Just one week till everyone in my family will be over to celebrate with food and gifts. There should be 21 in all. Our family keeps growing each year and latest news is that Robert & Lexi will be adding another little one to our family in July. I already consider Brandon and Rebecca as part of the family even though they officially will not be until Jan 1, 2003 and May 10, 2003, (the dates of their marriages to my children Christina and Brad). This year I decided on having a Christmas Eve talent show. Everyone is suppose to perform a talent by reading a poem, story, singing a song, dancing a dance, or a skit, something to share with the rest of the family. I read the idea in a magazine and thought maybe this would make a great family tradition especially with our large family.
Christina’s wedding is only 2 weeks away. Brandon purposed in July and the wedding plans have been constantly in the making. It took us months to find the right location. My Mother’s church was too small, our church was too large, the hotels too expensive. Finally we narrowed it down to two locations. One was a nice two story building especially designed for weddings, but the wedding would be upstairs, and Jeff would have to be carried up the stairs. They have no elevator. The other was a beautiful plantation home where the owners lived there and rented it out for weddings. The wedding would be outside and the dance would be in a tent with twinkle lights surrounding the inside. However we were concerned since the wedding is in January and even in Texas it could be cold and rainy. Christina was getting anxious. She needed to make a decision so she could order the invitations. I prayed that night one of those special prayers of a Mother in desperation. “God, please help us find the perfect place for my daughter’s wedding. We do not have much money but she deserves to have a beautiful wedding. One of my jobs as a Mother is to help her with her wedding, and You promised to help me take care of her….” The next day the owner of the Plantation gave me a web address that had pictures a photographer had taken during a wedding at there site. The pictures would help give us an idea of how it looks at night. It was “wedding#3” on the web page. So I decided to check out wedding number 1 and 2. There is was the perfect location that my daughter dreamed of. The dance floor was gorgeous, the interior exquisite. There was only one problem, I did not know where it was located. One picture showed a groom looking out the door window. On the glass door was written ___?___ Vista. I gathered the pile of wedding literature we had been collecting and found a book with names of wedding locations listed. I searched through all the names looking for one with Vista at the end. Sure enough I found it - Colo Vista, and a visit to their website confirmed that it was the one. Once we arrived to view the site Christina loved the huge spiral staircase for her to walk down, the beautiful décor, the large glass windows overlooking the golf course and Colorado River, and the white marble dance floor. It was everything she dreamed of, and the answer to my Prayer. And speaking of dreams and Prayers. During Brad and Rebecca’s engagement party on May 10th,Craig asked Christina when she was going to find Mr. Right. She told him she did not think He would ever show up. In June she introduced us to Brandon, and on July 21st he proposed. The first time we met Brandon we knew He was the one that God had specially selected for our Christina. We pray often that God will bring the right spouses for all 10 of our children. Brandon fits right in with our family. He loves Baseball, Family, God, Jasmine and our beautiful daughter Christina. He is smart, good looking and has a wonderful education, and is fun to be around. So we are very excited about what God is doing in our daughter Christina‘s life.
Tyler & PaPa Dancing
Robert, Lexi, Jaymen and Tyler have moved back to Texas. They are staying with their cousin April and her husband in Hutto, Texas, just 20 minutes from our home. We were elated when they called from California to tell us that they were moving away. I was praying daily asking God to send them back. It is too hard to have my children all over the country. Tyler was only 4 months old when they left so I felt like I missed him growing up. We are working hard on making up for lost time. He is such a awesome little boy. And Jaymen has grown so much. I missed them last Christmas and on their Birthdays. During their trip back to Texas they called every night, and again when they were only a few hours away. It was their 2nd Anniversary and everyone was over here waiting for them to arrive. When I saw that huge Ryder Truck driving up the street with Lexi driving their car behind it … I burst into tears of joy. My son had returned. I had never been away from any of my children for such a long time. I was elated when Brad returned from Dallas last year in September, but now all of my seven children and their families are here. Robert and Lexi are expecting in July.
Lew is still at the Money Box always doing great. He has been the anchor in our family. I have never known of a brother who has helped their family as much as he does. When Robert wanted to move his family back, Lew and Christina opened up their home so they could get their feet on the ground. Lew made it affordable for Brad to buy his car from him. When Christina wanted to buy a home Lew agreed to go in with her so she could afford it. Lew works in south Austin now, so whenever Grandma needs any help, he goes by after work. Whenever anyone needs anything Lew is always there. His name means Determined Protector and that he is!
Brad and Rebecca are doing great. Rebecca is in school, and Brad is working and also getting college credits. They are planning their wedding for May 10, 2003. They almost got married last May 10th, but they decided to wait so her Mom and sisters can be here, and have a bigger wedding. Rebecca is making all A’s at school and working half a day. I am really proud of both of them for their hard work in getting their lives back on track! God always has a plan to turn things around and He never gives up on us. That is why it is so important for parents to never give up on their children. Just keep praying and trusting God to keep them safe in His hands.
Jeff and Robert Jeff is doing great. He keeps improving and getting stronger every day. He is able to do almost everything on his own. He needs help getting started and going to bed, but during the day he is pretty self sufficient. He loves to spend time on the computer. He is constantly reading the news and never forgets to spend his morning time in the Bible. He is an example of Peace to everyone who knows him. This will be his 3rd Christmas with us since his 2nd car accident. He has always gone to Church with us on Sundays, but this year he asked Craig to take him to the store so he could shop for gifts for his sister and brother in Germany. We think he actually enjoyed the hustle and bustle of Christmas shopping.
Jennifer is doing good. She is now 15 and loves to spend her time on the computer making pictures and web pages. I think she gets that from her Mom! She can fix a problem on the computer or take it apart to find the problem. Jennifer’s best friend stayed with us for awhile. He wanted to finish school, and needed a place to sleep after he got off work. Since one extra person around our house is never a problem Craig said OK. We were proud of Moses when he graduated with honors. Then he joined the Marines. We saw him off, and then he came back for a few weeks after boot camp training in California. Moses came to accept Jesus Christ as his Lord and Savior while he was staying with us, so we adopted him as our Spiritual Son. We pray for him every night. He is stationed in North Carolina He will be home for Christmas and plans to be at Christina’s wedding.
Jonathan keeps up on all the sport news. He plays basketball with his Dad every chance he can get him out there. He practices for hours so he can beat his Dad and older brothers. And then they wonder why he can beat them. Size is not everything! Of course Baseball is his favorite. It was no wonder that Jonathan immediately Liked Brandon. Brandon was MVP of his college, and He wants to be a Baseball coach. Jonathan is thirteen now, and well, he is just an awesome son!
Jamie still loves her cats. She lost several this last year. She had many cats and kittens too. We are down to two cats and 1 kitten. She names them “Peace”, “”Sweetie” and “Grace” so it makes it hard to tell her that she must get rid of them. Mercy and Christian were twin yellow cats that got ran over in front of our house last month. It happened a month apart. Our street is pretty quiet until 5 o’clock traffic, and they just did not know to look out for fast cars. Jamie is so good about putting them up in the garage, but she lets them out during the day. Last summer Sweetie had kittens, and I did not know one got under the car when I left for work I ran over the kitten. That was horrible for me too. I felt so bad that I told her she could have the twin kittens. Unfortunately their fate was the same. Every time Craig takes Sweetie to get fixed they tell him she is pregnant. The last litter was only 2 kittens Angel and Grace. She let her friend have Angel and has kept Grace. Jamie wants to be a veterinarian when she grows up.
My last employer decided to close its office in Austin,, so I have been a full time Mom since August. I was doing well there, and it is hard to find a good paying job right now in Austin. I am expanding my website called Just 4 Kids Magazine. It reaches Sunday School teachers all over the World. Many of them do not have the resources that I have been blessed with. It is such a joy to receive emails from other countries saying how much they need the materials that I offer on the website. My current expansion is writing a 25 days of Christmas Advent lesson plan. Parents and Teachers can use the ideas every day from Dec 1 til 25th. Last year I did 12 days of Christmas,. It was so successful that I decided to expand it will all my free time. So this Christmas I have No free time. It takes 2 to 3 hours everyday. I am sending it out to a few reviewers who keep me accountable so that I do not fall behind and work on it everyday. Maybe God will choose to find a way for me to get it published by next year. I am constantly receiving emails asking if the monthly magazine is available in print.
My granddaughter, Jasmine helps me in writing the Grandma and Me Bible Stories for toddlers. She loves for me to read her stories when she comes over during the weekdays. She will be 3 on Christmas Eve and she is such a delight to us all.
Jaymen, Tyler & Jennifer Now that Jaymen and Tyler are back I really enjoy being their Grandma. I think you start relaxing more and enjoying life and kids more when you are older. But I sure notice the difference in keeping up with them. When Robert and Lexi moved back from California I told them I would be glad to watch the boys while they spent a weekend away at Fiesta Texas. They were elated that I offered since they had not had a weekend away in a long time. I was excited to spend time with my Grandsons. Two days later, I was elated when they came back. Every muscle in my body ached and my mentality was shot. I am so thankful for being a Grandma and not a Mother to a 4 and 1 year old at this age. Finally, saving the best for last… News on Craig. He is working full time, taking care of Jeff’s total care, still able to take on any of the kids at the hoop or any sport they want a challenge in, spends time with his kids, and still finds time to dance across the floor with his grandchildren. He is in Top shape for a man of almost 50! He is an incredible father and husband, and I am so very thankful that God sent him into our lives. 2002 has been a very blessed year for our family, and we hope that 2003 will be a very wonderful year for your family.