When Jesus washed (when Jesus washed) ... He washed my sins away!

It was beyond wonderful to be back at "our" church this week for Sunday services. (Not that we have any complaints about our "temporary" church of the last year and a half or so.) But we have so missed hearing Pastor George's messages and fellowshipping with our friends that we've made over the last 4 1/2 years. What was even more wonderful though was being there as a family. The 4 of us all there together. AMAZING! After church, we rushed back to the house to get it prepared, as is possible when you've only lived there for a week, for our company of almost 30 to join us. We potlucked and egg hunted and talked and laughed and wrestled. It was tons of fun! The following day we decided to repeat and had anyone who could join us from our old bible study/small groups come visit with the Owen Clan and eat dinner together. It was a bit chaotic but all in all we once again had an enjoyable time!

some sit and eat and talk, while others search for the elusive eggs and others search for the perfect Easter picture!
boy were we all glad mr. owen was here to wrestle and wrangle the kiddo's into some form of submission!
manly men, doing manly things
some of the ladies from our small group chit chatting in the den/family room/kid's room
while the adults talk the kids take over the master bedroom and try out the American Idol dance mat!
nearing the end of the evening, keith breaks out the Wii and we let the kids take turns testing out their mad gaming skills
it was quite the hit with some grown-ups as well as the kids and very fun to watch!

O' HAPPY DAY!

So I thought that I would try and post some pictures of what has made me happy lately. As most of you know, we are now in our home and have already had the pleasure of out of town guests as well as hosting Easter and a get together of our old Small Group from church. I thought instead of telling about all these things I would post pictures with some brief captions!

jane anne comforting thomas and david who had taken a spill in the spring snow
our close, close friends - The Owens
jane anne & myself enjoying Keith's homemade wine - i'm holding Elsie
bummer - my adorable pic of all the kids bundled up and ready to head out to enjoy the "spring snow" didn't stay turned upright!
it's a race to see who can make it down the slick steps first and out into the yard
let's get all bundled up and go out into the snow so that we can stand underneath the big tree and not get snowed on!

sammy attacks the ball and tries to break away from the other girls. she is the one in purple the farthest right.
break time for the Soccer Monkeys - sam listens intently to her coach while she gets a drink of water
savanah at her first game. they are going thru drills before the game starts.
anah racing towards the ball

together once again. the mccoy gang and owen clan. the girls are thrilled that they've added Elsie to "their side". now boys and girls are even!

Stay tuned for some more photos of our two get-togethers. And I might even possibly get a thanks tank in today!

Thursday Thanks #6

I feel as though I have so much to be grateful for and so little time to share my thanks but I'll hurry fast and do my best.

1. Movin' on up - We have started moving boxes and smaller items into our house and I'm so incredibly excited. We even have our guest bed up and ready for our first overnight guests. We also are getting curtains up as well. I even unpacked my silverware, that I haven't seen for 2 whole years, yesterday. Ya'all have no idea how much I LOVE my silverware!
2. HELP - Our friends and family have been so giving of their time to help with so many different things. Watching of our kids, cleaning of our house, loading and unloading of boxes, unpacking of boxes, decor advice, etc. . . Thank you so much to each and every one for their unselfish giving. WE SO APPRECIATE IT!!!
3. Starry skies - Last night I ran outside to grab something from my car and I looked up at the night sky and it was ablaze with the most gorgeous and brilliant stars. I stopped and stared for a brief moment.
4. Sunny days and big puffy white clouds - I suppose the clear, starry nights kind of just lead us into beautifully sunny days without a hint of rain. The big puffy white clouds are just a bonus. Days like these are perfect for moving in!
5. My car - My husbands a hater but I'm a lover and I do really, really love my car! Even though at times it might feel a bit on the small side, I'm very thankful for it. It's paid for (completely - wink, Neen, wink) and it gets great gas mileage and it's a stick and it's comfortable for me.
6. Outdoor sports - I'm thrilled to finally be in that elite and elusive club called - 'Soccer Mom'. Since we were so close to completing our remodel we were finally able to let the girls participate in a school activity. They are both signed up for soccer and have started practice this week.
7. My K.I.S.A - "When I'll be 87, you'll be 89. I'll still look at you like the stars that shine, in the sky. Oh my, my, my!!!" (?????)

HERE WE ARE NOW - ENTERTAIN US!!!!!

Some ranting and raving on a very inconsequential matter -
So I think that I've been pretty honest and straightforward about my TV issues. Yes, I'm a bit of a TVaholic. Tonight one of the new shows we've been watching is already airing it's season finale. Last week (or maybe the week before) Prison Break had it's season finale. But beyond all that I just want to know if any of you are as fed up with the "big wigs" of the major TV networks, like I am? I feel like over the past year or so they've have started canceling shows left and right before even giving them a chance. I think one of my biggest pet peeves (after all my driving pet peeves) is a show that I've invested multiple hours of my time and energy watching - getting canceled and them not even having a chance to "wrap it up". It's like reading hundreds of pages of a book and then there not being any conclusion. I will be completely honest and admit that I have a very hard time every new year not trying to watch every new show. I can't help it. I'm very, very nosy. And I want to be in the know at all times. Now if I don't enjoy a show, I certainly won't continue to watch it but if a show is interesting with different twists and concepts than other shows on the air, I like to give them a chance. Unfortunately as of lately, I don't think that ABC, NBC, CBS, CW or FOX agree with my way of thinking. What is wrong with these people. They can't possibly be TV watchers themselves or they would realize what type of anguish they are putting us through. Wouldn'tcha think? If you don't agree, please be kind when you "put me in my place".
My list of woes is as follows and these do reach back to last year:
The CW canceled both Veronica Mars and The Gilmore Girls and now OTH is in danger of being canceled.
NBC has canceled Daybreak, Journeyman, Las Vegas, Bionic Woman and Friday Night Lights is in danger of being canceled.
FOX canceled K-Ville and both Prison Break and Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles are possibly going to be cancelled.
ABC and CBS have been the kindest so far and are only threatening to cancel a show a piece that I watch. Women's Murder Club (which is a GREAT show) and The Unit (which is also a GREAT show), respectively.
I realize this is very non-significant in the scheme of things but it so annoys me that I decided to vent a little on this subject. Thanks for reading.

P.S.
And I bet ya'all didn't think I knew any Nirvana songs!