Merry Christmas to You

Now 4 days before Christmas, we are finally ready to come in from the rush & chaos & busyness & enjoy this time. Sad, isn't it? We had our Kids' Choir musical last night, Christmas at Bethlehem Gulch, in which all 6 of us participated. Clay ran sound, etc., I directed the songs, Audrey was a sheep at the manger, Abby was a pig at the manger (don't ask!), Adrienne was an angel (for 1 night of her life! Just kidding!), and Addison was a little lamb. Wish I had pictures.

The week before that was the Adult Choir musical, The Name...Jesus. Again, we all participated to some degree. Clay lead the multi-church choir, the Kids' Choir performed on one song, & I led them. It really was good (and I'm glad it's over!).

Before that, West Side Christian School (where Adrienne is) had their Christmas program. The K-4's did a nativity story, and Adrienne was Mary. I took video, but it's kinda long, so...

Intermingled in all of that is the Christmas parties, shopping, Christmas cards, and all the other things that occupy our time. (You all know how it is!) But, finally I have some peace, now with the groceries bought & the girls at home & no set agenda for the days leading up to Thursday. Now we'll bundle up & play in the yard, drink hot chocolate, watch the Grinch & Charlie Brown & take good naps in the afternoon. Sounds nice, huh? Hmmm...

So, merry Christmas to all of you, from us. Hope your Christmas & New Year hold blessings you couldn't dream of.

Turnabout's Fair Play!

Send your own ElfYourself eCards

Send your own ElfYourself eCards

Our New Kitty!

So cute! Here's our new pet, an 8-week-old grey & stripey teeny little girl kitty! Abby, with the help of her sisters, named her Eloise. She is bound to be one tough kitty!

Owens Funny of the Week: We found out last weekend (Dec. 13) that our kitty, who was sick & went to the vet, is not a girl, but a BOY kitty! Ha-ha!! We thought we'd let Clay name him, but the best he could come up with was "Falwell" (after the late Pastor and President of Liberty University, Jerry Falwell). Adrienne decided on "Handsome-- because girls are pretty & boys are handsome!" she says. So now we have "Handsome Falwell!" Twisted, huh!?!

Lunch Date with Friends

As ordinary as this picture may seem, this is a rare occasion at the Owens house. You see, usually at meal times there are a lot more that ONE sitting at the table! I guess Addison felt a little alone & grabbed her friends for a lunch date! Ah... Addison, 3 babies, Tigger and Pinkie-Pie Pony... that's more like it!!!

We love you, Hooks Family! (aka: Ode to Girlfriends)

Ok, I just don't even know what to say! Jenna & Andy Hooks & their sweet children, Russ, Henley & Will, are moving to Benton, AR tomorrow. They are such good friends & our whole family will miss them terribly! We sure will miss Andy's artistic abilities & Jenna's "being led" to say just the right thing!!! We hope you'll come and visit us soon & often. We just HAVE to have our girls nite/day out, & don't forget the new Wii-Smackdowns! We love you guys!!!

Halloween PM Pics

Here are the cute pictures from last night! (Clay & I decided not to dress up this year, we're scary enough as it is!)

Trick or Treat!

Here they are in all their glory! Halloween was so much fun this year! To start off the day, Adrienne had "Old McDonald Dress-up Day" where she chose to dress up as the farmer's wife. She looked too cute in her prairie dress, dishrag apron & wire-rimmed, lense-less (post-Audrey) glasses! The twins went to their school where they had their annual Fall Festival. One full hour was not enough for Abby, who wanted to do it ALL! Audrey got her hair sprayed hot pink, won a 2-liter sprite, & kept her helpers hoppin'! Addison got to stay home & play with Daddy (as I sold nachos all day at the Fall Festival!).

That evening, the girls got all dressed up for trick-or-treating! They all looked adorable, even in their craft-foam & felt costumes! Audrey stayed in full character, I don't think she spoke 10 "words" when she was in her puppy outfit! Abby went up to one house to trick-or-treat & when the man gave her a piece of candy, she looked at him & said "More!"

We all had a great time & got WAY too much candy. Maybe I should put some of this back for Christmas... Hmm... Do you think the girls would notice if they got "gummy bats & ghosts" in their stockings?!

Fall Fun!

Well, since I haven't posted in weeks, I suppose I should catch up! My parents were able to come for a visit the week of the twelfth. It was great to have them out here & we had a great visit. The twins had a soccer game & my birthday was that Tuesday. There was no church that Wednesday, so we just played outside & visited. Addison especially enjoyed the daytime, as she was the only girlie here to soak up the grandparent attention!

Last Saturday, while I was grocery shopping, Clay & the girls carved a jack-o-lantern & roasted pumpkin seeds! The pumpkin looks great & the girls had a great time doing it--they filled me in on all the gooey details!

The girls are all excited about Halloween this Friday. Audrey's going to be a puppy, Abby is going to be a pig (surprise!), Adrienne will be Pocahontas & Addison will be a ballerina. Stay tuned for pics to come!

It's SOCCER TIME!!!

Soccer season has officially started at our house! Audrey & Abby are going full steam ahead with their TOPSoccer team(the buddy-ball team sponsored by Hope Landing, like their T-ball team). Abby LOVES it; she gets in there with the big kids & has a blast! Audrey loves RUNNING AROUND THE FIELD!!! Here are some pictures of their latest game--they're kind of dark because it threatened to rain the whole evening, but held off until that night.

Such Progress!

So I just have to sneak this post in... Audrey, as many of you know, has been struggling a little in school. Mainly with the routine & "tight schedule" of Kindergarten activities & dealing with the frustration of doing things that come easier for others... Throw in a little stubbornness & a strong will... Anyway, after a very trying week last week, we set 3 goals for Audrey. Her teachers said if she did well this week with her goals, she could get a stuffed puppy that Mrs. Rhonda (her para-pro) reserved just for her. WELL, I just have to say I'm so proud of her! She did it! She came home with a plushy, squishy soft white & lavender puppy she named "Snowy Day" (all on her own!). It's amazing what can spark an all-out celebration at our house! Yay, Audrey!

Fifth Sunday Sing

Every fifth Sunday at our church, we have a "Fifth Sunday Sing," where members can sing or play for evening service. Our last one was Aug. 31, and the "Li'l Ladies" sang "God is So Good" and "Zacchaeus." My friend Barbara got the last one on video for us.

P.S.-- Funny of the Week: So we're driving down the road one day last week and Adrienne slides open her cup holder on her booster seat (which is quite nasty from leftover food/drinks), then proudly exclaims, "Look! My cup holder just baked me a pretzel!!"

Audrey reading...

I'm trying to get into a little routine of going over the girls schoolwork (forms, notes, etc.) right when they get home from school (so I don't have time to slack off). Audrey and Abby made a little booklet they read to me from today. Audrey's reading was just so adorable, I couldn't help but get the video camera to show you all. Sometimes it brings tears to my eyes to think of how far she (and Abby) has come. (Plus, the video will give me something to look at when Mrs. Blaylock tells me she's been in time-out...again...)

First Day of Kindergarten!

Well, the twins started Kindergarten today! Backpack clad and lunchbox laden, Audrey & Abby headed of to school. They are in Mrs. Brenda Blaylock's Zebra Class at Parkers Chapel Elementary School. Abby said she had a great day today, but forgot to eat her snack at recess. (I'm sure she was too busy playing, if they were outside.) Audrey likes her class (especially all the zebra paraphernalia), but has a hard time transitioning to a new routine in a new school. To tell you the truth, I'm having a hard time transitioning too! Here are some pics from this morning...

First Day of Pre-K!

Today was Adrienne's first day of school! She's so big! She's in Mrs. Kristi Gunter's K4 class at West Side Christian School. She was excited this morning as she walked in and excited this afternoon when we picked her up. To put it in her words: "I just want to go to school all the time!" Here are the pictures from today (she requested the shot with Skecher!).

P.S.--This was also Audrey & Abby's last day of therapy at Hope Landing, where they have "Pool Day" on Thursdays, hence the picture with the twins in their swim suits & cover-ups.

VBS--Outrigger Island FUN!

We just finished our church's Vacation Bible School, "Outrigger Island." Clay led the music & worship rallies, I helped with 3's-Pre K's (with my friends Jenna & Tina, pictured with Adrienne), and the girls had a BLAST all week. Here are some pictures from the week at VBS. Aloha!

The Latest Craziness (Our New Puppy)

Well, since my last post, the Owens family has, once again, found itself hosting chaos. We (me & the girls) travelled (once again) to Georgia so I could be there when my mom had total knee replacement surgery. The girls got to spend some time with Clay's side of our family and even went to Chuck E. Cheese's! They also spent time with my side of the family as we spent the night with my sis, Beth, & her new husband, Jason (wedding pics to follow, hopefully!), and got to visit with Dunka while Nonni was resting in her room.

Today we made good on a promise to the girls to get them a puppy. She is a cute, 3 month old mutt that has fast become the 7th member of our clan! We haven't named her yet; we're still looking for the perfect name for her. Feel free to drop suggestions!

Happy 4th Birthday, Adrienne!

She's our 4-year-old diva-momma-princess! Adrienne Grace celebrated her birthday yesterday, the 25th, surrounded by lots of Barbies & My Little Ponies, which she loves! The down-side of the day was spending most of the afternoon at the doctor's office for school check-ups and s-h-o-t-s! But they all did great and got to go to McDonald's for dinner (Adrienne's choice, of course).

Today we had a party with some of her friends. The Barbie cake was FANTASTIC (thanks, Tina!) and everyone had a blast. Adrienne is so excited to be 4 & looks forward to starting Pre-K next month. Happy Birthday, Sweet Thing!

The Trip Home

Here are a few more pictures of our week in NM and the trip home. The sanctuary was so pretty; Clay got a pic while the orchestra rehearsed. Then he got one of me & my friend, Barbara Murchison, who plays violin (and anything that has strings!). The lake was muddy because we had isolated thunderstorms everyday. (We even lost power one night & had to take cold showers the next morning!) But even with the rain, there was no humidity there--Clay barely broke a sweat! We had no A/C, but we didn't need it, we just left our windows open. There's one of the whole group we took before we left. We really had a great time.

Glorieta, NM ("A Little Bit of Heaven")

We had a great week at Glorieta. The girls had fun classes every day, where they played putt-putt, fed ducks at a lake, sang, played & had "water day." They loved it! Clay & I also had a good time, too. Clay took sessions in leadership & I did the orchestra and children's choir sessions. We had awesome services in the morning & amazing concerts every night. Here are some pics from the week.

On the Road Again...

Well, the Owens Family is back from the 2nd of our Summer trips. The girls and I (Laura) travelled to GA to, once again, participate in a wedding: my sister, Beth, and her new husband, Jason Yohe. (Pictures will soon follow in a later post.) The family then drove home to spend one night in our beds, only to get up & travel about 1,000 miles in the other direction, to Glorieta, New Mexico, for a music and worship conference. Here are some pics we took along the way. We went through Paris, Texas and stopped awhile at the Cadillac Ranch. The scenery in NM was awesome.