36

After the sobering revelation was made to me by my husband that I was now closer to 50 than I was to 20, I must say that so far 36 is looking good. One of the better birthdays that I've had. Not that the other's haven't been, but things were just well-timed.

. . . a weekend day so I could sleep late.

. . . a day Greg was off work.

. . . a Sunday so I was with all my friends and church family. Twice.

. . . the Cowboys actually won. And I cared.

. . . my favorite Starbucks drink delivered by my best friend to wake me up.

. . . an era of Facebook where it reminds friends you never see or haven't seen in years to tell you "Happy Birthday!" All day. :)

. . . an afternoon of laying around and nothing to do.

. . . a day off from working. Well, kinda.

. . . an evening of thankfulness spent at my church's Thanksgiving feast with all my favorite food and as many helpings as my stomach can take.

. . . reminders of my special day by my sweet kids.

. . . generous gifts from special friends and family, knowing exactly what I needed or wanted.

. . . all combined to be reminders of the many undeserved blessings the Lord has given me and wants me to pay forward!

So . . . what does THIS year hold? Only God knows, and I am thankful He has me in a place where I trust His plan and hold on to His sovereign hand. I pray only that He continues to mold me into the servant, wife, mother, friend, daughter, and sister He wants me to be.

"Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows."

James 1:17

Mario and Princess Peach

. . . Farmer Cunningham. :)

Gracie and Gracie: :)

Wes and Gianna:

My Hero

I'm always so proud when I am able to share with Greg in his things for work. I went to his annual awards banquet. It was also time for his 10-year pin! Way to go Babe! I love you and am proud of all the lives you touch and SAVE all the time. You amaze me.

The 10 year certificate (years of service didn't make the stage this year . . .

you don't want to hear my opinion on that). :)

Station 5 Crew (-1):

Annual video:

My hero (and me):

Packing Weekend with Bethany Ministries

After a terrific weekend of visiting with, staying with and learning more about Bethany Ministries with Sherrie, Debbie and Ricky while at our church's Global Missions Weekend, we took advantage of the opportunity to get more involved. We drove down to Kountze, TX and helped pack boxes of medical supplies, clothes, and books that are going to be shipped, God willing, to Zimbabwe, Africa at the end of the year. It was a privilege to get involved and we hope to continue to do so in different ways throughout the years!

OUR NEW HOME!!

Down on the farm . . .

So, all I can say is, the Lord is amazing and loves to give good gifts to His children. What an unbelievable blessing to have been able to move here. Lots of space for the kids to play, the "little house" for my photography office and future studio as well as multiple outdoor spots for picture-taking. God is good!

The "Robin Cunningham Photography" sign pointing to my office: :)

The back:

The walkway:

SOCCER!

Wes and his sports. He loves them. And he loves soccer. :) It is also very good for him . . . great energy release! Not sure how long the soccer sport will last since he will have to start choosing soon, but for now we love watching him grow physically and learning to work with others in this way!

New Family Member

Meet . . . Ellie. :) Half husky, half lab.

First Tooth!

September of the 5th is usually set aside just for Mop's birthday . . . and we did celebrate her 60th this year! :) But it is now the day that Wes lost his first tooth! And it was pulled out by none other than his cousin Everett! What a cool combination!

Kindergarten and 2nd grade!

Well, it's a big year. Both kids in school for the first time. Although I'm looking forward to some much-needed sanity, I must admit I will miss having at least one home each day. I am a sentimental person and new chapters always bring much reflection for me looking back.

I choose not to focus on regret. The days of not being able to get work done because little feet and hands were needing watching almost every minute, of being frustrated by being interrupted every time I tried to get up early in order to have a quiet time, of having to lug 1 or 2 extra people around everywhere I went, etc. . . I admit I do think on those and others (obviously) briefly, but I try and focus on being thankful for all those years at home and pray God used the good for their good and the not-so-good at what I did I pray they are only better because of it, not worse. I'm not so naive as to think they possibly have a few bad habits because of my example, but His Word promises to "cause all things to work together for the good of those who love Him, who are called according to His purpose." (Romans 8:28) Hopefully they picked up more on the positives.

I already find myself gazing sadly and longingly at those momma's in Target and Wal-Mart with their little ones; knowing it was only a few short years ago (or one) that I too was there, able to enjoy those sweet faces. . . . Ahh . . . . And then I'm quickly reminded of what a nightmare it was taking a 3 and 1 year old to the grocery store! Wes and his screaming fits to ride in a certain cart, Gracie complaining the whole time about wanting to go home. . . so maybe I don't miss exactly THAT.

But I do miss the long mornings laying in bed with 2 little ones watching Dora, drinking their sippy cups of milk. I miss watching them play together in their rooms - especially making music with the toddler piano. The funny things they would say, the chubby cheeks I would squeeze, the tiny shoes, the places we could go together during the day when all the big kids were in school . . .

When 2:30 rolls around, I usually have been watching the clock for at least an hour, ready for them to be influenced and played with by Mom and Dad instead of who knows who or what! It is quite a shock that for so long you knew what your child did, went, played with, said, ate and saw every second of every day to the disturbing realization that for 7 hours a day, you have absolutely no idea about most of those things. Talk about the building of your faith.

"For faith is the assurance of things hoped for (for them to glorify God in all they do and say), the certainty of things not seen (that they do glorify God in all they say and do)." (Hebrews 11:1) We as parents can only do so much. And parenting is a slow process of letting go every step of the way. You stop nursing, they start walking, you drop them off at Mother's Day Out, you take them to a friend's house, several days of preschool, and then school 5 days a week ,7 hours a day. The toddler years are so imperative; I've heard it said so many times. And yet our job continues and increases in many ways when they are in school. What you've taught them about being a friend, sharing, talking about Jesus, using "wholesome talk," etc. Now it's show time. But they are still in training. Aren't we all? We're here to "run the race with perseverance," to "fight the good fight of faith." We aren't done until we see our Savior face to face. And so we train and we train our children to train themselves.

May we be able to teach our children in such a way that they too can say the same as Paul,

"For I am already being poured out as a drink offering, . . . I have fought the good fight, I have finished the course, I have kept the faith; In the future there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day; not only to me, but also to all who have loved His appearing."

2 Timothy 4:6-8

Colorado Trip - July 2010

We had a wonderful time in Colorado on our first family trip with our pop-up camper cross-state. I must admit I was quite on edge thinking about the possibilities of bears and making sure food and utensils were put away adequately each meal. But I finally relaxed eventually and we had a great time hiking, picnicking, attending Ranger sessions and making s'mores!

Here are some photo highlights:

Snow in summer!

Momma's first try at cooking cinnamon rolls over the campfire.

Rain won't stop our s'more making!

One of our many lunch picnics while hiking:

I think it's technically a squirrel but we thought more a chipmunk;

they were not afraid to come right up and follow us:

First hike:

First Ranger program; learning about the destructive tree beetle:

LOTS of mule deer:

Fun at the campsite with what we called "sling ball":

Gracie's Baptism & Concert

We couldn't be more proud or more thankful . . .

(Please forgive the camerawoman -

I was taking pictures and videoing at the same time!):

She sang 3 songs but I only had enough space to record one-

my favorite!

Catching Up

Wow! Has it really been since October?! I'm going to do some back-dating on this thing.

Let's see. I need to cover Halloween, Thanksgiving camping, Christmas, all the snow, Gracie's bday, the Daddy-Daughter Valentine Dance, camping at spring break, Easter and Wes' bday. Gotta lotta work to do. Good thing I gave up TV for lent (well, for God, but that's a whole other post) and I haven't started back yet. :)

Here we go . . .

Wes' Easter Party

His last Easter party . . . :(

Sweet baby boy.

Eggs!!

Spring Break!

Camping spring break with the Skinner family at Eisenhower State Park.

Fishing . . . way to go Kathy!

The kids LOVED their s'mores every night!

The play tent!