Friday, January 8, 2010

God is about to turn the Sharpe household upside down....

....I can just feel it!!! I am expecting it!!!

I am so excited for 2010!!!

Jason and I are about to start a Daniel Fast......and I don't want to "boast" about it, but I want to explain how excited I am about it, excited about what God will reveal to us during this time!!!!  We are starting January 10th and going until January 31st... Please pray for us as well, pray for commitment, and endurance, but really pray that God will reveal things to us that we never knew possible, that He will reveal HIMSELF to us.....and that our walk with HIM will grow, and then our marriage will grown, then our relationship with our boys will grow...I get goosebumps just thinking about it!!!  God is about to do something amazing!!!!

Jason and I also started a year long couple's devotion....it is called The Love Dare Day by Day by Stephen Kendrick....we love it....it's an easy read, but perfect for us to spend some spiritual time together...I highly recommend it with you and your spouse....

I challenge you to grow this 2010 as well!!!! Let this be the best year YET!

Christmas Stories...

We all had an amazing time at Christmas...Brayden's 1st Christmas, and our sweet nephew's 1st Christmas....and Peyton was such a sweetheart in the way he was so patient with the 2 newest members of our family!  Peyton numerous of times helped Brayden open presents....and show him how to play with his toys!!!

So, Christmas began before Christmas for us.....we visited with Jason's grandparents for a little while and they gave our boys such sweet gifts, and they were able to love on them....they are such amazing people, and from Canada, and have the neatest accent!!!  Then we headed over to Jason's parents house, in which his brother and his girlfriend were there as well as Jason's mom's dad....We had an awesome time of just hanging out and spending time together!!!  It was mass chaos in opening presents, and this year was odd with Christmas at their house because it was later in the evening, and Brayden was awfully fussy...but we made it through, and it was so much fun.....I am so blessed to have amazing inlaws that treat me like their own!!!!

Then on December 23rd we headed to TEXAS!!  Whew! What a trip.....let me tell you God really tested all of our patience and totally wanted us to rely COMPLETELY on HIM!!!!  I am so bad at usually getting my boys out of their carseats when they begin fussing immediately, and I will confess to this!  But I took a defensive driving course, and I will NEVER do this again unless for a few minutes or for a dyer emergency!!  So, that said....Brayden sat in his carseat for 13 hours!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  I AM SO PROUD of him, and Peyton!!!!  For 8 out of the 13 hours, we went through a DOWNPOUR!!! We found out that we were in Tornado and Thunderstorm warnings once we were in Arkansas, it was TERRIBLE and lots of Prayers were going up....from our truck and from family all over the US!!!  But PRAISE THE LORD!!!! We made it to Van Alstyne, TX safely!!!!

Christmas Eve was very odd this year......in 2009 I lost 2 amazing aunts :0( and in 2008 I lost my beautiful Nanie (my grandmother) tragically....and last year we weren't in TX to celebrate Christmas Eve & Day it was our round to be in TN.....so it was just so different this year....but we made the most of it, and we made our new memories this year!  I wish more family could of came, but Texas was getting snow for the 1st time since 1983 for Christmas Eve and Day!!!!  So it was just our immediately family that was there......and it very special, just sad...because Christmas Eve, before I was even born was with my Nanie and my dad's side of the family.....I teared up a lot that night.....but WOW in 2009 we also gained 2 awesome little boys in our family.....;0)  We decorated Christmas cookies....and Peyton had a great time doing that, he CAKED on his icing....he said Santa needed it that way!!!  and Jason would keep eating his cookies he decorated HAHA fun times!

Christmas Day came, and it was a very nice and quiet day as well, all 4 of the Hall siblings were home and spouses, except Doug, he has been serving in Afghanistan....it was fun to have 3 young boys there to watch them open their presents and get spoiled :0)......during the reading of the Christmas story....Brayden started hitting on a present and it kept "singing" to him (it was his of course) and he would start hitting it HARDER and finally it broke open, it was HILARIOUS because this was through the entire Christmas story....it was fun ;0)!  It was a very nice day......

Jason and I were able to stay the night away one night for our 8th wedding Anniversary, which was on December 1st, but we wanted my parents to keep the boys and let them enjoy time alone with them....I was so nervous about this because Brayden is VERY spoiled by me putting him down!!!  and I was so thankful to hear that my dad, yes my DAD was able to put him down within 10 minutes! I was so proud of him :0) ha!
It was nice...Jason and I went shopping at the Stonebriar Mall (it's a huge mall...I love it!) and we ate at the Cheesecake Factory....then stayed at the Dallas Marriott Legacy Center Hotel...it was so nice to just have OUR time together...I love my boys dearly, but it's so important for couples to do this too.....

Also, during our visit, we were able to go to my grandparents house in Bowie, TX!!! They still had lots of snow....in drifts it was up to 12 inches!!!  and we had lunch with them, and my aunt and uncle and of course my sister and parents as well....it has been long-overdue for us to visit them, and actually eat at my grandmother's dining room table....I loved it!!! and the homemade food, especially the BREAD lol!!!!  Then my granddad took the boys and Jason and I and my dad out to his farm, and Peyton got to ride his huge John Deere Tractor...it was lots of fun!!!!  the younger boys slept in the car though lol!!!

We came home on the following Wednesday, it was sad to leave, but nice to get back to our house and take down Christmas Decorations and get our house back to "normal".....:0)

I will post pictures soon I hope......

What an amazing 2009 Christmas this has been!!!