The Big Day

Alf and I checked the weather yesterday morning and it did not look good. The hourly forecast showed 80% chance of rain at the time we would be outside for the burial.

Throughout the morning I looked outside and saw rain coming down in sheets. I stressed over what we would do, and stressed over all who were driving in from Slidell, Baton Rouge, Mandeville, Covington, etc.

The service was beautiful, and it was time to go to the burial. I climbed in the van, turned toward the back to talk to the boys and I saw behind us a beautiful rainbow in the sky. A rainbow! THEN we drive off and the skies had cleared up!! It was windy and chilly, but very few raindrops. In fact, the sun even peeked out a little while standing outside!!! We were blessed with the 20% and He even threw in a rainbow :) It was so awesome, absolutely awesome! God is awesome!

Experiencing the death of my dad has reminded me that I am NOT the writer of this script:) Sure, there are days that I wish I could write the script. And there are other days when I think, "I could not write the script any better.'

The angel of the Lord encamps around those who fear Him, and He delivers them. Taste and see that the Lord is good; blessed is the man who takes refuge in Him. Fear the Lord, you His saints, for those who fear Him lack nothing. -- Psalm 34:7-9

Thanks to all of you (both near and far) for your love and support at this time. Hoping it is a beautiful Christmas for everyone!

Allison

A Time to Say Goodbye

Dear family and friends,

Sunday morning, December 18th, Alf and I got a call that my dad was on the floor of a grocery store unconscious. We got to the emergency room and shortly thereafter, were told that they had tried for nearly an hour to resuscitate him, but he was dead. Having had a triple bypass only two years ago, this was not supposed to happen so soon.

He was 77, so we are grateful for the long life that he did have, but you're never ready for something like this. We are trusting in God, knowing he is good, and we are thrilled to serve a God where we can confidently say that he is in heaven....maybe even dancing with my mom :).

We would appreciate your continued prayer as we work through all the emotions that take place when something like this happens so suddenly.

We have made plans for the funeral to be on Thursday, December 22nd at Lake Lawn in Metairie (right off the interstate). Visitation will start at 10 and a service will take place at 12. If you are able to, we would enjoy having you. We desire for the time to be a celebration of his life, not simply a mourning of his death.

Thank you -

Allison Nelson

TRUST

I comment to a man that God has given me a heart for, 'I am nudging you a bit' and he says don't nudge....push....shove.

And I look at God and think, 'WOW! you have called me to do this??!! Can I?'

There is a side of me that wants to run and give up. Take the 'easier' route. There is another side of me that wants to be all in. There is excitement, anticipation, hope....but I'm scared.

I wrestle with God - how do I push him? What does he know? Where does he desire you to take him? Am I doing enough? Am I doing to much? Am I going to screw up? Is he going to give up?

I ask the man, with hesitation and strength from God (and ready for rejection), if he would want to do breakfast with my husband and I. He was quick to say yes and said that it sounded great!

I ask God, are you really going to give me words to say what he needs to hear? How much am I going to hear of this guys life this morning? Is it going to be enough for me? Am I going to be ok with where this goes? I cry out, HELP me not to make this about me and my personal gain! Help me to make it all about you. It is all about you and your glory.

A couple years ago, as we were beginning this journey back home, I memorized the verse -Psalm 40: 1-3. At the end of verse three it says, ' many will see and fear and put there trust in the Lord.' I was eager to see who those many were. And how I would get to play a part in that.

I just need to trust.

TRUST. (sigh) TRUST.

Not walk away in fear that it wont go the way I want it to go.

Walk forward in faith and courage and in Spirit.....and then watch what the Lord does.

And my loving Saviour reminds me what its all about.....its all about HIM.

Being put in a place that is requiring me to trust HIM so, has made me draw nearer to Him and want to get to know Him more. Why trust you?? Who are you, really??

I think yesterday on a walk how we only have a glimpse of who God is, but that glimpse is enough to want to bow down and worship.

I read in A.Voskamps blog this - We may not know the outcome but we tenaciously believe that in Him we overcome - because Love comes down.

What a privilege it is......I have to go get ready for a breakfast now:)

Captivating

This is taken from the book, CAPTIVATING Unveiling the Mystery of a Woman's Soul. These are great words that spoke to me and where I am in my faith journey.

"Unveiling our beauty really just means unveiling our feminine hearts.
It's scary, for sure. That is why it is our greatest expression of faith, because we are going to have to trust Jesus - really trust Him. We'll have to trust him that we HAVE a beauty, that what he has said of us is true. And we'll have to trust Him with how it goes when we offer it, because that is out of our control. We'll have to trust him when it hurts, and we'll have to trust him when we are finally seen and enjoyed. That's why unveiling our beauty is how we live by faith.
Unveiling our beauty is our greatest expression of HOPE. We hope that it will matter, that our beauty really does make a difference. We hope that there is a greater and higher Beauty, hope we are reflecting that Beauty, and hope it will triumph. Our hope is that all is well because of Jesus and that all will be well because of him. So we unveil beauty in hope. And finally, we unveil beauty in the hope that Jesus is growing our beauty. Yes, we are not yet what we long to be. But we are underway. Restoration has begun. To offer beauty now is an expression of hope that it will be completed.
And unveiling beauty is our greatest expression of love, because it is what the world most needs from us. When we choose not to hide, when we choose to offer our hearts, we are choosing to love. Jesus offers; he invites, he is present. That is how he loves. That is how we love - sincerely, as the Scriptures says, 'from the heart' (1Pt 1:22). Our focus shifts from self-protection to the hearts of others. We offer Beauty so that their hearts might come alive, be healed, know God. That is love."

If you Give a Mouse a Cookie.....

Yesterday I spent most of the day around the house and thought a lot about the book, If you Give a Mouse a Cookie. I was feeling that that was becoming my day.....

If I start cleaning my house,
I will load the wash with dirty laundry,
I will then begin to clean the back bathroom,
then will see areas that need touched up painting,
then I will get the ladder and paint from the garage,
then I will discover after painting that the bathroom needed wiped down again,
then I notice the time and realize the laundry has been waiting for quite some time to be removed from the wash into the dryer,
when I fold some of my boys laundry and bring them to there proper drawers,
I start to remove clothes that don't fit and put them into a goodwill pile,
I will also observe that this cleaning house day still needs to be accomplished and I have very little time till I have to pick up kids! Ugh!

Katrina 6yr Anniversary

On the morning of Katrina's 6 year anniversary, this is what was taking place across the street from my house. I found it amusing that it was happening on the actual anniversary date, August 29th. Its a house I have wished to see go for awhile. The house supposedly had never been gutted. Yep, it still had curtains in the windows. It sort of gave me the heeby-jeebies to think of what was growing in there!
It did not take long to see it fall to the ground. From what the neighbors say, the guy who owned the house was not doing well before Katrina. Once the hurricane hit, he moves back to live in a trailer in front of the house and drinks himself to death....basically. Its a sad story....there are many sad stories after Katrina. Katrina put a period on a lot of peoples lives. Fortunately, for many lives, it has been a renewing. Everyone has a story and every story is different from one to the next. I'm glad to be here and witness progress and even participate in progress:)

{Thanks to the Lot-next-door program, where home owners that live next to a home that needs to go, can purchase it (for next to nothing) as a yard and increase value to their home!}

Stay Grateful!

Thankful for.....

• friends that know me and still love me
• music that speaks truth and for the funky kind that's fun to dance to!
• air condition during New Orleans summers
• laughter! ('can u spare a square')
• color
  
• hugs
• Coffee
• reading with and without my children:)
• anticipation
• mangoes
  
• growth
• creativity
• accomplishment
• my honey-bun:)
• my garden
  
• dreams
  
• vacations
• reflecting
• my Savior
• rain
  
• blogging (something I hope I'll do more of)
  

The Simple Man

What you see in this (blurry)picture is 12 of my husband's folded T-shirts that just came out of the dryer. 10 of the 12 T-shirts you see have blessed my husband's wardrobe at no expense to us. That is right, $0. Thanks to Kaboom, the Hornets, Compassion Int., UNO, Volunteers of America....the list goes on.....he has a plethora of shirts to choose from in the morning, and those T-shirts are what he chooses:)

I'm married to a simple man. A man that loves Jesus, that loves doing good, and that loves free T-shirts!

Blessings....he is blessed to have a job that allows him to wear such clothing any given week day. Facilitating mission teams and loving on neighbors in 100 degree heat....you bet he is going to wear a T-shirt.

I'm married to a simple man. A man that loves Jesus, that loves doing good, and that loves free T-shirts!

"Love Never Fails"

By: Brandon Heath

Love is not proud
Love does not boast
Love after all matters the most

Love does not run
Love does not hide
Love does not keep locked inside

Love is the river that flows through
Love never fails you

Love will sustain
Love will provide
Love will not cease at the end of time

Love will protect
Love always hopes
Love still believes when you don't

Love is the arms that are holding you
Love never fails you

When my heart won't make a sound
When I can't turn back around
When the sky is falling down
Nothing is greater then this
greater then this

Love is right here
Love is Alive
Love is the Way, the Truth, the Life

Love is the river that flows through
Love is the arms that are holding you
Love is the place you will fly too
Love never fails you

School Life

The year has finally come to an end, and what a year its been!

Two kids in two different schools, in two different areas of town, and two completely different cultures.

As I reflect, I do not end this year feeling like I survived, more like I thrived!! It has opened my eyes to what I confidently feel God wanted me to see....and I'm more eager then ever to continue that journey. I've wanted to write about this journey but have been hesitant at the same time. So, here it goes....

There are so many options out there on how you can school your children. To give a little history: I grew up attending only four schools ( including college!), all of which were private. My husband attended 13 public schools by the time he graduated high school, then attended college and grad school. Based on our backgrounds, we wanted to find a happy medium. Private school was not an option, even if we could afford it. For me, my parents wanted to provide a safe environment for their kids, which was all fine and good till we had to 'enter the world'. We felt putting our boys in public school, in hopes of engaging in our children and the school life, would be profitable for our children, family and the community.

When we first began this journey, we were in a small town of 60,000 where you bought a house based on what school you wanted your child to attend. Easy enough! Our oldest son's Kindergarten and first grade years were quite lovely. I helped a lot in the classes, helped on PTA, visited at lunch, knew the principal from our church, and was even involved in praying for the school weekly with a group of moms! Sounds quaint? It was....sort of Smallville like! (ha,ha!)

(screeching brake sound)

The Lord then tells us to say goodbye, sell our house, and go back home to New Orleans. Huh?

Well, that is what we did.

When we arrived back in the wonderful city of New Orleans, due to the first year being a lot of transition, I chose to keep the boys home with me and schooled them myself. One was in preschool and the other in 2nd grade. ( I had told myself that I would NEVER homeschool....but I also said I would NEVER move back home....) (sigh) We had a wonderful curriculum that I borrowed from a friend, and we did a lot of field trips around the city (with the goal of educating and getting them to fall in love with their new home). It was a wonderful year that I will cherish forever but then it came time to look into schools for a Kindergartner and 3rd grader.

WOW! When you move to New Orleans (Post Katrina) you find out that you don't just sign up for the school in your area, and we are not just looking at public schools. There are Montessori schools, Language immersion schools, charter schools....there are established schools, brand spankin' new schools, and schools attempting all different philosophies of teaching! There was a book I got my hands on that gave info on all the schools in the city. I could look at it and see the location of the school, how it tested, what kind of diversity it had, and even what percentage got free/reduced lunch. It didn't take long for me to narrow my options. Little did I know that my list of three schools would have to enlarge to 10+ schools to apply to, b/c of the demand for everyone wanting their kid in the better schools and those schools only having so much room. Waiting list, waiting list, waiting list!

I will now end talking about the monster that it was and get to what I really want this to be about!

The kids had completely different teachers. One was an experienced, native New Orleanian, female elementary teacher - the other is a young west coast male Teach for America teacher. The schools, one relies on grants based on extremely high performances which then allows them a consistent group of special teachers that focuses on the arts. The other school relies on non profits or even a church partnership to have some special things. One is so well established and organized, the other required me to be forgiving while its still figuring things out. One doesn't bat an I to ask families to pay $15 for a field trip (and anticipates many parents to show up and help), but the other schools field trips mostly just required you to pay the two bucks for the bus. A non-profit provided the kids with great field trips (but did not welcome parents).

Where was I? I was scared. Not sure how the year would go. I firmly looked at that west coast teacher in the early part of the year and told him that the two things I cared about for my child was that he was academically challenged and environmentally felt safe. In the beginning, there were many days where I was mentally ready to pull him out if I felt that would need to be done. As the year progressed, my oldest would always come home happy except for when he did something wrong with school work! It gave me a peace. Into the second semester, the teacher gave me an opportunity to step into the class and 'pour love on them.' (Cookie decorating and Picture frame craft) I even got to volunteer ONE time which allowed me to rub shoulders with a sweet lady that works at the school, I now look forward to seeing her. Where am I now? Wondering what part I can play next year in helping the school on a bigger scale, not just the classroom, but to help parents get involved. I have a huge appreciation for that west coast guy that demonstrated leadership and compassion on this pour mom:) I also appreciate the other leaders and allowing (even encouraging) Alf and I to speak out on just about anything. I still don't feel confident and comfortable in the culture of the school but am confident and comfortable in it being where we need to be.

Meanwhile, I volunteered at least twice a month at my younger ones school. I did lunch, recess, and choice time when I would go help. I showed up at field trips and holiday parties. I embraced all their was to embrace in a Kindergarten year. It was comfortable. The year went above and beyond what I could have ever expected. And yes, there were times (of course)where I would wish that both boys were experiencing 'this', like the time Trombone Shorty played for morning meeting:) Note: If you don't know who Trombone Shorty is, google him.

Well, that is my story....for now.

Dont Forget the Third Person!

God is amazing!
He gives me what I need, when I need it.

What he gave me recently is a reminder of the third person. In our christian faith, we need to take advantage of all three! God, Son, and Holy Spirit.

I was recently listening to a sermon on line where he was expressing four key things that he is committed to in this journey called life. He was committed to 1. living 'all in' 2. to follow leadership of the Spirit 3. to finishing the course 4. to doing life in relationship. All this was taken from a passage in Acts/admiring the work of Paul the apostle. (If your interested in listening, go to fellowshiponline.com The sermon is called A Call to Commitment by Tim Lundy)

What moved me the most was the commitment to follow leadership of the Spirit. These following verses encouraged me and empowered me to a deeper love for who I serve and how I live that out.

Ephesians 1: 13-14 "And you also were included in Christ when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation. Having believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit, who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God's possession-to the praise of his glory."
We are sealed by the Spirit. I am in His grip and will never let me go!
"a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance" - I have the Holy Spirit to walk with me and guide me, and gives me the best retirement plan EVER!

Galatians 5: 16-18 "So I say, live by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the sinful nature. For the sinful nature desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the sinful nature. They are in conflict with each other, so that you do not do what you want. But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under law."
This passage convicts me to be aware of spiritual warfare and to spend time with Him, to walk in the Spirit. I need to know Him and His character in order to know how to follow him. I read in a book recently, 'Sometimes he invites us to draw close and listen as He reveals Himself...Other times He calls to us to participate in His purposes" (L.Terkeurst) I cant just Do,Do,Do! It includes sitting down to learn and listen to His will.

Ephesians 5:18-20 "Do not get drunk on wine, which leads to debauchery. Instead, be filled with the Spirit. Speak to one another with psalms, hymns and spiritual songs. Sing and make music in you heart to the Lord, always giving thanks to God the Father for everything, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.
ALWAYS give thanks! What are my thoughts? Where is my heart? Am I looking vertical or horizontal? Am I being filled with the Spirit?

Romans 8: 14-18 "...those who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God. For you did not receive a spirit that makes you a slave again to fear, but you received the Spirit of sonship. And by him we cry, "Abba, Father." The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God's children."
We can choose, to be a slave to sin or to be a slave to the Spirit. A slave to the Spirit is eternal and freeing. I can rest in that no matter what, this day can work for good if I choose Him. Him, an intimate God(Father) that claims me as his child.

This is your certificate for a walk in City Park with me.

Quite the Mother's Day gift, wouldn't you say?

I think my oldest son, Athan, has grasped the idea that time is a gift.

I also think that he is pretty observant for his age. He knows how much I love that Park.

It also shows me his generosity, for they did not actually go anywhere and get me a gift. He couldn't even bring me breakfast in bed because they spent the night at their Aunt and Uncles! He couldn't NOT give me something.

I am so grateful to be a mom to two boys that God specifically chose just for me and Alf.

Im particularly moved at the idea that time is a gift. Time is precious and it does have limits. We ought to treat the time we have with this person or that person as precious and a gift. More then that, are we giving enough time to those we love the most? One step further, are we giving God our time?

Some Things Never Change

Soooooooo,
my birthday weekend was last weekend. I was actually born on April 1st
a.k.a April Fools Day! Yep, lucky me:)
When I was a little girl, my brother would come up with all sorts of things to fool me with. Take for instance, the time he decided to wake me up the morning of my birthday and tell me there was a limousine in the front of the house waiting for me. Uh-huh.
I've tried to wipe some from my memory.

I am now way into my thirties, and some things never change.
You see the box? That is a Mignon Fagot box. A very fine jeweler in the city of New Orleans. When I unwrapped the box to find that it was a Mignon Fagot box....lets just say that I got a little excited. Turns out the only thing in the box was a key. It was a key that I just simply needed so that I can have access to my brothers house, probably for the times he needs me to go over and let his dog outside or something.
Soooooooo, there you go - some things never change.

City Park + 'Perfect Weather' = Fun, Fun, Fun!!!

Family time was had at the park Sunday!
Last week we went in the paddle
boat....with our dog, Annie....yes, she jumped in:)
This week we
walked the sculpture garden and the boys enjoyed bike time as well. The sculpture garden is fairly new to the park, near the New Orleans Museum of Fine Art. It is an outdoor oasis with beautiful landscape and some very large sculptures.

I LOVE family time and I LOVE City Park.

By the way, the picture above - Yea, I don't know. I have no clue how it is held up!

Daddy and sons looking at fish

This one (and many others) made me chuckle. It was called Conversation with Moon :)

So, I have that kind of man that sighs when I want a picture with him next to the LOVE statue, but he is also the man that has fun with us making our own art(pics below). Not so much the romantic but he is funny:)
I'll keep him!

The piece above is called Nelson Shadows and the one below is called Ninja's weapon

Whether it be with the family or without, this park is a sanctuary to me. Lets just say, it fills my bucket every time I go! City Park is 1300 acres of fun! Memories are made here by many adults and children. Im thankful that I live so close and can enjoy it anytime.
In the above picture we were standing under a very large Oak with various sizes of wind chimes.
They named it Singing Oak.

-my jewels-

The Leprechaun Trap

Follow the Pattern to the treasure!

Aiden had to make a Leprechaun Trap for his Kindergarten class. (I know, I am a little behind on posting this) It was a fun activity for him and I to do together. We first googled Leprechaun Traps and saw multiple ideas, chose one and we were off! Great ideas come from other peoples great ideas, right? :)
Aiden came up with the pattern idea.....


and I helped him with the idea of using beads for his rainbow. Its not a New Orleans school project without using Mardi gras beads!


On St Patrick's Day, Aiden and all his class mates showed up to their classroom with green Leprechaun footprints all over the room. The Leprechaun bombarded the room, sprinkled green glitter everywhere and left a note and some gold coins. Aiden shared with me on the way home that day that he thought the Leprechaun was in the art room (the teacher did not let them go in the art room). He then went to bed that night saying, 'I a lot of reallys want to trap him tonight at our house.'

The imagination is a fun and beautiful thing!

I Want To Be Brave

One Thousand Gifts - a dare to live fully right where you are

"I know there is poor and hideous suffering....I only deepen the wound of the world when I neglect to give thanks for early light dappled through leaves and the heavy perfume of wild roses in early July and the song of crickets on humid nights....and all the good things that a good God gives.

Why would the world need more anger, more outrage? How does it save the world to reject unabashed joy when it is joy that saves us? Rejecting joy to stand in solidarity with the suffering doesn't rescue the suffering. The converse does.

The brave who focus on all things good and all things beautiful and all things true, even in the small, who give thanks for it and discover joy even in the here and now, they are the change agents who bring fullest Light to all the world. When we lay the soil of our hard lives open to the rain of grace and let joy penetrate our cracked and dry places, let joy soak into our broken skin and deep crevices,

LIFE grows.

How can this not be the best thing for the world? For us? The clouds open when we mouth thanks."

I want to be brave.

I begun this book and only in the third chapter I am being challenged. What are my thoughts through out the day? Are those thoughts bringing joy into my life or are they robbing me of joy? In honesty.... its been the latter.

I want to be brave. I want to see good in ALL things. I want to be obedient to the creator and sustainer of this world and my life, but....I fear what He has for me, not a reverent fear, but a scared fear. Why is it so hard to focus on what he has preserved me from? Why am I having a hard time finding good in things that He has allowed in the past?

I need Him. I need my God. I need to know Him. I want to feel more of those moments of joy. Not just when a newborn baby is born, or when a couple gets married, or when someone graduates. I want to feel joy in the little things too. I want to, with my mouth, thank God for the feel of warm clothes when they come out of the dryer and for the opportunities given when driving my child to and from school and for smells of fresh bread or a pot of spaghetti sauce.

May I feel the joy that only God can give....that he wants me to receive.....daily!

5 Adjectives About My Love

I recently had to come up with 5 adjectives that I feel pertain to my husband at an assessment. I contemplated on what drew me to him fifteen plus years ago and what I love and respect about him in the present. This is what I came up with:

DETERMINED/DRIVEN - my man does not believe in giving up. He has been driven since childhood. He breaks down walls, literally and figuratively!

HUMOROUS/WITTY - my man has the ability to take a serious moment and turn intense faces into smiles and laughter. He makes a family trip to the zoo way more fun for the boys then I could ever do. He makes people watching very entertaining!

GENTLE - my man treats people all around him in a very gentle way. He recognizes the bigger picture and his incapability to "control" people or events. I am especially grateful that he is gentle with me, whether it be romantically or in a fight!

GOOD - ethically, morally.... my man desires good. He works hard at doing good with our finances (even things behind 'closed doors'), he desires to have and model good work ethic, he desires to serve God well, and he seeks ways to pour good into others lives.

STRONG - externally and internally.... my man renovated our house in the heat of August, he has fought the odds of life, he cares about what people think but does not let that drive him, and his strength comes out in the way he leads his family.

He is a gift from God! I love you honey -

Copy / Paste

I cannot take credit for this but it was so good that I had to copy and paste it! This is an email I got from some dear missionary friends. This email has beauty and 'meat' to it regarding the new year . . . unlike my latest post that had sheer survival of life written all over it! May we all be blessed by Gods word and the wisdom that pours from these mature believers in our Lord.

Forgetting....Reaching

Forgetting what lies behind and reaching forward to what lies ahead,

I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God.

Philippians 3:13-14

A fresh page of a New Year awaits our story. Day upon day we etch our personal history on the pages of time. The choices we make are our ink and pen. With inevitable twists and turns the plot unfolds and moves towards its climax. What will be the enduring theme of our life after the last page is turned and the book is closed?
None of us escape the crosscurrents of humanity's earthly drama - love, hurt, foolish decisions, providential opportunities, dreams and regrets. We each have our share. Yet, those who are Christ-followers possess a glorious horizon, a magnificent obsession. Paul called it a "prize," an "upward call."
Pressing on and reaching forward are not possible without first letting go of what lies behind. Unshackling the ball and chain of past failures and painful wounds is not easy. But it is essential.

The goal ahead of us is too eternally significant, the stakes are too high to wallow in the mire of the past which we cannot change, or to allow haunting memories and unresolved conflicts to suck the marrow out of our future. The goal is nothing less than growing into the fullness of the likeness of Christ.

Hosea the prophet foreshadows the Apostle Paul's words when he wrote

"So let us know, let us press on to know the Lord." Hosea 6:3

So Far So Good

Reflected on God's blessing during 2010 by looking back at some pictures of the year, now we are geared up to take steps forward to whatever 2011 has in store for us.

1st things 1st, is this momma's motto right now. There is a lot to juggle these days, and in order to do it well, I must stay focused and put 1st things 1st!

Ridded ourselves of the 'garage sale pile' in the garage by taking it to the Goodwill. The garage sale thing never happened . . . and that is ok!

Made play dough with Aiden for his class. After bringing it to his class, he came home to tell me that the play dough was "famous" WoW!!

Finishing up basketball with Athan. Two games left and so far undefeated . . . NOT because of Athan's rookie skills (ha,ha). He has learned a lot and has had loads of fun, though!

Just finished a CD series on Rekindling your Marriage by Dennis Rainey and his wife, Barbara. I highly recommend it and now ready for a little getaway :) hee, hee!

Enjoying the new member of our family, Annie. She is all about pleasing us and has a large amount of energy to burn on a regular basis. Fortunately, the energy is burned by walks with me - I've certainly needed a reason to get out and walk!

Love hearing Alf come home to share wonderful things happening in peoples lives around the Gentilly area . . . and not just on Sunday mornings. hmmm :)

Having quality time with family and friends.

And with all that said, 2011 is so far so good!