Keepin' Up With The Manfull's

Hannah Grace's Celebratoin of LIFE

2010-08-08T19:19:00.003-05:00

Hey Ya'll..
How do I start this post? I've written like 12 updates just today on what we've done over the summer.. and I've saved this one for last... partly because I know there are no words I can type that would encompass all that was Hannah Grace or her celebration of life.

I just want to start by saying the Harrisons are the nicest, most loving, spiritually sound, and faithful people we've ever met. I'm now going to lead you to her caringbridge post. Jarrod updated on the evening of the 5th right after her celebration. He talks about what he said at her service and what the overall wonder of the life of Hannah Grace. Please go there to read because I could not say it any better... www.caringbridge.org/visit/hannahgraceharrison

Below are the pictures of her pamphlet.. on the inside lists the theme of the service and of her life. Please, read about this on her site... it was truly amazing and God was GLORIFIED!

In closing, I want to paint a piture for you all on what I experienced this past week. We were at the service which was ready to begin and there was Hannah Grace at the front of the church. It was time for Marci and Jarrod to come and say their final goodbyes to their baby girl before the casket was closed forever. I sat and watched them lean over, kiss her head, tuck her in with her little stuffed animal, and then walk away. I cannot tell you how heart wrenching that was for me, let alone for them. My heart broke all over again for them.... but then...

During the last portion of the service, a song played by Steven Curtis Chapman to the slideshow of beautiful pictures of Hannah Grace and her wonderful family. This song was "beauty will rise," written after SCC lost his own daughter in a horrific accident. The lines of the song say, "Out of these ashes, beauty will rise and we will dance among the ruins, we will see Him wiht our own eyes, out of these ashes, beauty will rise, for we know, dawn is coming in the morning, beauty will rise." And at that moment, I look over to Jarrod and Marci and they have their hands raised in the air, and with their whole hearts, praising HIm. They are PRAISING HIM!!! They just said goodbye to their baby girl and in this storm, they praise Him. They know that beauty will rise.... and we willl SEE with our won eyes, just like Hannah Grace.

The reason why I mention this is because forever until the day I see Jesus face to face, I will never forget these 2 moments. Not these 2 moments seperately, but binded together to remind me of the Harrison's faith. .. and my faith. They are going through the worst thing imaginalbe, and yet they praise Him. That is how good our God is..... to be praised in the storm becuase we KNOW beauty will rise.

Dear Heavenly Father,

Please, Lord Jesus, please take the Harrison's and give them peace that surpasses all understanding. Wrap them in your perfect arms and hold them, guide them, and love them through each step of this journey they are left with. Place the right people in their lives to give them encouragement and love. You have given this world an awesome example of what we all need to be like and that is Jesus. You gave Him to us so that we might live... so that Hannah Grace DOES live... and we praise you for that now more than ever. Never in my life have I ever met people that walk so closely to your example as Jarrod and Marci; thank you Lord for bringing them into my life. They will forever be an example to me and an inspiration. Plesae hold Chandler in your loving arms and give him the understanding of Your love even though his big sissy is with You now. Thank you for healing Hannah Grace of this monster.... because of Your son, there is HOPE even in a world that gives little. I love you, Jesus, Amen.

We love you Jarrod and Marci and Chandler... we are praying for you always.

After the service and lunch, the Seritt's and the Hendrix's took a little trip to the Florida beach with us! It's only an hour away from Dothan and it was a nice way to just relax after such an emotional day. Ya'll know the Seritt's but the Hendrix's are amazing people as well. Taylor, the daughter, is fighting cancer as well. She is so beautiful and such a nice young lady. Please continue to lift her up in prayer so she can beat this monster. Her first day of school is tomorrow and she needs prayer for strenght to last the whole day through. You are in our prayers, Taylor!

Keep all of our friends in your prayers... they mean so much to us.

www.caringbridge.org/visit/hannahgraceharrison

www.caringbridge.org/visit/elijahgseritt

www.caringbridge.org/visit/taylorhendrix

We also had the pleasure of meeting Ella's momma!!! Please keep Ella in your prayers as well,

www.caringbridge.org/visit/ellanorris

Also, Xavian's mommy and daddy! We got to eat dinner with them after Hannah Grace's visitation and had a great visit... we laughed a little which was great =) Please keep Xavian in your prayers as well.

www.caringbridge.org/visit/xavianbecketthall

We love you all,

~The Manfull's

Summer 2010 visit to Children's Hospital, Bham

2010-08-08T17:47:00.010-05:00

I know these blogs are out of order, but deal! LOL I will NEVER get behind again, I promise =)

We got back to San Antonio on a Wednesday night, LATE LATE! We woke up the next morning, got some things together, did some laundry and hit the road for Birmingham by 3:00 in the afternoon. We were home for a total of about 15 hours LOL!! By the time we reached Louisiana, it was DARK.. and we still had about 10 hours to go...

We were BEAT and tired from all the traveling so we pulled over in New Orleans and got a hotel for the night. We woke up and hit the road early.. into Mississippi!

......... and finally to the beautiful state of Alabama!!! "home sweet home =)"

As all of you reading this already know, this trip was soley planned to go spend time with the Harrison's and Hannah Grace at Children's Hospital. Hannah Grace had been given devestating news (posted earlier) and was having some trouble. She was admitted to Childrens and we ran there to see her!

Below is a picture of the front doors of the hospital. I cannot tell you what I felt when I went there. I've cried, prayed, and have felt miracles through parent's words written at this hospital, on a specific floor, "4 Tower." To be there, on the actual floor was something I will never forget. It looked like any other floor of a hospital, but the look was not what could be felt.. ... it was the raw feeling of "it" in the air. The suffering, the saddness, the wrongness of it all. I will not go into any more detail of what I saw while I was up there, just know that the families that are stricken with this monster and have to be on that floor need our prayers. They need our prayer, encouragement, hope, and love... also our money. Let's face it, this world is run by money and if we are going to find a CURE, we've got to financially support the cause. Please, look into this and give with kind heart for these kids battling. They are loved by me, and my family.... every single one of them... even the ones I have yet to meet or even know about. Anyways, when you look at this picture, I want you to imagine what happens behind those walls.... and be thankful for all of your blessings.

After our visit at Children's we went out to eat with the man, the myth and the ledgend.. ELIJAH! We went to a greek rest. where Vasiliki let me try some of her lamb and houmous.. or somthing like that. It was suprisingly good! I've never had lamb before but I was glad to try it! Here is Eman and Myles eating flat bread... Myles does all the weird things and Elijah just looks at him and thinks he's crazy! LOL nah.. Elijah picked up his bread and started talking through it just like Myles =) I guess they're both crazy!

When the Harrison's checked into Childrens, they were given tickets to the Chldren's museum in Bham.. because they were unable to go, they gave us their tickets. THANK YOU JARROD AND MARCI! The kids had a blast!!!

Here are the kids playing in some sand...

Myles stuck in a mushroom

Daddy stuck in a mushroom

Mommy stuck in a mushroom

and Londynn wasn't getting anywhere near that mushroom so she chose this rock instead! Look carefully and you can see her face LOL

Having so much fun! Wishin the Seritt's were with us!

Water play!

I tried to get the kids to come and make their letters out of these spounge blocks, but I had to do it... at least Myles would pose next to it for me! LOL

Myles in an enormous 2 liter of cola...

US stuck in the cola bottle LOL

The kids looking at themselves morph with one of those crazy mirrors =)

The first floor of the museum is all about the advances we've made over the years on helping people and kids with disabilities... it really makes you appreciate not only your healthy body, but the things people have made to help others... when did people get so careless and stop fighting for others?? We need more people to invent things and FIND A CURE.

Here's Londynn seeing the eye doggie... wanting it to walk, but it wasn't real =)

Myles checkin out the prosthetic legs.... Miracles. This makes me think of Chance. You are a miracle Chance!!! Keep on walkin strong!

Us again..

Myles and Londynn taking a break to learn about the cycles of the world.. LOL it was loud in there!

We got to see a rocket launch!!! LOL in a picture =)

This was the coolest thing EVER!! You'd push one side and the other would stick out.... but the things we did with it was FUN.

FACE PRINTS! LOL here's mark... he looks like a gorilla.

This is Me.. Looks like a clown with puffy cheekbones LOL

Bahahah! here's Londynn

.... and Myles.. SO FUNNY! He'd push his face all the way so it would look like he had no nose!

... the best family portrait we've ever taken together LOL

The kids broadcasting....

Love.

Butterfly Landing!

This next exhibit was every kids dream come true. There was a massive hole filled with every Mr. Potatoe Head snap on ever invented.. then, 6 sticks that had naked Mr. Potatoe on them to start dressing.... priceless.

Finished product #1

Finished product #2

Ok.... this is a funny story. Myles and Elijah sitting next to each other for dinner. Myles sits down and tells Elijah this LONG BORING story.... and Eman just sits there the entire time and listens.. After Myles is done (like 15 mins later) V asks Elijah if that was a boring story and he shakes his head YES. LOL

.... and to no avail... Myles chymes in onto another story.. LOL

Eman and Big D

Pretty Little Lady

My little Londynn Lovey

And then, on the way home, we kept our kids quiet with a sucker LOL They are so good in the car!! Driving all that way after a long trip to OR... what more could we ask of them?

Ok... I know you can't tell what this sign says but it says "Lufkin"

What that means is that Billy the Exterminator lives close by!! LOL we are hooked on that show... it is such cheap entertainment!

Gator Country baby!

"Gator 911" from the CMT channel.. yes, we are losers.

And then our trip was over...

While we were there visiting the Harrison's we enjoyed our time so muh with them. Although the doctors and medial staff only gave her days to live.. I knew she would prove them wrong. I begged and prayed that the Lord would heal her and I never had a doubt in my mind that He wouldnt give her an earthly healing. .... and because my posts are out of order adn ya'll already know anyway, our sweet Hannah Grace was healed in heaven.

The last night we went up to the hospital to say goodbye because we were leaving in the morning, we got to tell the Harrison's we love them and we are praying without ceasing. I also got to touch Hannah Graces sweet little head and tell her goodbye. I believed with my whole heart I'd see her again, running and paying. And I will... it will just be on streets of Gold instead.

Please continue to lift Jarrod, Marci and Chandler up in prayer. They are currently on a little getaway to regroup as a family and find some peace. Please dont forget to pray just because Hannah Grace was healed in heaven; she may no longer need our prayers, but the Harrison family does. We love them so much and will continue to lift them up.

www.caringbridge.org/visit/hannahgraceharrison

We love ya'll

~The Manfull's

Londynn Turns THREE!!!

2010-08-08T16:38:00.006-05:00

July 24th, 2010, our funny, energetic, singing, dancing, lovey dovey, Londynn turned THREE YEARS OLD!! Where did the time go?? It seemed like just yesterday I was chaging her diapers and she was barely 2.... this year has gone by way too fast.

SO, fondant here we go again! I didnt have much time to prep a cake or fondant it this time because we just got home the day before the party... so, I baught a cake that looked yummy and made the toppings wtih fondant! She got a princess crown with her name spelled out shooting from the top.. she was amazed =)

This was when she found out we couldnt eat it until the morning =( But she still put up a nice big girl "3" and posed for a picture =)

Lovey's presents....

Seeing her presents after coming down the stairs on her THIRD birthday! HOORAY!

Dont mind that bum we picked up to celebrate wtih.... just focus in on Myles being a sweet boy and handing Londynn all of her gifts =)

Man! I let that bum do too much!! Londynn looks so cute here! She's so excited to get play hair stuff! She got a fake hair dryer, straightener, curler and spray!! YEEHAW!

All princess for a princess =)

After Lovey had all of her things unwrapped, she put a curler in her hair, changed the baby's diaper, cuddled her up in a blankie and sat with her.. she's so cute! Happy birthday my lovey! I love you!

Next was bath time adn princess makeover!!! She got all cleaned up and we curled her little hair into ringletts... she got a headband with her Ariel costume to go perfectly with her Ariel party!! Ariel is her fav right now =)

Showin off those shoes!

Her hair is so pretty when I do this to it.. but it doesn't hold long! So I had to get a quck pic!

The Party set up!

The cake.. AGAIN! But this time we've got candles =)

People are starting to arrive to the princess party! HOORAY! ... why are we not eating that cake yet???

It's finally time for blowing out the candles and eating that yummy chocolate drizzled cake... so here I am, lighting the candles. Londynn is accross the bar on a bar chair getting ready to blow.... and then.... we start to sing....

SHE RAN!! She jumped off teh chair screaming "NOOOO SINGING" LOL then she was GONE!

...and this is where I found her LOL She ran into the family room and balled up on the couch crying.. HOW SAD!!! When did she become so shy? SHe loved it when we sang to her last year??

Party Princess =)

Londynn, Myles and Kayden all dressed up LOL

Londynn turns THREE and turns into IRON MAN! LOL with a musket!

And after all the guests left, Londynn was diappointed she didnt get to blow out the candles; so, we picked them up and stuck them back inthe half eaten cake so she could give it another try... with NO SINGING! LOL

Deep breath in...............

First blow!

... and again! Look at that hair! LOL

Daddy saves the hair from being burnt, and Londynn blows them al out!

Hooray! She did it! And she's soooo proud =)

So, after that, we had a relaxing day in and just played with her new toys. I cannot believe that three years have gone by sine her birth. She's grown so much and has so much growing left to do. We love you Londynn so much!!

~The Manfull's

Sunday August 1, 2010

2010-08-08T15:47:00.005-05:00

This post is dated the date of this day because it will be a day I will never forget for as long as I live. On this particular Sunday, our sweet Hannah Grace drew her last breath, and opened her eyes to a new world we cannot fathom. Hannah Grace, while in the arms of her mommy, took one last breath in, and exhaled in heaven. She faught so hard, along with her family, to beat this monster.... but her calling for this world was filled. She brough countless to Christ and taught us so many lessons. I will never forget you Hannah Grace, I love you so much. Please continue to lift the Harrison's up in prayer; and again, I will have more to post about this precious family in another post coming soon. www.caringbridge.org/visit/hannahgraceharrison

So, we woke up this Sunday morning and got ready to go to Corpus for the first time ever! We were ready and headed out the door. The kids were so excited to be going to a real beach!!! When we were about 30 minutes from the port, we got the devestating news that our sweet Hannah Grace was with Jesus. Dont get me wrong, devestation is selfish, and yes, I am selfish because I want her to be here for the sake of Jarrod and Marci. But on this morning, I rejoiced for her. I rejoiced for she was no longer suffering and walking on the streets of GOLD that He made for her. My heart was aching for Jarrod and Marci, and it still aches. Please hold them in your prayers...

We finally made it to Port A and uknown to us, we had to board a farry to get to the beach! LOL so, we were sitting there in line, wondering how long this would take or if there was another way around it! But, we just sat there and waited our turn =)

Here is where we sat in line... ramp 4!

This is a pic I took while we were on the ferry. We could have gotten out of the car and took pictures, but the ride was only about 1 minute long, and the cars were getting off very quickly and we didnt think we had time to unbuckle the kids, then buckle them back up in that short of time.. so, picutres from the car were a settle. This big boat was in the bay..

Here's where we pulled up on the other side of the trench.

Once we got onto the Island side of the ferry, it was amazing! So many things to see! Including this huge shark you had to walk through to get to the store behind it! Oh it was great!

We were headed to the beach and all of the sudden, the pavement disappeared and became WHITE sand... WHITE I tell you!! We drove up onto white sand!!! This is not normal for us, we are used to black or dark grey sand... that's cold and hitting your ankles at 50 MPH! LOL So this was great =)

Lovey all sun screened up =) Ready for the beach!

Myles gettin his block on!

Ready to go play in the water!

We got to the water and was SHOCKED at how warm it was! You could barely feel it hit your skin because it was body temp! Oh it was so awesome!! You could go out into the ocean like 100 yards and it would still be shallow! Perfect for the kids =)

Lovey on the beach.... she's so cute =)

Us!

Myles havin a BLAST!

Needless to say, we were very pre occupied in our thoughts during this trip. Everywhere I looked, I saw seawead where the water met the sand so I couldnt write Hannah Grace's name in the places taht looked beautiful because it would just get washed away before I could finish her name.. so I chose this spot. I love you Hannah Grace, and we love you Jarrod, Marci and Chandler.

My 3 Loves on the beach..

They LOVED to get down into the sand and DIG DIG DIG!!! Mark even found a live sand dollar down there! It was a little gross =)

Lovin it!

My two baby's on the beach...... they seem so small but are so big to me =)

We then went to Chilie's and ate dinner.... remember to support Chile's any time you can, they do a lot for childhood cancer and every penny helps!

Then, it was off to home.

This day was one I will never forget, please continue to lift the Harrison's up in prayer. You will never know what they're going through until you've been through it, and I pray with my whole heart no one reading this will ever have to endure such pain. The Lord knows what they're going through, and He will comfort them in the days, weeks, months, and years ahead. We love you all, and be thankful always because He's good always.

~The Manfull's

Vacation to Oregon 2010...

2010-08-08T14:49:00.007-05:00

OK... so I know I have not blogged in over an entire month, but that is partly because we have not been home for more than 5 days in a row since summer school got out. So to start this off I'll begin by saying these next few posts will not have many pictures in them, only some highlighted events. We've taken over 750 pictures since my last post and it would take me days to accurately blog all of them.. so, you can find all of them on Facebook. I will load all of our pictures there from our Summer 2010 =)

So, our vacation to OR began on an aweful and suprising note. The night before we were to be at the airport at 6 in the morning, we learned our sweet Hannah Grace Harrison only had a few weeks on this earth. This came to a complete suprise due to the awesome MRI she had just had a month prior... but the latest MRI came with horrifying news; her cancer had returned with a vengence and there was little that could be done. Our hearts were broken. We spend the remaining hours on our knees begging the Lord to heal her body of this aweful hated disease. We went back and forth on canceling our trip to OR and head to AL right away.. it was such an aweful day. We then decided to go ahead with the trip to OR and get to AL immediately after it was through.....

I will talk more about that amazing family and precious baby girl in a later post. I LOVE YOU HANNAH GRACE!

So, we flew in to Sacramento, drove to Klamath and there it all began. We had a lot of fun trying to separate our time evenly across the 100 or so family members we have. I think we did a pretty good job of giving everyone a couple of days and nights; I hope =) I'm just going to breifly describe a few of the pictures I've downloaded to this entry.

Here is our 4th of July Carrot Cake. Grandma Mary made a delicious carrot cake and Candi and I dressed it up a bit =) Of course I'm on this rampage of making cakes with fondant so of course I was up for this! We were VERy happy with oursleves on this one... but not too many were as impressed =) LOL

So, we ate a little of the cake and did fireworks... here is Londynn and Nonna watching the lights...

Here's Londynn's first Sparkler!!

Myles' first Sparkler!

One of the biggest reasons we came to OR this summer was to see everyone for the family reunion. We had a blast at the park seeing fam but for some reason I dont have any pictures of it??? I hope someone got some of the events! EEK!

Afterwards, Myles, Mason, Mark and Ryan got to go fishing with Grandpa Ohman... something that was very special for all of them. Londynn and I stayed home and just hung out =) We had a good time tho! Here's a pic of Myles fishin it up!

MORE SPARKLERS!! So, on the 5th, Ryan and Dana brought over some illegal fireworks and gave us a show!! Here are the 3 cousin's playing with fire =)

Me, Lovey, Dana, and below you'll find the newest addition, Evan!!! Coming soon....

Londynn got a cinderella constume!! Which she LOVES!

One night at Jim and Tammie's house, Myles decided he would fly us around the world. He placed the chairs in 2 rows, stacked up a bunch of "luggage" and took the pilots seat! He's so creative and determined! LOL

So with Evan on the way, and with us missing his birth, I figured the least I could do is make that little bun a cake. So, Candi and I of course got out the fondant and made this!!!!!!!!! By far the best one I've done...

After our cake decorating was finished, we decided to do Hair! LOL So, she's going to kill me for posting, but still, I think it looks good! Everyone else said it was too "Old Lady" style, but I'm telling ya, I can do magic with a curling iron! LOL I realy like this!

HOT TUBBIN! Here is Myles and Bubba splish splashin in the hot tub. Myles and Londynn have really grown fond of water this past year so this was quite the highlight!!! (for me however, it was like an ice cube so I could only stay in for a few minutes.. those Oregonians are COLD!!) LOL

Here's Lovey and Grama B splashin around... I dont know how she's standing up.. the water was fridged and there was WIND! EEEK! I'm happy she's not blue here.. LOL

So, Mark and I of course pose for a pic, and when we looked at it in the camera, we both said how we've not changed a bit. If I remove the date at the bottome of the picture, you'd guess we were still in high school here.... and I'd believe you.

Mark, Myles, and Dylan playing in the back yard! Myles just loves Dylan!

Here's Lovey helping Grama B make some yummy "cake cookies!" they were soooo yummy!

... the Manfull's. Ryan, Mason, Dana (and Evan in the oven), Me, Myles, Mark and Londynn =)

Here we all are on the couch with Grama O... she was reading the kids a couple very special books! There was a 14 year old girl who was diagnosed with cancer, wrote these books of encouragement and life lessons based on scripture, and had them published. She rests in Jesus' arms today.... what an amazing child. Thank you Grama O for those books! They are VERY special to me!

Aunt Nora and I... I look so aweful here..... but I had to put it in! Thank you Aunt Nora for coming down to see us!

Here's Myles, Jordan, Londynn and Mollie wrestling under the kitchen table LOL

... adn this was the day we all said goodbye =(

One year ago we had our goodbye party at Keller park, so we thought it would be fitting to say goodbye to everyone there again. The kids got to get some good playin time in one last time and it was good!

Here's Myles and Mason being monkeys!

Dana and I, the next time I see her she'll be holding baby EVAN!!!

Mason and Londynn swinging together =) SOOO cute!

... and this is the morning we left. Myles and Londynn ready to hit the road jack!

We had a great time and were so thankful we were able to make the trip up. I'm so sorry this post is so short and undetailed, but I've got so little time before the schoolyear starts and so many more posts to write!! We love you all and are so happy we were ableto spend time together. Again, please look on Facebook for more pictures!!!

~The Manfull's

Recent and Upcoming Events of Summer 2010~

2010-06-25T20:02:00.012-05:00

Stick Bug anyone???
My only past experiences with these creatures was the beloved move "A Bug's Life." The stick bug was one of my favs of the movie and I just thought he was so cute! Well, my opinion of this character has drastically changed......

Mark was mowing the lawn last a couple weeks ago and, as usual, you find little rocks, sticks or whatever in the yard and they get picked up and thrown onto the sidewalk/driveway.... well, when after he threw this "stick" out of the way, he quickly realized this was no ordinary stick!!! THE THINK HAD LEGS!!!
You can't really tell by the picture in these photos, but the knobby parts of it's body were like real bamboo or something! It felt a little hollow just like one of these twigs would feel, and the color was shiney and shadowed like wood grain just like a branch. It was also a good 12 or so inches long... ICK! It was crazy!!! It was dead because we had the bug guy come and spray everything to kill the scoirpions and hairy spiders we have around here and luckily, many more types of bugs are dead now too =) Including Slim (that's the stick bugs name in A Bug's Life bahahaha) I'm glad you're laughing with me....
Okay, onto more bugs!
Mark found this "little" guy dead in the yard too.. or maybe the patio? Anywho, not much explaining needed for this one.. we think it's just a daddy long legs on steroids?

Okay, so as most of you know, I'm in prison (aka summer school) and have been for the past 2 weeks. Mark has been staying home with the kids and he was loving it.. and now he's sort of going crazy! Last week, he made egg sandwhiches with the kids for breakfast and although I missed out on the experience... and I was very sad, I am glad they got to bond with Daddy (they've never really had time alone with just him for this many consecutive days). He even took pictures for me to see when I got home =)

Alright! Below are just a few pictures taken of the kids before we went to go somewhere.... I can't remember where but they were being really cute so I had to take their pictures! here they are for you to enjoy!

So, as some of you know, there are nothing but corn fields around here and we are soooo loving it! Now, this corn I speak of is not just corn. It's SWEET corn! Like, the best corn you'll ever taste and it's endless.... we just baught 12 ears for just 3 dollars.... and it's sooo good! So, for the night before father's day I decided to make enchalladas for mark with of course, CORN ON THE COB! And the kids still love the corn above all other things on the kitchen table...

I've been learning a lot at summer school these days... especially about Texan Sweet Corn. Down here, they dont just eat it off the cob, they don't just put butter on it... they fix these things like twice baked potatoes at a potato bar!!! Sour cream, salt, chilies, you name it!! It's just nuts! I dont think I'll ever do it that way... I LOVE the corn just the way it is!

Okay, so it's onto talking about Gunther, I mean Lucifer. OMG this rat is really starting to drive me crazy.

I get up a little later in the morning with this summer school schedule because we dont have to get the kids ready so I sleep in a little bit which is nice... so one morning, I'm in the shower and I just feel beady eyes staring at me.... but no one is awake but me? I peer through the steamy shower doors and there he is, sitting up on his hind legs with his hands on his cheeks staring at me. EW. I hate that thing.

I get dressed and take that thing to it's cage. It's apparently McGiver because it can manage to squeeze it's body through a centimeter gap in the cage. So, we've been chasing him, sticking him back in his cage and hopefully teaching him he'll just be put right back in. I hope he gives up his escaping habbits.

The next morning, we wake up and Lucifer, I mean Gunther, had gone on a rampage. He was shockingly still in his cage, but on the ledge of the window right next to the cage was the evidence of his rampage. There was rat poop, all of his snacks and food, and bedding outside like he threw it all through the gaps of the cage cause he was mad at us!!! Oh what a crazy rodent!

Although he's a monster, we still had to get him a bigger cage. So, we got a cage on sale that should be fit for a king... but he's still not happy with it! I think he's just plain crazy... here are some pics of the mansion for a rat.

Yes, you're seeing it right. This thing has 3 stories, a wheele, a new water bottle, a chew toy, a fluffy bed, a TOILET so he'll be potty trained, a new food dish, all complete with ramps. This almost sickens me.

Here are just a few pics of Londynn dancing around in a leotard.... I asked her to give me a cute pose and these are the ones she thought of... LOL

FATHER's DAY!

The kids woke up and Myles wanted to make Daddy a cake for Fathers Day. I wanted to dry out some more fondant and so we got to it right away. Daddy was not allowed to come into the kithen AT ALL because they wanted it to be a big reveal =)

Here are the kids helping make the cake....

Okay, now before you judge the following picture, you must realize I baked my fondant sugar syrup too long and therefore my fondant was brittle and I could not even roll it... so, I improvised with left over fondant and left over blue icing from a can LOL

Myles bringing Daddy in to see the magnificent cake....

Ta Da!

Happy Father's Day Daddy!

Suprise!!!

Hugs for a job well done =) For both of them!

Their creation =)

He's thinking, "must we eat this?" LOL

Happy Father's day to the best man for my children. YOu are an amazing father, husband and man of God. I thank the Lord for blessing me with you. I LOVE YOU!

Here are just a few pics of Londynn doing random things during the week =)

LOL she told Mark to take her picture =)

OKAY! Most of you have probably already seen this on my facebook page, but Elijah's wristbands are IN!! Here are a few pics of what they look like. They are 3 dollars each. I will have them in Oregon for you to purchase or, you can email me at Lindsay@colesfoundation.com and I'll get you one ASAP! They are grey for brain cancer awareness, say Praying for Elijah on one side and Psalms 23:4 on the other side separated by stars. The scripture is part of the "23rd Psalm" that most of you know, "Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I shall fear now evil for you are with me." Elijah has been through so much, through the valley of the shadow of death!!! He's got a long road ahead of him, but he'll make it... the Lord has plans to prosper him you know! =)

Okay! And the last set of pictures for this post.

We are flying out in a week from today and Myles asked me to make a count down poster with him. So, we sat at the table and got to crafting =) Here he is making his masterpiece =)

Here's the finished product! We will pull off a number each night before bed and the next morning we'll get on the plane!

And here's just a shot of the 3 of us... Londynn was asleep on the couch =)

Sleepin with her swimsuit on =) So cute!

Alright....

I'd like to end this post with a few thoughts about our lovely Ellie Potvin who took the hand of Jesus this week. If you're on facebook, you've seen all over the cries to heaven to let this little angel fly to heaven. Here's a little background on Team Potvin.

Ellie Potvin was diagnosed with Rhabdomysarcoma when she was just 6 years old. She went through many chemo and radiation rounds and was finally in remission last June. It only lasted 3 months until they doctors told Ellie and her precious family that her fight would begin again. This type of cancer is ugly. All childhood cancers are ugly, but this one is UGLY UGLY! It comes back with avengence and I HATE IT. She would have scans adn more cancer would show; she'd fight harder and harder and the cancer never let up.

Through all of the disapointments, Team Potvin never lost hope. Through and through Amy, Ellie's mom, would proclaim her faith in the Lord's ability to heal even the most shattered bodies. He is our healing God and why not Ellie? Why not her miracle?

Amy was not the only one who had hope and faith. That precious little Ellie faught until the end. Just 2 days before Ellie finally too Jesus's hand, a very large tumor surrounding her hip bone burst open. This tumor was growing so rapidly, it stretched the skin to it's maximum. The skin finally ripped open to expose the tumor. Cancer, sticking out of a frail little 8 year old girl. I cannot even image.

In the end, Ellie's lungs were 95 percent filled with tumor to where she could barely breath. She used all of her strenght to gasp for air for days. Her lungs then began to fill up with fluid and gurgling bubbles were coming up through her mouth.

DOes this sicken you? It should. Why is it that this happens 11 times each day and no one knows about it? I've got more to tell you about this amazing girl but I'll save that for the end. I first would like you to stop and imagine this beautiful little 8 year old, who has faught for the past 2 years of her life, as your child. Picture a cancerous tumor stiking out of your babies hip, then gurgling fluid from her mouth, knowing there is no room in her lunch for air. It's sickening. Please, tell everyone you know about the horrid acts of childhood cancer. How it destroys and shatters babies and takes 11 of them eachday. I HATE CANCER.

So, onto the blessings that God give us in the most tragic of times. Ellie could barley open her eyes in the end, too weak to sit up, too weak to smile, too weak to lift up her arms. She managed to open her eyes and look at her mommy. She saw the tears streaming down her mom's face. She lifted up her arm, kissed her own bicept and said with all the strenght she had, "I'm strong mommy, I'm a fighter." She was just amazing.

We prayed without ceasing that the Lord would take her hand and lead her home. Her suffering was great and heartwrenching for her family to sit by and watch. In her last breath, Ellie reached her hand up to heaven, tilted her head and opened her mouth. He had come to get her adn her precious family got to witness their baby girl taking the hand of Jesus. She was HEALED, SAVED, and in the place that was created just for her. If you can't picture this in your head adn KNOW that God is real, I dont know what else can change your mind. He's real, He loves you, and if you don't start living for HIM... it wont be HIS hand that comes for you..........

Ellie's wake was this evening and her celebration of life is tomorrow at 11 am. There will be a nation wide balloon release for this amazing Ellie at 12 our time, so mostof you in Oregon it would be 10am. Please release pink balloons in honor of Ellie and her undying faith and courage, for her family and their love of their precious daughter, and for warriors all over. You have no idea how blessed you are. If you do get the chance, please take pictures of them and send them to Amy Potvin (you can find her email on her twitter or caringbridge page) or you can just email them to me and I'll make sure she gets them.

www.twitter/amypotvin

www.caringbridge.org/visit/elliepotvin

God bless each of you, we'll see ya in a week at Blondies around 5pm!

~The Manfull's

**OOOOOH! Elijah's new web site is www.Pray4Elijah.com where you can also make a donation to the family. Please be lifting them up in prayer. They have an amazing opportunity, potentially, that will change their lives forever. No details, God knows the details. LIFT THEM UP! Thanks =)

Hello??!?!

2010-06-17T16:11:00.001-05:00

Okay,
Who reads this blog???
Comment if you read this thing. I feel like I'm a loser writing to myself!!!!!!

Thoughts.

2010-06-14T21:16:00.005-05:00

Hello Everyone!

Well, as some of you have already heard, Mark and I heard an AWESOME sermon this past Sunday. Our church, Westover Hills Assembly of God is really turning out to be a wonderful church for us, and the pastor is a younger version of Ernie so we're lovin' it! Anyways, you can listen/view the sermon I'll mention today at http://www.whag.net/.

So he's been preaching about how the Lord talks to people these days. There are many different ways you can hear from the Lord, but He mostly talks in thoughts. Rarely do people hear Him say, "Go and do this. Go and do that." in His voice. I'm not saying that doesn't happen today, but most people think that if He doesn't talk to you through His direct voice, that He doesn't speak to people at all. So, we've been learning about how the Lord talks to us in thought. He gives us thoughts... ideas we claim to be our own, fabulous ideas. We take credit for His WORD!!! SO many times we have ideas about things, and we never give Him the credit. He's speaking often to us, often to all of you reading this, but do you hear Him? Through your thoughts?

This sermon this past Sunday our Pastor gave an example of how someone, I'm sure hypothetically speaking, could hear the Lord. (He gave an example of a made up story.) He mentioned someone being driven to move accross the country. One day, out of the blue, a person gets an idea to move himself and his family far far away. A thought. Just a thought?

But it wasn't just a thought! It was the Lord speaking to this person. Not only did the Lord know of the immediate befefits of what would come for his person and his family if they moved, such as money, job ops, or buying a house, but alos the LONG TERM befefits. You see, the Lord doesn't just see the here and now, he has a PLAN FOR YOUR LIFE! A plan to prosper you, not to harm you, a plan to give you hope and a FUTURE!" Jeremiah 29:11

The Lord called Mark to San Antonio. Yes, because of great job ops, money increase and to buy our wonderful house. But that's not all He had planned for us. He saw the lives of our children. He saw each teacher both of them will have here, the teachers that will have great impact on their lives. He saw our FUTURE, and He has a plan for it.

Another scripture mentioned was Isiah 55: 8-11 where the Lord talks about his words coming like rain and snow (also linked over and over to thoughts given). The rain, being the immediate affect of his word/ thoughts. When rain hits the grass, it is immediately affected. But then there's the snow. It falls and stacks and stores and doesnt give life or bring vegetation until a new season, Spring. When the new season comes, the snow/ice will melt and then, bring life to the vegetation below. So, some of the Lords words given to us with thoughts may take time to see benefit, they are like snow stacking, only to melt in a different season. ((Really I'm doing no justice to this sermon so PLEASE look it up and hear it like I got to!))

So, as we were driving home today, we were passing through 1604 and there's the hobo. We see him almost every time we pass through this intersection. He's dirty, skinny and only has one leg. He's got a peg leg and rolls his pants up so people can see it. We drive by thinking what could have happend in his life to have him end up this way. And he's not the only hobo we see. In a big city, there are tons.. almost at every intersection. They walk up and down them in the summer heat asking for change. Then, it hit. A thought. I saw the old man with the peg leg being handed a bottle of water by a car a few ahead of us. A bottle of water. A thought.

"Hey! Lets buy a bunch of bottled water, and start handing them out whenver we see a hobo!! OH! And I can write scirptures on them too!!" A thought. No, it wasn't my thought, it wasn't my wonderfulness that thought this up, not my glory. But God's glory. It was a thought given to me, by Him.

So, Mark went into Wal Mart to pick up a few groceries and added a 24 pack of waters to the list. We came home and I wrote Jeremiah 29:11 on each one with a permanent marker. "For I know the plans I have for you," declares the Lord, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future."

Not only does this scripture speak volumes to a hobo who is lost with an unpredictable future, but it is also written on the bottom of a shoe. A shoe that belongs to an 8 year old girl fighting for her life. Ellie Potvin. www.caringbridge.org/visit/elliepotvin or on twitter @amypotvin. Please, lift her up, she's fighting so hard and the docs have given her 3 to 6 weeks to live. HE HAS PLANS FOR YOU ELLIE!

Here are a few pictures of the bottles. My handwriting is aweful on them I know but I really encourage everyone to do this!! It was so easy and CHEAP! You could even print out a scirpture that is close to your heart and tape them on... either way, we'll never know how many lives are being affected and led HOME. A thought!

Okay! So, on your grocery lists write BOTTLED WATER FOR JESUS!

Thank you!

So, yesterday we had a wonderful relaxing day at the pool; 3 hours total! Here are a few pics of the kids before we left.... Myles' action shot and Londynn's posing =)

Before we left for the pool, our neighbors invited us over to check on the birds!!! We've been keeping and eye on a nest that was built in their back yard.... 3 little birdies have survivied the hatching and are actually growing feathers now!! Before, they looked like naked ugliness... here they are and the kids looking at them!

Lovey..

Myles checking it out with a magnafying glass! LOL

ANd... here's a dead bug we took a pic of.. do you see that stinger on it's butt?!??!! What is this thing!??

And here's the tooth fairy news.... Myles got a note AND 5 dollars from Miss Tooth FairY! We were sure to explain to him that the first one always hits big.. and surely he'll get less money for each tooth to follow =)

I hope he doesn't notice that the Tooth Fairy and Santa have the SAME handwriting.. an aweful cursive attempt.

Okay! So, on to the next adventure....

The kids have been playing with their stuffed animals a lot so we decided it would be a good time to take them to build a bear workshop. I packed the camera up, but realized I left the memory card in the laptop...so I've got NO pictures of them stuffin, bathing and dressing. =( But, I do have the finished products!!!

Londynn chose a Hello Kitty with a flower in her head. She also chose a yellow silky top with matching flowery shorts! The yellow shoes pull it all togehter =) She named her flower. She did not enjoy stuffing her.. she didnt understand it and thought we were crazy.

And here's Myles! He got a camo bear with camo clothes and named it Brody. A tough name =) When we were in line, the build a bear man asked if he wanted to insert a sound, like a "Roar" or and "I love you"... what did he choose? Umm.... 3 songs by the Jonas Brothers. That's right, he was a fan before he even knew it! LOL so, we've been hearing Jonas for a while now !

Londynn's pretty hair!

Another view =)

And that's all I have! The kids are headed up the stairs for bed and I've gotta go to school in the a.m. so I've gotta end this thing! Really, buy the water.

We love you all and God bless,

~The Manfull's

Myles Loses His 1st TOOTH!

2010-06-12T12:38:00.005-05:00

Well well well!! We now have a pirate among us!!!!
Myles has lost his first tooth! But first, here are some pictures of Londynn =) This post is dedicated to Myles and his toothless front gum, so I had to put in some of lovey and her pretty ringletted hair!

Look at those ringletts!

And here's the star of the post! Myles and that itty bitty toothy...

Bad picture but here you can at least see how small that thing is!

Showing off his proud new pirate look! CLOSE UP!

I caught his first reaction looking at himself in the mirror without his tooth! PRICELESS!

And now he's PROUD.

So, we had to write a letter to the tooth fairy.........

The front says "dear tooth fairy"

And inside it says, "I lost my 1st tooth, heart Myles" =) heheheh

....putting his card and toothy in the baggie..

RUNNING upstairs to his room....

and placing it under his pillow =)

"it's under here" =) He might just know I'm the tooth fairy! LOL

So, this is how it all happened! You might have to play it a couple of times to get all of Myles' words.. he's mumbling for some reason? Maybe his mouth is a bit breezy LOL

Okay, so him and Londynn were cleaning up a bit of toys upstairs and I was hanging his clothes up in his closet when I heard him say, "uh.. Mom?" I went to see what was happening and he had his tooth in his hand saying, "it just fell out mom!!!! My tooth fell out!!"

And then, he saw a ISTY BITSY amount of blood on his finger and freaked out =) We had to take him down stairs and "clean him up" and then he was fine.

My baby is a big toothless boy!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Hope ya'll enjoy =)

~The Manfull's

Summer Time and Loose Teeth~

2010-06-11T10:44:00.005-05:00

I know most of you are thinking, "WHAT?? A new post already??"
Well with all this summer time off, I've got more time to sit down and post regularly! =)

We've just got a few more weeks left before we go back home... and with that, we're trying to soak up as much time outside and the pool to get used to the summer heat before we leave. We don't wanna be caught coming back in the worst heat after being in a frozen tundra (klamath) for 2 weeks =) And my, are we getting DARK!!! We actually spent a good 2 hours at the pool yesterday.....

When we finally made it home, it was absolutely FREEZING inside the house! Of course our thermistat was just set normally around 78 degrees or so, it felt like ICE! We spend all of our pool time in the kiddie pool because the kids LOVE playing freely in the water. So, the kiddie pool is much more shallow than a regular pool and so it's naturally more warm, like bathtub water. (not including the natural heat it's getting from urine I'm sure =) So, after soaking in that for 2 hours, we came home and it was COOOOLD!

We ate dinner and then Londynn passed out. She slept from 6:30 last night until 6 this morning! That sun bathing really takes the energy out of us! She also has a sun tattoo from a minnie mouse tattoo that she's been protecting to keep in her arm. When it finally came off with 2 hours of chlorine soakage, there was white skin left under it! =)

So, with Lovey asleep, Myles and Mommy got some time in to practice our reading! We took the dry erase board and got to it! I would draw a picture of a cat, or something simple like that, and he'd sound it out and tell me how to spell the word of the picture I drew. Then, to change it up a bit, I'd write a word down and he'd sound it out and read it to me! He can do more than just the average Cat, Bat, Hat, Sat stuff... he sounded out Sleep, Bed, Cup, Hot, Mom, Dad, and his all time favorite word, Fart. =) He is soooo stinking smart! I should have taken the picture he forced me to draw when he read the word fart... hehehehe

We are now getting ready for the day! A few errands to run before my summer school week begins =( We have gotten our temporary Texas Driver's Licenses because it was about time! The only bad part was now that we have a little piece of paper as an ID, the airport wont accept it for flying... oops. I guess we should have thought about that before we decided to finally get them updated. So, we've gotta figure that out today and see what we need to do. We might have to get passports =(

And the big news of the week... Myles has a loose toothy!! Not just "loose" but extremely LOOSE!!! It's about to fall out I tell ya! And all who knows Myles can only imagine him freaking out and screaming bloody murder thinking that his tooth is giong to fall out of his head... but you'd be surprised to know that not only does he let me clip his toenails with ease these days, he also is so super excited that he'll be losing this tooth of his! He grabs a hold of it and yanks yanks yanks on it to make it more loose! He's just so much different than a year ago. Completely secure and happy =) It used to break my heart when he wouldn't trust me to even clip those toes of his... but now, he's my brave little man. Here are a few pictures of my proud little Myle tuggin' away on that tooth!

During all the hype of tooth yanking, Londynn quietly watched and read her books =)

Mr. Proud

YANK YANK!!

It's this one mom!!!!

If you look really closely, you can see the crooked one is the loose tooth hanging off the gums. It's his bottom middle right one in this pic (his left)

So proud of his loose tooth =)

And here's a video of it all =)

Right before I grabbed the camera to take this, he was pullin' and pullin' so hard! I had to tell him to stop and wait for me! LOL But, when I got the camera, we decided that if he had to yank that hard for it, than it wasn't quite ready. So, we're still wigglin' it around and it should be falling out pretty soon! Actually, he just got out of the shower and came to show me how much looser it's gotten! Today just might be the day!

And when it does happen, I'll use the real video camer instead of the camera to get the moment so there's light!

Anyways, we are about to leave so I gotta get going! However, today marks the one year anniversary of Kolby Zinsmeyer's welcoming into heaven. It's in angelversary today and I would like all of you who read this to life his family and friends up so they can feel the love and comfort of our Savior. Without Him, there is no hope that they'll see their precious son and friend again, but because of His sacrifice, we have HOPE. Kolby was mentioned in one of my previous posts. He and his best friend were riding 4 wheelers and other equipment and Kolby rolled his and went to heaven. The friend he was with was one my students this year. Not only did this death impact this student of mine, but many of them. More people were affected by this loss than I even know. So please, lift up all who were affected by this tradgety, especially Kolby's mom. You can look up a site of facebook if you'd like to leave his family a message of hope. Just search for "In Loving Memory of Kolby Zinsmeyer" Thank you and HUG YOUR KIDS!

God bless each of you! We love you all,

~The Manfull's

Gunther the Gerbil

2010-06-09T18:26:00.009-05:00

Hello Ya'll!

So, we're about a week into the summer and enjoying it more than we thought we ever could! It's so fun thinking that we get every summer off for the rest of our lives =) I, being the math nerd that I am, calculated out that if we only work 9 months out of the year, that means every four years we basically get off 12 of those months. So it's like we work 4 years, get a year off. Therefore, if we work 30 years until retirement, we'll really only be working 24 years because we'll get 6 of them off =) HOORAH! 6 years of school including a grueling master's degree was well worth it all.... now =)

Our summer days really consist of the following: waking up when the kids do, and Mark still lets me sleep in!! Then, we do whatever we want! Sometimes, we go to the pool at all hours of the day, play outside for as long as we want, go to Sea World just to catch a new show and roam for a few hours before coming home, taking naps EVERYDAY, and staying up late =) Oh Glorious!

Within these days spent outside, we've gotten to learn more about the freakishly large creatures that surround us all hours of the day! Below are some pictures of a very loud, I mean VERY LOUD, bug. We didn't know what it was at first because it looked like a weird cricket on steroids. So, we decided to google images it =) Come to find out, it's called a katydid. It's about the size of my hand and there are MILLIONS around here and they live in the trees. They are not bad or harmful, just extremely loud around 8 pm. If you look closely, God made their bodies to look like tree leaves (no, natural selection did not take place here, GOD MADE THAT BODY LOOK LIKE LEAVES BECAUSE HE PLACED THEM IN A TREE!!!!) They somehow vibrate those wing like leave things together to make this VERY LOUD sound. It's a constant sound outside at night that you'll hear, sometimes even through the windows and doors! Londynn was the last one to go outside the other night and didnt shut the door all the way and it sounded like one was in our house! So, I carefully went towards the door to find a HUGE katydid on the molding of our exterior door. They are harmless, I just would hate to have one of those loud things trapped inside =( here are what they look like..

Look at how leaf like that body looks! God is GREAT!

Okay, so, our wonderful neighbors/babysitters hosted a block party the other night so we could get to know all the culd-e-sac clan. Almost all the lots are built up now so there are a few people who have moved in that we havn't gotten to know, or know us. We have seen block parties before, but never really desired to go to one =) But because this was our clan, we were actually looking forward to it! And we LOVED it! We all just hung out in the yard,watched the kids play, and ate yummie food together. We got to know our neighbors muh better and it was a great night! We just LOVE it here! Here are a few pics of what we brought to the block party... fruit kabobs! I cut the fruit and made them myself... they were a big hit!

Londynn is wondering why in the world are we taking pictures of fruit sticks! LOL

Okay! So, the last day of school for the kids was June 3rd. I was just about to leave the school and the science teachers came in and offered me a rat. Yes a rat. This gerbil has been in the classroom of the science wing all year and needed a home now that it was summer time. I HATE RODENT and said NO WAY! But then, I thought of Myles. He recently told us he wanted a pet squirrel after watching Alvin and the Chipmunks 2. So, I rethought my immediate "no" and said "yes." Let it be known I only did this so I could be the best mommy in the world to my son. Otherwise, it would have a different home right now....... So, here's the video of the kids seeing the rat for the first time, I mean gerbil =)

And here are some still pics of it....

OK! So, we asked the kids what they wanted to name the gerbil and, of course, Myle's says "Hamster." As most of you know, he just names things based on what they are =) We have to teach him to be more creative in naming things LOL So, we gave him some ideas and he rested upon naming the gerbil, "Gunther." So, welcome home Gunther, welcome home.

We have been taking advantage of having a pool in the hood and have spent some great time there! ((UNTIL I GOT BURNED)) then we had to stay away for a few days to let my skin rest! Here are some random pictures of the kids and I before pool time, playing around with the camera =)

So, that's just about all I've got for ya'll! We have purchased our plane tickets and we'll be home on the 2nd of July. We'll be staying for 10 days and I'm making a schedule of where we'll be on which days to make sure everyone is off on the days we can be with them. We'll have the family reunion on the 3rd and so far, that's the only day scheduled =) But I'll let everyone know what's going on so you can see us as much as possible! We will be in Ktown around dinner time, so we were thinking it would be fun to have everyone meet at Blondies for dinner on the 2nd.... if you can make it =)

God bless each of you. Thank you for your prayers over our family. Remember to lift the families affected by Childhood cancer up too. When you realize what these families go through and how blessed you are that you dont have to, when you pray for them, your relationship with Christ blossoms.. at least mine does. It also brings you closer to your kids and what miracles they are, each day. My little Elijah has a new site all of his own and bracelets are in! Order one please, I'll be bringing some home to sell at Blondies in July so you'll be able to get one from me then too. www.pray4elijah.com We love you Seritt's!

Have a great night!

~The Manfull's

Subway is now serving breakfast!

2010-05-28T20:53:00.019-05:00

Hey Ya'll!

So it's been a while since I've last updated, but now that I've got a HUGE weekend, I have some time to upload pics for you to see =)

The weekend before last, we attended Praise Wave at Sea World which lasted ALL day Saturday and ALL day Sunday! This Wave is where Christian music is played throughout the park all day (Klove) and many of our favorite bands were there to perform in concert!! Here are the pics of that weekend.....

The kids getting ready to head to Praise Wave!

While waiting to see Addison Road in concert, Londynn decided it would be a good idea to see if she had grown enough to ride the Shamu Coaster! So we checked it out and she was just the right height! She LOVED the first go around, but didnt enjoy the 2nd time around... here we are riding her very first coaster.... the stump is in the way of our heads =(

Family Portrait Op.

Fishing for Gators....

Talent!

And we have 2 winners of some mighty fine Gators!

Heading home for a nap before the big show begins!

Up, Rested, and ready for round 2 of day one!

Goofin' Around!

One of the BEST weekends EVER! Praise Wave!

Who is this?? That's right... it's ADDISON ROAD!

And what's this you might ask? Well this is the Shamu Car!

The Afters.... pretty much the best concert of the DAY!

*US*

Lovey helping her Gator clap for the band! The kids LOVED the Afters!

JARS OF CLAY!

By 11 that night... we finally made it home! We had to wake up early for Day 2 of Praise Wave! We started the day off at the water park! Here are the kids having a splashin' good time!

Myles looks like one of those crazy child body builders in this photo! LOL

Childhood...

KLove Tats!

Concert Time!

STEVEN CURTIS CHAPMAN!!!!!!!!!!!!! Introducing his sons' band "Caleb."

Here's Steven Curtis Chapman's son, Caleb, taking video of Paul Colman! Yes that's right, PAUL COLMAN! So amazing....

A little preaching from Max Lucado!

Caleb playing for who?..... who? that's right... STEVEN CURTIS CHAPMAN!

This was awesome!

As many of you know, Stacy sang "I will be here" by Steven Curtis Chapman at our wedding... it's a pretty old song so we weren't expecting to hear it... but HE SANG IT! We got to hear our wedding song SUNG LIVE! BY THE ARTIST WHO WROTE IT!! BEST WEEKEND EVER.

And then we got home... late. Well worth it.

So, now that its like 90-95 degrees everyday, the critters are coming more frequently into our house. In literally 30 seconds, we killed an enormous spider, and then a scoirpion. Then, just a few hours later, we killed another scorpion in our HOUSE both times. Ick. They are nasty. Luckily our wrottwyler weiner dog eats them for us. She'll attack them until it's no longer fun to play with a dead carcus. (My spelling is aweful I know... Zelda) I do love that she's protecting us from these nasty things! So, we've gotten scheduled for a good spray down! That sentence sounded really Texan..

Here's a pic of the death...........

So after killing all of these nasties in our house, we walk outside to get the kids to Bonnie's house and what do we see? A nasy weird never before seen green bug. Hangning onto our garage door. It was the size of my head. Okay, that's an exaggeration, but really, it was enormous. I think it was a carnavor.

So, onto bigger and better things....

This last week of school my kids painted a panther mural. If you have facebook you've already seen all of these pics and this section bight become quite boring of the blog. But here are the final pics of the Murals (there were 2 of them alltogether).
My morning classes.....

Afternoon Classes....

Close up of 2nd mural!

So after Bonnie and Rachel (the kids' babysitters) found out about our interest in large species of insects, they decided to catch this one day for us and stow it away in a plastic bag for us! LOL it's a LARGE moth.. and an orange for size demo.

And then there was today. We headed out to the Castroville Park because we had our end of the year party their for the kids, and I was shocked to see how cute this park was! It was extremely nice! It's like Moore Park only 10x better... not expecting that at all! Here's a few pics of the place!

It reminded me of Lost. I felt like we were all following Syid up to the mountain to find the Radio Tower......

Luckily, the Black Smoke never came......

Having fun!

The river at the park!

There's even a pool!

And that's all I've got for tonight! Sorry there's not much more to write, I can barely keep my eyes open! THey are sun burnt from our party at the park Thursday. I was attacked by 12 year olds with water.... and was forced to play beach volleyball. Luckily, I have mad skills and whooped their butts!

I will try to update more often so I can have enough time to actually write about something, instead of just post pics. I have you all pray a lot for kiddos I follow, but today I want you to pray for a family that was not struck by cancer, but by sudden tragedy. Almost a year ago, a student at Medina Valley Middle school was killed in an aweful accident. His best friend, one of my students, was there with him when it happened. We honored the student on the last day of school and it reminded me to ask for prayers for the family. Although some of you may think that it would be easier dealing with a death like this after almost an entire year, but the pain never goes away. It just gets easier to deal with. Lift this family up in prayer, as well as the families and friends that were forever changed by this. His name was Kolby Zinsmeyer, he had just finished 7th grade.

Thank the Lord for His many blessings... we will never truly know how blessed we are... but we can try to recognize all of the miracles He sends us.

Oh and about the title, "Subway is now serving breakfast!" We were eating dinner this evening at Chilie's and Myles throws down his spoon and gets in my face. He says he has a secret. He leans over and whispers, "Mom, I told Kaden today that Subway is now serving breakfast!" I thought I heard him right but it made no sense; so I repeated his words and asked if that's what he really said. ANd he says, without any hesitation, "SHHHH. We cannot be having all these peole hear about it!" So, it's been blogger confirmed, Subway is now serving breakfast! Dont tell Myles I let the cat outta the bag!

We love you all and God bless,

~The Manfull's

WOAH!!! So much has happened!

2010-05-09T23:41:00.018-05:00

WOW it's been a while since I've been able to update!
Just a warning.. this one is filled with pics and little words.. I just cannot write a lot because there are so many pictures and it's going to make me cut it into two posts which I dont wanna do! =) So, here are the kids playing with bubble wands!! All the solution is now gone after a few weeks worth of good play, but who knew how wonderful bubbles would be??

Okay, here are some pics of a few weeks back when we went to New Braunfels to Landa Park to ride the train and play in the river =) It was about 90 degrees out that day and the water felt SOOOO good!

Our Dare Devil... aka Londynn

YUMMY! Ice Cream!

....and only one way to clean up the sticky mess!! The river!

And Now It's EASTEr Time!!! So late I know... but here are the kids decorating eggs!

GOLD Ribbon =)

And We're Ready TO HUNT!!!

And here's the eggs shelled... and still dyed!! LOL

Here's Lovey... caught sitting on the kitchen floor reading a book to her baby! She's so motherly!

Tutus and rainboots! LOL

Okay... So one day the kids were upstairs playing in the playroom and Londynn came down stairs but Myles stayed upstairs. He was soooo quiet! So after a few minutes we went up there to check on him and this is what we found....

He was asleep in Lovey's bed and had been changing the babies diapers!!! LOL He is so fatherly!! What good parents our kids will one day be =)

And here are the Kids Unite To Fight Walk A Thon Pics =)

I did the Cole's Foundation program where my studnets each get paired with a kid fighting a life threatening illness such as cancer. After we wrote to them, we did a walk a thon to raise potential money for research.... of course I couldnt require them to bring the real money they raised but we would have made a KILLING if they did!! Anyways, after the walk a thon they were DEAD from the head and decided laying out on my floor and the desks would be a good idea =)

The girl in green is a PEDIATRIC CANCER SURVIVOR!!! and also a miracle....

And now onto our new purchases off of craigslist! LOL Our 3 piece microfiber set we baught when we first came down here just wasnt working in our family room... so we searched and found this amazing couch! It's leather and very easy to clean! It also fits our room perfectly!

Myles taking his first nap on it=)

...and Lovey too =)

And next is Londynn's barbie car! She's been potty trained for quite some time but we coundnt ever afford to get her a new one.. so we turned to barely used ones!! And trust me, it's no different from Myles Tractor which was baught brand new.... and she LOVES it! But I think Myles may love it MORE =) and she doesnt mind!

Lovey behind the wheele...

STOP LONDYNN STOP!!

AHHH! she hits the van... and it actually dented it!

Myles spinnin' in the culd-e-sac...

And finally we're onto TODAY! Mother's Day!

While daddy was mowing the grass in the front (those HOA people are on our tail everday!) Myles decided this cardboard box fort was a picture must! LOL

And now onto our Mother's day CAKE!! Myles came to me saying he wanted to make me a cake with a heart ontop.... so here it goes!

Rolling the fondant to decorate the cake...

And it's complete!! Not too bad for the first fondant try! Cake Boss here we come!! Another Italian family could fit right in!

Posing with our creations!

SHEESH that was a long post!! Now since it's after 1am I'm not going to write any more =) But I promise to update more frequently so I can write more!! I'll update tomorrow ...maybe!

We love and miss you all and can't wait to see you in July! Happy Mother's day to all the mommy's reading this!!!

~The Manfull's

*Remember all the mommy's out there longing to hold their babies who are being held by Jesus in heaven. Their hearts are shot with a gaping hole that will never fully be filled. Keep them in your thoughts and prayers and thank the Lord for the blessings that reign in your life... for the kids that are alive and well, happy and whole. Remember, He gave you them, He made you a mom.

Not Of This World

2010-04-17T07:05:00.002-05:00

Hello everyone, it's Mark here again with some more "thoughts" about some stuff. As Myles is getting older, he is starting to ask alot of questions about what he'll be aloud to do when he gets to be a teenager and such. "When I'm your age, then I can watch yucky shows" he says. Or he asks about why people we see around town have tatoos or why we don't drink those "yucky drinks" that he sees on every billboard and commercial. It is confusing for him when we tell him that age doesn't matter, and that we don't do those things, or watch those types of things because thats not how God wants us to live. And of course, like always, I heard a song on KLOVE that really hit home with what was on my heart. It is a Sanctus Real song called Forgiven, and the part that struck me says: "when I don't fit in and I don't feel like I belong anywhere; when I don't measure up to much in this life; oh I'm a treasure in the arms of Christ."
This is exactly how we are supposed to feel, like we don't fit in anywhere in the "world" but we fit in like a leather jacket at motorcycle rally with Christ in Heaven. A lot of times I catch myself thinking that the Bible is a sort of living document, that would adapt itself to today's world because things are so much different now, I quickly remind my self that the Bible means what it says back then, now and forever. The world was not different, when Jesus walked this earth he was tempted by the very things we are tempted by. And knowing that the sinful temptations of the world would not go away, Jesus gives us this: "Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it." Matt. 7:13-14 The same stuff that leads people to destruction today was leading people to the same destruction in Jesus' day. It is obviously so much more easier to go through that wide gate because that is where most people are heading, it is hard to even find friends in the work place or at school or where ever that are truly seeking the path through the narrow gate. That's why Jesus warns us that only few find it. All through the Bible, it tells us how we, as Christians, are supposed to be living. We are ambassadors for Christ. Matt. 5:14,16 "You are the light of the world. A city on hill cannot be hidden... let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your father in heaven." This world is filled with darkness as the Bible calls it, but it is the believers job to shine the light of Jesus for all to see. We aren't supposed to stay hidden in our own little corner of the world like most people want, like it's a contagious disease to be a Christian. Give people a reason to ask you why you are so weird and why you don't do the things that everyone else does. In order to shine like a city on the hill however, we have to know what the Word says about how we are supposed to be living. One of the hardest ways to show others that we don't belong in this world is trying to be nice and show love to EVERYONE. Not long before being arrested, Jesus is talking with his disciples and tells them: "A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another." Can you imagine what curiousity would strike in some people's minds if they saw you loving everyone the way that Jesus loves you. We can't even imagine how much He loves us, if we even loved one another half as much, people would want to know what is different about us. It is so cool, though, that Jesus walked this earth and felt the things that we may feel on a daily basis. Although its hard to believe, lots of people hated him because of what he believed. That is why it can sometimes be easier to keep our faith hidden from the world, it is easier just to fit in and go with the flow. Well that flow is headed through the wide gate of destruction. Jesus gives us some encouragement to keep to the narrow path in John 15:18-19: "If the world hates you, keep in mind that it hated me first. If you belonged to world, it would love you as its own. As it is, you do not belong to the world. That is why the world hates you." Its like we are the Boston Red Sox playing in Yankee Stadium for our entire lives, we aren't always welcomed with bright and cheery smiles. That's because we don't belong. We are here to do the work that God has planned for us and then get the heck out of dodge and find comfort in the arms of Jesus- where we belong. So if we don't belong to this world, then why in the world would we consume the "things" of it. The nasty movies and music, getting tatoos, drink alcohol, use tobacco, use vulgar language and pretend to be something we're not. (not trying to offend anyone who does, just the truth) We seriously are visitors, this is our temporary home, Jesus is preparing our permanent home in Heaven. It's ok if we don't fit in, it won't last forever. Rather than fitting in and going with the flow of those around us, we are to be living sacrifices as Romans 12:1-2 tells us: "Therefore, I urge you, brothers in view of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God-this is your spiritual worship. Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is- his good, pleasing and perfect will." To me this is telling us that by not conforming to the darkness that most people live in we are giving ourselves fully to God as a living sacrifice. By blocking out all the nastiness of the world, we can be more in tune with God. I honestly believe that the Devil rules the earth, and therefore the things of the world are his. If we are consuming things of the world we are opening our minds to the Devil and consequently blocking out God. God has a plan and a will for each and everyone one of us, and we can only live accordingly if we have a Godly mindset, or a renewed mind as the scripture says. When you are TRULY born again, you not only have a new relationship with God, but you have a new relationship with sin. We are supposed to repent and step away from the things that are causing us to sin. We can't keep coming to God and asking for forgiveness for the same sins all the time. It's like breaking someone else's fine china plate while doing the dishes, saying sorry, then doing it again, saying sorry and then doing it again. After that second plate is broken it is obvious that you aren't trying very hard to fix whatever caused you to break the first one. Forgiveness will be a little bit harder to be given by your friend who owns the plates. Even if we are reading the Bible and know the scriptures, our lifestyle can cancel out that knowledge. Reading the bible can allow us one step foward while consuming the things of the world which takes away from our renewed mind will take us 5 steps back. That's why there are so many scriptures that warn of things of the world like sexual immorality and drunkeness will prevent people from entering the Kingdom of Heaven. I know there are tons of people out there who say, "yea right this whole God thing is just a hoax, I am going to have as much fun as I can and live like tomorrow was my last day." Well that's exactly when we need to shine the light of Jesus right in these people's eyeballs, we do need to live like it's our last day, but the difference is, we need to know that we're going to heaven. You can't go to heaven filled with sin, you can't get there by accepting Jesus as your savior but then living like a rebel without a cause. If it walks like a dog, barks like a dog and has fur like a dog, it's probably a dog; If someone says they are a Christian but walks like the world, talks like the world, speaks like the world... well I'm gunna have to conclude that they are of the world and not a Christian. You have to live like you don't belong to the world, because frankly you don't. So why care, we've got plenty of time before Jesus returns, or before we die right? Wrong, we don't know when our last day is... why risk it. Hmmm....would I rather live forever in Heaven or burn in Hell? I'll take Heaven. Matthew 24:14 says: "And this gospel of the Kingdom will be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come." Until the whole world has heard the gospel and has had a chance to accept Jesus and then the end... could be any minute now... are you ready, where will your soul end up? This is how it will be, Matthew 13:47-50: "...the Kingdom of Heaven is like a net that was let down into the lake and caught all kinds of fish. When it was full, the fishermen pulled it up on the shore. Then they sat down and collected the good fish in baskets, but threw the bad away. This is how it will be at the end of the age. The angels will come and seperate the wicked from the righteous and throw them into the fiery furnace, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth." All I have to say is YIKES!!! To keep yourself in that renewed mindset with God, "Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil's schemes" Ephesians 6:10. Arm yourself with the belt of truth, breastplate of righteousness, fit your feet with readiness from the gospel of peace, sheild of faith, the helmet of salvation and the sword of the spirit, which is the word of God. Don't be fooled by the things of this world, they belong to the devil, we belong to Christ and not to this world.

Ryan, Dana, and Mason Come to Visit!

2010-03-28T10:17:00.019-05:00

WOW! I cannot believe I am just now writing about this vacation! Seems like we're just now taking a break from all of our adventures and this is the first chance I've gotten to sit down and blog =)

Ryan, Dana and Mason arrived around dinner time on Thursday night. Everyone was so excited to see each other! And it's amazing how much Mason has grown!! Now I can really see what everyone is talking about when they say Myles and Londynn have grown... it's really different when you havnt seen a child for a long time and how fast they grow!

ANyhow, that night we ate dinner and went to bed. The next day we headed down into the city to do the Riverwalk, Alamo and to see the city! We first checked out the River Center Mall and did a little shopping (I dont think any of us bought anything tho!) We then went to the boats to see the entire river in a fast way =) We took our time finding a place to eat because it was soooo packed there!! We have never seen it so packed I dont think! We fond a Mexican rest. to eat at and it was pretty good! The kids made a huge mess under the table =) which means they had a good time too!

The kids were tired and it was around nap time so we headed home. The kids had to take a really good nap because the boys were all going to go to the SPURS game that night!! While the girls did mani/pedis =) Mark didnt take our camera to the game so I've only got pictures of the girls night =) But those are the GOOD ones =) Here is our day in pictures...
The RiverBoat!

Londynn getting her Mani/Pedi!

Then, it was Mommy and Aunt Dana's turn! But we had to soak our feet first =) Here is Aunt Dana trying to get a hug... but Londynn's middle name is stubborn! LOL

Here we are in the tub.. dont mind the streaky mirror that showed up in the pic!

The nexxt day, we got up and ate breakfast and headed down to BIG LOUS pizza place for lunch. Big Lou's has been on the Travel Channel/TLC I cannot remember which, for "man vs. food" where this crazy guy eats a lot of food. This place has 42 inch pizzas!!! So we went to check it out!

While in line, Myles and Mason enjoyed some cousin bonding time playing the Nintendo DS... Myles is so envious! LOL I cought this cute moment of Mason putting his arm around Myles. They played so well together! They would play for about a few minutes and then shared with each toher! HOORAY! for SHARING!

Here is the pizza pan for the 42 incher! We of course did NOT order this one....

Here's the whole gang!

Myles and Mason...

Ryan and Dana...

Daddy and Lovey...

Mommy and Smiley....

Here's what's left of ONE of the pizzas!

...and here's the other one! The waiter came by and was ashamed of us!! Mark blamed it on the kids! LOL

Bhahaha!!! At least he's self entertaining!

My princess and I....

Outside of Big Lous!

We went home for the kids' nap because we had to get rested up for DISNEY ON ICE!!!! Oh the kids were all SO excited to see Mickey and Minney!! And we were too! Here we all are enojoying the show!

And the show begins!

In the middle of the show, they had a huge tribute to Halloween and the weirdo from Nightmare before Christmas .... needless to say, our kids did NOT enjoy that part! LOL

Here's Myles crying... begging for that part to be over =) He knows we aren't suppose to watch evil stuff like that!

And here was my FAV part! Princesses!!

Aladin and Jazmine....

Belle and the Prince...

Cinderella and Prince Charming!

Mulan...

During a quick potty break with Myles, he decided that him, Londynn and Mason needed these light up toys! So Myles and Mason got Mickey ones, and Londynn got a Minnie one!

Here's Arielle and her Prince Eric.. She is Londynn's FAV!

Arielle and Eric again.... doing some tricks =)

And the new Princess.. TIANA! From The Princess and the Frog!

Mickey and Minnie! The stars of the show!

Myles and Mason playing together!

Lovey and her Minnie Bow =)

Myles' FAV part of the show! Buzz and Woody!!! YAY for TOY STORY!

And there's TINK!!! Londynn LOVED this part!

She lit the fireworks of course!

And then our show was over!! The kids all LOVED the show and as we drove home.. they talked all about it! However, before we got into the car, we all had to walk for what seemed like an entire year through the coldest wind I've ever flet!! IT WAS FREEZING that night!

The next day was already SUNDAY and of course we had Sea WOrld plannef or Seaworld Sundays! Here is our Sunday in Pictures =)
Mommy, Myles and Londynn at the Sea Lion Show!

Mason and Dana before the show begins!

They are EXCITED! Thumbs up!

Mason meets the Penguin =)

Mommy and Myles meet the Penguin!

... and there is the entire gang again after seeing the penguins and puffins!

US =)

US again....

And that was the end of spring break as we know it! LOL

Ryan and Dana sayed until Tuesday into the following week.. but we had to go back to work Monday so they went to the zoo and hung out whle we were at work. They flew out Tuesday and are back in "Orgin." Londynn and Myles are always saying, "are Ryan and Dana and Mason back in Orgin?" "Why did they go THERE?" LOL we have to tell them they live there but we'll see them again in the summer time when we head that way. So Cute! =)
We had a great time and cant wait to see the kids play again in the summer time!

So, this weekend was absolutely beautiful!! We spend the day outside just relaxing and playing... here are a few pics of that =)

And that's all I've got for today!!!

Make sure if you didnt read the previous blog to go bakc and read it!!! You can look on the right hadn side to see all the blogs we've written in case you've missed one or two. I'd of course suggest reading the Celebration of Eternal life for Layla grace and the blog Mark wrote yesterday entitled Who wants to live forever?

Make sure you thank the Lord for all of your blessings and for His sacrifice. With the upcoming holiday of Easter, may we all understand the TRUE meaning of the holiday and thank the Lord for His sacrifice. This holiday is my favorite... after seeing so many parents hold their baby's as they take their last breaths on this earth, it makes it all so real to me the actual sacrifice the Lord made to send his one and ONLY son to us.. to bear our sins.. to DIE for us. He made that choice willingly, knwing the outcome, knowing the pain, and He did it anyway. Thank you Jesus.

God bless you all,

Keep all the fighting families in your prayers who are battling this monster we call childhood cancer.. you are all so blessed.

~The Manfull's

"Who wants to live forever?"

2010-03-27T10:17:00.003-05:00

Hello everyone, it's Mark here again, I've just had some things on my mind and my heart that I want to share again. I wonder if anyone even reads this anymore? Anywho, the other day I heard a song on KLOVE that I've heard before but this time I started thinking about some things. Ya know, that's why I love christian music so much, the words of certain songs at certain times really minister to my heart. This particular song was Live Out Loud by Stephen Curtis Chapman (who we'll see live at sea world in May- Yahoo :) ) and the lyrics go something like this: "Imagine this, I get a phone call from Regis He says, Do you wanna be a Millionaire? They put me on the show and I win with 2 lifelines to spare. Now picture this, I act like nothing ever happened and bury the money in a coffee can. Well, I've been given more than Regis ever gave away, I was a dead man who was called to come out of my grave and I think it's time for makin some noise." In today's world, that is what most of us dream about, "Oh what I could do with a million dollars, how my life would change if I had that much money."
So maybe your thinking, okay big deal some crazy guy says that he wouldn't care about winning a million bucks because he's been given everlasting life. Why can't he have both, why can't he be filthy rich and still have eternal life and live the life that a christian should. Well while I was having a little Bible devotional time yesterday I came across the answer in Mark chapter 10. Starting with verse 17 is the story of the Rich Young Man who came to Jesus to find out how he could inherit eternal life. Jesus' tells him that he must follow the 10 commandments, the rich man says that he always has. In response to this Jesus says "One thing you lack, go sell everything you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me." verse 22 "At this the man's face fell. He went away sad, becuase he had great wealth. 23 "Jesus looked around and said to his disciples, "How hard it is for the rich to enter the Kingdom of God!" 24 "The disciples were amazed at His words. But Jesus said again, "Children, how hard it is to enter the Kingdom of God!" "It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the Kingdom of God."
Wow, a camel can co through an eye of a needle easier than a rich man recieving the gift of eternal life! That right there sums it all up, all that we dream of and long for in this world is exactly what will keep away from what we really need. We really need Jesus, we really, I mean REALLY need to be forgiven of our sins and recieve the most amazing gift of eternal life. Luke chapter 16:13 "No servant can serve two masters. Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and Money." It makes perfect sense right, you see greed everyday in this world, peoples lives ruined by the love of money, they turn their back on everything they are for a chance to get rich in this world. The Bible warns us that Money is the root of all evil, and that has been proven time and time again in this world. Our hope needs to come from the Lord, that because he died on the cross for us we can have everlasting life. There is just empty hope in material things such as money, they may meet our needs for the moment, but a day later our hearts will just be empty again because the place where Jesus should be is still empty. This Easter week, I will, and I hope you will too, be thinking about just how much God must love me to send His one and only son to the this earth knowing what the end result would be. Jesus loves us so much that he came to this earth to DIE for our sins, and not just a peaceful go in your sleep kind of death, the man was beaten until he was unrecognizable, he was humiliated, he had to literally carry that massive cross to Calvary and feel the nails enter his hands and feet. It wasn't the nails that held him to the cross, it was OUR sin. Our debt has been paid so that we can have eternal life with Jesus, he died so that we can live, that's how much he loves you and I. Hopefully the segway into the Easter part isn't too confusing, but everything comes back around full circle to the Hope we have in Jesus. He has lived on this nasty earth and did a dang good job living a Christian life, now it is our jobs to live as Christ and follow what the Bible says, not what MTV says is cool, or whatever magazine tells us what will bring us happiness. It is Jesus who makes us happy not money or any other earthly treasures, our REAL treasure is in heaven, Jesus said in John 14:2 "I am going there to prepare a place for you..." That "place" is our treasure, and the way to get there is clearly laid out as well in John 14:6: "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me." So instead of talking about playing the lottery and dreaming of what could be, we can spread the gift of life which is there and just waiting to be recieved. Let's start asking people "Who wants to live forever?" and Jesus will be the only lifeline that we need. As some cool stuff that Mom just sent us from SonGear.com says "Life with Jesus is better"

Our wonderful Vacatoin with the Seritt's!

2010-03-17T20:10:00.014-05:00

So..! If you havn't read the previous posting about Layla Grace's Celebration of Life.. please read it and be inspired by a family's strength and faith!

We went to Bham AL for the first half of Spring Break this year! We planned this trip with our wonderful friends the Seritt's! All of you reading know exactly who this family is.. but just incase I've got a new follower out there ((HAHHAHHA)) I will give a quick explaination. When I joined Cole's Foundation, they gave me a little boy to adopt for prayer and support... they sent me Elijah's link and I fell in love with him! Well that was over a year ago and our families have bonded and become FAMILY! So here is our vacation with them this year....

After Layla Grace's service, we drove just a short distance and found ourselves in Louisiana! Here is the road sign =)

its funny because when you enter into Texas from any other state, you will see a HUGE sign and some sort of display of pride... LOL but for Louisiana this is all they gave us... a little road sign =)

The kids always do fantastic on road trips and here are a few shots of them doing what each of them do in the car when the DVD player no longer provides us with cheap entertainment...
Londynn claps and sings songs of various themes... and aparently spills red soda on herself!

Myles plays Mark's old GameBoy......

...with lots of consentration! LOL

Here is a picture of us crossing the Mississippi River!!! It wasn't as wide as I though it would be... but I guess it gets it's fame from its length right??? Oh I hate history.....

Here is a road sign of New Orleans. I took this because I thought of all the news we've heard about from down there beause of teh hurrican. When Katrina hit, we were still in OREGON and it seemed like so far away... like a world away from us. And here we were, just miles from the place! We have all now been in like 10 different states! When just a year ago I had only been to just the west coastal states..... oh life is a highway! LOL

And then we arrived! But not after some adventure of course. THrough Louisiana we got stuck in a swamp/marsh type thing/bridge. It was like we were in the middle of the Pirates of the Carribean! We went 15 miles in an hour and a half!! THere were no wrecks, no road construction, and we never figured out what held up traffic. There were some points where we were stopped, but most of teh time we were going a steady speed of 2 MPH LOL It was quite the drag.....

Anyways.. we were due to arrive in Bham at 11:30 but didnt arrive until after 1 am due to the swamp delay. When we made it to our hotel, that we booked online weeks ago, it looked decent from the outside.... oh but looks can be decieving! I stayed in the car with the sleeping kids while Mark headed in to get our door keys.... he came out saying we had to take the kids through the back because there were 5+ people in the lobby DRUNK with a 24 pack of beer.. and we were pretty sure the receptionist/worker lady was toasted too. Anyways, it was getting close to 2 in the morning so we figured the room would be far enough away and we just needed some sleep. We went to room 238 where the lady told us to go which was the same number marked on our keys. We traveled up the elevator and tried the key. It didnt work. We tried the other key. It didnt work. So I sat their in the hallway with both kids and all the luggage while Mark headed back to the drunken party downstairs. She thought we were crazy and re loaded our keys and sent Mark back up to room 238. While he was down there, I heard someone in OUR room get up and go to the bathroom.... so when Mark got back, I told him there was someone in there! he didnt believe me of course and tried the key again. And to no avail, we were still stuck in the hallway. So, I sent Mark down stairs AGAIN. While I waited, I heard the room's phone rign. An old man answers, says "yes" and then hangs up. His old wife says, "what was that" and he explained to her that their room belonged to someone else. ((US!!!)) So, when Mark came back, he tells me that there ARE people in that room, which of course I already knew because the walls in this place are PAPER THIN!!! So, he tells methat our "new" room is 328. OMG OMG OMG this stupid drunk lady sent us to the wrong room not once, not twice, but THREE time!!! 238? 328? Were the numbers on the ticket moving from her intoxicated eyeballs?!??! Oh I hate DRUNKS!!! Anyways, we went up and though we finally were going to get some sleep... oh but we thought too fast. We opened the door and it smelled like a mixture of smelly feet and nicotine. The mattresses were paper thin, much like the walls, and I'm NOT picky when it comes to hotels but this place already rubbed me wrong! So I decide not to mention the horrible beds and grab Londynn to tak her potty.... only to find FECES in the toilet!! (that's poooop!!!) OH I WAS ANGRY! I grabbed all of our luggage, for like the 10th time, and marched down where the drunkerds flocked and told the durnk lady there was no way I could keep my family there.. she gave me a bit of attitude and told me she would not give me a refund. I didnt care by that point and Ijust had to get out of there!

The next day, I called and got a refund =)

We found a hotel just down the road which was perfect and only 20 bucks more per night. Our night ended around 3 and we all fell fast asleep.....

That morning we all woke up and met the Seritt's in the lobby! Oh how excited we all were! We headed to the McWayne Center (a Children's Museum) that was so AMAZING!!! Here are the pictures of our adventures there..

Here is Myles playing tug o war with Elijah....

..and I'm pretty sure Elijah is winning!

here are the boys getting head aches with the crazy spinners...

This was a table that spun like the solar system.. we could put balls and discs on it to see how the gravity pulls.. or somehting! LOL Elijah wanted to surf it a few times!

And this was the big hit.. the mechanic station! All of the kids played on this and wanted to only be at this station! LOL Here Londynn is holding the muffler... Elijah, Myles and Londynn had great teamwork!

"hand me a monkey wrench!" LOL I dont even know what a monkey wrench is..

And here are the Manfull's and Seritt's. The Manritt's, or the Serman's, or something! LOL

Mark got eaten by a big Bass Fish... LOL

Here is the shark petting pool!!

Elijah was the only brave one who'd pet the shark! LOL

Myles and his happy/scared/not sure what to think look =)

Myles and Elijah checking out the fresh water aquarium!

Here's Myles kissing the big ole fish...

When Londynn gets bashful, she sticks her tongue in her cheeck... like this =)

All of a sudden, Elijah plopped down and started scooting himslef on the ground! I figured it was his way of brushing his long lovely locks! LOL He really enjoyed thsi!

Auntie Vasiliki and Londynn... future daughter/mother in law! LOL

Londynn and Daddy in the tornedo tube! Winds surround them going 50+ MPH!

Elijah is CRUISIN on his walker!!! He is improving daily! He is one strong cookie!

Me and Dimitra... she is just one year old and the cutest litte cutie ever! We took this while outside during the fire alarm! LOL we were about to eat our lunch and a fire alarm went out. We are thining someone tried smoking in an elevator!

Here are the kiddos in a tube that had smoke coming down from it like a tornedo! They were all just amazed at the smoke LOL

Elijah in the tornedo!!!!

Myles and Londynn doing the nightly weather forcast for the local news station! LOL

Here they are watching their world premier of the news....

LOL they look so tiny on the TV!

Sweet Dimitra fell asleep on Londynn many times throughout the day! Oh and how Londynn just soaked that up!! She just loved her!

Myles trying to convince me that all we needed to do is go back to the mechanic area and fix that blue car! LOL

Here's Londynn drawing a cratoon that she could put in a spinner and it made the cartoon come to life! Such cool things at this place!

We then made it back to the hotel to hang out for a bit before we called it a night. We had such a fantastic day with them and we just love their company!

For day number 2, we headed to the Cracker Barrel to eat some lunch. We had a great visit and talked about many things we are going to do to help raise awareness for childhood cancer and all of the obstacles Elijah still faces. So many people dont follow up with him anymore because he's in remisson.. but his fight is not over! He has a mutism that is caused by some of his cerebellum being removed with the tumor. His tumor had finger like strands that wrapped around his brainstem making the surgery almost impossible. Therefore, parts of his cerebellum had to be removed as well. The other parts of his brain have to overcompensate for the pieces missing. He has to be determined and full of strenght to be able to battle this each day. He is re-learning his balance and so much more. He is the cutest most courages little man I've ever known! He is so funny too =)

So at the Cracker Barrel, we ate some great food and Dimitra broke a plate! LOL just because she's greek I'm sure =) She is quite the cutie!!! And I shared my food with her because how can you resist that face??!?!

After lunch, we headed to the mall to ride the carousel! Here is how Myles rode it the first time around...

There he is in the back seat with Mark. It was a shock we even got him on this thing! But he had to be sitting on a chair because he was afraid of it moving up and down... the turning was too much as it is! LOL

And here's Elijah! He's an old pro at this carousel riding!! He loves to look in the mirror during his ride! Such a sweety!

Right next to Elijah was Londynn.. our daredevil child. She didnt even want me to hold on to her too closely! She had a belt that strapped her on and that was good enough for her! SHEESH! she LOVED this!

Here is Gary and Elijah riding the big ole' bear!

Londynn and Elijah on their first date.. LOL arranged marriage isnt that frowed upon right guys?

Here's Elijah dancing away while we wait in line =) He actually crawled through the gate becuase he just couldnt wait!

Ride number 2. Londynn chose the sparkly horse to ride... and what's that in the back ground??? Is that Myles ON an animal?!?!!!

Why yes it is! He's decided to ride the Elephant!!! HOORAY fOR MYLES!

.... but he's still alittle worried with the thing starts going up and down !LOL

...and frankly, I was a little worried when the frog passed by us with a goose hanging out of it's butt! LOL what were tehy thinking? Does this look normal to everyone else but me?

And here WE are! Me and Vasiliki!!!! In the hotel, eating dinner, and making a blog! LOL

Auntie Vasiliki and Myles doing wierd things in the hotel room! LOL THey were having a good time!

... a NOSE PICkIN good time! hahahah!

... and we all had a nose pickin good time for sure!! But our trip ended so quickly! We wished so badly we could have staying MUCH MUCH longer! But I'm sure they'll be here during the summer time so we can spend more time together!

We loved spending 2 entire days with you gusy! We love you and we cant wait until we get to spend more time together again!

Elijah had a follow up MRI this morning and the report was that everyting was the same as it was during hte last MRI.. no tumor/cancer!! PRAISE THE LORD!! Thank you to all of you who have kept him in your paryers! I just LOVE HIM!

And when we got up.. just a few hours later.. to hit the road, this is waht we found =) They love eahother.. when they are asleep! LOL

.. and taht's the first half of our vacation!!! We enjoyed oursleves so much and cannot wait until we can do this again!!!

Tomorrow we have Ryan, Dana, Mason and Baby Manfull coming for a few days. We have lots of fun things planned and will enjoy their company!!! They fly in late afternoon tomorrow and we cannot wait to see them!

Remember to keep the fighitng children in your prayers, the ones who are "survivors" but are never done fighitng, and for those that have won the fight in heaven. Pray for all the families and for the Lord's strenght to get them through. At night, rejoice inthe Lord and what He has done and give Him thanks for the many blessings of your life.

God bless each of you!!! Another update this weekend will follow!

~The Manfull's

Layla Grace's Celebration of ETERNAL Life...

2010-03-17T19:21:00.003-05:00

Hello everyone,

As all of you know who are reading this blog, Layla Grace Marsh was one of the precious little warriors that Mark and I followed everday. She was diagnosed with Stage 4 High Risk Neurobalstoma... this is pediatric cancer of the nervosus system. She was diagnosed only 10 short months ago, where before her diagnosis, she was a normal 100% healthy little year and a half old girl. She loved tutu's, flowers, and being a grily girl. And again, if you're reading this you alreayd know about her... and have probably fallen in love with her too.

At the end of January, Layla's family learned that there was nothing more medically that could be done for her. They brought her home on Hospice Care and quickly salvaged any of the remaining time they would have with her on this earth. Layla was suppose to have about 6 months.. but quickly began deteriorating. For the last 3 weeks of her life, she was unrecongnizable and weighed only 18 pounds. She was in more pain that most of us will ever know, and her precious family could do nothing to help ease the pain, while dealing with the pain in their own hearts.

Layla took the hand of Jesus in the early morning on March 9th. When I heard this news, along with so many others around the world, I felt 2 emotions. Pure heart wrenching saddness, and thankfullness. How can I be so selfish to want her here longer to suffer? Even though I've fallen in love with this beautiful child, whom I never got to meet in this life, she was suffering here. She is now in a place where we cannot even begin to fathom. We will not know what she's experiencing until we are with her, at His feet. She is dancing, singing, smelling flowers, and praising our Lord. There is no time in heaven, and before she knows it, there her family will be to reunite with her.... forever. Jesus is holding her and I know her family would never wish her back to experience the pain she felt here, when she is feeling the Love of Jesus there.

Layla's family, mother Shanna, father Ryan, and big sisters Jenna and Claire, are an amazing family. They have more strength and faith that many of us and they have willingly given Layla to the world so that the Lord could give us all a wake up call. In a matter of a few months, Layla captured the hearts of thousands all over the world. Her pure strength has restored so many, and her precious and beautiful smile has inspired countless.

This family lives near Houston and her Celebration of Life was scheduled for this past Saturday. It just so happens that we were planning on going to AL to visit the Seritt's for spring break and would be in Houston at the exact time of the funeral. No matter what, we were going to make it there. Many of our students fell in love with Layla Grace and had written her family homemade cards that we had to personally deliver. So we went. We went to the funeral of a 2 year old. It was by far the hardest thing I've ever witnessed take place... by far.

When we pulled up to the church, about an hour early, it was already filling up. There were hundreds of us there to support the family while we celebrated not only Layla's life on earth, but her eternal life with our Lord and Savior. We dropped the kids off at the provided childcare and went inside the worship center. There we sat, read her pamphlet with her beautiful face on it, listening to children sing worship songs on a CD. When the time came closer, a slide show of Layla's life played on 2 big screen projectors. The stage was filled with flowers and arrangements with photos and momentos of her life. All I could think about was Londynn. She is 2. She loves tutus. She loves to dance. She loves flowers. She is a girly girl. She is 2. She is 2. She is 2. How can this be...

"You raise me up" was sung while the family entered and this is when it began. The pastor did an awesome job telling a story of faith and purpose. The story of Layla's life. God used Layla's life to wake us up! Wake up everyone!!! Live for HIM! This life is temporary and through the blood of Jesus.. it is FOREVer!!! He gave wonderful scripture and lifted all of our hearts. After this, we all sang Amazing Grace together... and then Ryan, Layla's daddy, got up to reflect on a few memories. At one point, he described what he saw as her life. As if an entire beach was filled with people who all have different tools. We are all given tools and its up to us what we do with them. Some people use their tools to build the biggest, most magnificent sand castle so that everyone around them with gawk and be in awe of their works; others will use their tools to craft a fine piece of art that people will appreicate; and others will take their tools and offer themsleves up to others, seeing how they can help. And then there was Layla, running up and down the shores of the beach, bringing smiles to all who saw her as she touched their lives. She ran as fast as she could, helping out a few along the way, but impacting all she came accross... "pitter patter pitter patter her feet would go".... what an amazing legacy she leaves for all of us to look up to. He told some stories that made us cry, and others that made us laugh... he is an extrmely strong man. Next, Matthew West, a Christian singer you've probably all heard on KLove, came from Tennessee and sang "Save a place for me." It was beautiful. Simply Beautiful. To close, we all headed outside to a warm beautiful Texas day where each of us got a balloon. There were 1000 pink and purple balloons that were released after the song "over the rainbow" was played... the new "banjo" version (I dont know who sings this but you've all heard it I'm sure). This balloon release was a symbolic representation of Christ resurection to the heavens and how Layla flew up to Him, just as He promised. I let my balloon go and before I knew it, they were all gone. They were taken swiftly to the sky.... until we could no longer see a single balloon. Fly High sweet Layla Grace....

After our balloons were released, we went in to get the kiddos. ... to find Londynn stark naked on a mat in the bathroom hanging out singing a song. She had peed her pants! They stripped her down and she didnt mind at all... she was just enjoying the breeze I guess!! We got some new clothes for her and headed outside. By this time, Shanna and Ryan did not have much of a line to go and give our condolences so Mark got in Ryan's line and I got in Shanna's. When I went up to her, I simply expained that I was from COLE's Foundation and that all of my studnets had fallen in love with Layla Grace and that many lives were changed... all becuase of her daughter. I began to get choked up because how do you say that without crying? But there she stood, with a smile on her face repeating the words "thank you thank you." She is the strongest woman I've ever met.

We then packed up the kids to start for the car while we caught a glimpse of Jenna and Claire playing tag.. oh how my heart aches for them..... they are truly beautiful just like their angel sister.

We then began the drive to BAMA! We were scheduled by the GPS lady to be in Bham by 11:30.. and that's in the next post!! =) hehehe

Please, visit Layla' family and let them know how much you have been praying for them. Let them know how much Layla has affected your life and how you will never forget her. Many times in this life we have things that deeply impact our lives.. and you think it will last forever. You get on a bandwagon of something and then before you know it, your passion for it fades. Please, dont let this little girls fight fade in your life. Make it a decision that you with FIGHT for her.. FIGHT for the awareness of childhood cancer! Especially if you have healthy children. Spread awareness for others, because you are BLESSED!!!

God bless each of you and may you feel it in your heart to hear the WAKE UP CALL God gave us all with Layla Grace... and may you spread His word while spreading the word of awareness for these fighitng warriors, the fighting survivied, and the fighting angels....

We love you all,
~The Manfulls

www.laylagrace.org

WOW! Long time no post!

2010-03-02T18:04:00.009-06:00

Well! There will be MANY things in this post... MANY! I'm sorry I've kept all'ya'all (something people say down here) in the dark for so long!

So, a few weeks ago, our fabulous neighbors came over and brought us their nice dining room table and chairs!! I unfotunately didnt take a picture of it so I cannot upload it, but I'll do that next posting =) Anyways, we got this fab table n chairs for FREE and we decided to referbish it! So, I will just let you know that it took the entire weekend and now it looks AMAzinG! I'll let you know the specifics about the referbishing when I post a pic next time.

So, we had really good whether one weekend and the kids played outside and here are a few pics of that =) Nothing really special to report, just some pics of the kiddos outside playing.. in tanktops... in FEBRUARY!! I know I know.. unheard of but we really do have great whether down here!

Londynn with her funny faces... =)

Okay, onto the next little bit of information. Londynn has developed this weirrd foot fettish. Anytime when we wears socks, or when she wears socks, she has to pick her toes a part to see if she's got any "yuckies" (sock fuzzies) stuck between her chubby toes =) So, the other day, I cought her behind the couch with a PEN! And this is what she did...

Apparently, there were no fuzzies to pick so she decided to draw some in!!!! There was a pen marking between each toe, between each finger, and more!!! She needs prayers LOL

So, onto the more recent.

We heard that Jack Hannah (the guy with all the animals) was suppose to be at Sea World this weekend; however, we went and there was NO Jack! There was this guy there with REALLY HUGE white (I'm sure FAKE) teeth. I think he had to have these type of teeth because when he was showing off each animal, he'd have to talk through all of the pics. But in each pic, it looks like he's smiling and not talking! LOL very smart of him I think!

So anyways, here are a few pictures from this weekend.

These pictures are of us at the New Whale show (or Shamu show). Because of the horrific events in Orlando this week, the trainers were not allowed to get in the water with the whales, and the little kid they normally bring up to meet Shamu wasnt even allowed to go on the actual stage! It's craze how much different it was.....

Here are the pics of the animals.. first off, a wild hog! LOL Myles wanted to shoot it!

And apparently, Kangarros dont hold their babies in their bellies and then give birth to them like normal. They give birth only about or so days after they become prego, then they put the tiny little jelly beaned thing in their pouch where it grows for 9 more months..... that's just weird! So here's a mommy kangaroo with a baby in her pouch that will be "born" in about 4 more months. (sorry the pic looks so .... grafic and morbid!)

They had this owl fly right over our heads! I told Myles it was going to poop right on his head! LOL He thought that was funny and sort of ducked when it went by! Oh the things he believes =)

So after the fake Jack Hannha show, the kids got to spin a spinner to win prizes! Well the both won the "big bag" prize that consisted of all these different toys that said how we need to save the whales and such... lol Everyone reading this knows I'm not a hippie! So we found that to be quite intersting... When's the last time you saw a booth that was giving away FREE prizes that told people about the Lord or childhood cancer??????? That's what I thought.... we are trying to save the world and the animals.. and kill the kids. SICK.

Anyways, the kids liked the prizes! LOL

Mommy and Myles with Shamu!!!! Londynn was MUCH too scared this time around! =)

And here are just a few pics of us waiting for the premier of "azul"... the new dolphin show!

And while we were waiting... Myles decided it would be funny to give Londynn a kiss. He tried to kiss her for about 3 minutes! But she was NOT having it! LOL she's hide her face and giggle and laugh! It was cute... when they're actually getting along! =)

OK~ Now that's that!

Onto some news of the past few weeks. I've mentioned Layla Grace on here numerous times. (This is not HANNHA GRACe whom I met in houston earlier this year) but a precious little 2.5 year old that we've been following for an entire year. She was diagnosed last year with neuroblastoma (cancer of the nervous system) that normally generates on the kidney. Well, Layla has gone through SO much this past year and one minute her body will be filled with cancer, and then not... it's the weirded story I've ever followed. Well, on Jan. 25th, Layla and her precious family found out that Layla had exhausted all medical treatments for her cancer. Her tumors (many of them) were growing all over her body with avengance. The doctors gave her 2 to 3 months to live.. at the end of January. So, Layla's family assumed the'd have at least a couple more months to make the best of the time she had left on this earth, but she started deteriorating so quickly. As of today, she hasn't eaten anything in over 15 days, weighs less than 18 pounds, and is unrecognizable as precious Layla grace. Her story is heart breakingly painful and as soon as you look into her eyes, she steals your heart. We are praying without ceasing that precious Layla is taken into the arms of God without any pain and with perfect peace, if an earthly healing is not His will for her. Please visit her at www.laylagrace.org

Now, even though you may have tears that run down your cheeks over Layla, I cannot tell you what her life has done around the world. Her story and her precious little face has captured the hearts of THOUSANDS around the world. Ryan Seacrest had Layla's mom, Shanna, on his radio show to do an interview to raise awareness about neuroblastoma. Elen Degenerous (SP?), and countless other celebs have also fallen in love with her. They are spreading the word SO quickly of childhood cancer its truly amazing. Now of course we need to spread the word of childhood cancer, but what is the most important underlying factor here is how a child dying of cancer can bring a person to Christ. The innocent suffering of a child melts your heart and the spirit inside of you becomes alive.... God made each of us to love him; whether we choose to or not, He made us for His purpose. And as I've seen MNAY MANY times, these fighitng warriors of childhood cancer plant the seed in SO many hardened hearts. It's truly amazing and obviously a work of God. Layla's legacy has brought MANY to the Lord and for that, she has done a job well done. Her Father is proud of her, and if her work here in this world is done, He's got a special place waiting for her... a place He's prepared just for her. Please keep this family in your prayers and remember how blessed you are to have a healthy body and to have healthy children.

I have shared Layla's story with all of my studnets over Christmas break when we wrote her Christmas cards and sent her gifts. Over Christmas break, she was doing well and we had no idea she'd decline so suddenly. Well, nonetheless, my students fell in love with her (as everyone does). When I broke the news that she's have limited time left unless the Lord gave her an earthly healing, each one of my students became engrossed in her every twitter update and blog. Their hearts have become softened and you would never imagine or believe the comments they leave on Layla's site. Thank you Jesus for allowing me to share the story of one of your servants to bring so many of the precious lives I see each day, to the Lord. I will never forget this and how much it's changed the lives of my students.

Also, Hannah Grace Harrison (my precious Hannah Grace that I update on each time) has been having some unexplained fevers and headaches in the exact same spot as where the disease reoccured in October of last year. Obviously, the Harrisons were very concerned and were transferred to Children's in Bham. After fluids and medicine did not take the fevers, she was scheduled for an MRI yesterday at 2pm. This was for sure the most nervewracked I've ever been for one of the babies I follow. But God is always in control and always has a plan. Her MRI came back STABLE and her fevers have passed. SHE IS FINE! Praise the Lord. The Harrisons are headed home today back to southern AL and we could not be happier for them. We just LOVE that family!

On another note, we are headed to AL for the first half of Spring Break to have a little family vacation with the SERITTS!!!! HOOOOORAH! We are so excited and we've already booked our hotels! We cannot wait! The very next day, Ryan, Dana, Mason, and baby Manfull will be here in San Antonio to visit us for about 5 days!! We are going to see Disney on Ice, go to Sea World, do the regular down town adventures, and we're so excited to see them!

Also, I have to say I am so sad Vienna won the Bachelor... are you kidding me? Was Tenley not perfect?? I mean, I wish I could live like I came out of a Disney movie every day! But no one can explain love and I guess I'll accept it! LOL Now for Ali and the bachelorette... I dont think she's ready for a fam with all the works she willingly does.... oh off this subject! =)

SO I hope that brings you all up to speed on what's going on in the house of the Manfull's. I hope to be able to update more steadily because I know how important it is for so many of you to feel like we're still right there.. especially pictures of the kids =)

Ohyea.... we're coming home late June to early July... just thought I'd letcha know =) ***I can hear the screaming now..*** Oh that 2 thousand mile drive sounds thrilling...... =)

HI ZELDA~ There's your shout out ( LOL one of my studnets needed a shout out on the blog... she's a genious and going to be an actress =) How'd you like that Zelda! Thanks for the chocolates today! They were'nt cracked or anything! And there were many more than just 8 LOL

Okay! We love you guys and looks like we'll be seeing you in a few months!

Remember to LIVE FOR HIM and be His hands and feet. We are NOTHING without the blood of Jesus... NOTHING.

In Him,

The Manfull's

www.laylagrace.org

www.caringbridge.org/visit/coleruotsala

www.caringbridge.org/visit/elijahgseritt

www.caringbridge.org/visit/hannahgraceharrison

www.caringbridge.org/visit/matthewbarr

Please leave a message for these precious babies.. I love them so much.

Just some thoughts...

2010-02-14T06:14:00.002-06:00

Hey Ya'll it's Mark here again for my second round of blogging on here. I just have some thoughts and some life lesson's that have been reiterated to me lately.
So it all started right after Myles' birthday party, he was being kind of a brat about not getting enough presents and said something about the Spurs game not being a present because you can't play with it. Well it was a great opportunity for me to teach him about what we "need" and how God does not want us to be greedy. But of course it's tough for a 5 year old to imagine that all we need is God in our lives. This same talk presented itself in my 6th period class. We got to talking about money and the students were talking about all the stuff they could buy and have. They were quite suprised to hear that the number one thing that make people feel better or keep people feeling good is the belief in a higher being, for most that would be our Heavenly Father, Almighty God. Anywho, so then Lindsay and I have been getting kinda frustrated and depressed about how teaching is different down here, it's Texas style which is of course more hardcore than we were used to. Then on the way to school the other day we were talking about what we were thinking, maybe we should switch school districts, maybe we should move somewhere else or back home or something. These were all things that would be under our control, things that were planned by us not by God. Well then it has all hit me, it truly is not the "things" in life that can make you happy, it is not having a perfect house, it is not living in the perfect place, and I'm assuming it's not money either (I wouldn't know about that one-never had much of the stuff). When we give our lives to God and allow him to move us in the way that will bring Glory to Him and Him alone we truly feel fulfilled and purposeful even if we don't know that we are doing the work of the Lord. When we move on our own, we feel like Moses and the gang wondering the desert. We were designed by God, to bring Him Glory in all things we do- if we are not fulfilling that one purpose, well no wonder we feel empty inside. For the last couple weeks or so, we began trying to take actions into our own hands, forgetting that God had brought us down here, He walked us right up to Fletcher at the job fair last year. Jeremiah 29:11 "For I know the plans I have for you declares the Lord..." That right there sums it all up, we all need to give up our own hopes and dreams of what would make us happy and start living to Glorify God and move on the Lord when we feel His calling. There needs to be a new slogan on TV, "Happiness is just one Heavenly Father away" after all, we were wired with God in mind- literally. Well I hope this rambling wasn't too bad for ya, I bet Lindsay will update later today with pictures of us playing some baseball today (that's our plan for the day). We miss you all and Love you all! Keep all the courageous little ones who are battling for their lives in your prayers along with the ones who have won the battle and the family's of angels who have made it to home with Jesus already.

Toddlers and Tiaras....

2010-02-06T17:33:00.007-06:00

Has anyone ever seen "toddlers and tiaras" on TLC? Well you all better watch out! We've moved to Texas and we are enrolling Londynn into PAGENTS!!!!

...... JUST KIDDING!! hahahahahahah! BUT... I did put make up on her today and GOOD LORD SHE'S BEAUTIFUL!

So, I know what you all are thinking.. she's only 2 why put make up on her already... but it's truly not my fault! LOL

I found her with my entire bag of make up sitting onthe floor with black stuff all over her face! She said, "mom, can I do my makeup?" So I told her to go ask daddy, whom we got permission from, and we were headed to the bathroom. Now, when i put her on the sink to begin, I truly thought she'd start to second guess this decision of hers... BUT NO WAY JOSE! There she was, opening her mouth into an "O" shape (just like I do) ready for mascara! She even helped the application process! hahahahah!

She stared at her self in the mirror and then ran out to show daddy how beautiful she is! Here are a few pictures she was posing for =)

DONT WORRY... we are going to have a talk with her about inner beauty blah blah blah! LOL No really, she needs to know that we dont need make up at all to be beautiful and that it's just something fun to do =)

So anyways, today before Toddlers and Tiaras came to visit us... we went to the park in the neighborhood to play some basketball and play! Miss Lisa gave us Emma's old Princess bike for Emma so we decided to ride our bikes there; but we weren't prepared to pump up the tires =) LOL so we'll have to let her brake in the new bike next weekend when we can get her tires pumped! but here she is, nonetheless, on her new bike!!! Thanks Miss Lisa!

And here's Myles ready to hit the road!

Myles and Daddy walking ahead of Londynn and I inthe stroller...

And yes.. it's the beginning of February and we're in TSHIRTS!

Nothin' like a little boys against girls basketball game! Myles didnt want me on his team LOL it was a good choice of his!

This kid LOVES basketball!

And I was quite suprised of the skills Mark has held onto! He made a lot of 3 pointers! And this is another reason why Myles didnt want me on his team! LOL

Showing off his dribbling skills!

And Londynn just enjoyed running from end to end of the courT! LOL she'd skip and run and fal down .... cheap entertainment for sure!

She then realized I was taking her pictures!

Here we are on the walk home. We only live about a 3 minute walk away from the pool, playground, basketball and tennis courts.

An awesome picture!

And here's lovey inthe stroller =)

They just began building a house right next to us in the empty lot.. Sorry guys its gone =( We are happy that they have started because it will be done by summer. We will miss most of the building sounds while we're at work (and the music they BLARE!)

And that's all! I have posted TWICE today so if you're just reading this one, make sure you click onthe post previous to this one... there are some great photos in that one!

Also, I'd like to add to the prayer list Chance Rodgers. As most of you know, he was one of my studnets last year, the very student that led me to Cole Ruotsala's page to where I'm a prayer warrior for now. Childhood cancer has FOREVER changed my life, and Chance is the single child that introduced it to me. He has beated a DEADLY form of cancer, osteoscarcoma, bone cancer of the femur bone. He has gone through chemo, radiation, reconstuctive surgery, and numerous other surgeries in the past 2 years. The Lord has healed him, but is not finished with him yet. On the 18th of this month, he will be recieving a CRAZY MIRACULOUS surgery that will actually replace his femur bone with his calf bone. Because of this, he'll have to be fitted for a prosthetic leg and foot. Though this might sound drastic, this will be the LAST surgery he'll have to have regarding his leg and it will give him LESS limitations then having hardware as a bone that needs continuous replacements. Please lift him up in prayer and ask the Lord to guide the surgeons hearts, heads and hands. Let these of the doctors, be those of the Lords. Please visit him at www.caringbridge.org/visit/chancerodgers. He goes to Henley Middle school; an 8th grader this year.

Thanks! God bless you all!

~The Manfull's

Into Feb already?!?!

2010-02-06T07:58:00.009-06:00

I dont know how it can possibly be the second week of FEB already?!?! Time is flying by!
After Myles Birthday Party, we had millions of balloons still floating all over the bottom half of the house. So, we woke up and Londynn automatically went to the "balloon room" and started acting like a CRAZY PERSON!
She, for one, had a new tutu outfit on we had gotten handed down to us from Miss Lisa, and she was lovin' it! She'd dance around in the balloons one second, and then she'd act like a crazy kid floppin' around the floor trying to kick them! LOL Here are a few pictures of the kids the day after dancing in the balloons... again =)
Lovey showing off her new tutu! It's strawberry shortcake!

Hahahaha! Myles says, "Look mom, my eyes are HUGE!" hahahaha!

...and here's where the Crazy Kid comes out! LOL

So after the run around with the balloons, we had to take a rest becase she was SWEATY! Myles didn't have too much to do with the balloons this morning, but Londynn was nuts about them!

So we had to take a little rest... I still had the camera so I decided to get a shot of us together =) I said, "smile Lovey!" and she give sme this little look! She's been giving this look a whole bunch lately! When she's embarrassed she does it BIG, and when she's trying to act silly she does it and then laughs after! She is a goof.

While Londynn was going nuts with the balloons, Myles was in the next room giving himself a bunch of TATS.... Transformer stickers that he lined up his arm! He was so proud and asked me to take a picture! But I didnt just take one picutre of this exact shot... because he had to approve it! He'd say, "I have to turn my arm a little more, mom, to see all of the stickers.. take another one!" LOL

Ah...... nap time. I love to snuggle with these kids.

So as you all have noticed, bithday parties around here are much smaller than we're used to. Normally, we have at least 20 people at a party and it can last forever! Which we enjoyed! But, Myles has learned that getting presents sent through the mail is ALSO a lot of fun! When we go to the mail box and there's a package in there for HIM, he just LOVES it! So, we got a big package from Nono and Nona and we HAD to open it right away =)

... with a very dull knife! LOL we need an upgrade soon =)

Inside the package was Blondies aprons, and CAKE BOSS STUFF! When Myles realized what it was, he was SO EXCITED! He said, "MOM! This is the BEST present EVER!" He really is obsessed with Cake Boss =) My little baker!

And here's the future "Buddy" of Cake boss.... we're going to have to move to Jersey and get him an internship soon! LOL he can fit in well with the Italian Fam that runs the show!

And here's lovey with her cake boss hat on too! Eating her Valentines candy... LOL

Myles decked out in his new uniform =) eating chocolate!

I took this shot of Londynn because for some reason she just looked so grown up like this! I dont know what it was.. but she just looks so much older.. =(

So then we had the kids get together with their cake boss hats on and decided to take some pictuers =)

Normally, when the kids are liking each other in the moment (and I think I have a chance at a loving picture of the 2 of them) I say, "give each other a kissey!" and they lean in a smooch each other..

Well, Londynn's all for it still, but Myles always tries dodging her, nicely, to aim for the cheek instead LOL

And the GOOFS....

They are just SO cute!

Ah... that was a fun day!

Thank you to Nono and Nona for the awesome package! Myles really LOVED it! He's been asking everday if we can make a cake and now that it's the weekend... we'll be getting our aprons and hats on! I will take pictures of all the cakes we create!

As most of you know, the kids get put to bed in their own beds upstairs, and some nights (well if I were being honest... ALL nights...) one of them will wander down the stairs to come sneak in bed with us. And on rare occassions, both of them will manage to find our bed in the middle of the night. This night was one of those nights!!!

Our alarm went off and I went to hope in the shower and I took a look at the kids in the bed to see if they were still sleeping... and this is what I saw....

Isn't that just the sweetest thing ever?!?! They are holding hands in their sleep =) When they're awake they may act like they hate each other....but they realy LOVE each other!

And here's just a few pictures of our morning routine. We wake the kids up at 6:30 each morning to get them ready to go to Miss Lisa's house, which they LOVE! Here's a picture of Myles doing the last step... puttin' on his shoes.

.. and here's Lovey ready to head out the door!

I've been french braiding little pieces of her hair, like the top half or so. But on this morning she gave me the patience to braid ALL of it! It looked so cute! =)

... she's wondering why I'm taking pictures when we should be getting into the car! LOL

..... and Myles has had ENOUGH flashes! LOL

And that's all I've got for pictures!

We had a great first week of February! Yesterday after work, we decided that we'd go get the taxes done.. ICK. We got off work and had the kids by 4:30, went down to Wall Mart, and started to wait in line.. no biggie, there was only one person in front of us and she had nothing with her so we figured she was just asking some questions about their services. So we waited.... and waited... and finally it was our turn. OH My GOODNEsS it took forever! The nice lady that we had went as fast as she could, but we had interest papers from our student loans, our papers to prove we are first time home buyers, our moving expenses from moving across the country, and a few other things I cant even remember! We found out that we could have the direct deposit in about 3 to 5 days HOORAY!!!

The kids did so well waiting for the Long process of taxe preparation =) Mark took them to the toy isle and picked out a few boy toys to take to the baby isle so Myles would have something to play with while Londynn gazed off into a world of perfection... an entire isle of BABIES! LOL

We got back in the car and realized it was 7:30!!!! Holy TOLEDO! (sp?)

We still had to get the kids dinner, feed them, get home and put them to sleep!!!! I cannot believe it took 3 hours. For some people reading this I'm sure that seems like a dream compared to what you have to do with personal business... but sheesh! It stole my afternoon that's for sure! LOL

So the exciting news is that we are GOING TO ALABAMA next weekend for my precious Elijah's THIRD birthday!!!! His bithday wont be until the following weekend, but we have a 3 day weekend and we're going to Birmingham baby!!!! We are SOOOO excited!!! I cannot wait to see them all!

I do know that "keepin' up with the manfull's" has some new readers =)

the kids want to say HI to Grama and Grandpa O and Auntie Joan!!!! Thanks for reading! We miss you!

And that's about it! Please remember to keep Hannah Grace in your prayers. She is on her chemo regimin that will last until the end of the year, and we need to pray for God's protection to keep her safe. She had a bit of the flu last week and is doing good now, but we need to ask the Lord to protect her from the flu and other things that can take her immune system down FAST. I cannot tell you how precious this child is.. please remember her and keep her in your daily prayers.

And when you think of HG, think of how blessed you all are to have HEALTHY and HAPPY children. "Nothing is worse than holding your child when he takes his last breath." Cole's Dad.

Have a great weekend!

~The Manfull's

Myles is FIVE years old!!!

2010-01-30T16:59:00.010-06:00

So we JUST had Myles 5th BIRTHday part which was fantastic!!! I'm frusterated organizing the pictures and such from the envents of the week... so I'm just going to put all the bday party pics right here... and go from there =) ENJOY!

We had the formal living/dining room turned into a BALLOON room with almost 100 balloons in it! The KIDS LOVED IT!

Here is Emma and Isabella playing with the balloons! .. and I think Londynn's eating one! LOL

Myles' opening up his gifts......

Showing the world he is NOW FIVE YEARS OLD! Oh how he's waited so patiently to say he's really FIVE!

Myles and Emma

Myles got so many cool things!

And here's the pictures from the CAKE!

Myles LOVES the cake.. LOL

The Kiddo's eating it up!

Londynn and Emma

And here's Zander! He's gotten SO big!

Blowing out the candles!! I know I know.. there are 7 candles on there LOL

Happy Bithday to you! Oh the akwardness of that song! LOL

And here's what happended BEFORE the party! LOL

Funny Face Time...

Okay.. the story about the CAKE.

Because Myles' fav show is CAKE BOSS... we tried to make an awesome cake that had a tank ontop of it make with Fondant... but that fell through becuase I CANT DO IT! LOL needless to say, it was a disaster.. and I am NOT posting pictures of it! LOL We will try it again really soon, just as long as there's not a time crunch like we had today =)

So, Mark when to the store with about 45 mins to spare, and came home with this.....

Did you think EW?!??! Cause I did! When Myles and Mark pulled into the driveway, Myles even said, "MOm's not gonna like this cake!" LOL It was sooo ugly! There were none to choose from at HEB so they did the best they could... but really, who would even make this? I even had to write on it myself! But Myles liked it, it tasted good, and that's all that matters =)

Myles chose to have a CAMO birthday party so here's the set up =)

And BEFORE the party... Londynn had to get all cleaned up =) And I took some pictures of her naky butt! LOL

And below is where I started the post.. over an hour ago before I got frustrated with teh pictures! LOL

HAPPY FIFTH BIRTHDAY MYLES!!! So, 5 years ago, our lives changed FOREVER! We become parents... the best experience of our LIVES!

That morning, Myles tried to wake us up at 3 in the morning cause he saw his present on the couch LOL But we woke him up at around 6:30 and he LOVED what we got for him. In this big bag.. decorated in SPURS colors, was......

A San Antonio SPURS jersey and shorts!

A SPURS hat and poster AND Basketball! But that's not all....

He also got TICKETS to the Friday night game against the Memphis Grizzlies!

Because his birthday fell on a dreadful Tuesday, we had to wait a few days before we could be on our way to the BIG GAME! Which he counted down to every night! But, we finally made it there and HE LOVED IT!

Here we are pulling up to the AT&T Center....

We of course had to stop at the stands to get our bottomless popcord and BIG RED soda that is only in TEXAS... we're obsessed with Big Red Baby!

And here's our prince.. being treated like a PRINCE! LOL Just cant take his eye of the game!

Here's the view from our nosebleeds.. I mean seats! LOL Hopefully next year we'll be season ticket holders! When we win the lotto! LOL

Here we are! Trying to pose for a fam picture, but these kids LOVE these games and are tuned into the entire thing! They cheer, dance, clap on cue and all! And the popcorn is a great entertainer! LOL

Tim Duncan DUNKS the ball! (well, I really cannot remember which dunk shot this was, but Myles is impressed by each one!)

And believe it or not... Londynn is quite the Spurs fan too!

But not the DIE HARD fan Myles is! LOL

NEEDLESS to say, the SPURS won of course =) We stayed for the very last second and had a great time. We got home a little before 11 pm and the kids were OUT!

This was a great week and I cannot believe Myles is really FIVE! Thank you Jesus that he's FIVE, so many parents do not get to share in a fifthe birthday with their child. I am thankful for each bithday I get with them, as well as each day.

Please keep Hannah Grace in your prayers. She spiked a fever this week and has tested postive for the flu. She just began a chemo regimin that should last for about one year and NEEDS TO STAY AWAY FROM THAT DARN FLU! Please pray for the Lord's protection over her.

THANK YOU Grandma and Grandpa for sending Myles a bday card! He took pictures of the money inside LOL

THANK YOU Grandma and Grandpa O for the money and card as well! Myles is beginning to KNOW what money is LOL

THANK YOU Grandma and Papa for the bumble bee helmet... even though he knew excactly what it was before it even arrived??? LOL

THANK YOU to everyone who is sending him something (NOT REQUIRED! He's SPOILED)!! A

THANK YOU to everyone who keeps him (and Londynn) in your prayers. This is the greatest gift and we thank you for continuing to ask for God's protection over the both of them; to keep them healthy and happy.

We miss you all and hope these pictures help you feel like you were here!! We love you!

~The Manfull's

Here is HG's page again... www.caringbridge.org/visit/hannahgraceharrison

The NEW Year!

2010-01-24T12:56:00.004-06:00

Here are a couple pictures of the kids today! Londynn is knocked out, not feeling good, and Myles is in his Sunday's Best! LOL

OKay!

SO the first bit of HUGE news (with a picture) is that Londynn is officially POTTY TRAINED! Horray for Lovey! I think I included this bit of info in the last update, which are few and far between these days! I'm so sorry I havn't been updating as regularly as I should be.... this new year is already going by much too fast! Here is a picture of Londynn in her undies =) SHe's puttin out the vibe baby!

And I just thought I'd throw in this picture. Londynn walking with Daddy in Sea World. He took her down the slides in the tubes and were on their way back. I thought it was such a cute picture =)

And this one is just Londynn and I =) The usual close up where I'm the only one smiling! LOL

So, as the new year progresses, I cannot help but think of life on fast forward. Here we are, living in Texas, with normal lives, and they are flying right past us! Did ya'll remember that tomorrow is Mark and I's SIXTH anniversary! Can you believe that? It was 6 years ago tomorrow when we tied the knot. How has it already been 6 entire years?? Some days it seems like much more! LOL But in all honesty, I remember as a kid thinking of high school being 4 years... FOUR YEARS! That seemed like forever! Then, once we graduated and we had been graduated for 4 years, I remember thinking how that was possible. High school seemed to fly by, but the four years after graduating was like a blink! Now, from our wedding day, 6 years have flown. And if I really think about it and list all the things we've done and been through, it would seem more likea lifetime than just 6 years. But to me, it has gone way too fast! And dont even get me started on Myles' FIFTH birthday on TUESDAY! Good Lord how can my baby boy be 5. That's a huge mile stone! It seems like when a kid turns 5... they reach an entire new level! I dont think any of that last paragraph made sense LOL

So, anyways! We've been spending a lot of fun times together in the new house! We got a movie theater bucket of popcorn and watched a movie a couple weeks ago. Well, Myles had a fantastic idea to put the bucket on the floor and eat out of it like a dog!! So of course, what Myles does, Londynn does! So here are a few pictures of them sharing the popcorn off of the floor! hahahah!

So then, Londynn's got to go pee, and SHE puts her undies back on!!! She can put on her own shoes and dress herself! She never gets her feet mixed up and never puts on her clothes backwards! She is a diva for sure! I hope her butt's not too cold on the tile! LOL

And here are just a few random pictures of all of us. The pictures of Myles and Londynn huggin and posing together are SO cute! They are growing up way too fast.... =(

And that's that about us! Onto BIGGER AND BETTER NEWS OF THE WEEk!

So, Hannah Grace had her FIRST follow up MRI since being in Houston recieving radiation treatments for the cancer in her spine and brain. Welll.... it was a nerveracking time for her parents to wait this month and a half to see if the treatment even worked... but IT DID! All the Glory be to GOD and GOD alone! Hannah Grace only has ONE spot on her tailbone and ONE spot on her braid... and her spinal fluid is CLEAR OF DISEASE! What this means is that she will begin a chemo regimin that she'll most likely stay on throughout the next year to kill these tiny spots and go into remission FOREVER. Praise the Lord for this great report!

More good news is that Elijah took THREE steps on his own during physical therapy! He has worked So hard re-learning everything. He will be walking in NO TIME AT ALL! Thank you Lord for the blessings we've had this week, as we recieve them each day.

We will be celebrating Myles' 5th birthday this up and coming weekend, on Saturday we think. He's picked out Army stuff and because his new favorite show is Cake Boss on TLC, we'll be getting some rice crispy mix, fondont, and all the fixings to create a 3D cake. He's so excited! After school on Tuesday, we'll take him out to dinner and open gifts at home. One of his gifts is tickets to the Spurs game on Friday night! I cannot wait to have him open these! HE LOVES THE SPURS! lol

I will update more about that when it comes around.. and of course of the party this weekend. We hope ya'll have a fantastic week and we miss you!

Thank the Lord for all the blessings in your life, and praise Him and Him alone.

~The Manfull's

Christmas Day 2009

2010-01-07T18:44:00.007-06:00

IF YOU ARE JUST READING THIS ONE AND HAVNT READ THE ONE I POSTED BEFORE ABOUT CHRISTMAS EVE.. PLEASE READ THAT ONE TOO! =) I'M UPDATED ALL DIFFERENT DAYS ON THE SAME DAY!

So, as we slept in the night, Santa came to the house and left the kids some fabulous Santa gifts!!!

Londynn got a baby cradle and a changing table!

And Myles got his much needed tool bench =)

Here are the kiddos coming down the stairs to look at what Santa had brought them! Myles never noticed the tool bench until he went over to it and it was at his feet! Londynn is crying all the way down the stairs LOL she's wondering why the lights are on and why she can't come sneak in our bed to go back to sleep! =)

This was when he finally realized there was a tool bench with a big red bow on it just for him!

And Londynn's tears disappeared when she saw her Santa gift!

Then, the morning just got better after they found the little gifts in the stocking!.... oh and the surplus of candy =)

Londynn got these nice Tinker Belle slippers! She LOVES them!

Here are just a few pictures of some of the kids' presents.....
this one is of Myles and his new guitar and microphone with stand.. something he's been begging for!

And this is Mommy Londynn with her new diaper bag for her babies.... with the hair do and weathered look... she'll fit right into the world of mommyhood!

Myles opening his BUMBLEBee BLASTEr! His favorite gift for sure!

... and big suprise here.. more baby stuff! Londynn got a car seat!

Another shot of the """BLASTER"""

and where Londynn's shirt is in this one I have no clue! But she's rockin out on Myles microphone! She would sing, "I dont know, I dont know baby" LOL or a Phineas and Ferb song =)

CHGN-GNCH---- TRANSFORM!! He would put this on, push the button that makes the transofrming noise, fall onto the ground and then get in the shape of a car LOL He really does this well!

And here's Londynn's TUTU !!! She just LOVES this!!! She put it on and then danced all over the house! I pulled out the camera and it was like someone had previously taught her what to do!!!

This future could go one of two ways.... beautifly elegant, or naughty dancing.... Hopefully we'll get her on the right track!

Here is Myles getting ready to blow out the candles and sing happy birthday to Jesus!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY JESUS!

Looks GOOD!

Here's the kids eating Christmas Dinner! We had scalloped potatoes.. that didnt turn out the way I had hoped, corn sufflet, ham, rolls, pumpkin pie, fruit salad, and... I think that's it!

And that was our Christmas!! We had such a wonderful day. The kids didnt even have to get out of their jammies all day! Londynn only did cause she wanted to after dancing in the Tuto for so long. We then ate dinner, (at lunch time) had naps, played some more, ate some cookies and RELAxed!! Christmas before for the kids was always anything but relaxing, going from house to house! Although we missed the fam, we for sure had a wonderful time playing with the kids and being stress FREE.

Thank you Lord for sending your son to save us. Without this unfathomable gift, we would be lost. Literally. Our souls would be lost to this world. Thank you. Happy Birthday Jesus! I LOVE YOU!

Please keep in mind there are MANY families without gifts to give, without love to share between loved ones because they are spending Christmas with Jesus. Although these loved ones are in the place we all desire, the ones left behind need our prayers. Be thankful for the ones you get to spend this day with. Thank the Lord each morning and praise Him each night for the blessings that reign. If you got to spend this Christmas with your babies.. you have NO idea how wonderful that really was. Just imagine if they werent there this year.... just imagine.

We love you all!

Sorry this update is SO extremely late =)

~The Manfull's

The Night of Christmas Eve..

2010-01-07T17:28:00.009-06:00

AHHH! It feels like Christmas Eve was SO long ago.. and really it WAS! I'm so sorry I didnt update soon, things just got crazy fast and I ran out of all my vacation time I thought I'd have =)

So, Christmas Eve night we of course went into the kitchen and began our yearly baking! We got out all the cookie stuff and began the birthday cake for Jesus. Myles is quite the chef so he LOVES to bake (and also has a fine obsession with the Cake Boss on TLC)!! Londynn enoyed when it was all over and we got to taste them =) And they were good!

While we were baking, we got a special visit from our culdesac neightbors! Come to find out, they all get together during Christmas Eve with all of their families who are close and GO CAROLING! They rang our doorbell, and from the glass I could tell there were LOTS of people at the door... so I opened it and there are old people, middle aged people, teenagers and toddelers all with lyrics in hand. They sang us a few songs and then asked if we had a favorite they could sing us!! It was the most amazing thing we've experienced here yet! It just gets better and better! Then, when they were all done signing, they handed us a tin filled with caramel corn with a note on it giving us more of the neighbors names and cell phone numbers on it.. it's really like I'm on Weisteria Lane from Desperate Housewives.. these people are SO much nicer than the people on the show, but the things that happen here are just so "textbook" for a "neighborhood." And needless to say, we LOVE it!

So, I guess I will just post a bunch of pictures and let them tell the story...

Making cookies with the kids with this island in the kitchen was AMAZING! Normally, they are fighting side by side on the counter where only a few hands can reach.. this way, it worked so well!

Now we're beginning the birthday cake for Jesus!!! While the batch of cookies are baking!

The cookies are baked, the birthday cake is in, and now it's time to decorate them for Santa!

Myles did such a great job coloring the shape he wanted! He made a heart and everything!

Here's Londynn choosing her sprinkle color for the cookie she just frosted =)

She choses GREEN!

Did anyone notice she's half naked??! LOL she spilled chocolate milk on her jammie shirt and it's currently in the washer to be clean in time for bed!

Job well done kiddos!

Our Santa cookies....

... and milk!

Now, it's time for OUR TASTE!

I think they like them!

... and there's many more left where that came from!

Here is the fudge swirled, caramel frosted, chocolate chip Jesus Birthday Cake!

She LOVES cookies =)

Myles likes the frosted ones....

And our finished products!

So, after we were done in the kitchen, we went into the living room to choose one present to open... the rest are saved for Christmas morning =)

........ but not until Myles does some butt kissing! LOL

So I thought it would be a good idea to get close up's of the kids' faces with the tree in the background.... so Myles goes first and is perfectly photogenic as always...

...and then this is what I get from Londynn! Like there's an aligator in the background or somehting!!

... So I ask her to smile nicely and she gives me Cindy Lou Who!

And now it's present time! Myles choses carefully and RIPS open to his first present!

He is soooo happy to find a drum set under the wrapping paper! This thing is awesome cause it's not too loud =)

And Londynn chose the one I new she would... can anyone take a guess what it is???

A baby! What a shocker here! She is obsessed with all things BABY! and can never have enough of them!

We then played a little while longer, ate some more cookies and then went off to bed!!! Early to rise!!

Even though this is late, I still would like to remind you that Jesus is the reason for the season. This was the night of his birht, the night this world was saved, the night the Lord gave the most precious gift to the most aweful world... to save us. Thank you Jesus, and Happy Birthday.

We love you all and hope your Christmas Eve was SPECTACuLAR!

~The Manfull's

Please keep in prayer the families who are missing their loved ones at this time of year. For the mommies and daddies who didnt get to buy their baby anything, becuase their baby was spending Christmas with Jesus this year.....

We're IN!

2009-12-22T18:35:00.005-06:00

HELLO!
Where do I begin!? Well, as you know we put up the Christmas tree on Friday night, and then it was MOVING day Saturday! But before I begin with that, here's the other pictures I took the day after we closed with fresh batteries =) Notice our beautiful front door! I dont think I've ever posted a picture of it! It's one of the last things they put on cause people steal them if the house is not occupied LOL

Here are our stockings! They are hung by the chimney with care =) The stocking hangers are chalkboards so we can write our names on them! And our stockings are elf shoes LOL Myles thinks that's funny!

Okay, now onto the move! As you know, we have a mini van that I never liked. When you buy a mini van when you're 20 years old, you kind of have to admit that you're a loser LOL But I must say, this mini van sure came in handy this weekend! We did NOT rent a moving truck... the transforming van moved it all by itself! You should have seen it! When we moved our living room furniture, half of it was sticking out the back, Myles was helping Daddy drive, and Londynn was riding shotgun with me.... oh it was so illegal!! But because we just moved 4 streets down in the same neighborhood, we figured it wasn't too aweful =)

Oh, not to mention we did this ALL BY Ourselves! We had NO ONE help us with this move... and we actually enjoyed it! We did things as we wanted, at our own pace and didnt have to rush through stuff in a matter of fitting it into a time frame.

So, we have the MOST amazing neighbors EVER! As we're moving in on Saturday, we see our next door neighbor outside and she remembered my name (we met a few weeks ago). She asked if we were finally going to be spending the night and she was excited for us. Then, our doorbell rings a few minutes later and she's bearing gifts for the kids, rice crispy treats, and says she'll bring us lunch over around noon. OH WONDERFUL! She is a retired teacher and come to find out, all these people in this culdasac are teachers of some sort! LOL we will fit right in!

Below is a picture of the basket of food she brought at noon. The kids got corn doggies, waffle cut french fries and ice cream treats! Mark and I got tender bbq pulled chicken sandwhiches, waffle cut fries and she even through in a couple ice cream treats for us! And let me tell you, those sandwhiches were AMAZING!!! Thank you Becky =)

Because we didnt have to stop and make lunch, we were able to get soooo much done! Here are a few pictures of the house with all of our junk in it! LOL

Here's the most important room... they play room! The kids love it and the amount of toys they bring down stairs is SO MINIMAL and we LOVE that! =)

These closets are in the playroom.. and it makes for great storage!

Next is Myles' room. The first few pictures are of his amazing closet that he loves just so much! The next one is a horrible shot of his "bed" which is just a matress on the ground! LOL we have to buy the kids bedroom sets still =(

These next few are of Londynn's room and closet. She was actually taking a nap when I came in there to snap these photos! Both the kids LOVE sleeping in their new rooms!!

When I went back into the play room, I cought Myles drawing "mama" on the easle. He has found a new passion of reading (thank you God). We realized we should have just bought him a phone book for Christmas. He has spent all weekend reading the San Antonio phone book LOL He does really good too!

So, because we have the most amazing nanny, we were able to go Christmas shopping for the kids on Monday! We went all over and got some good deals and the kids will have a great Christmas. I hid in the bedroom for what seemed like hours, wrapping presents. I then had the kids help me shove them all under the tree and they have been so good with them! No peaking at all! Here is a picture of the rascalls by the tree =)

And here's one without the flash on so you can see how it glows...

And that's all folks!!

Much of our weekend has been getting everything unpacked and organized around the house. The kids are adjusting well and when we went back to the "old house" to clean it up, the kids freaked out and said NO NEW HOUSE!! Londynn definately wanted to make sure we weren't moving back into the old house =) The surely LOVE our new house just as much as we do!

Anyways, with Christmas approaching, we must stop and think of the true meaning of Christmas. Why do we give each other gifts?? Not because of Santa, not because we like to see the smiles on our kids' faces, but because when God gave His ONE AND ONLY son to us, sinners and the worthless of the world, the three wiseman brought our baby Savior gifts. So, to remember God's gift to us, we give other's gifts. God gave the world the best gift that could ever be given. Because of this, we have hope. WE have hope that we'll see our loved ones again, that we will once have no more fears, no more tears, just pure joy with Jesus. In this world, we need hope. We need to know and remember God's gift to us. Without this, we'd be lost and have no hope. But for those who BELIEVE, truly believe, we will have everlasting live. ALL OF US. TOGETHER. FOREVER. What could be better than that? nothing. nothing at all.

Dear God and Father,

My heart grows so sad for those around the world who do not know you. WHo do not share this hope that is in my heart. They have no hope for the future, they have no love in their hearts and they are lost. Lord I pray you knock on their doors just one more time, and this time, they answer. May their hearts be opened and find the true meaning of Christmas, find the true meaning of this life. To find Jesus.

For those around the world who are suffering in sickness and long to be with you, Lord I ask you heal their wounds and mend their hearts. Hold them through their trials and remind them that you are bigger than all things and you never leave their side. For the parents out there who are spending Christmas longing for their child. So many have to spend each day without their child, children, loved ones. May you remind them of the hope we have in You. The promise we have that we will all be together again forever. Ease their pain and fill their hearts with happiness this season. With the new year, bring them new beginnings. You make all things new. Please, make their hearts new again, whole again. Only You can do this, only You know this pain, only You.

For those who fear the future, the unknown. Lord please show them that You are bigger than all things, that You hold them in the palm of Your hands, and through You, all things are possible. Give them rest and peace, comfort and joy to spend this season praising you, and leaving the future in Your hands, and in your hands alone.

Please Jesus, hold the children of this world in Your hands. Take their pain, fear, sadness, and sickness. Give them joy, resiliance, laughter and happiness. You are bigger than all things of this world.

Thank you Lord for everything that you've blessed us with, especially Jesus. Thank you for this unimaginable gift of LIFE. A gift I cannot fathom. The Love you have for me is imeasureable, and each day, I strive to make you pround and to be your hands and feet. I love you. Thank you Lord!

Amen.

~The Manfull's

WE ARE HOME OWNERS!!!

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That's right! Mark and I signed our lives over to this house we've so desperately desired!! We had a half day at school today, went to the bank and got our down payment in a chashiers check, then headed to the title company where they were waiting for us!! We brought the kids in and they were SO good with them! There were blocks for them to play with and everything =) And for back up, we brought lots of candy to keep them entertained LOL Here's a few pics of us signing the very, very LAST papers!!

We went through the paperwork that we've already gone through a million times (because we had to go through all of it to begin building in late July). We had to sign *with our middle initial* which got weird, but we made it! It only took a little over 45 minutes and the lady took our picture!! It was awesome... I think she totally understood the value of scrapbooking and a blogger life =)

The packet Myles and I are holding is our information all logged onto a DVD and a few papers to help us remember escrow accounts and other stuff I'm not all too familiar with. Hopefully it's not too hard to keep straight!

So we then headed home (which took forever!!!) We got stuck in traffic. Where we live, there is NO traffic which is NICE! but when we have to go to more crowded places, like where the title company was, we have to expect a little traffic. Today, everyone and their dog was on the 410!!
Once we finally made it to our hood, we picked up the keys, picked buddy up and then headed over to put up the Christmas tree in our NEW HOUSE! We grabbed a few corn dogs LOL for dinner.. dinners of champions is what we're all about! Here's a few pictures of the kids and their very first meal in the house they'll always remember as "home."

During this time I was fanning out the tree's branches in the living room, while Mark had the kids eat on the counters... I hope they forget that by tomorrow when we actually begin living there!!

Here's one quick pic of us decorating the tree. Once we got it all finished, it turned out PERFECT! But you'd never know because the batteries in our camera DIED! So, we'll have to update tomorrow after inserting fresh batteries into the camera. I'll take pictures of the little bit of furniture we've got after we move it in.

And that's all folks!! In about a week, I've got AWESOME news of what my students and I did for the week before Christmas break. (it's a suprise!!) Such awesome acts of kindness!

We have a busy day ahead of us tomorrow. We have to go buy a fridge, get our furniture over to the new house and all the clothes and toys. Oh and dishes... that's pretty much all we've got! LOL.. I guess it's better to start new? I guess we have no choice =) but I'm a fan of craigs list and discount crap! LOL

Anyways, thanks for all of the prayers regarding our house and the process it took to finally get it to become OURS. we know we could have NEVER gotten this to work out if it were not in God's plan for us... His plan is always perfect and His timing is never off.

God bless you all! We love you,

~The Manfull's

GETTING OUR HOUSE

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It's official.

We are closing at 3pm on Friday!! HOORAH! I will update to a further extent this weekend after we've moved in!! YAY!

Also, my students and I are planning some awesome stuff for a few of my precious kiddos I pray for.... I will update more on that later too =)

BE HIS HANDS AND FEET!!! It is because of HIM and HIS birth and HIS sacrifice.. we are saved.

~The Manfulls'