Drama in “BIG D”, and I’m talking about Dallas…

…Dallas Cowboys to be exact. Raymond has been a Cowboy fan from the time he starting enjoying football. One of the first things I remember when marring into this Cowboy’s fan life, was when Tom Landry was as head coach, it was a sad day for Dallas and I still remember my husband mornin over it. He has been a fan through the good and the bad, however this past Sunday was more than anyone in my house could bear. We were all too happy to take off the “game” jerseys that Raymond made everyone wear, we were sporting “Romo”, “Witten”, & “Bob Lilly” (of the classics), we even pulled out “Smith” and “Aikman” to go around, yes even Stacy and Heather had to wear a jersey to have the privilege to watch the game in our house.

Raymond has often commented on the fact, that after our boys started playing football, that the pro’s were “fake” and were “not real”, that watching his little ones fight hard battles and either win or lose that “this was real football”. They play with their "hearts" and "souls", they leave it all on the field, they do it because they “want to”, not because they “have to”. They do it for the chance of the “big game”, the chance to go to the “ship”, for "pride and honor". “Finish the drill” is our family motto, don’t start what you don’t intend to finish.

I always knew what he meant, but what did it for me, was this past Sunday. I don’t know how you can have so much talent on a team and no heart. I know they make the big bucks, but after this last game, it appeared there was no “heart”. Too many chiefs, not enough Indians as the saying goes, or in this case to many wanna be leaders and none of them doing a good job. Needless to say, the season is over, I hope they have plenty of time to reflect on what they have become and hopefully find the leadership from the top down to change for the better, not only for their own sake but that of the fans.

So with the Cowboy's out of the way, we will turn our full attention to the college kids, we have a couple of bowl games we are looking forward to. We have the Tostitos Fiesta Bowl with Texas vs. Ohio State on January 5th …love you RD, but it’s on, I know we were robbed and really should be playing for the national championship; however Ohio State is always a good match up. And as much as I love our own Melvin, Ole Miss will be going down when they face Texas Tech in the Cotton Bowl this Friday @ 2:00 pm. No matter who wins in the end, we are looking forward to these two set of teams to fight it out to the end, to finish what they started, to play with pride of their school, team, and fans.

Hook ‘em Horns!

Another Christmas has come and gone, another good time had by all….

...Emma still believes in Santa, and I think Robert does too….Lil Ray now realizes all that goes on behind the scene, but still plays along and tries to make the best of it for all.

Little Raymond was up at 6:00 am, getting everyone out of bed…Big Ray and I rolled out of bed around 6:15ish, both boys woke Emma up and we were in for fun surprising morning.

Once we got all the gift opening out of the way, it was time to start preparing lunch, we all had our fill of ham and all the fixins, spending time with my side of the family was a nice change. Ray’s family is in Texas and mine travels to Texas for the Holidays, we usually spend it with friends. It was nice to have my mom, dad, Andy, Jacob, Chris and Justin over to send the day with. Lil Raymond reminded us what the day was all about as he blessed the food, and what a speical treat/true blessing it was to hear him pray.

Ray and I did our usual Christmas day tradition and went to the move theater and watched Keanu Reeves new movie “The Day The Earth Stood Still”, it was a good sci-fi.

All in all another great Christmas, I was able to sleep in the day after…it was great, except for the part when I woke up, I had/have a cold, congestions, and fever…but I am grateful, that it came after and not during all the holiday excitement….I have one week to recover!

Hope you enjoy the pics:

The Hangout….

…so how do you know if your house has been taken over by teenagers and has become the official “hangout” and they are comfortable with it and your family?

Our blog link should really read Contreras family of 6 or more, Brandon practically lives here, Austin is not too far behind, and all the others (Jordan, Spencer, Cole, Nitzel, & Clay to name a few), just drop in when they can. I’m not sure if we are there yet, but I think we are pretty close.

Here are the top five reasons that have led me to this conclusion:

1. There are anywhere from 2 or more extra kids at my house every weekend and sometimes during the week, yes even on school nights.

2. When I go to the fridge to grab a coke or other any item for that matter, and the case or whatever I just bought yesterday (sometimes today) is empty.

3. When I wash clothes, I’m finding articles of clothing that don’t belong to my household.

4. I know what combo number or food they like from fast food places.

5. The only two teens asleep upstairs at this time, are not mine (Rob is at Spencer’s & Raymond is house-sitting)!

Top five reasons why we wouldn’t have it any other way:

1. It helps me understand the teenage boy (I think).

2. Emma has “a lot” of big brothers to watch after her.

3. I know where my kids are at.

4. It’s a blessing to be able to serve them in this capacity.

5. It reminds me that there is “life”, “joy”, and “happiness” around and I need to relish every moment of it.

I hope that you have experiences like this, maybe not exactly like this, but one in which you can server others and reap the rewards that it brings.

Merry Christmas to your family from ours....

    Click here to create your own video

Christmas Brunch...

A cute pic from Christmas brunch at church last week…Emma - the best “lip syncer” on stage, what is the saying, “don’t know it, fake it”…she is a quick learner!

Janine and Glenn do such a great with the children’s program, they have dedicated a lot of time and energy into it, and I know that our children will be better Christian’s because of it! I love and appreciate everything they do, not only for the children’s program, but also for our church and our small group!

preschool Christmas party...

...don't you just love that age? So all the moms and dads leave work a little early to come and see their kids perform, you know we all get excited to see our children at any age!

the pics above, are of Emma during today's little performance they did for the parents, they sang songs and did a little play if you will to the tune of "I saw momma kissing Santa Clause", well if you are the only girl in class, getting the leading lady role is not an issue, she was “momma”, however by the time they were done, she was so upset, because the play was so darn cute all the parents were in stitches laughing away, and she thought they were laughing at her...it was too cute~

So much going on, I need to stop and smell the Roses...

Well so much has happened since my first ever and last blog….

Robert has turned 15, the BHS football team has won its second state title in a row, Raymond has finished his 1st semester of college, Emma is still going 90 to nothing and time does not stop for her, Big Raymond is busier than ever and working a lot, and as for me other than the hectic home life, soccer season seems to be well underway, even if we are only doing preseason workouts. I hope to post some pics soon of all that is going on, just been, well a bit busy.

I finally bought our Christmas tree, we have been meaning to get it since Thanksgiving, but with all of our busyness, we just have not found time when we could go as a whole family as we have done in years past. I finally broke down and went by myself yesterday. Emma and I decorated and well we didn’t do to bad of a job, I almost think to myself, if it wasn’t for Emma, we may have not gotten a tree this year at all, and nobody would have probably missed it, seems kind of sad the more I think about it. But that is not the case, it’s up and shining bright in our living room, now to wrap those presents that are hidden around the house, that’s my next midnight project, when everyone is asleep.

Church is great, Pastor R.D. had a really, really great message this past week, which gave me a whole new perspective on viewing Christmas and the birth of Christ in a whole new manner, it was pretty awesome and powerful being that the sermon itself was only about 15-20 mins long, but very impactful (not even sure if that is a word, but I don’t know how else to describe it! We had our Sunday Christmas brunch, fellowship, and a sermon all in one that explains the short, yet powerful message. Small group and my prayer warriors are doing fine, everyone seems to be busy, but overall healthy and ready for the holidays.

I would like for you to pray for my “soul sisters” as well as the families of Melissa, Jessica, and Jamie, as this will be their first families first Christmas without their beautiful daughters.

Until my next update, stay safe and God bless you and yours~

Soccer Season Is Getting Ready to Start....

...oh yeah, it's that time of the year, time to get ready to get the girls in shape...how fun.

This great pastime is more of a hobby for me, coaching the girls varsity team at Buford has become a real passion and I wouldn't have it any other way. This season we have added two other coaches and are looking @ having a JV team. Both are long overdue, so I am super excited about both!

Robert who now is a freshmen @ BHS will be trying out for the boys team, not sure how that will go, he is more of a offensive lineman for football, but has played stopper before @ the middle school, so this will be interesting to see how he will do.