Pressing On...

Senior night ~

Mom, take the flower.

Super stressful game!


Jack knows whats fun about a ballgame.

Sam just wants the basketball!

The last week has been quite a roller coaster ride! As you can see, we've spent a lot of time watching Whitney and the Lady Cards play some basketball. Since one of our games last week was postponed because of icy roads, we ended up playing Friday night, Saturday afternoon, Monday night, Tuesday night, & will play our last district game tomorrow night! Whew! We lost to Lubbock by one point! But then we turned around and beat Liberty (who was undefeated in district) by one point. Honestly, I didn't know we had won until I managed to pry one eye open and see our girls jumping up a down! Next, we beat Southwest Christian by four points! We have to play Liberty again tomorrow night. If we win, there will by a three way tie for first place, and if we lose I think we will either be 2nd or 3rd. Either way, that means we will move on to playoffs. It's been way too exciting for me!

While I watch all this excitement unfold, my heart is in Smithville where my mom has been in and out of the hospital a couple of times recently with complications related to her congestive heart failure. I am planning to get down there soon & love on her a little bit. If you're reading this, please say a little prayer for her! I am so thankful for my sister, Lynn who lives nearby & takes such good care of things & assures me I'm where I need to be right now. And for my other sister, Jody who gets a sub for her kindergartner's and heads that way to help out. But still, I just can't wait to get there myself! I could not be more thankful for my family! I am blessed beyond measure from one generation to the next!

To add to the excitement I've been having a few dental problems. The dentist thinks I may be getting TMJ. "Have you been clinching your teeth a lot?" Well, as a matter of fact... maybe just a little! I hope our next exciting adventure is a vacation!

Time is Flying!

It's hard to believe that Whitney's senior year is already over half over! I'm happy to say that I have officially begun her senior scrapbook, have finished 5 or 6 pages, and sorted through a ton of pictures! What a trip down memory lane! We've all changed a bit in her 18 years! Too bad I don't have a scanner, or I would share a few of those with you! I have a few more months to get it all together, and may have to plan a scrapbook trip with some of the other senior moms. I think that would be a fun way to get it done! After basketball season is over!

The Lady Cardinals are currently 6 wins, 1 loss in district play. This next week we'll have 3 home games, and two of them are really hard! Little stress! Say a little prayer that they'll do their best and not get hurt! I'm telling you this game gets rough! After that we'll have just a couple of away games and the regular season will be over. We'll see what happens next! They have worked so hard! It is so hard to believe that after all these years at the Cardinal gym, this will be our last week to have a child playing in it! Hope it ends on a high note! I'll keep all of my 3 readers posted!

Tagged

My dear friend Mindy tagged me, so here it goes:

4 things I did yesterday - Lots of laundry (almost got to the bottom of it!), worked on getting my house back to its non-holiday look (why can't I remember where things were before?), cleaned my utility room good (can you tell I have an exciting life?), Jack & Sam came over for a little while (the best way way to liven things up!).

4 things on my wish list - to do better this year with those big priorities (time with God, family, better care of ourselves, yeah, yeah....but really, I mean it!), to see my kids & grand kids grow in the Lord, and to be happy, healthy, safe, and watch their hopes & dreams come true (is that too much to expect?), scrapbook lovers to come to my aid (yes, I have a senior & a May deadline!), to enjoy this last Pinson child playing Cardinal's basketball & quit wringing my hands over it (why is this so stressful?).

4 favorite restaurants - El Rancho Grande, La Hacienda Ranch, Reposados, & I still love good old El Chico's. Could this have anything to do with my cholesterol? At least guacamole has some good cholesterol to add to the mix! These are 4 reasons those resolutions are so hard to keep! These and chocolate. I feel sabatoged.

4 favorite TV shows - I am an HGTV addict so I will count that as one huge show that could easily wreck your whole day, there's nothing better in the morning than the Today show & a big cup of coffee or two, The Office is always good for a laugh, and I'm ashamed to admit how many times a day I watch the news. Why? I can't explain it. I'm boring but I can't think of any more shows I'm that sure to watch.

4 people I tag - Heather, Ashley A., Ashley B., Allison. You go girls!

Merry, Merry Christmas!

Four generations of Christmas under one roof!
Macy

Reid, Riley, & Nana

Jaxon

Jenna & Reese

Avery & Macy

Brooks

Jack - the incredible hulk

Jaxon & Sam, very interested in each other's stuff!

Eyes on the ball, Sam!

Jack, finally got his light sabers!

Tine & Sam

Kyle - with our high fivin' snowmen.

Here are a few photos for my family and friends of our fun and crazy Christmas. I'm not even sure how many of us were there, but for sure a house full (a couple of house fulls and 4 rooms at the bed and breakfast to be exact!). Everyone was able to be there, including our fabulous five, now one year olds! I got a picture of each of them, but we gave up getting them all in one picture at the same time!!! They were a little busy for that! Santa was good to all the kiddos, but mostly the good Lord has given us all soooo much to be thankful for! We had a blessed Christmas and hope you did, too!

Go Lady Cards!!!

One more basketball season for the Whitster!

2nd place in the University of St. Thomas Tournment in Houston,

lost to Houston Westbury.

Whitney is holding the trophy, which is hard to see since it is clear! We really did get one!

They played a great 1st tournament, and we had a fun weekend in Houston.

Uncle Rand & Aunt Jane



Thanks to our Houston fans for braving the traffic to come to the game! Your traffic makes ours look rural!


It was so fun having all of you there!




Macy, Reid, & Heather

Go Cardinals!

It's Fall Y'all!

Giggi's house is well guarded!

What Happened to August & September???

I can't believe that I've gone 3 months without blogging! Well, it's been a busy three months & so I guess that is why!

The most exciting news, and news that makes me hold my breath everyday, is that Christine finally got in to see the specialist in Dallas that we had been hoping & praying to see. He found stones in her bile duct, through a test that only a few doctors seem to do. I don't really know why that is the case! But anyway, he was able to remove them the next day & she is doing better every day. I hold my breath because I really feel like & pray that this is the answer we've waited for for so long! God is doing mighty things in their lives, & we know He is always faithful even when the storm is long. Christine was able to sing "I Will Praise You in the Storm" at church a couple of weeks ago. What a testimony to everyone who has seen her name on the hospital list for the past two years. I was blessed to hear her & Matt share their story, & how God has carried them, with the FWC middle school last week. I have longed to see these blessings come out of their sufferings, and thank God for these sweet experiences. I believe God will use them mightily, because even though things may not make sense to us at the time, He never wastes a single trial that we go through.

After spending so much time as the Granny Nanny, I am reconfiguring how I spend my days. I am definitely not complaining, just readjusting. As much as I looked forward to normal (whatever that is), I find myself missing the little bugars! Jack came over the other day, & we snuggled up to watch cartoons. He said "Giggi, I love you more than the sunshine. Do you love me more than the sunshine?" Be still my heart, more than the sun, moon, & stars! And little Sam -- what could be better than a pacie pulled out of his mouth so he can give you a big juicy kiss? They are precious!!!

Now we are in full swing with our baby girls senior year of high school!!! She turned 18! I still find myself missing the big huge bow on her head! Next week is the official start of basketball season! After I'm not even sure how many years of basketball games, I can't believe this is the last one & I intend to relish every minute. Praying for no injuries this year & just an overall good season! I know next year we will miss it (and her!) so much! Go Lady Cards!

Kyle is looking in to going over seas to teach English. He is interested in Japan & Korea. I really have to trust this one to the Lord. He has to make sure he can stay healthy, as he is still receiving treatments every 8 weeks for his colitis. He is feeling great right now, and assures me there are English speaking hospitals there that are very good. I say so...I won't be able to run up there & make sure they are taking good care of things! But that is borrowing trouble. Maybe he will never have have a sick day there!!! If it works out for him to go I will trust that it is God's will. Like I said -- I have to put this whole thing in God's hands.

One day at a time has been one of my biggest lessons through these trials. One day when I was leaving the hospital during Christine's illness I was whining (yes, sometimes I realized my prayers were whining for sure) to the Lord, & I really felt like He impressed on my heart to "just do today". No, we don't always know how things will turn out, or how long a storm will last, or what will happen tomorrow, but we can just do today. I think that was pretty much stated in the sermon on the mount. "Don't worry about tomorrow, each day has enough trouble of it's own". How sweet that God knows the befores & afters and we are each hemmed in by his grace.

Blessings to you my sweet family & friends!