Bad Blogger.....

Hi all,

I just recently ready my BFF blog it was saying something crazy...she's a bad blogger and I was ROFLMBO!!!!! If she thinks she's bad then what does that make me???? Honestly she's the best! And without even knowing it gave me a swift kick in the pants to post another blog on my own page!

My DD played soccer for the first time this Spring and really seemed to enjoy herself. I have to admit that there is a small little part of me hoping that the soccer bug will bite her just as it did me at that age. (4) Since neither of my boys really got into soccer my last hope was with my DD. She's so much like I was at that age, very quick and left footed! Awesome!!! Anyway, I am not sure she's completely sold on the whole soccer idea but at least she gave it a good try. She goes back and forth from "yes I want to play again and no, I just want to do baseball"....go figure! So all that to say here are a few pics of her soccer days.....
'Although in most of those pics it seems she's using her right foot which will make her an even better soccer player...LOL!!! Being able to use both feet is much harder than it seems! She also enjoyed playing the "dog catcher" which is what our really cool coach called the goalie. We really lucked out in the coach department this time!!! That is SO RARE!!!!! Here are some pics of her in the "dog house"....the goal.

Well, that's it for the soccer post....I am trying to find some pics of me at that age to compare so maybe I'll have one of those up one of these days.

Thanks to my BF for gettin' my rear in gear! Let's just hope I can keep it up!

DS #2 6th Birthday

Here are some pics of the other half of the pool party birthday. We celebrated my DS#2's 6th birthday on that day too. He's was officially 6 on April 24th....


Here are the awesome cupcakes that were done for him....


Here are a few pics of him on the water slide....some how I missed him coming down any other time but he did eventually go down all by himself and he was very proud of himself as was I.

Here he is enjoying his gifts....thanks to all who came and thanks to all who gave gifts. It was a great party and everyone had a great time. Happy Birthday my sweet boy! I love you!!!

Spring Break at The Ft. Worth Zoo

Here are some pictures of our trip to the Ft. Worth Zoo during Spring Break. We had a lot of fun and I love the Ft Worth Zoo. The kids and I went by ourselves and we truly had a great time! They were so well behaved and really liked seeing all the animals. We took our own food and drinks and that makes life so much easier. We had a whine free day and it was a true blessing to get to spend time with my kids like that. I find myself always dwelling on the things that they do to make me a little nuts and I kick myself when I realize how much that affects the way I treat them. This day reminded me that I have 3 of the best kids and I NEED to look all the good rather than the bad. When it comes down to it their goodness outweighs their bad by country mile! The Lord has blessed me with 3 kids with spirits that are as sweet as they come. They love the Lord and love their family and friends with all of their hearts. I thank God everyday for my kids and I could not imagine my life without them! THANK YOU LORD!!!!

This is DS#1 and DD....they really do love each other. He especially loves his little sister, she'll be well protected when she gets older...;)
Here is DS#2 and DD...they are best buddies. She's really misses him since he started kindergarten this year....


Here they are observing the "primates"....the monkeys
Next was the...



They love the Elephants and then the girraffes...

They also love the tigers and lions....that's what is so great about this zoo. You can almost always see everything they have there....did I say that I love the Ft Worth Zoo???



Have you ever seen a zoo without a HUGE flamingo habitat???


It was such a great day! Can't wait to go back....anyone wanna' go???

I have so many more great pictures but could not get them all uploaded. Any chance you get to go to the zoo...take it!

I'm back....My baby girl's 4th Birthday!

WOW!!! I can't believe how long it has been since I last posted anything. At least I've finally admitted to myself that I am not as good at blogging as I am at Face Book! I do have lots of pictures to post so hopefully I get some new stuff up here. I'll start with these....

These are pictures from DD's "family" birthday party. We had such a nice time and she seemed to have a good time. The cake was made by my friend, Sherri, and it was FABULOUS!!!

She got her pink Leapster and was so happy! Now she feels like she's just like her brothers.

Then we had her "friends" party which was combined with DS #2's birthday as well (i'll post his pics later) We had the party at the Lancaster Rec Center. It is one of the best places to have a party! It suits "kids" of all ages. Here are the cup cakes we had for her. Once again Sherri out did herself...and just like the cake these were FABULOUS too! (wait until you see the pic of DS #2 cupcakes!)

The second pic is DD with her best girlfriends! And the last is the one right after going down the big slide w/ her daddy! I can't believe she's already 4....time sure does fly!

I LOVE YOU MY SWEET ANGEL GIRL!!! To the moon and back and the stars and back biiiiiiiig much!

HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY!

HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY! Just wanted to make a post, since it's been over a month, and because I have something to actually blog about!

I received the best kind of Valentine this year. A SURPRISE!!! I was told early in the week by my DH to pack an overnight bag for each of the kids and one for me. That's it! No specifics or details. I was so excited, it's something I've asked him to do for years and prayers have been answered!

He actually took time out of his busy work schedule to plan something. For me, that speaks volumes. It makes me feel very loved and important.

So Friday afternoon after we get all loaded into the car and start to our destination, unknown even to the kids, my head started trying to figure out where we were going. As we took a familiar route I figured out we were dropping off the kids at my in-laws....YEAH!!! I did not say a word because the kids were just as excited as I was about the surprise. When we pulled into their drive way they all three sqealed with delight and were so excited to be at Mena and Papoo's and inside I was squealing too!!! So we got the kids dropped off and they would have been happy if we would have just kicked em' to the curb and left. We could not leave fast enough for them, which is something that makes me so happy. I love that they love their grandparents that much.

So we start out on our destination and I still have no clue as to where we're going. I had on jeans and boots so I knew it wasn't too fancy of a place but the sheer fact that I'd get to enjoy a hot meal with just my husband was fine with me. So we did stop for dinner and enjoyed ourselves and it was so nice to have a conversation and good food. After dinner we got back into the car and headed towards Ft. Worth.....still NO CLUE!!! We could be going anywhere! As we near down town Ft. Worth, my mind wondering where it is we're going, this route started to look familiar. Just when I thought I had it figured out....we turned. However we turned around and the familiarity was once again there. As we got near a very familiar place that had a lot of significance to our relationship I asked "are we going to Billy Bob's"? To some you may think "Billy Bob's"???? (the largest "honky tonk" in the US) But to me it was perfect because that is the place we met 14 years ago. There are so many fond memories of our dating life there. We'd go and dance every Friday and Saturday night and sometimes even Thursday's. If I do say so myself, WE WERE GOOD, and WE STILL GOT IT!!! Except the fact that we left there around 9:00 p.m. and back in the day that's the time we were just getting started! LOL!!! We had so much fun and it's nice to know that I can still boot scoot and jitterbug pretty much like the good ol' days. So once we left there and headed back towards down town Ft. Worth we made our way to the place DH had made reservations....The newly renovated Omi hotel. It was so beautiful and the room was gorgeous. We went out and walked the streets of down town, Sundance Square, holding hands. That too was a place we'd go to a lot. Dinner and a movie sometimes with friends. It brought back a lot of memories for both of us. Then this morning we got to go out to breakfast, once again with no kids!!!! It was the BEST Valentine's Day ever!!!

This surprise will last so much longer than a vase full of flowers. It just goes to show it really is
THE THOUGHT THAT COUNTS!!!

HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY!!!!

What Kind of Wife am I???

I got this from my good friends blog who got it from one of her cyber friends...
This was fun! I promise I did not cheat and I "dare" you to take the challenge! Be sure to come back and leave me a comment that you did it so I can see "What Kind of Wife" you are!

101 As a 1930s wife, I am Very Superior Take the test!

Interview Me

So, I got this idea from a good friend mine. It's a pretty neat idea. She has emailed me 5 questions. I will answer those and then, if you want to join in, leave me a comment asking me to interview you. I will send you some questions for you to answer on your blog. Fun, huh? Don't all jump up at once....and be prepared....I might ask you to interview me right back. :D

1. You are on your dream vacation. Where are you? I'd have to say somewhere in the Caribbean or Hawaii. It would be one of those all inclusive places, very high end(like celebrities go to). The dream part is that my hubby and I would have an endless supply of money. We'd be able to anything and everything we wanted....shop, water sport activities, golf and eat. The second part would be that about the second or third week we would invite some of our close friends to come join us all on our dime!

2. You are on the table, undergoing plastic surgery. What are you having done? Believe it or not I've thought about this a lot. It's something I'd actually do if I thought I was deserving enough to spend the money on it. I'd go from head to toe! Get my teeth fixed, lipo, breast implants (not too big and they'd have to look natural) and whatever else they could do all my body parts back in their original places! LOL!!

3. What do you want to be when you grow up? That's a hard one for me. It's pretty sad to say but I don't have aspirations like that. I never have. About the only thing I've thought about being was a girls basketball coach. I wanted to be like the coaches I had growing up. They were a huge influence on my life and so much more than just a "coach". I wanted to be able to be that for young girls.

4. You only have 1 food that you can eat for the rest of your life....what's for dinner? A plump and juicy cooked to perfection, T-bone steak!

5. You are an actress....who is your leading man? This too is a hard one for me....seeing as how I am such a TV/Movie actor junkie. I know way to much about this particular subject from professional info to personal but if I had to choose I have 3 that would be my dream but of those my top one would be Tom Hanks.

Hi friends,

I am back but not for long. Just wanted to say that I hope you all had a very Merry Christmas and a safe and Happy New Year!! Ours was great and we were so happy to be with our friends and family and knowing we'd be back near them very soon made it just a bit sweeter!

I am now packing boxes, making tons of phone calls and trying to get ready to move "home". So, it will be another two weeks or so before I will post again....unless I get some time to do it before then. Please keep us in your prayers that everything goes smoothly.

Thanks! TTYL! :0)

I just wanted to make a quick post and say that it'll be a couple of weeks before I get back on and blog. We'll be out of town for Christmas and probably won't be back to our house here in Magnolia until Christmas break is over. Then it will be packing and trying to get the school transfer taken care of. Not that it's that unusual that I go a long period of time between posts but this time I have a real excuse! LOL!! So, until I get back MERRY CHRISTMAS and HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!!!

Love and blessings,
Tracie

The Cactus Cuties sing Amazing Grace

I loved these girls when I saw their video of them singing the National Anthem a few years ago at at Texas Tech basketball game. This is a more recent video of them.

Amazing Grace is one of my favorite hyms.
Hope you enjoy! Merry Christmas!

Home....I'm going home!

WOW!!! I still can't believe how awesome God is! Just when you think you've got things all figured out, things change. I personally feel like that's God's way of reminding me that I don't control anything. After being away from home, Red Oak, for almost a year I was getting settled and really okay with the original plan for us to be here at least two years. We've had one almost homecoming but even then I did not feel like it was God's timing and when it fell through I was sad but I was also sure that here was where we were meant to be at that time. Since then I really made an effort to make this place "home" and in that I made some new friends, those who I will miss a lot. However, I feel very confident in my spirit that this is truly God's timing and plan for our family. The last year has been a great growing year for me. I have learned a lot about myself, learned even more about who I was created to be, and how to achieve that. The people that God placed in my life here have been so amazing. Through my "Just Moved" bible study I learned how much moving can really affect you and your family and how to make the best of situations that we don't necessarily like. How to seek out the reasons that you get placed where God puts you. I have developed a huge desire to start hosting a ladies bible study in my home. I have about three already in mind that I'd love to do. There is also a huge ministry opportunity to bring "Just Moved" into the Red Oak area. That is something I'd love to work on. I have learned a lot about my marriage and how to be grateful and thankful rather than a complainer and thinker of the old phrase "the grass in greener on the other side". Don't get me wrong I am still a huge work in progress but this move has given me the tools and lessons and the direction that I need to become the wife, mother, and friend that I was created to be.

So, I just want to say thank you Lord for all you've done for me. Thanks to all of my "old" friends that let me know that I was not forgotten. Thank you to my "new" friends for accepting me and you all will NOT be forgotten.

May each of you be blessed this Christmas and may your 2009 be the best year for you yet!

I Must Apologize.....SORRY!

Well obviously as you all can see I have not posted again on my Beauty by the Book. I really,really,really wanted to post on this daily.....okay twice a week......well at least once a week. Not really working for me right now. I thought I'd let you all know that it's just not going to happen right now. There is a lot of craziness (as I am sure I am NOT alone) going on in the Perkins house these days and I just can't get my stuff together. I don't want it to be rushed and just thrown out there, I want to make sure that what I choose to share is good and most importantly from God and not me. So, I am going to wait and finish that series up once I get things back to "normal" around here. Thanks for understanding! Much love and lots of prayers to you all!

Tracie

A Letter to Santa

I got this in an email from a friend and thought it was so cute and so true. p.s. if you let any of your little ones that still believe don't let them read this....

Dear Santa,
I've been a good mom all year. I've fed, cleaned and cuddled my children on demand, visited their doctor's office more than my own doctor, sold sixty-two cases of candy bars to raise money to plant a shade tree on the school playground. I was hoping you could spread my list out -- over several Christmases.

Since I had to write this letter with my son's red crayon, on the back of a receipt in the laundry room between cycles; and who knows when I'll find any more free time in the next 18 years, so now - -

*** Here are my Christmas wishes ***

* I'd like a pair of legs that don't ache (-in any color, except purple, which I already have) and arms that don't hurt or flap in the breeze; but are strong enough to pull my screaming child out of the candy aisle in the grocery store.

* I'd also like a waist, since I lost mine somewhere in the seventh month of my last pregnancy.

* If you're hauling big-ticket items this year, I'd like fingerprint resistant windows and a radio that only plays adult music; a television that doesn't broadcast any programs containing talking animals; and a refrigerator with a secret compartment behind the crisper where I can hide to talk on the phone.

* On the practical side, I could use a talking doll that says, 'Yes, Mommy' to boost my parental confidence, along with two kids who don't fight and three pairs of jeans that will zip all the way up without the use of power tools.

* I could also use a recording of Tibetan monks chanting, 'Don't eat in the l iving room' and 'Take your hands off your brother,' because my voice seems to be just out of my children's hearing range and can only be heard by the dog.

* If it's too late to find any of these products, I'd settle for enough time to brush my teeth and comb my hair in the same morning, or the luxury of eating food warmer than room temperature without it being served in a Styrofoam container.

*If you don't mind, I could also use a few miracles to brighten the holiday season. Would it be too much trouble to declare ketchup a vegetable? It will clear my conscience immensely.

*It would be helpful if you could coerce my children to help around the house without demanding payment as if they were the bosses of an organized crime family.

Well, the buzzer on the dryer is ringing, and my son saw my feet under the laundry room door. I think he wants his red crayon back. Have a safe trip Santa, and remember to leave your wet boots by the door, and come in and dry off, so you don't catch cold. Help yourself to cookies on the table, but don't eat too many or leave crumbs on the carpet.
Yours always with love and appreciation,
A Mom

P.S. One more thing . . You can cancel all my requests, if you can keep my children 'young' enough to believe in Santa.

C.O.D.

I took this idea from my BF...hope she does not mind. This song makes my heart sing. ENJOY!!!!

Beauty by The Book

Okay, so as promised I am beginning a little blog series on a Bible study that I had the pleasure of going through this past "semester". I will start off by saying that I do not pretend or even think that I am a teacher nor do I pretend to know it all. I just wanted to take the opportunity to share with those of you that read regularly and anyone else who may stumble upon my blog what I have learned through this study. When I heard the name of this study I was not sure what it was all about but after the first day I was hooked. I want you to know that I was convicted about something EVERY week of this study. God is so amazing and he spoke to me through this very clearly, probably the most clear I've ever heard Him. I hope you enjoy and if you ever get the chance to do the actual study....DO IT!!!!

Introduction:

Have you ever thought about beauty from a biblical standpoint? Most of think of beauty in the physical sense and that tends to lead to vanity. I never really had read all of Proverbs but through this study Proverbs spoke to me. I've never been very good at understanding what most of the scriptures in the Bible mean. I don't like to admit it but that is one thing that keeps me from reading my Bible daily and often is the reason I don't "complete" a whole Bible study. Well, these scriptures in Proverbs leave little room for misunderstanding and I give praise to God that these words were so clear to me.

Please bare with me and my "wordiness" I will do my best not to ramble but this intro is a little long....

The author of this study is Laurie Cole. She's as "Texan" as they come. She is a very wise teacher and one that speaks boldly and speaks the truth no matter what. In the introductory paragraphs she talks a little about how if you would have asked her if she ever thought she'd do a study on beauty...."How shallow", "Wrong"! However God changed her mind and showed her that God wants ALL of his daughters to be beautiful-biblically beautiful, that is.

She gives a warning that this Bible study contains material that may be deemed offensive by women (even you), but she's writing it anyway....Study at your own risk!

She also warns that God's Word is powerful. It has the power to reprove and correct, to judge and offend, and to pierce us to the very quick of our hearts (2 Timothy 3:16, Hebrews 4:12). Also, In today's world God's Word seems ("seems" not "is") old-fashioned and out-dated. So, adopting God's definition on beauty will require us to swim against some very strong cultural currents....Now we begin

Physical Beauty vs. Biblical Beauty

Physical Beauty...

1. Is God- Given. Ezekiel 16:4-13
2. Is attention - getting. Ezekiel 16:14
3. Is pride - inducing. Ezekiel 16:15
4. Is spiritually corrupting Ezekiel 16:15-18

Biblical Beauty:

1. Is God - Given. 1 Peter 3: 3-4
2. Is gentle and quiet. 1 Peter 3: 3-4
3. Is precious in God's sight. 1 Peter 3: 3-4
4. Is unfading and eternal. 1 Peter 3: 3-4

Question: How do you become a biblically beautiful woman of God?

Answer: By beholding God and upholding the standard of HIS Word.

Things to think about as you read over these scriptures and start your journey to become a biblically beautiful woman...

When God looks at us He thinks we are beautiful!

Physical beauty is not a bad thing but it can be DANGEROUS!!!!

This study takes you through 5 days of studying and then we'd have a video lesson during our group time. I will do my best to blog each day as if you were doing the actual lessons and then on day 6 I will blog about the video session. Please forgive me in advance if I don't always get these things out on time....So on "day one" we'll discuss the 5 Beauty Dos and Don'ts.

As with each day before you being studying in this Laurie always reminds us to begin with prayer and ask for wisdom....we'll learn about "her" tomorrow as well.

Until then I hope I've gotten you intrigued enough to want to "tune" in daily. Pass the word on to your other blogging friends, who knows what God will do with all of this. I can't wait to see!!!!

Prayers and Blessings,
Tracie

Do You Know Her????

Do you know the Proverbs 31 Woman? I have heard about her for the last few years from my BF and knew that she desired to be her but I did not share the same sentiment. Well, has that all changed! You know God is sneaky! Since moving here to Magnolia I have had the opportunity to attend more bible studies than ever before. The church we attend here offers many bible studies throughout the year and I've had the privilege to attend a few of them. Last spring I did a bible study from the book Intimate Issues and let me tell you the Proverbs 31 woman is ALL over that one! I was convicted more than once but honestly I did not read the actual book. I can only imagine what convictions I'll receive when I get through the actual pages and not just from the speaker. However I did not really put forth any effort to change those convictions...Then this semester our nursery staff bible study was called Beauty by the Book by Laurie Cole. I had never heard of this speaker but she's from Houston. (in all honesty I'd really only heard of Beth Moore) This bible study was AWESOME!!!!! I recommend it to anyone who has the opportunity to do it. Not only was this study about the Proverbs 31 woman but about 5 different types of women....Beauty Do's and Beauty Don't s according to Proverbs. It was the most eye opening, heart grabbing, and gut wrenching study I've ever done. I have done much better at applying the things I've learned the past 6 weeks than I did with the Intimate Issues study...but apparently not enough! Yesterday our church held its annual Holiday Market. It's a one day event with a lot of different vendors that we get to go around and shop at their booths, a luncheon and a special guest speaker. It's just for ladies and it was so much fun. The speaker was Michelle McKinney Hammond, a lady I'd never heard of but guess what she spoke on.....PROVERBS 31! She had some things to say that made once again realize that there is a reason the Lord keeps putting this in front of me. See I told you God was sneaky! LOL!!! I have talked about the Beauty by the Book study with my BF and told her I how much I loved it and that I was going to start blogging about it but I never started. After yesterday I feel even more lead to share the wonderful things I've learned from that study with all of you in hopes that the Lord will use it to bless you and open your eyes to things you may not even be aware of. That is what it did for me!!! So starting after Thanksgiving I will share from the bible study and pray that it will reach those in need and bless many other ladies just as I have been blessed.

I do want to share this one thing that Michelle McKinney Hammond said yesterday that I think is very important about this Proverbs 31 woman....she was not made into that woman in ONE day, it took many seasons of her life!

May you all have a very blessed Thanksgiving and enjoy the time you spend with your loved ones! Thanks for reading but most of all thanks for being my friends!

I love you!!!!

Pizza... Pizza

I thought it would be fun to share what we had for dinner last night. Pizza, but it was pizza that the kids made themselves. A friend of mine had a fund raiser for one of her children and they sold the Little Caesar's Pizza kits along with their crazy bread and cinna stix. I used to love Little Caesar's Pizza but they are not around much anymore. Since my DH is out of town I thought it would be fun if I let the kids do thier own pizza and then we made the cinna stix for dessert....It was a lot of fun and YUMMY!!!! If you ever get a chance to buy from this fund raiser I suggest you buy some pizza kits!


YUMMY YUMMY TO MY TUMMY!!!!!

Our Weekends

Just thought you might be curious about our weekends here in the BIG city of Magnolia, Texas. For us it pretty much consists of a Saturday and Sunday filled with baseball games. To some it may not sound like a lot of fun but for me it is what I dreamed of when I would dream of becoming a mom. I remember my childhood so vividly and most of it was spent on the soccer field or the basketball court. I also remember my parents being at just about every game I ever had and that was a lot! Between my brother and I it was non-stop. I now have a much greater appreciation for what my parents did for me. Now, I used to think that I'd have little mini me's on the soccer field but that has not happened ( I am still holing out for DD) so we've settled in the world of baseball. Who knew 5 and 6 year old baseball could be so exciting? Well we've found out that it can be VERY exciting. Not so much with DS#2(yet!) but with DS#1 it's CRAZINESS!!! We've been blessed with some very gifted and great coaches. Once DS#2 gets to the same level it will be almost too much to handle. These boys are having so much fun and that is the main reason it gets so exciting. Our coaches make sure that they are being taught the proper fundamentals of the game but also make sure they have a lot of fun. My dear hubby takes all he learns from DS#1's team and teaches it to DS#2's team. That description alone is worth another blog (ah haaa moment! yeah) Be looking for that one.... Anyway, DS#1's team is doing quite well as this is the first season for these particular boys to play together. I thought I'd share some pics of both DS#1 and#2 so you all could see them in their element!

Gig Em' Aggies...

GO STANGS!!!!

There you have it. The exciting life of a "Baseball Mom"!