Sky Ranch & Thanksgiving

SKY RANCH

We went to Sky Ranch, which is a Christian camp in Van, TX, as youth sponsors with our youth group. It was AMAZING! We (as in Eli & me) had never been there before. We had 17 kids go and 4 adults go. We had a Thanksgiving dinner at church and then the kids sang at our 6:30pm worship service on Sunday night. After the service, we loaded up and left. Eli drove our Tahoe with the trailer and Sean, the youth minister, drove the church van. We had 4 girls and 1 boy in our truck….so we called our vehicle the “PARTY CAR”! We sang and goofed off the whole way. So fun! We got down there and couldn’t find the way in because the sign feel down. Sean kept turning around and making Eli turn around with a trailer hooked up….finally Eli just pulled over and waited for Sean to pass us again and tell us to turn around. Then all of a sudden, we here screaming and gasping coming from the back row of seats…..there was a guy walking up to Eli’s windows. This was a scene right out of a scary movie….and the one boy that we had in our car was telling us everything that would happen next in a scary movie! The guy asked if we were lost and we said yes and told him we were looking for Sky Ranch. He said, “Well, follow me; I know right where it is!” So….do we follow this stranger that we don’t know down these country roads, where there are NO lights, NO other cars on the road, NO one to find our dead bodies……YES, we followed him….with 4 screaming 11 year old girls! He took us right to the entrance!! We called him our angel in the mustang! He was driving a Mustang. We told to watch out for the church van and tell them how to get there…..little did we know that Sean had found it by now and was sitting there waiting on us!

Monday morning was our fun packed day! We rode horses and went on a Cattle Drive, we went down a zip line, which scared me to death, we paintballed, we did a rope course, swung on a pendulum, jumped on a jumping pillow……ok well I didn’t do all of that. By noon, I was pooped out! I am getting too old! It was a BLAST though. Just watching these kids made me happy! We had a great group of kids. Believe it or not…..they get along really good. After dinner that night we went down behind our cabins to a bonfire to have a bible study and eat smores! It was so dark out there. There were no light on, I had to use my phone as a flashlight to see where I was walking! One of the boys wanted to play his guitar and sing Days of Elijah…..so Eli took him back up to the cabin to get his guitar. They were walking down to the bonfire and there are stairs made out of wood. Eli step on a step and there was a tree stump in the step and it broke so his foot went down in a hole. When they finally made it to the bonfire, Eli’s ankle looked like a baseball was attached to the side of it! The fire wouldn’t stay lit either! Eli and I headed back to cabins before everyone else. Sean found him some ice and found an EMT to come look at it. Well…..a week later….it is still swollen and bruised and he is still in pain! I finally convinced him to go to the doctor. We are going this afternoon. I pray that it isn’t broke!!!

Tuesday morning we woke up and headed home! The guys went to hook the trailer back up to our Tahoe to fine that the lock on the trailer hitch had popped off somewhere on the highway (probably went we had to keep turning around)! So they hooked up the trailer and found a way to make it all stay together. We got back to the church and all the kids started getting their stuff out and we realized that the trailer was never “screwed” on! It is a miracle we made it back with that trailer!

Eli & I had so much fun and can’t wait to do it again next year! These kids are amazing!

THANKSGIVING!

We went to my aunt’s house in Lewisville on Thanksgiving. Everyone was there except my sister and my mom, but that’s because we didn’t invite my mom! It was fun like always. The 3 F’s….food, family & football! What more could you ask for? I wish Heather would have been there, but that’s what happens when you get married. She will be with on Christmas!

Eli mom and brother came down from Arkansas. They got here Wednesday night and stayed until Sunday morning! I love his family. I am so glad too. I would hate to be one of those women that can’t stand their husbands family. It is truly a blessing that we all love each other. They are great. While his mom and middle brother were here his younger brother that lives in Plano came and stayed with us too! We were like one big family. It was great to see everyone together again. They are going to try and come down for Christmas too. I hope they can. Christmas is always at my house and I say the more the merrier! We had about 40 people at our house a couple of years ago. I love Christmas!

My wrist is hurting, so I calling it quits for now! Thanks for reading. God Bless.

So many things, so little time!

Were do I start?

Let’s start with the baby talk….. As of last Friday (Nov. 6) I was a week late. I try not to think about it too much these days, if I’m late, I’m late. But I decided, what the heck, I will take a pregnancy test. Before I took the test, I said a little prayer. It was not a “please make me pregnant” prayer. I just told God that I know this will happen only in His time; not my time, not Eli’s time, IN GOD’S TIME! So I asked God to help me deal with that. God help me be patient and help me have faith that it will happen when He is ready!

“Wait for the LORD; be strong and take heart and wait for the LORD.” Psalm 27:14

If you know me at all, you know that I deal with a lot of things through humor! I try to make everything funny. I took the test; it a Clear Blue & Easy test. It was supposed to make a plus sign if you are pregnant; it made the horizontal line and then made a piece of the vertical line. I went and woke Eli up and told him that I was half way pregnant. He didn’t think that was very funny. Of course when I got to work on Friday, I started researching it on the internet. Yes, I know that you cannot believe everything you read on the internet, but it was worth a try. Then, after tell a couple of people this and getting there feedback, I decided to wait a couple of days and take another test. I actually forgot about it all weekend….Thank you Jesus for letting me forget, how do you forget about something like that? Only through God’s help. I decided to take another test Tuesday morning…there was only one line. That is A-OK! God is not ready for the Moreno’s to have a baby yet. We will see what happens. Just pray that God helps Eli & I be patient.

“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.” Jeremiah 29:11

Next subject is my truck! I know you should not love material things, but it so hard when you have your dream car! I have wanted a Tahoe since I was 16. About two years ago, Eli surprised me with one. He found it at Carmax in Atlanta and showed me pictures of it. It had everything I wanted except it didn’t have 4x4, but it was fully loaded. I feel in love it instantly. Then he decided to tell me that it cost too much to have it shipped here and too much to drive there and pick it up. My heart was crushed! About 2 weeks later he told to come up to Carmax because his car wouldn’t start…..so mad and frustrated I drove to Carmax and there it was…..my Tahoe! He paid to have it shipped here! I love my husband & my truck. Well the battery died on Monday night and Eli said he would drive it Carmax and get a new battery. He decided that while it was there for a new battery he would go ahead and get everything checked & an oil change, since we are driving to San Antonio in a couple of weeks. Of course they found stuff wrong…..they kept it over night! Thankfully we have 3 cars…so we didn’t have to get a rent car, but still, I miss my truck. We have two other cars, but cars are not cool…..I am a SUV/Truck person. Oh well, we are not supposed to love material things, right? (But I can’t wait to get my truck back)

This is the time of year that it starts to get busy in the Moreno house (wait, when it is not busy at our house). Saturday, I have decided to put out all of my Christmas decorations. I DO think it is too early, but if I don’t do it then, it won’t get done! (I have too much Christmas stuff, but it is my favorite holiday. Also, on Saturday I am going to help bake pies for the youth bake sale at church. We are going to Sky Ranch with the youth group from church. It is a youth church camp in Van, Texas. Eli & I are both excited to go. I am really looking forward to paintball! I have wanted to do that for a long time. We have a Thanksgiving dinner at church on Sunday afternoon & we have to bring a meat dish and a dessert. Well, everyone always brings chicken from KFC (sorry church peeps, but it is true)….not me, I am bringing chicken & dressing casserole….real cooking and I am going to make some kind of pie! On Thanksgiving we always go to my aunt’s house in Lewisville. I usually make the desserts and she makes everything else, because on Christmas the role is switched, Christmas is at my house. So I need to start think of what to make and start making them. Then on Friday, I am going to my dad’s land (Eli is thinking about not going and staying at home). On Sunday, my cousins & their kids, my sister & her kids, myself, my grandma and hopefully my dad & step mom are all going to take family pictures. We did it about 7 years ago for a Christmas for my grandma & that everyone has kids, we want to do it again! There will be 8 adults and 4 kids….if that doesn’t sound like fun, I don’t know what does???

Then in December, we have the CarMax Banquet, Eli’s friends from Arkansas are coming for a weekend, weddings at the church, our 7 year anniversary, Christmas and who knows what else the calendar holds! I will update you on all of that after it happens!

Eli & I lead a VERY busy and exciting life and I would not change one thing. Life is GREAT! Thanks for reading.

“Be joyful always, pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus.” Thessalonians 5:16-18

To all of my HERO’s out there (and I am not talking about the TV show)

I have been working on a Veteran’s Day Slideshow for church, for about a month now! Veteran’s Sunday was this past Sunday at church. I was trilled when I was asked to put together this slideshow, because this subject means so much to me. All of the church members were asked to bring in pictures of them in their uniforms…..it was so neat to get to see all of the pictures. Some where really old pictures and some were more recent. The slideshow turned out GREAT and I had a great time doing it. So, I have been thinking about this day for a month now.

I cannot tell you how much these men and women mean to me. I have never met even half of them, but they are amazing! I just wanted to take a minute and THANK each and every one of the men and women that risk their life for me. They are not soldiers they are HEROS! They are my hero. I know several people that are serving our country or that their spouse is serving our country. I cannot say THANK YOU enough. Thank you to the spouses too….without your help your spouse couldn’t do it. You are supportive of their decision to serve. It must be hard, but you are there for them. I know it is just a TV show, but I cry every time I watch Army Wives! You are amazing! For those of you that are serving our county…..I truly love you and I am just in AWWW over your sacrifices that you make daily. Thank you for doing what you do. You are a HERO in my book. God Bless you all!

I think we as “civilians” take for granted everyday the work that you do for us. I say “civilians” because I hear that all the time from people that are serving. Without you men and women some of us might not be here today! I don’t believe that there are strong enough words in the English language to say…..I know THANK YOU just doesn’t cut it my book.

Just promise me this….every time you someone in uniform, take a minute just to say thank you. I know Eli & I do. There is a local store here in Irving called Porter’s Army & Navy, they are having an event this Saturday, November 14. You can take stuff to them that go into a care package or just donate $15.00 to go towards a care package! I am so doing that, and if you live in or around Irving, you should do it too.

As some of you may know Eli lost his best friend earlier this year. He was in the Marines. He was killed in a car wreck, but he loved the Marines! He was a great man. I just went back and read my blog about when was taken for this world and I started to cry all over again! Jason THANKS for doing what you did and loving every minute of it. You were a very loved man and I think about you daily, as do many people I am sure. On this day I think of you more! RIP Jason Murdock.

A Veteran’s Day Prayer

Dear Lord,
Today we honor our veterans,
worthy men and women
who gave their best
when they were called upon
to serve and protect their country.
We pray that you will bless them, Lord,
for their unselfish service
in the continual struggle
to preserve our freedoms, our safety,
and our country’s heritage, for all of us.
Bless them abundantly
for the hardships they faced,
for the sacrifices they made
for their many different contributions
to America’s victories
over tyranny and oppression.
We respect them, we thank them,
we honor them, we are proud of them,
and we pray that you will watch over
these special people
and bless them with peace and happiness.
In Jesus’ name we pray; Amen.

Birthdays!

Well it has been Birthday Month around the Moreno household! August & November are always birthday months! Our November birthdays are Caitlynn (niece), Mac (niece), Heather (best sister ever), Jennifer (sister-in-law), and Alekzander (nephew). They are all the 1^st thru the 14^th! WOW!

Hopefully, this coming weekend we will have the Moreno parties. Alekzander will be 3…..it seems like just yesterday he was born! Time flies! I will write another blog about their party.

Well this past weekend was the party for the Talley girls. It was great! I made a Tinkerbell cake (with real fairy dust)& a John Deere cake for the two girls. I let Mac sprinkle fairy dust on her Tinkerball cake! I cannot believe that Caitlynn is already 2 years old! And my baby sister is 25! Where does the time go? It seems like just yesterday I was making Heather a bottle. Well, there were kids, presents & tissue paper everywhere. It was great being around my family and Talley family! They are great and funny people. Fun times for all.

I want to take a minute and just talk my sister. Since he birthday was yesterday, it has got me thinking. Some of you may not know about my past very much…so here goes! When my sister & I were young, my mom was there physically but not mentally! Let’s just say she had problems and would choose “other things” instead of her children (things haven’t changed much today). That is where a lot of my anger comes from towards parents that don’t take care of their children. My dad was always at work trying to provide for us. He worked his butt off! He was there for us when we needed him though. So, basically I raised my sister. I can remember when she was about 2 and I would be the one to go get her a cup of milk in the middle of the night. I changed her diapers. I gave her her first hair cut! Ok, she really didn’t need a hair cut, but I was sick of everyone saying that she had the cutest curly hair (and I had straight, stringy hair) so I cut it off! My dad did get me for that one! I had it coming though. Anyways, she was like my little baby and I was only 6 years old! Don’t get me wrong, we had our sibling fight, plenty of them, but in the end she is always my sister and I had to take care of her. When she was sick, I was the wiping her nose and cleaning up her puke. I think that we are closer because of everything and I would not take any of it back, well maybe the haircut because she did have the cutest curls ever, but it has made us the people we are today. I just want to say…..

Heather I am so proud of you and the choices you have made through out life! You are truly a good person. You used to look up to me because I was your older sister, but I have to tell you, I look up to you. You are a GREAT mom, wife and sister. Your kids & husband & your family are truly blessed to have you in our lives. I love you more than words can express. You have seen so much in your life time and I am so glad you made the decision to be better than that. And with all that is going on in your life, you are back in school! You are amazing. Thank you for being you! It is a privilege to call you SISTER! Happy birthday!

Halloween 2009

Let’s talk about Halloween….

Let me start by tell you a weird story……My mom’s name is Debbie and my sisters name is Heather………………My best friend’s name is Debbie and her daughter’s name is Heather! My friend Debbie has a son named Matt & Clay….they are my brothers & sister from another mother! Throughout this blog posting I am talking about my friend Debbie & her daughter Heather!

Now, let’s actually let’s start the week before Halloween! My best friend Debbie had an early birthday party for her son. His birthday is in December, but he is in love with Halloween and the movie “The Nightmare Before Christmas”. So she decided to have him a Halloween birthday party. Since I love parties and planning them (and so does Debbie) I told her I was in on this!! The party was at 7:00 that Saturday so we decided to meet up at 7:30 that morning to get started. We meet and Debbie asked me how many games I came up with? What? Games? I totally forgot that I was supposed to be the game lady! So at lunch time we all sat around and ate pizza and Heather helped me come up with 4 or 5 games! Thanks Heather! We had so much fun. We made a ton of cupcakes, cookies, pizzas, dips, popcorn, cheese fingers, sausage mummies…..you name it - we made it, or at least thought about making it! We didn’t make everything we wanted to, but that is just because there is not enough time in a day. I am telling you…it was a lot of work but it was well worth it. I had so much fun being with Debbie and her kids (Heather, Matt, & Clay) making these things and preparing for this party. It was a BLAST, and I would do it again in a heartbeat. I am hoping I get to help with her daughter’s wedding, whenever that might be! We also transformed her backyard into a “Spooky Backyard”! Heather (Debbie’s daughter) made a haunted house in the backyard. It was pretty spooky. Well, 7:00 came and we were ready (well, almost…we were still putting some of the food out on the table)! LET THE PARTY BEGIN! The kids started coming……we started playing games around 8:00! We played eyeball hunt, ring toss in the grave yard, mummy roll up, and then we had a costume contest. It seems like I am leaving something out, but I can’t remember, that was a week ago! The kids had a BLAST!! I really think they enjoyed it. I told Debbie after the party….I don’t know who enjoyed it more….us or the kids? Clay had a great time and that is all that mattered. I have posted some picture, but only the ones with no kids in them, since I am not sure how their parents would feel about it.

Now on to Halloween……

We had a big AUTUMN EXTRAVAGANZA at my church on Halloween day! Was I involved in to you ask…OF COURSE I WAS and so was ELI!

“Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men, since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving.”

Colossians 3:23-24.

I love these types of things! I am sooo a people person! We had a craft fair that I partook in! I sold my hair bows and my hand stamped cards. I did alright, not what I expected, but I paid for my booth and made a little extra! The youth group was in charge of the food.

Youth group + food = Eli! Eli came with me and helped out with food. I am so glad that he is getting MORE involved in church! I have to admit….it is addicting. He has been helping out in the Youth Group every Wednesday night! I hope he gets addicted. I know he loves God…I just want him to be more involved. Halloween night we had Trunk or Treat. Eli decorated our trunk because by that time, I was wasted! I was so tired from staying up the night before to get all my craft stuff together; I only had 4 hours of sleep! Eli did a great job decorating the trunk! I think we had the best trunk there. The kids had a blast and that’s what matters. I had fun too and I think Eli did too! We made it home just in time for Texas Longhorn game that I slept right through! We had a GREAT Halloween and I hope everyone else did too.
That is it for today. Thanks for reading!