Christmas 2010 Scherr Family

Christmas 2010 Scherr Family

Needed Reprieve

Isn't he precious?!? He melts my heart.

This weekend was a much needed reprieve from a busy, hectic week!

Preston left town Friday after work so that made me a single mom for a busy but fun Saturday. Kids sports are in full swing and we started the day with Will's soccer game. He absolutely loves playing and is so fun to watch. He has such joy in his face the whole time he's playing, such a nice change to the competitive sports the older kids play now. Then it was off to Jake's football game and it was tough to watch by myself. I was a nervous wreck the whole time. I did not like being there without P, it seemed like all the pressure was on me for some strange reason. They ended up winning and everything was fine. Praise the Lord!

I've spent the evening organizing all of my Thirty-One stuff so I can get a few parties started. I'm really excited about all of this--which is way out of my box.

I can't wait for tomorrow. Sunday's are my favorite day of the week!

Below are a few pics from this weekend and last of the kids playing football, volleyball, and soccer.

Sad...

The last several months have been a whirlwind. I got on the computer tonight for the first time in a long time, (who needs computers when I can do almost anything from my phone!), and clicked on over here to my little family blog. I'm sad when I think back because I've lost almost a year of memories being recorded. It's made me realize why I blog, I do it for me so I can have this virtual scrapbook-it's a bonus that our family gets to visit too. I seldom take pictures because I don't do anything with them, unless I post them. So now that I've lost 8 months documenting my precious babies' lives, I am committed more than ever to start back again, because I don't ever want a day to come where I can't remember what they were like as little kids. Before I know it, they will be grown and moved away.

I NEED Spring!

I can't take it anymore! I don't like winter, that is for sure. I need warmth, and sunshine, and playing outside!

And I'm coming to realize March is right around the corner. Thank goodness. It's been a long winter. Am I the only one who is feeling this way?

Moving on...
We have been having so much fun lately. Lauren's basketball is in full swing (actually close to being over) and the boy's have actually not been up to too terribly much. It's been nice not having a ton of places to run the kids to.

It's been so long, I need to let go of the way past and just zone in on the recent past. This weekend we had so much fun. Friday, Preston and I enjoyed a night double dating with our friends Matt and Erin. We went to eat dinner at the Wharf and then to watch Valentine's Day. We had a little bit of a wait at dinner so we walked into the movie when the previews started and we had to sit on the front row. The positive was we had plenty of leg room. ha! I made everyone rush through dinner so we wouldn't be late to the movie and if I hear Preston tell one more person that he ordered an awesome steak, he just wishes he had a chance to actually taste it, I might lose it! He is such a turkey! Then on Sunday the church kept the kids so parents could go out on a date night and we had so much fun going to dinner just the two of us. We don't often get the chance to go out so when we go out twice in one weekend, we really didn't know what to do with ourselves!

Monday was a bad weather day so I didn't have to work and so Will and I spent the day together. We went to get our car washed and oil changed and it took over an hour and a half. He behaved so well. There were a couple of times when he wanted to get down and play in the toy room, which I don't allow because they are so germy. Anyway, the few times he started to misbehave I would ask him if I needed to take him to the bathroom for a spanking. I said it to him another time when I guess he saw someone was in the bathroom and he said I couldn't take him in there. So I told him I would take him outside to do it. That's when he told me I couldn't. He told me if I took him outside to spank him, then people would see, then I would get in trouble! Where in the world does he come up with this stuff?? He's a turkey too.

And now I think we're caught up. Well maybe not caught up but now I'm up to date. I have great hopes that I might start taking pictures of my kids again and can get some up here too. With that, it's time for me to bathe some children.

Another Year Gone!

I can't believe we are sitting here on the last day of 2009. I can remember my parents always saying just wait you'll see how time flies by. I couldn't imagine that ever being the case. Here I am now 30 years old, and each day goes my so fast I could probably get whiplash.

2009 had some pretty major life changing happenings. Preston got his master license and now owns his own business. It was such a difficult thing for him and I was so proud of him when he did it. It has changed every aspect of our life and I am so thankful for it.

The other very important change was our church. P and I had always gone to my childhood church and we definitely felt God calling us elsewhere. It was really an amazing thing. I am very much a shy, introvert and the thought of going somewhere completely foreign seems ludicrous. But it was such a strong urge that we just had to do it. It is the best decision of my life. We started visiting a church over the summer and fell in love with everything. We also joined a small group and jumped in feet first. I am so thankful I listened to what God was telling me. We became members a couple of months ago and it was the best change ever!

The hope of a new year is always refreshing. The thought of leaving 2009 in the past and getting a fresh, new start is exciting.

"This is what the Lord says-he who made a way through the sea, a path through the mighty waters,
Forget the the former things; do not dwell on the past. See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the desert and streams in the wasteland." Isaiah 43:16, 18-19

I have been thinking about what I want for this new year. OF COURSE, I have the same obvious resolution I have every year. I want to eat better and work out more. I want to make better choices when cooking and grocery shopping. P and I have already talked about it and we are starting tomorrow! I am giving myself this one last day to finish of the yummy chocolate sheet cake I made. ha!
I want to be a better wife. I need to be so much more deliberate in giving P undivided attention. I get so bogged down in the craziness of our daily life that I tend to neglect him since he's old enough to take care of himself.
I wake up every morning with the desire to be the best mommy in the whole world and I know I fail miserably everyday! It will always be my goal to be a better mommy. I want to show each one of my kids just how unbelievably special each one of them are and what a magnificent gift they are to both of us.
But other than the obvious, I want to focus this year at being better on the inside. I want this year to be a year of growth. I want to grow in my relationship with God and spend very deliberate time in His word and getting to know Him better. I know he desires a close relationship with me and I have allowed myself to stay too busy for this. With that I want to share His love. We spent a little time before the holidays helping a family with our CLG group. This family is in desperate need and it felt so good to help out a little. But I don't only want to help during the holidays. I want my kids to experience daily what it's like to show God's love. I want share the many blessings we've been given.
So with that said, I'm saying good-bye to 2009 and hello 2010!

What are your resolutions for the new year?

Lazy

I am the definition of lazy right now.

We had the most wonderful Christmas with family and friends and it has all come to an end. It was a little sad. And now I have done absolutely nothing for 2 days.

Decorations are coming down today and house needs to be cleaned. I must go to the grocery store because I think I'm having slight withdrawals from my regular morning Diet Dr.Pepper that's been missing for two days.

The kids have really enjoyed their time off and all of their loot from Christmas. I'll try to get pictures up soon from Christmas day.

And now I'm off to actually get out of this bed and possibly out of my pajamas since that didn't happen yesterday :).

Leftovers

I almost forgot to post a few pics from Thanksgiving. The kids really enjoyed the rope swing near the lake at Aunt Kaye's and Uncle Darrell's house. This is the kids before we left. I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving. Now it's time to prepare out hearts for the birth of our Savior.

Sneak Peak

I had a little photo session with the kids to try to get something for Christmas cards. I am such a wanna-be photographer, with no talent! These won't be gracing the front of our cards this year, but it's a sneak peak of what's to come. The first one is so cute of Will. He put his hands in his pocket like his brother.

LOVE

I love, love, love baby eyelashes! So sweet.

Too Much Fun!

We woke up Saturday morning and surprised the kids with a little day trip to San Antonio and took them to Fiesta Texas. We took this motor home to drive down there and it was so much fun! This is the way to travel. We went with some friends of ours and there were 11 of us in there and we fit perfect.

Here is Will at the table watching a movie.
Lauren and Kaitlyn on the top bed checking it all out.
Jacob in the back bedroom getting settled in to watch another movie.
He is way too cool to look directly at the camera!
Lauren posing!
Will in his regular picture pose. ( I realized this is how most of his pictures are!)
Most of the clan.
Will on his first ride.
A rare picture of Preston.
Lauren, Will, and Kaitlyn. They're teaching Will to raise his arms on the rides. :)
And here is Will on a roller coaster. (Note to self: You get very sick if you're riding a roller coaster and looking through a camera lens, no matter how babyish the ride!)
He said it was the "rules" to put your hands in the air.
I love this picture. Pure joy.
We're on the big swing here. (Another bad idea to go round and round looking through the camera!) I can remember going on this as a little girl and I think I screamed so bad I made them stop the ride and get me off. ha!
This ride was awful! My legs were shaking so bad I could barely get off. I did the only thing a good mom would do and encouraged my son to go on it after me.
Not sure about this look. They were a little tired of the camera by now.
Hilarious!!!! Preston made himself so sick on this ride he got it spinning so fast.
I think he's a perfect fit in that bumper car. What do you think?
And finally after the last ride of the evening.
We had so much fun. We bought season passes and cannot wait to go back. The park was practically empty and we were able to walk up to every ride and have literally no wait. We will never do another park in the summer again. Perfect weather only added to the fantastic day.

Genesis 1:31

Will has been working so hard in his new Sunday School class. This is what he has been saying all day so I had to post it to share.

We've had a fantastic weekend that I'm working on sharing, but it is taking much longer than expected to upload all of the pictures so maybe that will be tomorrow's goal. Plus I have 5 thankful posts to catch up on!

Little Elves

Look at my #17!

Lauren

Today I am thankful for my daughter Lauren. She is an amazing child. She is smart, compassionate, loving, respectful, responsible, and a long list of more. She is everything I could have hoped for in a daughter. God has given me an amazing blessing with her. Today she did a pretty surprising thing. Lauren has never really had a haircut. She's had maybe two trims done by me and maybe 2 trims elsewhere. Other than that, she's always had really long hair. She had started asking a while back if she could cut it much shorter. I don't think we were ready for that! Her daddy loves her long hair and pretty much refused any conversation about it. But...I worked on him a little bit the last few weeks. We had to realize her hair wasn't what defined her, it was just that, hair! It would definitely grow back if she wants it to and really it's no big deal. So today when I got my hair done, so did she. And she cut it off! But there's a bit of a silver lining. Not only does she look so precious with her new style, she is donating her hair to an organization called Locks of Love. We did a little bit of research and this organization provides hair pieces for financially disadvantaged children with hair loss from any medical diagnosis. Tomorrow I will mail off her 10"+ braid so it can be made into a hair piece for another child. She was so excited to be able to do this. I chronicled the whole process in the pics above. It was a big moment, but she just loves her new haircut. She can't wait to wake up in the morning so she can fix it.
So during this Thanksgiving season, I am so thankful for Lauren. She has a heart bigger than Texas and she glows everywhere she goes. She is such a huge blessing to our family. She is the perfect match for her brothers and is a wonderful member of this family.

I've Got Some Catching Up to Do!

#13 Family Nights

I am so thankful for the nights when we can just stay home and be a family together without rushing around all over the place, always in a hurry, and always apart. Friday night was the perfect night. We were all home together and even played Wahoo together! It was so fun, except the fact that the boys won. :) I know the days of the kids all being home and actually wanting to be there are going to be few in few between in a few years so I am so very thankful that we can make these memories now.

#14 Football

Crazy I know. But I am so thankful for football for Jacob. When you have children and you get to see their passion, it is so much fun. Right now that passion is football. Saturday Jacob had his end of season Super Bowl game and his team was the #1 seed. They actually lost 12-14, but it was a great game. We all had so much fun cheering Jacob on this season. I am actually thankful that we started him last year because he loves it so much.

#15 My Bible

I am so thankful today for my Bible. In church yesterday we had a missionary from Turkey preach and he told us about their life in the middle east. He is a convert from Muslim to Christianity. The absolute passion for the Lord was invigorating. He spoke of some of the things that happen to Christians over there. Especially those leaving the Muslim faith. He was brutally tortured and the things he went through was horrific. He loves the Lord and puts himself in dangerous situations just to spread the word. How convicting for me who lives in this free country and hardly speaks about him at work! How ashamed am I! Even finding a Bible over there is a somewhat underground process. And just to think I'm having a hard time deciding on the color of a new one I am wanting. I am so thankful I am able to walk into most bookstores and buy a Bible, even more I am so thankful I live in a country where I don't have to be afraid to read that Bible.

#16

Heat

Today I am thankful for my heaters. This is probably one of few mornings I had to use the heater this fall. But further, I had to use it all day. I am so thankful I have that option. I am becoming enlightened to some situations where that's not the case for some people. I can't imagine being a mother and not being able to provide heat and warmth for my children. I have so much to be thankful for and the things I should be the most thankful for are probably the things I take for granted the most!

#12

Veterans

I know I am a day late for some reason, but none-the-less, I am very thankful for veterans. The incredible sacrifice these men and women make daily is monumental. I know I could never be that person. To know people give up their family for months at a time in order for us to have freedom is sometimes unimaginable. I am thankful for veterans past or present, young or old, serving or retired. Thank you to all the vets and their families for putting your life on the line so I may enjoy the freedoms of a free country.

#11

Work.

I know, I know...If you know me well you're probably thinking What?

The stress and pressure I feel teaching these little 8 and 9 year olds at times feels unbearable to me. But with that said, I am thankful for my job.
I realize in the economic times that our country is in, I am very lucky to have a stable job. There are thousands of people out there in dire straights who would do just about anything for a paycheck. It's hard to sit back and feel sorry for myself that I'm stressed about my job when others are stressed because they have no job. This holiday season, I am so very thankful that I have a job to be stressed about.

#10

Grants...or something like them.

I knew when I graduated I had heard something about once you have been teaching for 5 years at a Title 1 school then you could send in this document and it could help pay towards your student loans. I am one of many students who graduate from college with a substantial amount of debt. I realize now I might not have been real wise in some of my decisions, but in my defense I was recently married, new baby who had medical issues, had a full time job and went to school full time. The last thing I was worried about was how much money I was going to owe back after I graduated college. Anywho...I recently sent off this document and I got a letter the other day stating that they were going to pay $5000.00 off of my student loans! Can you believe it??? I was a bit skeptical before I did it, but it really happened. Amazing. I am so thankful for this program. What a tremendous relief it is to have that much money just disappear overnight. Now I might actually have them paid off before my first one goes to college! ha!

#9

Tonight I am thankful for clean sheets. I know, how moving right? Maybe not deep, but true. I love crawling into a bed at night with fresh, clean linens! It creates such a peaceful environment that helps me sleep so well. I cannot wait to go to bed tonight so I can experience just that!

#7 and #8

Saturday we were just swamped with things to do and just enjoying spending time with Preston that I didn't have time to post what I was thankful for yesterday. So I will post both today.

#7
Date Nights.
I am so thankful for the few and far between date nights. Being able to spend alone time with my husband without the distraction of kids is priceless. I'd like to think that I am able to give him the attention he needs even when the kids are around, but it is next to impossible to really focus on what he is talking to me about when their is chaos going on all around us. Preston and I don't go out very often, so when we do it is so special. I'm sure there are many people who aren't in the position to go out without their kids because of sitter costs or maybe not knowing someone you really trust to watch you kids. That brings me to my next thankful post. I am so thankful for my sister.

#8
My sister (and her family)
One of the most important things that I am thankful for is my sister. Not only her, but the relationship I have with her. We are the best of friends. She is my closest confidant and biggest supporter. She would do anything for me. Growing up I couldn't have imagined being so close. It's funny how you can grow up together and spend those few years completely at odds with each other and then just one day it's like you wake up and truly see each other for who you are. I would not be who I am today if it weren't for her love and support. I look up to her and love the woman she has become. There are times when I am a little sad that Lauren won't have a sister to grow up and be best friends with the way Amy and I are. But, we have raised our kids together and they all act just like siblings so I can only hope that Lauren can have a similar relationship with her cousins. I am so thankful that we get to raise our kids together.

#6

My Husband.
I don't even know where to begin...
I am so incredibly thankful for my husband. When I think back to how it all began, (during our 8th grade year) I am baffled to see how far we've come. I know when we got married pretty much fresh out of high school we had some pretty big skeptics. (Personally I don't think I would be so thrilled it it were one of my kids, ha!) Together we have been in the depths of despair and over the top in love. But through it all my husband loved me. During the times when I was probably pretty unlovable, he loved me. Even today, after nearly eleven years of marriage, I know he loves me more today than he did yesterday! How amazing is that. I am so thankful to be his wife.
He is the hardest worker I know. If there is something to be done, he does it. The man won't even take his shoes off in the house, because "what if I have to do something!". His work ethic floors me and his morals won't be compromised. I am exhausted just thinking about what he has done this past week. And even with his tired, exhausted body (he hasn't slept for 2 days!) he still wants to take me out tonight.
I know I don't deserve him, I can only hope that I show and tell him each day how much I love him. Not a day goes by that I don't thank God for blessing me with him.