Pre-Thanksgiving Thanksgiving

We had a pre-Thanksgiving dinner earlier this week. I really love cooking and knew I wasn't going to be here for Thanksgiving. We invited the Sprangs over and Xuan and her family to have a mini Thanksgiving. I am so thankful for all of our new friends in Texas. The Sprangs moved here with us to start this church which is a huge committment, undertaking, etc. It's been a fun ride with them and we truly consider them family. Then, Xuan is my new friend here in Texas. Our stories were so similar it was weird. We both moved here with in a month of each other. We have no family here. We were both stay at home moms. We were both teachers, weird I'm telling you. She and I have a unique bond that I'm so thankful for. If I hadn't had her, I really don't know what I would have done. I really miss her now that she's teaching again but I definitely enjoy our times together.

My husband and his evil twin....

Okay so not really evil but boy it is weird how much these two favor each other. Isn't it weird???

Happy Thanksgiving

Today I celebrated my first turkey day ever not eating a home cooked meal. It was really nice. We ate a great little restaurant with Poppy and Grammy. We've had a great time with them. The kids are slap wore out but it's been great. I am very thankful for so very much in my life. I'm trying to think about those things today. Hope you had a great Thanksgiving today!

Addy

So Addy is one funny little thing:) She cried for the first time during a movie last night. Levi and the kids were watching Air Bud and she cried when the little boy yelled at his dog. She is so tender hearted. We were watching it again today and she cried again and said the little boy would be sad without him. She is super sweet!

Then before naptime, we read a book about kittens. She told me she wanted a kitten. She said that when she got her own "home" she would have a kitten and she is going to be a teacher. I can't believe how big she is getting :)

Sunday

So Sunday I led worship at Catalyst...it was kind of crazy. I've told Jonathan that I will sing in front of whoever but don't make me talk. I've made a really big deal about not wanting to do that. In fact, even on Saturday Levi told me he thought I was joking this whole time by telling him I was actually going to do it. I really felt checked a couple of months ago about being so against it and making it so known to Jonathan and Levi. I really prayed that God would use me and help me. I felt really good about it on Sunday, I was a little nervous but not nearly as bad as I thought. I had a peace about it which is pretty cool because I know that only comes from God. So anyway, I led and it went really well. It was neat to hear the guys in the band singing behind me, pretty cool!!

Sunday night ended well, we had two couples over and played Mexican Train dominoes....it was a lot of fun. I laughed harder than I have laughed in a while with these friends:) They are definitely special!!

We're celebrating a mini Thanksgiving tomorrow and I'm excited about it. I love cooking and I love making our holiday favorites, it will be fun!!

We're off to Little Rock for Thanksgiving later this week. We're really excited about seeing Levi's parents. It will be fun! I probably won't blog anymore unless I get some quiet time then or when we get back.

Catch Up

We've had a crazy few days....although I can't remember a lot about the, bad sign I know. Let me recap, the van has given us a fit, again. Again, we were blessed with the means to pay for the repairs which were a lot less than what we originally thought. I'm amazed at how God uses people and I want to make sure I'm one of those people that He uses for others. However, it's hard to accept that sometimes, I tend to be prideful. I'm working on it. We stayed at home a good part of the week because the van was being worked on. That was actually nice. This weekend, we hung out at home alot too. We got all of our Christmas decorations and lights up and out. Andrew brought his big tall machine thing over and drug it in the front yard to help Levi put up our lights. We all took turns getting in it and going straight up. We could see the Wylie water tower, it was crazy, scary, and a little fun. I got all of Keegan's hair cut too. I didn't mean to. He wouldn't let anyone come near him with scissors ("Did you say scissors?" inside joke which I tell everybody so if I haven't told you, ask!). The clippers were okay but still he batted the lady's hand. It took 45minutes to cut his little head of hair. She was very patient with him. We ended our Sat night at the Bloomer's home. We celebrated Shelley's birthday with fondue, it was yumolicious!!! That was all the excitement I could handle for the weekend.

Family Pics

So, my friend called today to say our family pics were ready. I'm just going to post a few on here but I love them. Thanks Katy, you're awesome!!!

Oops

Sorry for the largeness of the last blog. I tried to go back and make it smaller but I couldn't. Oops!

By the way, I never blogged about the weekend but Levi did...it was very interesting. The Sprangs kept our kids Saturday night and we went out on a date and stayed in a hotel. (can I say I LOVE priceline.com?) It was great! Our Sunday morning was when it got interesting so go to Levi's blog and you can read about our Wild Sunday:)

By the way, you can still vote for me to win that Wii for Catalyst Kids....I only had 23 votes last night....I'm getting an unpopular complex.. just kidding:)

Heather

It's beginning to look a lot like

CHRISTMAS!!!

I know it's not even Thanksgiving yet (however it's only a week away) but we're traveling for Thanksgiving and the kids and I are leaving early for Christmas.

So, it's looking like Christmas around our home. Levi's aunt, Aunt Connie, came last year around this time and made us a wreath and matching garland for the mantle, and one for the door (along with lots of other goodies actually). So, I've been fluffing those and I put the tree together. Addy and Keegan watched Rudolph the whole time. We put a mini-tree in each of the kids' rooms. We're going to decorate the tree tonight. I love Christmas time and I'm so excited about all the pretty lights, the music, the gifts.

I'm most excited to celebrate the birth of Jesus. I'm more and more thankful for His birth, His life, and His death. I'm really excited to go into this Advent Season. Levi is writing his Advent teachings now and he says they're going to be good and very different. He's got my interest peaked. I'm thankful for God's love and mercy.

Kind of random but here goes....Levi and I were talking this weekend about a conference he and Jonathan went to. One of the speakers spoke on dreaming big. He shared about a 26 year old whose dream was to put 1000 wells in an African country. Her first year, 30, her second 90, her third year 300 and something. His point was this if she died, others would die. Her dream was big and it impacted many others. I'm praying during this season that God would help me to dream big and make it clear to me. I'll keep you posted:)

Back to Christmas......

Catalyst Kids need a Wii

Okay so I entered this contest. The prize is a wii. It's totally a popularity contest...that's actually the name. So, please let me beg you to go here and vote for me, Heather Lowry. I'd love to win a wii:) In all honesty, I'm going to donate the Wii to our kids' area at church, we already have our own...come on Catalyst needs some cool stuff for our kiddos;)

CVS

I just got back from CVS. They have a GREAT deal on duracell batteries this week, buy $20 worth and get $15 back in ECB's. They also had CVS coupons $5 off of $30, $4 off of $20, and $3 off of $15. Those expired tonight....thus why I went tonight. So, I go and get my deal, $21 worth of duracell batteries and $10 Glade products (buy $10 in Glade and get $5 in ECBs). Well, my total was $33 something. I get $5 off with the CVS, $1.50 off of batteries, and $7.99 off of the Glade stuff. I pay $17 (they didn't let me stack my CVS coupons-bummer). I was fully expecting to get $20 back in ECB's. I only spent $18 in batteries. I only got $5 back. So, I went back and bought $22 in Duracell. All in all, I spent $29 which should of cost $55-ish. And I got back $35 in ECBs. That's pretty good. Now, I can go buy diapers for free-woohoo:)

I've got to blog about my weekend experience but that will have to wait till tomorrow. Good night.

No News

is good news! This week has been good but pretty par for the course. We had a playdate on Wednesday and had a houseful. It was a lot of fun. Katy (a friend from our playgroup) took our family pics. It was a lot of fun. I hope they turn out well. I'm anxious to get them back. Hopefully we're done with our ear infections...knock on wood...I'm sick of ear drops and antibiotics....YUCK!!!

Loving

I am doing a Bible study and it's really challenging me. I've learned that I like to have things down in my brain. I like to understand. I don't always feel that way about what I read in scripture and sometimes it's hard to resolve that. Sometimes it seems contradictory or harsh and that doesn't "feel good" to me. I am learning though so that is good. A theme that is resounding so loud to me is to love. To love and to forgive and let things go. That is so hard for me but I'm really working on it. I can truly say I don't have hate in my heart for anyone. I can think of situations or experiences that kind of leave me with a yucky feeling. I think that's because I feel sad because they way they went down or ended. I wish every relationship, experience, situation, etc. felt great but that's not life. That is the part I hate.

I'm also trying to listen more. I'm reading a book that talks a lot about listening to your spouse or kids but not only to what they're saying but what they're not saying. It's really good. I think I talk to much...I can hear Levi amen-ing in the background. I'm working on that too.

Hope you're week is off to a great start. Mine has been good. We're having our playgroup over tomorrow. I think I counted 10 moms and 16 or 17 kiddos...it's gonna be CRAZY!!! But always fun!

Weekend

So I had a great time at my 10 year reunion. I met up with my Yo Yo Mamas!! This was the first time in a LONG time we've all been back together. They are truly friends that I can see and it feels like we were never apart. I love that!! I thank God for that!! I stayed with Wyatt and we had a great time together. We were on campus for the parade and Wes' concert that night. I got to see Andrea's family which was great...it's been a long time. I met Susannah, Beenah, and Milby's little ones for the first time. It was so good to be with them. We had our reunion Sat. morning. It was good to see old friends. I had so much fun at Trevecca. I loved my time there. It was good to be back and remember that heritage.

It was a good amount of time to be gone. I was glad to be away but was glad to get back. Levi did great with the kids. I think they all enjoyed their time with each other.

Albertson's STEAL

Okay so I just got back from my 10 year college reunion and have lots to say. However, that will have to wait till tomorrow. I have to blog about my steal at Albertsons. I've been out of the loop since I've been gone but I read a friend's blog tonight and saw there was a 3 day sale at Albertsons. I had to tutor till 11 so I quit about 10 minutes early and headed the 3 minutes to Albertsons. Okay so here's the deal, they had their family packs of chicken breast for $1.68 a pound. However, they were completely out of their family packs. The guy gets on the phone, calls the manager and he gives me the smaller packs at the same price....SCORE!!! Then, there were 2 coupons in the ad paper. One was buy 1 seasoned petite sirloins packs and get 2 free. Score again!! Final coupon was for $5 off a purchase of $50 or more. Well, my total was $60 and some change. I couldn't find small packs of petite sirloins and I wanted all the chicken because we eat that likes it's going out of style. My final cost....drum roll please......$33.94 for 15 pounds of chicken and 5 pounds of steak. That is crazy, that's $1.69 per pound. Nice!! Here's the actual breakdown just in case you're wondering:
Seasoned Sirloin- $14.06
Seasoned Sirloin- $13.50
Seasoned Sirloin- $13.34

Chicken Breast- $4.12
Chicken Breast- $3.92
Chicken Breast- $3.86
Chicken Breast- $3.85
Chicken Breast- $3.64

Total Before- $60.29
minus $5 coupon
minus $13.50 (steak)
minus $13.32 (steak)

Total Savings- $51.23
Total Out of Pocket- $33.94

God's Goodness

I'm amazed at God's goodness and how He works things out. On Sunday we were challenged to tell of His mighty acts. I'm so thankful for those acts. I tried to tell Addy today that Fred was helping us because he loves us and because he loves God. So, I asked her, "Do you know who loves Fred?" Thinking, because of our discussion, she would say, Jesus...nope...she didn't miss a beat and said, "Shelley!" That's Fred's daughter...she was right:) I tried to make it a teachable moment. In all seriousness, I'm so thankful for Fred. I'm thankful for the guys in our church that help us...bless Levi's heart:) I'm thankful for our neighbors that love us. I'm just thankful for all these people in our lives that love on us. I'm thankful for friends far away that love us that are obedient to a big G God!! I want to be faithful and obedient in my walk. I'll be gone through the weekend so you guys have a great rest of the week.
Love,
Heather

Backed Up....

I know you're thinking I'm posting a lot but I've got a lot to catch up on...I was backed up on my blog. This will be my last. So, this morning I went to the 5am Turbo Kick class. It was great. It went by fast so I didn't think about quitting...which was nice. I liked the class a lot. Then, I met my two friends at Starbucks then Chicfila to do our life group Bible study. We read 2 Peter and Jude. Can I just say that I love the book of Jude!! You'll have to read it...it's super short. Levi thinks that's why I like it but I like his message. I ended my early morning going to Home Depot to buy fence slats. I have got to give a shout out to Fred Sweeney. He is fixing our fence...I almost said helping to fix our fence but that would not be correct. Levi is talking and Fred is fixing:) Thanks Fred....you are a lifesaver. Why do we have to fix our fence? The City of Rowlett Code Officer came around last week and gave out a lot of "warnings" for high grass, missing fence slats, junker cars, etc. So, we got one for our 2 inches of grass between the back fence and alley, 1 for missing slats, and 1 for "junker" cars. The last offended Levi greatly. His 1966 mustang was in the driveway. We had to go back and read the part about out of date tags. We have to get new tags. All in all they were easy fixes, mow, put the Mustang in the garage, etc. The fence however needed some help so Fred is the man!!

Catalyst Rocks

We were surprised and honored on Sunday by our church and friends. They planned a service and we shared God's goodness in our church family. It was so cool to hear people call out what they were thankful for. A friend of Levi & Jonathan's, Darrell MacLearn led the service. He interviewed Levi & Jonathan and then let some of the people from Catalyst share. It was so cool!! I love our church. They gifted us with a bed and breakfast getaway...how nice! I got beautiful flowers. Then we headed over to a local park and had a cookout. The food was wonderful and there was so much of it. Wowser!!! Tim gave the Sprangs and us each a beautiful canvas print. Our print was of an old church, it's black and white. I love it. I already hung it above our fireplace. The whole day was such a wonderful surprise!! The only bad part was at the cookout, Addy started complaining about her ear. We took her to the doctor yesterday to find out she has a mean ear infection!

Halloween

We had a great Halloween night and weekend! We took the kids trick or treating in our neighborhood then headed over to the Russell's house to trick or treat and pop in on the costume party. Everybody looked great. Addy and Keegan had a wonderful time trick or treating. Keegan was not a fan of the lobster costume (mainly the hat). However, when bribed with candy, he let me put it on and then forgot about it. He looked so cute!! Addy was Ariel and had a lovely head of bright red hair. She wore for a long time before she was over it. We've been eating Halloween candy ever since. They got WAY WAY WAY too much. We have hidden the candy and gave a lot of it away at our Catalyst cookout on Sunday. Here's a picture of them.

Bloggy Carnival

I've spent a lot of time this week on the bloggy carnival....I stayed up way too late a couple of nights. So far I won a ring:) I hope I win more...it was addicting to say the least but also fun!! I will blog soon!
Heather