SO, Happy New Year!!! May all of our DREAMS, VISIONS and PRAYERS be answered, may the Lord have more of us, may our eyes forever be on the 1 that created the stars, may we live a life that if pleasing to our Lord, Jesus Christ and may we show the LOVE of JESUS to the WORLD in 2009!!
Sarah and Anna
After that they got ready to go out for the evening. Sushi and a movie!! They are SO CUTE! It was everything Hannah had hoped her 1st Valentine Day would be! Here are a couple of them dressed up for the evening.
