little bits of luallen life

Today was our Westview staff Christmas party during our normal weekly meeting time. The kids always go to a sweet lady who watches all the children during the meeting. Jeremy picked up E & J from the sitter's and brought them home after we were done. I hitched a ride so I could help clean up. When I got home Emma hadn't gone down for a nap yet and I asked her if she was good for Mrs. Gail? She said, "Yes.......I was. Daddy was berry proud of me!"

Tonight I am able to sit down immediately and type out Emma's bedtime prayer for you. She always cracks me up with what she says but tonight I couldn't stop laughing. Here is her prayer straight from her heart!

Dear God,

"Thank you for my sweet mommy, I lub her very much.
Thank you for my sweet daddy, I lub him very much.
Thank you for my sweet sister I lub very much.
Thank you for my sweet brudder I lub very much.
Thank you for nose spray you put in your nose,
then you put you finger in your nose but it is yucky.
Then you eat what is in your nose but it will make you sick and
have to go to the hospital. It is yucky but no it is not.
Thank you for my boys.
In Jesus' Name, Amen"

I have pictures from several different things that need shared, so I thought I would just do a random post! Enjoy!!!
Madison is playing on the playground at school with some of her friends!!
Jeremy and Madison heading out to hunt! (Jeremy's choice of clothing to hunt in cracks me up!!) Jeremy told Madison to put on her serious hunting face! They are cute and funny all at the same time!
Our little cutie pies!!
This is Jeremy's first year to go hunting and here he is with his first kill!! I am so proud of him!!!
Shiann, Misty and I after arriving back home from an early morning of shopping on Black Friday! Joshua came out to meet us and wanted me to hold him. We got some GREAT deals!
Jeremy's cousin Brandon and his Grandma came to enjoy Thanksgiving with us and the boys! We had lots of fun and enjoyed spending time with them! The boys love Brandon coming here as well.
Madison taking a picture of herself with a cowboy hat on! Isn't she cute?!!!
This past weekend Madison's bball team was in the championship tournament. They placed 2nd in the tournament and went 7-3 for the season! She did great and had a blast!!

Pig time is back! We got pigs a few weeks ago and the boys we have in our home this year are doing great with them! They seem so much more enthusiastic than the ones we had in our home last year. Jeremy and I are so excited to see what the pigs can help our boys with this year if the boys will just let them. We are also excited to see our boys grow and mature as they learn about taking care of "a pet" which takes so much responsibility. Animal therapy is really amazing and many studies have showed how much it can help heal. This year we are already seeing some of that. It is wonderful to watch!

As well as watching the boys interact and learn to take care of pigs, our children also get the opportunity to take care of a pig. Emma and Joshua are helping Madison (and all the boys really) with their pigs. They are enjoying spending time each day with them and Joshua cries if we can't go when he wants to go (which would be all the time if we allowed it!). Here are some pictures of the kids with the pigs, mostly Madison's pig.
Madison and her pig, Lady Tiger!
Loving on Lady Tiger
Joshua is doing SO much better with the pigs this year!
Two of the boys pigs out of their pens fighting for who's boss!
Madison brushing LT!
Madison and Emma love their pig!

Last Sunday in Bible class Joshua was singing, listening and then he raises his hand and politely says, "I'm done with this class!" I still cannot stop laughing! I told his teacher that I guess I am thankful that he was at least polite about it! I never know what he will say.

I'm done with this post!

Madison is playing girls Basketball with a league in Altus. Hollis has enough girls in her age group that we have our own team. She is loving playing. The other night I asked her if she liked playing t-ball or basketball better and she said basketball. I have never been good at basketball myself so I pray that my children will get their basketball genes from their daddy!!

6-7 yr old girls playing basketball is really funny. There are several of them that are super good, some in the middle and others that don't have a clue what to do. It is hard to not laugh at some of the things they do. Traveling is a big issue with in the game. Good thing they aren't calling fouls at this point in their playing careers!

Their team has played three games so far and won one of them! Here are some pictures from a few practices and also from a game.
Go Madison!!!

Pep talk before the first game! Madison is #8!
Good luck my sweet girl for the rest of the season!

We had a fun filled night of bombarding people's houses with a truck load of kids!

Every Fall the Band at Hollis High puts on a carnival as a fundraiser. The kids all wear their costumes and it is lots of fun for them. Here are some pictures of the kids from the carnival on Saturday night.
Josiah and Joshua--Fun with Games---Enjoying cotton candy on the way home!Thanks Gram for the fun costumes! Madison wanted to be Pocahontas for Halloween so Gram stuck with the Indian theme for all three of them. I think they turned out great!!!

Many of you do not know that my sister Sheryl was pregnant. Tonight at 8:58pm EST Neaveh Marie was born! She weighed 7 lb. 3.5 oz. Sheryl and Neaveh are both doing well! Please be praying for Sheryl as this will be a HUGE adjustment for her. Thank you!

I have been nominated by a few friends for an "I Love (Heart) Your Blog Award." Thank you! Due to this honor, I must answer the following questions with one word answers and nominate 10 other blogs for the "I heart your blog" award.



1. Where is your cell phone? pocket
2. Where is your significant other? home
3. Your hair color? Brown
4. Your mother? compassionate
5. Your father? loving
6. Your favorite thing? family
7. Your dream last night? bad
8. Your dream/goal? debt-free
9. The room you're in? living
10. Your hobby? scrapbooking
11. Your fear? Loss
12. Where do you want to be in 6 years? family
13. Where were you last night? home
14. What you're not? bored
15. One of your wish-list items? camera
16. Where you grew up? Georgia
17. The last thing you did? e-mailed
18. What are you wearing? jeans
19. Your TV? DVR!!
20. Your pet? dogs
21. Your computer? laptop
22. Your mood? excited
23. Missing someone? yes
24. Your car? SUV
25. Something you're not wearing? shoes
26. Favorite store? Target
27. Your summer? busy
28. Love someone? lots
29. Your favorite color? blue
30. When is the last time you laughed? today
31. Last time you cried? Monday

Okay, here are my 10 nominees:
Beth
Shiann
Elizabeth
Ashley
Katie
Angie
Mack
Brooke
Amy Baker
Desiree

Westview takes a trip to Dallas for Six Flags each fall during Fall Break. So, we had a fun filled quick tiring trip to Dallas this past weekend. We left Friday and spent Friday night at Six Flags. The kids had a blast riding the rides. They all even rode the teacups! Here are a few pictures. It is hard to get good pictures of moving objects at dusk and in the dark! Getting ready for bumper car fun--
Emma wanted to take her picture with Granny, so here she is--
Teacups! I went first with one of the boys (who spun it uncontrollably fast) and Madison and was about to chunk my biscuits but Emma and Joshua were crying to go, so I took them but we DIDN'T spin it.
The picture in the teacup is not the greatest but fun of the two little ones. While we were at Six Flags Madison and Emma both got hair wraps. Emma really surprised me with sitting still but they look great. I love Emma's face in the picture Jeremy took as she is getting hers done.
Most all the pictures I have of Madison have at least one boy from Westview in them so I cannot post them on the blog due to confidentiality. :-( So, if you ever come visit, you can look at my scrapbook and see how much fun she had!

After a restless night's sleep we went Saturday morning to the Dallas Zoo! That was my favorite part of the trip!!! The kids loved seeing all the animals! I took over 100 pictures which means choosing which ones to post will be a challenge. But here are a few--
I love this one of Joshua and Joshlynn. This is his "girlfriend" and I love the look he has on his face as he watches her-pure admiration! We are on our way into the zoo--
Watching the monkeys--
This guy just walked up to the window and sat down right in front of us. Amazing the different creatures God has blessed this earth with!
Madison's favorite animal is the giraffe! There was even a baby giraffe! It was adorable!
Checking out the aquarium-we don't have those kind of fishes in ours at home.
Emma loved the penguins!
This was Joshua's favorite animal but mister Tiger was too far away to zoom in on him and get a picture of Joshua in it as well. The picture I have of Joshua in front of the tigers you can't really see the tiger.
So, here is Joshua sitting on an elephant!
We had a good trip! It was long/short fast trip. We are still recovering from sleep but that is to be expected. Thanks Westview for a good Fall Break trip!

As I stated in my last post, we enjoyed Sunday afternoon at the lake in Altus. Here are some pictures of the kids (and Jeremy) feeding the ducks! They loved it but were a little scared too when the ducks got so close. The ducks wouldn't let us get very far from the car, they attacked us!While we were there I also took some pictures of the kids together and individually on a swing! I think they turned out quite well! What precious children the Lord has blessed us with!This is the best one of the few I got of the three of them. It is so hard to get them to all be looking AT the camera at the same time. Joshua and Emma are looking at Jeremy who is telling them to look at the camera. So fun!