Texas Snow

I totally forgot to post some snow pictures from a couple of weeks ago ... it snowed in Tyler. Yes, fluffy flakes of the cold, white stuff right here in Texas. No, it didn't stick but was fun anyway. Look VERY closely and you will see snowflakes in the air surrounding these cuties!! Now, when it rains, Kate stands in the window overlooking our backyard and says "Snow, Snow!!"

Terrific Tuesday

I just got home from my Tuesday Bible study that I am doing with some of my galfriends and I had to share. We were asked to tell someone next to you about a time that God did something for you that you could hardly believe and knew you didn't deserve ... my galfriends all had some great ones and then time was up ... so I started thinking what my answer is ... and I had to share. There were many specifics that came to mind but I feel overwhelmed by the blessing of my family. First, my hubby ... can I tell you that I do not know anyone else in the world who is so patient, understanding, loving, and smart ... he has so much reason to get frustrated with me but consistently doesn't!! Been head over heels for that guy for 16 years and it keeps getting better ... now that is a blessing that one can hardly believe. Next, my Caleb ... tears of joy as I even try to thank God for him. He is an A+ student and an A+ kiddo, an athlete (ran a triathalon last summer -whew), creative, dedicated and kind. Next, my little Josh ... so social, loves people, loves to talk, can make you laugh out loud, loves to snuggle, and also an A+ student. And last but not least, my Kate. She came into our home and filled a spot that we did not know even existed. She is crazy fun ... loves to sit on our laps and read, loves to hug, loves to dance more than anything ... but what I absolutely love about her is that she is completely content when all 5 of us are together in one room. She dances and runs and laughs around the room if we are all there ... when one person gets up she'll call for them and say "Come on!" and motion with her hand for that person to come back into the room. In our house you are not safe to shower, change clothes, or potty without expecting her company. She is like a glue that keeps all of us close (physically). Ok ... thanks for letting me share my precious blessings. To end my blog as I always do ... I love my family and I thank my God for sharing them with me.

Monday Madness

What is it about Mondays for my family?!? The lunchboxes are always miserable because I need to go to the store by then ... Josh had an orange that is so squishy I am sure it won't be edible ... I guess I put it in his lunch so it would "look good"! As for Caleb ... "Yes, honey, the end of the bag of bread tastes perfect ... just like the others!" All of the shoes were in the garage with mud on them ... I mean we had sunshine yesterday so of course we were outside after church for a couple of hours! There were no jeans that were washed (yup, I wash on Mondays after I go to the store) so the kids started their week in athletic pants with muddy tennis shoes and C- lunches and I won't even mention Kate's poor breakfast in fear that a grandparent reading this might come and take her away (there is nothing wrong with dinner foods for breakfast!!) But, what do I love about Mondays??? I love the feeling on Monday afternoon when all of the clothes are clean, the pantry is stocked for the week, the kids had another great day at school, and I have dinner on the table! Sometimes that is just a dream but dream on, dream on!!! Happy Monday everyone!!

Going back to Mexico June 2008

We had our first meeting tonight about going back to Matamoras, Mexico in June. We will go with about 20 families this year (doubled from last year) and stay at a Children's Orphanage for a week. There are 3 parts to the trip: medical missions set up in areas of extreme poverty, Vacation Bible School for the children at the orphanage, and a construction project at the orphanage (putting on a new roof this year). The boys began talking about the fun times we had last year and we all got excited! It is a trip built to provide families with firsthand mission exposure and a time to serve God together. I would be fibbing to pretend it was not a challenging week (last year Kate turned 1 on the trip) but it was wonderful and exactly where God wanted us. This upcoming year will not be the same without our precious friends, whom we consider family, the Bryans (link over to their blog and find out where they will be). They got us in on the trip and now we are hooked. We will miss them tremendously and know that the kids will miss having their buddies with them. Ok, I always end a blog with what I love ... I love the smiles on the faces of my kids and the children at the orphanage as they play together; I love that kids don't have language barriors; I love that my family will create memories working together helping others and sharing God's good news. To Mexico ... yippee!

Monopoly ... dangerous stuff!!

Well, this time we started our game after Kate had gone to bed and taught the boys to play Bugopoly (exactly like the regular version just different bug properties). Josh and I were a team against Caleb and Chris. We told the boys that this game lasted forever so we would play about thirty minutes and then call it quits ... no winner/loser tonight! I have to tell you that Chris's family plays this and it gets tense ... I mean laughing, cheating, pouting at its worst between Chris, his brother, Sam (love you Sam if you're reading this) and his Dad (and I must include myself back in the day when I played with them, too)... they hide money under the board, make deals on the side, talk loudly ... lots of cheating and taunting (once someone even flipped the board in frustration)... anyway, you get the idea!! I had no idea that the intensity they had in this game was contagious or just a part of their DNA but within minutes of playing Josh "tossed" his rent money at Caleb while Caleb taunted him with "Welcome to my property" ... I looked at Chris and he covered his head with a blanket and peeked out and said "We've passed it on! Even kids fight during Monopoly!" We ended the game early as Josh tried to cross the table to clear out Caleb's money with a swipe of his hand and Caleb went running. I think we might back off game night for a while and just go outside and play catch instead ... we are more competitive than I thought. But I love to end a blog with what I loved about it ... I loved laughing with my husband as we watched the intensity grow and recognized ourselves in them; I love that the boys are competitive (not so excited about the aggressiveness, but oh well); I love that when the game was over the competition was over and we were all one big happy fam again; I love that they were all in bed at 8 pm on a Saturday night - yahoo!!

YIPPEE!!!!! SUPER NEWS!!!!

For those of you who have been praying for the last 6 months ... it's done, we're clear, no more blood tests, etc. ... Yippee!! Kate got her blood test results back today and this time both thryoid tests came back in the normal range (pediatrician and endocronologist hoped this would happen but didn't expect it until she was closer to 2 years old ). The other 2 tests came back negative -- this is a relief for us and I want God to receive 100% of the glory for her health.
Psalms 145:3 "Great is the Lord and most worthy of praise; his greatness no one can fathom."

I've been Tagged - what?!?!

Mandi (Fun with Five) tagged me with this book survey called Book Me Me... I must first confess that I have never been tagged before and did not even know what that meant. I am thankful for my friends that understand all of this lingo and can explain it to me. So here are my answers!
1. Two books that changed your life: "Breaking Free" by Beth Moore and the Bible
2. One book that you have read more than once: "Gone with the Wind" loooove it!!!
3. One book you would want on a desert island: "How to Survive on a Desert Island, For Dummies." I'm borrowing Mandi's answer! :)
4. Two books that made you laugh: "Where the Sidewalk Ends" by Shel Silverstein and "Why My Wife Thinks I'm an Idiot" by Mike Greenburg (yes, I read the ESPN guy's book and loved it ... you know the Mike and Mike show guy)
5. One book that made you cry: "My Happy Heart" a favorite of my kids
6. One book you wish you'd written: "Babywise" they are making a fortune from it :-)
7. One book you wish had never been written: "Babywise" - oh, the pressure!!
8. Two books you are currently reading: "For Women Only" by Shaunti Feldhahn, "Psalms of Ascent" Bible Study, by Beth Moore
9. One book you've been meaning to read or finish: "Boundaries"
10. One book that made you think: "Walk Across the Room" by Bill Hybels
11. People I'm tagging with this......Renae and Kalen (If I can do it, then you are both more than able and will probably have a cuter, more fun list!!)

Kate

Kate weighed in this morning at 20 pounds 1 ounce - an answered prayer!! She lights up our home and is such a blessing to all of us. We are all so happy to watch her begin to grow again ... you go girl!!!

Loving my family

A glimpse into a night at the Glenneys ... we had a fire in the fireplace, got into our pajamas right after dinner, and prepared for game night. Sounds "Beaver-Cleaver-perfect", right?!? Well, 3 minutes into a game of I Spy 3D we had to stop to get Kate a pair of sunglasses so she would think she was playing, too (if not familiar with this game, you wear those funky 3D glasses to play), 5 minutes into the game Kate got put into bed for messing up the cards, 7 minutes into the game the boys began to argue over who found something first, and 9 minutes into our perfect Game Night we were ready to put everyone into bed!!! Instead, Chris and I sat back and started laughing ... you know that nervous-what-in-the-world-were-we-thinking-when-we-had-3-kids laugh. The kids began to laugh, then sing, then dance, and our Game Night turned into more of an American Idol night but we had fun ... it was so noisy I am sure neighbors could hear us but I loved it. I love that I can laugh with my kids; I love that they know they are "safe" to be silly and dance with us; I love that they have great "moves"; I love to see my husband dance and sing with my kids; I love that when we tucked them into bed tonight they were flushed from dancing and laughing so hard; I love that we created a memory tonight that might be passed onto my own grandchildren one day; I love my family! Here's to being silly!!

Glenney Party of Five

We hope this can be a fun way to stay connected to family and friends and have a chance to share our crazy life with you!!! We are a family of five ... full of love, laughter, tears, noise, and fun! Gus is our 13 year old dog; Caleb is our 8 year old; Josh is our 6 year old; and Kate is our 18 month old ... here's to blogging!