Happy Birthday Peyton

Wow! Where did the last 12 years go?? It seems like it has just flown by and then again I feel like Peyton has been our baby alot longer than 12 years some days:) I do not even know where to begin! I am crying as I type this blog entry.. If you know us you know our story and I know exactly where I need to begin! I THANK GOD for this precious child! Oh my goodness, he was the sweetest baby and was so good, we honestly called him our "angel baby"There has not been one day of his life that he has not made us laugh!:) he is so full of life, energy, humor you name it!!`After we moved to St Louis is when the TROUBLE began oh my goodness! what happened to our angel baby? he started to preschool when he was 3 and loved it and loved being Mr Independent so different from his brother.. Man we had valleys and mountains and more valleys and then I guess it was 3rd grade when all we saw were the Mountains and continue to see them today! Praise God!! Peyton is such a great kid with a heart for others, especially babies and animals! He is so sensitive and I love that about him..He loves his friends and his family.. I think it is so funny how you know where you stand with Peyton if he likes you, you totally know and if he doesn't like you, you totally know..lol:) I can not believe he is 12 years old today, I have been so sad for the past couple of days, I know it is silly but I just realize that my baby is growing up... I guess when you know you are not having anymore it gets harder as they get older.. I look forward to watching him and Phillip grow into men and I look forward to everyday with them! I pray daily for both my boys that they will grow into Strong Christ Followers and they will be true examples of Godly men! I pray that God will watch over them and protect their hearts and minds as they go thru the difficult teen years.. I pray that God will just keep them pure and innocent and I pray that both of them in time will find strong Christian girls who come from the same foundation as they do!! Happy Happy Birthday Peyton! I hope that you have a great day and I hope you know how much Daddy and me love you and how proud of you we are! We wish you nothing but lots of happiness and smiles and we pray that God will pour many many blessings on your precious life! Don't ever forget you can be whatever you want to be, whatever you set your mind to,do your best and know that we are your biggest fan club forever!! love you! love you! love you!! xoxoxooxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo

Waiting!

Wow! Have you ever heard a song on the radio or at church and felt like it really touched you or better yet really spoke to you? Well, that happened to me this week, it happens often with me and I think about it for days and wait to hear it again and love it even more when I hear it the next time.. This time I heard this song called I am waiting by John Waller and it touched me and spoke to me and I came home and really prayed about it and I think it is so cool how No matter what we are going thru in life if it is daily life struggles or your kids or your marriage or a goal that have set for yourself this song truly applies.. I encourage all of you to listen to this song and just pray that God will help you thru whatever it is that you are waiting for him and I encourage you to be the obedient servant that he wants us to be and I promise you if you are the faithful servant he will answer your prayers.. Remember it may not turn out the way WE want it to but it is always his plan and it will be the best for you!! Have a great day and go listen to that song and turn it up as loud as you can!!!!

Old Friends are the Best Friends

Old Friends are the Best Friends... have you ever heard that saying?? That saying is so true!! I received a e-mail this week about Girls in My Circle and it just talked about how when we are in Jr High we always refer to one person(usually) as our Best Friend.. Well, this was definitely the one in Jr High .. She was my Bestest Friend in Jr High we were inseparable! We were sisters that we did not have!We had niicknames for each other her name was Kaye and my name was Shea and we combined our last names together Culbeale..lol... we did everything together.. We did each others makeup, borrowed clothes, did each others hair:) and had to have our bedrooms decorated the same ( well at least I did!!) When my family found out that we were moving back to Germantown, I was just so devastated! I was in 9th grade and I so wanted to go to High School with Kara and then we were going to go to college and be roomies and now the plans were just ruined.. We were both so sad and cried and cried and we thought if we super glued our hands together than they could not separate us!!lol:) I will never forget we promised each other that we would write everyday.. this was before e-mail and then we promised we would call each other and we did do this until both sets of our parents grounded us because we ran our phone bills up! We promised we would visit often and we did !! We went on vacation together.. Our first trip was to Booneville,Mo to visit her Grandmother and we had so much fun, we were 14 years old and thought we were 20:) we met some cute boys and told them we were 16 hmmmm... and cried all the way home because we both were in lllllooooovvvveee and I am sure her Mom was like Poooollllleeeaaassseee!!!!!! We went to The Worlds Fair together in Knoxville, Tennessee, we went boating on the Tennessee River with my family where we introduced each other to alcohol (lol now) sure wasn't at the time because my momma caught us in the act... It was not wine it was the hard stuff that was awwwwffffulllll and we only took a sip and thought we were drunk and thought we were gonna throw up! My mom threatened to call her mom and we swore we would never touch it again in our lives:)lol!! We learned to smoke cigarettes together and she just could not.. she could not inhale and realized she just couldn't do it.. me on the other hand inhale or not I kept the nasty habit going for awhile... just thought we were so coolllllll, now we both agree how stupid we were and how bad we smelled..lol:) and pray to God that our kids won't follow in our footsteps...Kara's mom Ms Patti has a best friend name Peggy and we always said we were gonna be just like them and keep in touch forever! Well God has truly blessed our friendship for all these years and we have stayed in touch! We may not see each other like we would like to but we talk weekly and every time we do we always have a great laugh:) Kara is the kind of friend everyone should have! She is always there and always has encouraging words for me... She is one of the biggest blessings in my life and always will be! I thank God for Kara and letting us share our growing up years together.. I got married first and Kara was my maid of honor and also the Godmother to my boys they call her Aunt Kara and she is married to a awesome man who adores and loves her so much.. I love him because he puts us with our phone conversations which can go on for hours with lots of laughs and lots of WHATS?? and lots of reallllyyyy... and lots of other stuff that I am sure he shakes his head about just like my husband..:) I am so Thankful that God blessed her almost 4 years ago with a precious baby girl who calls me Aunt Shannon. Elle is so blessed to have Kara as her Mommy.. She is such a sweet, caring, loving person and God truly knew what he was doing when he designed her to be a Mommy She is a wonderful Mommy!!!..I love my conversations with her, we share everything that you can think of and when I think back to when our friendship started in the 7th grade, I love how God has kept us together but yet so far apart. ( I don't like that part). I love sharing my faith and hearing about hers and I love that we can share his word and I love how we can encourage each other to Grow with God in our daily walks.. I love how we talk about our marriages and I love how we talk about our children and I love to tell her what she is in for in the Teen years... I love the fact that she is 3 months older than me so I can give her so much crap about being old:) I love how we share recipes and decorating ideas...But most of all I just love her!!!! The e-mail went on to say that Girls in my Circle after you grow up doesn't mean that you just have one best friend I guess you could have but God has blessed both of our lives with many best friends and I am so thankful for all of them and love them all dearly too just as I am sure she does too but the e-mail talks about what we find Best in all of our Girls.. I love that!!It talks about how we have certain friends for certain things and certain times in our lives and it is so true!! Again I am so THANKFUL for all of my friends and I love the fact that I will spend eternity with all of them!! Thank you God for my sweet friends and I pray that God will just bless all of them and that he will use each one of them to share their special qualities with others so they can bless other girls lives like each one has blessed mine!! I love you all! even if I have known you for 40 years or 10 minutes!!! Proverbs 17:17

p.s. I have to tell you that the song that is playing"I've been waiting for a girl like you" by Foreigner was a song that we liked in the 80's and there is a story behind it with a big laugh back then and everytime we talk about it now... I wonder if her Mom remembers it??lol:) Kara wait for the 2nd song to start too?lol:)

Tracie's Going Away Lunch

Today we said "See Ya Later" to our sweet friend Tracie! Tracie was one of our leaders in our Just Moved Bible Study who moved here from the Dallas area about a year ago and has been homesick ever since.. You truly would not have known unless she told you , every time I would see her if it was at bible study, church, or Kroger:)lol) she would always have a smile on her face and talking to someone. She recently told us before this job transfer came available that she realized that this was Gods plan for her and her family to be here and she was going to make the best of it! And then the call came, her hubby got a offer to go back to the Dallas area so they are moving HOME.. I am happy yet sad for her.. You see I of course don't want her to move.. but, I am glad that she gets to go back home to her family and friends and that she will just pick up where she left off.. Tracie is just one of those people who makes you feel like you have been friends forever and always has a encouraging word even when she needs some too:) I wish Tracie and her family lots of happiness and many blessings in their new life journey.. Isn't it amazing how when we are faithful servants like Tracie and her family how God truly knows the desires of our hearts and hears our prayers and answers them.. Yeah for Tracie!! I know we will keep in touch always and see each other again soon! We are planning a girls getaway sometime to go visit her.. fun fun once again for the Just moved girls:) we are going to rename ourselves to the Moved On Girls! I have a shout out too for my friend Courtney that you see kissing the precious new baby girl. Congratulations on your newest blessing! Courtney has the cutest kids too... Can you tell I just love this baby:)

Yummy Potato Soup Recipe

After many friends asking me for this recipe I thought I would post it on my blog for all to have! It is the best potato soup and it is so easy to make and it feeds a ton of people:) My boys do not like soup but I made it tonight and they both liked it! Yeah!! Yippee! I know it is a small thing to get so excited about but when you have picky eaters like I do and you cook 3 different meals a night you get super excited to only have to make one meal:) Ok I am asking please NO comments on the short order cook comment.. I know I have created little men who are going to expect their wives to do the same but I am praying that by the time they get married they will have more mature pallets) ok here is the recipe and I sure hope that you enjoy it as much as we do!!

3 cans of Chicken broth
1 - 2lb bag of country style shredded hash browns
1/2 cup of chopped onion
5 med potatoes diced
1 family size of cram of chicken soup
1 8 oz block of cream cheese
1 cup of shredded cheddar cheese

Boil hash browns, onions and potatoes in chicken broth until tender... melt block of cream cheese in microwave and mix with chicken soup add cheddar cheese and pour into broth mixture and continue to simmer for 10 minutes,

I serve bacon bits, cheddar cheese, sour cream and chives to put on top and it is so yummy!! I made cornbread muffins to go with it and that made yummy too!! For those of you who entertain alot and have dinner parties this is a good cheap recipe and makes a ton and even makes enough to have seconds!! If you have any quick and easy recipe please share I am always looking for something fast and easy with our busy lifestyle!!

Our Visit To St Louis

Well, we finally did it! We went back to St Louis after Christmas to celebrate New Years with our friends there! I can honestly say that Chuck was really hesitant to let us go back because he knows how much I miss my friends and how much I love them and want to be a part of their daily lives again so he has not let us go back since we moved in June because he knew how hard it would be for all of us! Well we got there last Sunday night and stayed with our dear friends The Crowells and had such a fun time! We all went to Chevy's Tex Mex restaurant they have the best salsa and then we went back to their house, I could not get enough hugs from their precious girls and then on Monday my sweet friend Mandy came over and brought her sweet baby boy Houston so we all talked and caught up on everything and that was fun truly felt like the old times! That night Jenn invited Mandy over with her family for dinner and then invited lots of friends from our old church to come and catch up with us and that was so much fun, seeing everyone and hearing what was going on in their lives.. It is amazing what 6 months can bring, all the kids had grown so much, I just could not get over it! Thanks Jenn and Aaron for your sweet hospitality and planning the get together we appreciated it so much and loved being with y'all every minute~ We then went and stayed with our friends/old neighbors for a few nights The Longs and had a blast there too! It was so much fun hanging out with them and catching up and seeing our old house and old neighbors.. It made me sad at first being there and knowing that I no longer call it home but I trust that God put our family here for a reason and we are all excited to see what his plans are for us! God blessed us so much when we lived in St Louis and truly changed all of our hearts and gave us eternal friends so we know he has great plans for us here in TX.. No matter how many miles between or hours apart our love for our friends in STL will never change!! You just never know what Gods plans are.. who knows we may just be back in STL one day and be in their daily lives once again:) Please know we love each one of you and miss you much and would love for you to come visit us anytime!! Until we see you again xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxooxxoxoxoxoxoxooxoxoxoxooxoxo love you! The Rays

CHRISTmas 2008"

CHRISTmas 2008 was awesome again this year! We left on Tuesday morning to drive to Memphis to spend Christmas with our families and boy what a long ride it was from Texas to Tennessee but it was well worth it! We always celebrate Christmas with my family on Christmas eve and then have Santa on Christmas morning and then go to Chuck's Aunts that night and celebrate with his Mom and her side of the family which we get to see his sisters and their kids and then the day after Christmas we go to his Dad's and celebrate with him and Chucks brother and his family! This year was so much fun b/c anybody who knows me knows we have a new nephew "Ford" and knows that I am head over heels for this baby well it was so much fun having him there this year and watching Christmas thru his eyes for the very first time, he is so precious.. I wish we could have spent more time with them but, being like us they have a ton of family to see!The boys had a awesome Christmas and got everything on their list so they were happy:) They got Rockband and we played one night until after midnight, we had a blast! It is very addicting:)I think we all have come to realize that Life is Precious and Life is Short and we treasure the time we spend with our loved ones and that is so much more than gifts and things that only last for so long! It was so good being home and being with my mom and dad and brother and his family! The kids are all growing up so fast and I think I realized this year it won't be to much longer and they will have their own families and doing their own thing! I hope and pray that my kids will always want to be with me on Christmas like I am with my parents! I have truly been blessed with great parents and great in laws and I thank God everyday for them! I hope that you and your family was as blessed as ours!!

Bunco Progressive Dinner

My New Bunco Group had a progressive dinner party and we had so much fun! We invited our hubbys to come so they could all meet and see how we all socialize every month!:) They all saw how much fun we have and now they all want to join our group:) We all had a blast and everything was so yummy and I want to say Thanks to all the hostess and host everything was just awesome! The whole month of December we played Secret Santa and took little gifts weekly to our person and that night we got to reveal who we were with a big santa gift, that was just so much fun! My Secret Santa was Mrs Patty and I loved all her gifts:) she gave me for my BIG gift a Ralph Lauren Throw and personalized hand towels.. love it! and so did everyone else:) Thanks Mrs Patty:) What a fun group of girls! I love hanging out with them and look forward every month to playing Bunco with them..I have been blessed with such good fun friends!