Confusion???

I think that there might have been some confusion from my blog by what I was reading from others blogs and the comments that they were getting, and I want to clear it up very fast. I want to make it perfectly clear that we are not being critical of anybodies views at all, and that we are not perfect by any means - we just try to live our lives as best we can to serve God. What was meant by the blog was that in all simplicity we don't celebrate Christmas in any religious way at all. We just treat it as any regular day, and any regular holiday. We refuse to be a part of anything that will suggest that we celebrate Christmas as Christ's birthday, but we don't ignore him in any way on this day. Each and everyday should be a day to celebrate His birth, His life, and His Death. The only one that we are told to celebrate on a certain day is His death(on the first day of the week). I appreciate all of the blogs, comments, opinions, and especially all of the time of studying, prayers, and discussions that went on through all of this. I by no means was trying to be critical of people's views or opinions and if it came across that way then I apologize. I would hope and pray that if anyone saw anything that myself or my family was doing that was going against God's word that they would immediately come to me or Clint to let us know so that we could go and study and pray about the matter and change our ways if it be more pleasing to God. I hope that this may clear up any confusion on the matter. If there are any thoughts or questions about it please comment or send me a private email and I would be more than wiling to discuss it. My email address is krsces1214@aol.com.

In Christian Love

Should You Celebrate Christmas?

My father-in-law past out these fliers at church on Sunday. So I thought that I would put this in my post. Very good and something you might want to send to other people of denominations.

"Many changes are taking place among brethren. One change growing increasingly popular is the formal observance of religious holidays, specifically Christmas. Preachers are preaching Christmas sermons and congregations are singing Christmas songs in the assembly and during what they call special occasions for "Seasonal Music." Drama has entered the scene with some using special costumes, performances, and even coral productions. These type observances of holidays in the context of the church as a religious activity is a relatively recent innovation among churches of Christ. Are these practices simply an expression of being non-traditional, or do they pose a danger? At the very heart of this change and all other changes is the question of Biblical authority. We must have God's implicit or explicit approval from His word for what we do in religion (1 Cor. 4:6, Col. 3:17). Does God desire for us to celebrate His birth? The only way to know is to look to the Bible. He has not in any passage so indicated, and the Bible contains all religious truth (2Tim. 3:16-17, 2 Peter 1:3). Neither Jesus nor any inspired writer ever even hinted for His birth to be celebrated. We have as much authority to set aside a day and celebrate any event in His life: such as His transfiguration, His trip to Jerusalem at 12, Etc. The Lord did indicate we are to commemorate His death every Sunday (1 Cor. 11:23ff, Ac. 20:7). Man emphasizes the birth of Jesus, the Bible emphasizes His death. A Christian should, before participating in any activity, measure the activity by God's words, not by what one feels, or how spiritual one thinks an activity may be. To participate in any activity simply because it is not traditional is folly.
What about partaking of Christmas as a national holiday? There are 2 extremes: one says nativity scenes and caroling songs celebrating His birth are good spiritual activities. The other extreme says Christmas has religious origins (which are not scriptural) and therefore any activity (Christmas trees, lights, gifts) is wrong. In (Ex. 34:26) God's people were told not to boil a goat in its mother' s milk. Why? It was discovered that this practice then was the way to approach a heathen god. This practice today is not associated with the worship of heathen gods. The principle today is how a practice relates to current cultural connotations, not its ancient origins. What does the practice mean to society now? Lighting a tree, giving gifts, eating turkey, are not necessarily associated with a religious observance. Thousands of non-religious Americans do this without assigning a religious significance to them. (There is nothing to prevent our enjoying this season in this manner. We can do all this without celebrating Christmas as the birthday of Jesus. (Gospel Journal, Dec. 2000, 26) We should avoid using symbols that associate the holiday with unauthorized religious activity (nativity scenes, Etc.) but Christians are free to observe it as a festive national holiday. To observe it religiously identifies us with religious groups that worship God in vain (Mt. 15:9). If it is observed by any brother as a religious holy day, then such is implicitly forbidden. There is no Biblical authority to observe Christmas or any other day as the birthday of Jesus. The apostles and the early church did not teach others to, nor did they, observe Christmas as being the birthday of Jesus. If Christmas in any way pertained to life and godliness (2 Peter 1:3) or to making the man of God perfect (2 Tim. 3:16-17) it would have been revealed in the Bible. But such is not in the Bible. Instead, Paul warns us against observing religious holy days that are not authorized by the Bible (Gal. 4:10-11). Thus Christians should not send greeting cards that imply we are observing Christmas as the birthday of Jesus. Neither should parents teach their children this deception at this time of year.(Gospel Journal, 25). Some say to say Christmas is to say Christ. To say Corpus Christi would be doing the same. "Thursday" comes from the worship of the heathen god "Thor." Are we honoring Thor by saying Thursday? God doesn't hold us responsible for such ancient links. So Merry Christmas. (Piloting the Strait, 251-261)." This was written by H.D. Simmons
Hope that this might help anyone understand a little more and maybe use as a teaching tool to help someone else understand. Hope everyone has a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.

Happy Anniversary

Today is mine and Clint's 6 year anniversary. Wow how time flies by so fast when your having fun, and in love. We went out to eat last night and Clint asked me what my favorite moment of us was. I couldn't think of just one I had about 500 in my head. I had 3 from each one of our kids birth- 2 from finding our I was pregnant with our children( Kori was a big surprise), when we sold our house, when we moved back home to be with our family, when Clint got his job here in Corpus, and I could go on forever. Then he said take the kids out and just my favorite moment with just the 2 of us. Well I still couldn't just pin down my most favorite, so he told his favorite was when I told him that I loved him. It was very sweet. We have know each other for 10 years- we talked about when we first met which was at church. His dad had just moved down here for a new preaching job and we went over to introduce ourselves and he told me that I had nice teeth and that I needed to meet his son. He then called his son over to meet me and told Clint to look at my teeth. We met up later and I then asked him out first to my senior banquet at church, and then went bowling after that. I knew the moment that I saw him the very first time that I was going to marry him. We eventually lost touch with each other, went on to do some stupid stuff in our lives, and somehow about 3 or 4 years later we got our lives back on the right track and found each other again. He took me out on a boat to a little island thing in the bay to ask me to marry him( I guess he took me there b/c if I said no he could just leave me there.) And 4 months later got married. A very fast wedding since we and everyone else had to leave to get to my brother's football playoff game.(which he lost.) Went to Hawaii for our honeymoon, which was absolutely beautiful and we have said that every 10 years we are going to go back. Our first house was our fourplex on Spring Loop in College Station. We met great people there which formed into great friendships that we have to this day. Clint is the perfect husband, and father that I could of asked for. He is there for me physically, emotionally, spiritually, and anything else that I need. He is a great Christian example to me and is the perfect helpmate for me. He has given me absolutely everything that I have ever asked for: 3 beautiful children(hopefully 4 one day), trips, houses, cars, and he sacrificed by leaving a great job so that we could move back home so that I could be closer to my family(which turned out to be the best thing that happened to the both of us)- and most importantly he gave me the ability to stay home to raise our kids which was a very big issue for me. He has made all of my dreams come true and I couldn't ask for anything else. So in these very short 6 years we have moved 3 times, had 3 dogs, 3 kids, and 6 cars(perks of working in the car dealership). So I just wanted to let y'all know how these 6 years have been. Sure there have been plenty of ups and downs but that is what a marriage is. And I wouldn't change any of it. So if Clint reads this one day then I will end on telling him Happy Anniversary and that I love you so much and thank you for everything that you have given me. It has been a great 6 years and can't wait to see what the rest of our lives has in store for us. "Forever and Always-Grow old with me and the best is yet to be." A quote I got from a sign in Hobby Lobby. I loved it when I saw it.

Happy Birthday Mom!!!

Yesterday was my mothers 50th birthday. I can't believe that she is 50 since she looks nothing like it. I hope to look that good when I am her age. I love her so much and hope and pray to be just like her. She is a great example of a strong christian women- who stands up for God's word no matter what- and lets people know what they are doing wrong in a very loving but stern way. She is a great wife to my dad which will be 30 years this April. And of course lets not forget how wonderful of a mother she is to me and my 2 sisters, and my brother. She quit her job when she had me and stayed home to raise all 4 of us- which I appreciate so much. she was always there for us when we needed her, brought us our lunch or homework to school when we forgot it, drove us to all of our softball, baseball practices and games. Which after doing Chase's first year of soccer this year and waiting at his practices I now realize isn't any fun at all. So thank you mom for doing that. Always had dinner on the table for us when my dad came home from work, clean clothes to always wear, rooms and house was always spotless- which I still work on, helped us out with our homework, did projects with us, and so on. And I am most thankful for her instilling in us daily God's word and for spanking us especially me when we needed it. If it wasn't for her discipline I don't know where any of us would be. If I can be half of the wife and mom that she is I will be OK. So a very happy birthday to you mom- I love you so much and hope that there are more wonderful, and happy years to come. Lord willing. So to my mom I call you Blessed from Proverbs 31. b/c you really are the Virtuous women that I strive to be.

A Fun Filled Month

Well this month for me is filled with numerous parties, taking pictures to get just the right one for our christmas card, and trying to get every ones presents in time for christmas. I always start out this month with my aunts annual cookie and ornament exchange party. Always great to spend time with christian women, and also without the kids (although this year Reef tagged along) I made about 5 1/2 dozen Pumpkin Chip Cookies which I might add were very good. We get there about 9am and eat breakfast together- then Katie has a few christmas games that we play which are getting harder every year. And then we sit around for the ornament exchange and lastly gather around the table to get cookies from everyone else. My aunt also makes a cookbook of the cookies that were made that year- so we go home with a cookbook of all the cookies that were made that day.
I finally got a great picture of my kids the very next day out at my granny's house, in a wagon, with their Santa hats all on. They are actually all 3 looking and with big smiles on couldn't of asked for anything else.
This Thursday we have the party for couples from the church- which will be yet another fun party filled with presents and good christian fellowship. Then that next Monday we have the annual ladies christmas party at the annex for all of the ladies in the church. (another party without kids), this is always fun b/c it is such a good mixture of old and young at the party- great food, and great fellowship as well. We sing a few songs, and do the present exchange which is fun in itself- trying to watch the elderly ladies steal presents from other people. (enough said)- I think the oldest ladies will be 90 and probably the youngest will be 19. So a great mixture of people.
Finally right before christmas we take the kids from church around caroling to the ones in the church who are elderly, can't get out or are in the nursing homes- this is our second year to do this and I think the kids really enjoy it. And afterwards we usually go back to someones house for cookies and hot chocolate.
In between all of this I have to find time to get presents for my kids, and other family members. So let the fun begin

A Day of Thanksgiving

Well I hope that each and everyone of you had a great and memorable Thanksgiving. I sure did. We woke up that morning and started making our deviled eggs, and mini candied apples.( which was a task in itself) and Chase and Kori watched the parade and fought most of the morning. At about 11am we packed up our car and headed out to the country to my granny's house and joined the 53 other family members to our yearly Thanksgiving meal. We had about 11 pies, 2 turkeys(1 fried and 1 regular), 1 ham, 2 broccoli cheese and rice casseroles, stacked salads, fruit salads, millions of homemade rolls, mashed potatoes, green beans, 2 gravies, stuffing, and cranberries salads. I am sure that I forgot somethings but you get the point. Finally at sharply 12 noon- when everyone arrived we stepped outside on the beautiful day that it was got in 1 big circle and had a short devotional- in which one cousin read a few scriptures, and then started to talk about what he was thankful for. Very sweet little talk he did. Then after that we sang our 3 songs that we always sing as a family "Count Your Blessings," "Gods Family,", and "Bless Be The Ties." Then we had the prayer and then got in line the older and wiser ones first, then the handicapped ones went next,( I have 2 uncles who are brothers, who are paralyzed) and then the rest of the clan. All of the kids 12 and under ate outside and the rest got to enjoy the AC. It was a great meal which everyone enjoyed thoroughly.

After lunch my brother went and got his 4-wheeler, and his mini-bike., there was a smaller 4-wheeler for the younger kids, about a dozen bikes ,and a wagon. There was basketball, volleyball, and lots of conversation. My sister and my cousin went around taking pictures of the family and great memorable shots. We then tried to get together in between the okra in front of the field for the grand kids, great grand kids, and kid pictures. There are 6 kids which have then gone on to have 20 grand kids, which have then gone on to have 21 great grand kids. Although we were short 4 grand kids, and 8 great grand kids, it was a great day. Here are some pictures of everyone and some others if I can get them.

Here is a picture of me and Reef .

Here is a pic of all the grandkids and great grandkids.



Here is a picture of my granny and papa with their kids.

My sisters and I and Reef.

Here is a picture of my Dad and Reef.



Here is Clint on the Mini-bike.

My Heart Aches

This blog is just me venting about a conversation that I had last night on Face book. My mind is at a complete loss for thoughts and words about two people who were once so strong in the church can fall away so far and not realize the lives that they are living is so against God's word. And I just wanted to add in that I was not perfect in any way, right after I moved out of my parents house I fell away, and got tangled up in the world, but the whole time I felt so guilty, and I was looking over my shoulder the whole time wondering if I would get caught in any way. I am so glad and so thankful that I came back to God before it was too late. OK back to the story- It started out about one guy joining a group to "overturn prop. 8" which then was replied by someone asking him why he would join something like that. In which he returned saying that everyone should be able to love whomever they want even if it is someone of the same sex as them. Which of course sent me into a fury of why this person would even make a comment such as that, and by midnight last night there were 57 comments in which that guys brother and cousin got in on it and my 2 sisters and a cousin trying to show book, chapter, and verse in the Bible all of passages about homosexuality (which these 2 bothers know these passages b/c they were raised in the church and their dad is still an elder at one), but they seemed to be unfazed by it and thought that we were small minded and the reason that bigotry, and hypocrisy were still alive. I feel bad for their parents who are still very strong Christians in the church that their only 2 sons have fallen so off of the path. One went off to California to become an actor which was probably his first mistake, getting mixed up in that worldly lifestyle. And ironically enough the other brother went off to preaching school at Southwest- then got mixed up in a lifestyle that he shouldn't of and is now going into the military to try to turn his life around or so I thought before last night. I pray for both of these brothers every night that something would prick their hearts and turn them back to God before it is everlasting too late. What makes me even sadder is that I grew up with both of these guys and the one is my age and we were the best of friends. I remember being in bible class one time( I think it was in junior high) and the teacher told us to look around and that only about 1 out of 5 of us would stay strong in the church- and we looked around and there were about 10 or more in the class and we laughed b/c we couldn't imagine that that would ever be true and now today there are 4 of us that are still in the church and the rest have fallen away. And now as a parent I look at my kids bible classes and it makes me think of that and it makes me instill God's word even more into my kids head, and hope and pray every night that they will remain good, and strong Christians for the rest of their lives and that they will find a good, and strong Christian mate that will help them go to Heaven. I know that there will be some rough times to go through but as long as we follow God's plan for us then we will be fine. OK I feel better now that I have said all of this- sorry if this is not one of my best.

House of Sickness

Well we have had 3 sick kids and I am soooo tired. It started about 2 weeks ago when Chase had a fever and then a rash. Well it was confirmed that he had strep throat that had gone into Scarlet fever. So we got through that OK. Well on Monday the real fun began. Reef had a rash on his bottom so I made an appt. for him and a follow-up appt. for Chase. After I made the appt. Kori was running fever and screaming that her throat was hurting as well. So i thought since I was taking 2 of the 3 that they could see Kori as well. See our co-pay for Dr. visits are $20.00 a child. So it was $40.00 to see Chase and Reef. Well i get to the Dr. Chase is fine, Reef has a fungus (Yeah!!!) and when i asked the lady to look in Kori's throat she told me no, b/c she did not have an appt. Well lets just say I wasn't very happy and Kori was more irritated b/c the Dr. ignored her. ( and she let her know it). So I let it go and went and made an appt for Kori for the next morning. Well so we went home and Kori continued to have fever and couldn't eat anything b/c of her throat. That was all Monday.
Tuesday morning we go back to the Dr. (another $20.00 just in case anyone was keeping up) by now Kori has a rash all over her body as well. Kori had strep throat which had gone to scarlet fever . Of course it was another Dr. that i saw and so I went on to complain to him about the lady who refused to see my daughter. she wouldn't have scarlet fever if she was seen yesterday when i had her in. They apologized so I guess i was happy but Kori was not b/c she had to get a shot. We come home and right before bed last night Reef wakes up all stuffy and then wakes up at 1am with fever and of course I am out of Tylenol so Clint had to go to Walmart to get some. Gotta love him. About 3 we got back to sleep with no fever. Wake up Wednesday morning with fever again, and a very stuffy nose so I guess thinking that 3rd time is a charm I make another appt. ( up to 80.00 now) Go to see the Dr. (the same lady that wouldn't see Kori) and Reef thank goodness just has a cold. So in 3 days I spent about 3-4 hours in the Dr.s office ( mainly waiting in a little room which I hate) and $80.00 + Kori's antibiotics cost- to find out that Chase is fine, Kori has scarlet fever, and Reef has a fungus and a cold. Yeah!!! love sick kids.
I also came to find out that Reef is not a very good sick baby. I don't know if it is b/c i have 2 others that are sick, or b/c I never had one this young be sick before but he has been whiny all day long- wanting me to hold him. Very hard to get anything done. Anyways I will be very happy when everyone in the house is 100%. And hopefully me and Clint will not get sick from all of this. Sorry if this was a little boring- felt like i had to get all of this off of my chest. Still a little angry at the lady who refused to see Kori. She is really not my favorite person right about now. So all of you parents or future parents start saving up for Dr. visits and medicines. It is so much fun- now on to a much needed rest.

Happy Halloween!!!

Hope everyone had a safe and happy halloween. Mine was very good as well as exhausting. The kids were very excited about dressing up and going to get the candy from everyone. Chase was a pirate, Kori was a witch ( go figure), and Reef was a skeleton again. For those who don't know what I mean last Halloween me and Clint went as skeletons to a party and that is how we told everyone we were pregnant b/c I had a baby skeleton on my belly. Anyways we got all dressed up and we had made some cookies b/c we went to a couple of nursing homes and passed out cookies to the old folks that lived there. Also b/c one of the nursing homes is where Clint's grandma lives and the other one is where my great uncle lives- so we had to go and see them. We then got in and out and in and out and in and out ( you get the picture) of the car to about 6 or 7 houses and stayed and visited with all of the relatives and took pictures, and got way too much candy. I was goign to let them walk up and down the streets, but by the time we got to the last house I was way too tired. I didn't realize how hard it is to get 2 kids and a baby in and out of a car until it was too late. But we had fun and Reef fell asleep at the last house- he had had enough. So anyways I am trying hard not to eat all of the kids candy and trying to monitor how much candy they have a day. I think I am going to have to hide it somewhere where they or me can't find it. So I hope you enjoy the pictures that I put up- the other one of them is at the pumpkin patch that we went to also on Halloween- trying to cram to much into one day.

Sea World

This past weekend we took the kids to Sea World and to the Zoo. We went with Chris and Katie and their 3 kids and had a great time. Chase and Kori rode on their first big rollercoaster and loved every minute of it. There was hardly anybody there so they rode Journey to Atlantis about 4 times in a row, in the very front of the roller coaster. I am so glad that they like rollercoasters and not afraid of them, since me and Clint love them. Except by the time that I got to the Great White I wasn't feelilng much for it and really should have not gone on it, but i promised Rig that I would ride it with him. Anyways we had a blast watching the Shamu, Beluga, and Sea Lion shows, feeding the dolphins, and spending time with family. Holly and Paul and their kids even came down and we got to spend a little time with them at the hotel.
The next day we went to the Zoo which was a little hot for me but the kids had a blast there too. Reef slept the whole time- so his first zoo experience was I guess exhausting for him. We had planned on staying through Sunday but we decided to come home early. We are in the middle of a gospel meeting right now with Tom Bright, which is why we came home we didn't want to miss any of his sermons.
We are going to be very busy this week. We have the gospel meeting till Wednesday. The next day me and Kyla have to go up and decorate for the kids costume party that we are having that night. Make skeleton cookies for that. Then on Friday Chase has his Halloween party for his school that day and then that night its on to trick or treating around to everyones house. And sometime in there we have to carve our pumpkins, go to a pumkin patch for pictures, and so much more. Yeah!!!!! Well try and do the carving tonight after the meeting, but who knows. I will try to work on putting pictures up but I'm not very computer smart so we will see how that goes. I will keep you posted on pics from Halloween

Here we go!!!!

Well ok since Crystal did her blog I guess I need to keep my promise and do mine- I am a horrible writer so this might just be all about nothing. I have been keeping up with Kendra, Theresa, Autumn, Amy, Rachel, and now Crystal- so hopefully I will be able to do just half a good a job as these girls.

There is not much to talk about i am very busy with 3 kids. Chase is in a pre-school 5 days a week and loving it. He is learning his letters and numbers and all sorts of new songs that he comes home singing to me everyday and what he learns about at school- very exciting to watch him learn new things and become a little boy instead of a toddler. He is also playing soccer every Saturday till Thanksgiving. Yeah!!! He is in all niceness very interesting to watch. He doesn't have the competitiveness yet which is a good thing. He would rather be out their socializing with everyone than playing. At one time he had 3 other boys listening to his story while the other 2 boys were running the ball down the field- go figure. Never thought that he would be my social one since the whole time in College Station he was attached to my hip and wouldn't talk to anyone at all. My how he has changed and grown before my eyes. Well Wednesday nights at church they have the little boys go up before church starts and about 3 or 4 boys will go and lead a song up in the front to get everyone mind ready for church to start. Well last Wednesday night Chase wanted to do it- so we practiced at home the week before and told him all the rules (don't be silly, sing the song, don't yell into the microphone)- When it came to his turn he went up there with his open song book, pulled the microphone down and said "Please turn to page 553." and then started singing "Jesus Loves Me" He did such a good job I was tearing up and wishing that I had my camera. I was so proud.
Next there is Kori. Enough said!! Just kidding- she is having a hard time I think being the middle child. She has always been well how should I put it- well mean. She is bossy, stubborn, very aggressive, strong-willed, independent, and loud. And then there are some seldom times when she can be the sweetest little girl in the world and you wonder where she came from, and who this little girl is. Me and Clint have been trying to think of different ways to discipline her since nothing seems to be working. Some people may not agree with this but we spank are kids, we are commanded by God to "Spare the rod- spoil the child"- not that we use a rod but we do spank. Well back to my story the spanking hasn't' really been working, we tried taking all of her toys away and that doesn't work. So we are on to a new thing where I will spend quality time with just me and Kori and give her a little bit of attention and we will see how that works. We are thinking that she is feeling a little bit ignored with Chase and his school and soccer and Reef needing my full attention- so we are hoping that maybe this works please pray for us as we find a result. Now putting the negatives aside about Kori and on to the positives. Like I said she can be the sweetest thing at times- she is very sweet to babies- she can make Reef laugh and talk at anytime during the day. He loves her and is very fascinated with her and everything that she does. She can be very helpful around the house at times. She is very smart.( I know every parents thinks there kids are smart) She is very interested in letters and Chase's schoolwork that he does. She will probably start reading when Chase does. She just moved up to the 3 year old class at church and they have memory verses every Sunday- and she was so excited about having memory verses and learning things that Chase learned. So every Sunday morning she gets up and asks for her memory verse and studies it until she gets to class. She also wants to go up and lead songs with Chase but we have to tell her that only boys are allowed to do this and it is a little hard for her to understand- but she is getting better. Kori is a one of a kind little girl that at times is very very difficult to be around but at the end of the day when she asks you to snuggle with her and kisses your hand and says "Mommy I love you and you are my bestest friend in the whole world" it makes you forget all the bad things.
Last but not least is Reef. There is not alot to say about him. He is 4 months old now and is rolling all over the place. The blanket on the floor started out a very small square and now has grown to a very long rectangle. He is scooting all over and I know when he is crying that he is off the blanket and onto the tile. he loves to sit up, stand and watch people and talk to everyone. He smiles at everyone and is very nosey. He wants to be down on the ground with Chase and Kori and do the things that they do. He is eating cereal now at night and last week started bananas and is eating applesauce this week and loves it. He looks just like Chase did but acts like Kori did as a baby so he is a great combination of them both.
Well that wraps up the family sorry if it has bored everyone on to death- I will wait on the comments or no comments to either stop writing or to maybe try a few more who knows.