UPDATE!

just a quick update for everyone.

we placed a bid on a house in anson, they accepted the bid, and we have now begun the incredibly long and tedious process of buying a house.

we are inspecting it tomorrow or friday (it is a HUGE fixer upper) and if there are too many problems we can still back out up until tuesday.

just a visual for you about our new home (prayfully)

remember the house in "It's a Wonderful Life," well just start calling Jere-George and me Mary. THAT'S how much love and attention this 3400 sq foot, 4 bed 3 bath, 3 fireplace home needs!

please pray, jere says if it comes down to any type of "hoop jumping" needed to get this house, we aren't going too. he believes that God's blessing means smooth sailing through this entire process.

hope your week is "sailing smoothly" as well.

blessings,

cole

i can't be anything without you

my husband is amazing. he makes me laugh, cry, and feel good about myself. he is an excellent provider and an amazing friend and a super father. i cannot imagine any type of life without him, he fills in so many holes and gaps.

with that said, here's a little background. we are scrimping, saving, and praying for God to help us get a home in anson to help our lives be easier in all ways.

today i found out that my husband had secretly sold his beloved clarinet so we would have more money for our house fund.

i am rarely shocked or surprised by jere, he is pretty easy to read and very predictable. he's the kind of guy who can eat the same thing for breakfast every day and never get bored.

this floored me to my very core. jere's clarinet is like another appendage to him, it's part of him, it's the outlet for his inner creativity. i fall in love with him over and over every time i hear him play. when he told me what he had done i cried. i cried hard.

i cried because i would NEVER of ask him to do that, i cried because that was a sacrifice for him on many levels. i cried because once again he choose us, this motley family of too many kids, too many student loans, and too much work with very little pay over himself.

people tease him for marrying me. they ask him why. they ask him how he could have chosen me and those three kids; and he always answers them the same way.

because i love her.

i love you too.

tuesday

uncle dustin's helmet has been on every niece or nephews head!
well there is absolutely nothing going on here and life is bustling about pretty normally for a change. football season ended friday and basketball started yesterday. (blythe lost, a first for her Clyde has a much better BB team than Anson:(

i thought we might see the girls and jere more now that marching season is over but that really isn't the case. he's having to hang out in anson because of basketball. bummer. either they have to be at school by 6 am three days a week or they have to stay late two days of the week. i am seriously getting tired of this.

we really need to move and have begun the steps necessary to get from A to B so to speak. we're either going to buy or rent, we can't decide. he wants to buy, i want to rent (there's a lot to be said for NOT having to pay taxes, insurance, and for repairs on a house) plus i love the freedom of being able to move and change jobs with ease if we needed too.

jere loves his job and loves the small town feel of anson with the knowledge that we can drive 20 min and be in abilene with ease.

anyway, just pray for God's guidance in our lives to make the right decision.

blessings,

cole

Fall Festivals and Candy

tonight we were invited to our good friend's beau and melissa's church for their annual fall festival. after grabbing some candy and playing a few games we went back to their place for some pizza and orange and black cupcakes (i don't even wanna KNOW what they have to do to make black icing or what it is doing to my children's insides right now!)

the kids were a good fairy, a bad fairy (or to be PC, one that makes poor life choices), anakin skywalker, a ladybug, and a really really cute little tiny lion who was almost perfect from 6-9 (which after last weekend, she owed me)

anyway, hope everyone else had an excellent weekend. oh yeah BTW, jere and i were dressed as the parents of 5 children :)

blessings,

cole

"you're a good band anson high!"

well this weekend we went to north richland hills for the area marching band competition and long story (and long day) short, we came in 5th out of 22 bands and you need to be in the top 4 to continue on to state. we were devastated :(but jere did say the good news is that means we're alternates, "so if everyone on any of the other 4 bands dies or fails we get to go to state!!!"

everyone cried and like jere said i would have rather come in dead last than to know we missed it by 2 points. the good news is that they were awesome and incredible! and i know they say size doesn't matter but the top 4 bands were 100 plus students, we only have 50 so i think we held our own quite well. the kids were great, crushed but great. the biggest bummer is that this is kelsey's last year to compete. blythe however has 2 more chances (which she mentioned to kelsey about 5 bajillion times, don't you just love siblings?)

mom rode down with me for company and staci b showed up for support and we had a really great time. well great time once grandma showed up and REMOVED ella-sophie from the premises. she nor i were at our best saturday, she didn't want to be there, and i didn't want to be the mother of a bratty 16 month old. (yes i said bratty and if you had been there you'd have agreed with me!)

izzy and elle went home with grandma and papa for the afternoon after harry and vanessa had seen the kids march the first time. this was majorly HELPFUL AND APPRECIATED since the entire competition didn't end until midnight. we left at 9:15 to go and get the little ones from saginaw, but jere and the band didn't leave until midnight or even make it back to anson until 3:45 which meant my family didn't get home until 4:30 a.m. :( all and all it was a pretty long weekend.

but i can say this from this whole experience. i understand my husband's job a bit better and appreciate just how hard he works for not only his family but his school and those kids as well.

The cutest band director EVER!!!!



this was a t-shirt the his brass section got him to wear on saturday.




i love you jeremiah, kelsey, and blythe. you guys are awesome and i couldn't be prouder!!!

monday!!!!

okay on monday and tuesdays daddy and the girls stay in anson and don't usually get home before 10 because they have marching practice from 7-9 and since blythe has cheer practice until 5:30 there is really no reason for them to drive the 22 miles in and then back again. they usually eat something off the 99 cent menu at Sonic or with rob (the other band director) and his family.



wednesday night they meet us at church at 6 and of course we have church and come home around 8:30 everyone goes to a seperate class and since i teach jere and i don't even get to hang out. so we really don't spend much time this night either.

thursday night is game night for blythe. jere usually comes home and drops kelsey off to watch the other kids and he and i go to blythe's games til around 9 when they are over.



friday night is football and they don't bother coming home, depending on whether or not it is away or home determines if we will see them that night.

saturday are band or choir competition days and sunday is church.

so today i decided to suprise jere and the girls and have him "meet" me in hawley. hawley is a small town half way between abilene and anson. the suprise was i had made brisket and home-made potato salad and sweet tea and instead of meeting to grab food from me, we actually had a picnic at the elementary school playground.



it was awesome, the only downer was blythe had to stay and finish cheer practice, but the good news was the weather, food, and kids were perfect. we had a great time.



hope your monday's went just as well,

Blessings,

cole

hey brother

spending most of the morning listening to one of my favorite mixes of counting crows, the soundtrack from "so i married an axe murderer", (still one of my all time FAV soundtracks) and blues traveler and it made me think of you.

i just wanted you to know i'm really proud of you and i love you and i miss you brother.

peace, love, light, prayers, and blessings for you,

cole

I'M ALIVE!!!

well i have bravely stood in the trenches bathing hot heads, medicating yucky coughs, and serving up soup and saltines like nobody's business since last wednesday night after church.

my fear and motivation? my drive? THE FLU!!! we didn't want it and i was going to make sure we didn't get it and we DIDN'T!! all of my children (except for kelsey, i guess at 16 you really DO know how to cover a cough and wash your hands and not drink after others) has been sick but with nothing over 72 hours. they've all coughed or ran temp but no flu!!! dr. shah said izzy probably had pneumonia again and for me to medicate as usual (thank God we have a nebulizer at home!)

that was great until saturday night when my fever spiked and I was the one really sick :( but just like the kids i was back up and running by tuesday!

now here's the weird part. ella-sophie has run a fever off and on, never two days consecutively, since last wednesday and yesterday we ran her in to the peds (she is the only one of the kids who has not had the flu shot) to see when we could get one and she has been really, really, really, fussy for the past two nights and just really only wanted to be held. our ped looked at her and said, "well she seems fine to me, but let's just do the swab for flu and strep."

Ella-Sophie has the flu!!! he said she has probably had it since last week and is almost done, but that she is doing really well handling it. she is amazing!!!! today she has napped as usual and snuggled but she is doing pretty good, just wants to be held and i can totally handle that.

through this whole week though JACK has been amazing. jere and the big girls have been gone for games, school, and competitions but he has helped me every inch of the way and been such a BIG BOY!

HOORAY FOR JACKSON!!!! MOMMY LOVES YOU MISTER MAN!!!

hope your weeks are going alright,

cole

Fun on the Tramp!

WHY!!! CAN'T I BE ON THE TRAMPOLINE!!!

well some of you may or may not know this but my mom was just recently diagnosed with diabetes. bam!!! no warning, not change your diet, just take a pill this is serious.

it's actually been an incredible blessing. mom was dragging her feet about getting back into shape and now she has absolutely no reason not too, in fact her life depends upon it. given everything wrong with my dad, he ALWAYS did what his doctor said and we still lost him 12 years ago (in 8 days actually) while this disease IS manageable and my mom will die one day, but not from diabetes. and like my mom said, she has 11 good reasons to comply with her doctors orders (i counted 14, but apparently her grand kids out rate her kids :)

anyway mom has been GREAT about watching what she eats and has started exercising again (she and frank hit the pavement every weeknight, that poor pug huffs and puffs the whole way, but he's dragging mom :) and with that new found spirit of energy we have also seen a wild and crazy marmee out and about with the grand kids giving them a real "what for."

here's some pics from this past weekend, we ran up for the day to hang out, watch satellite (jere and the oldest two are addicts), and have a good ol fashion shrimp boil, which was INCREDIBLE! (thanks mom and pawpaw)

hope your week is going great and everyone is enjoying the rain!!

blessings,

cole

caution, there are actually more than 2 pics in this blog!

between staci, andrea, and danell i think you guys are rubbing off, i've never had this many pics in a post before :) it's just crazy!!!!

>
isabel wanted everyone to see her duck egg she found at the pond with uncle beau sunday. i just liked the shot :) what can i say, i'm partial.

i also wanted to thank you everyone for taking time out of your busy days to send me and my family good thoughts and prayers. i honestly can say that i felt each kind thought from everyone.

this weekend we are going to take it easy. saturday we are doing nothing except for sleeping and the park, sunday is our pastor's 10th anniversary at our church so we have a picnic, then i'm sure we'll have afternoon napping and finally, the girls have monday off so we are going to spend some "quality" time bonding over their closet :) i know they are looking forward to this just as much as me.

please continue to think of us daily as this battle is not over.

on a lighter note here is another cheesy family pic, this time you can actually see our faces :)


blessings and a great weekend,

cole

ps, this last pic was a disaster, but in a good way, that blury bit of camo is our good friend melissa (the kids faux auntie) who came with us to the pond to try to "help" with the baby. she did a great job! how much weight to you suppose jere is supporting :D



AND FINALLY! I THOUGHT I WOULD ALSO SEND A SHOUT OUT TO MY BEAUTIFUL 14 YEAR OLD BABY GIRL BLYTHE. HAPPY BIRTHDAY BEEPS! you arrived 4 weeks early and have not slowed down since. i admire your sense of style, determination, and your continual quest for justice and fairness for the little guy. you are an inspiration and a blessing to your mommy. i love you and am so proud of you baby girl.

Teen-ager

"clowns to the left of me, jokers to the right"

last night we were not the best parents, but considering the teenager's attitude maybe we didn't do so well.

long story short, cell phones and Internet privileges are suspended for now and even though punishment has been doled out NOBODY is happy. i am at a loss and do not know what i need to be doing.

i lost it last night and jere really lost it last night. please pray for some wisdom on our part because we are truly flying blind. we want to be the most capable parents we can be, we're not even shooting for best just okay would be nice.

blessings for your week,

cole

Saturday

well our weekend was crazy, but kelsey's birthday party was a huge success! from the AWESOME and delicious chocolate fountain (which i have decided that every party from now on should have) to our guest singer! ( i "hired" a theater major to ring our doorbell and when kelsey opened it Metrostation song "kelsey" to her, she LOVED IT!)

we karaoked, ate, danced, and acted goofy til midnight. needless to say we were exhausted all day sunday.

she received all kinds of wonderful gifts but i have to mention one gift in particular. her grandma made her a blanket for her birthday, i know you're thinking AND? well this home made quilt had a lovely asian design on one side and (for those of you who don't know kelsey is a major anime nerd) InuYasha scenes on the other side. kelsey went wild for this unique and one of a kind gift. grandma trumped every gift card, t-shirt, and box set (of InuYasha of course) with kelsey's new blankie which she sleeps with every night.

now here's the bad news. i was so busy preparing food, cleaning house, and being a good hostess that i didn't take ANY pics. i know i know, bad mommy BUT my bestie took plenty of pics i just need to get them off of facebook.

anyway, i hope everyone is having a great week so far. a few shout outs before i go . . .

blythe is awesome!

peace to aunt staci, we love and miss you!

congratulations on your new baby girl and "HI, just cause" to andrea!

happy birthday JR, thanks for loaning me bear for the weekend, she was a tremendous help!

love you mom!!

mel, boo, and stacey b, you are the best EVER!

and finally . . .

i love you jeremiah, thank you for helping me, encouraging me, and funding all my insane ventures!

MY INTERNET IS BACK UP!!!

my internet has been down since sunday and it is finally up again. i will be commenting and posting some this weekend especially since saturday night is . . .

KELSEY'S SIXTEENTH BIRTHDAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

peace,


nicole

wacky weekend

well sarah got married this weekend, and everything went off without a hitch. she and jr looked very cute all weekend and we had fun at mom's as well.

i decorated the cake as well as made all the reception food (with the help of my two trusty sidekicks, blythe and kelsey) we had chicken salad and a modified version of my sister-in-law stacey's tuna pasta salad as well as fresh fruit and veggies. it was very good and i am so thankful to everyone that was able to come.

after our whirlwind weekend, we recovered all day monday by sleeping in and doing nothing. it was sooo totally worth it to not have to do anything for 24 solid hours. anywho, we are back to our regular week and hope everyone is having a great wednesday.

blessings,

nicole

hope

i suppose it is the changing of the seasons or maybe just that stolen 15 minutes of light that has already begun as our world gets ready for fall, but i see so many of my family and friends already fighting that all too familiar melancholy feeling that seems to come this time of year.

1 Peter 3:15 says, "always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have."

each night i study different scripture that i believe pertains to something or someone in my life.

i pray.

i listen.

i have hope.

i have been spending about two weeks in the old testament. it's so fasinating and there is so much to learn. jere thinks i'm a closet jew (which could never happen because i love BACON too much). but i think most Christians spend way too much time in the new testament and forget there is even anything at the beginning of their bible after moses. hey that's fine, but just remember that Jesus came to fulfill the law not destroy it. Christians should never forget their Jewish heritage :)

this is my scripture for any of you feeling just a little bit off here lately and need some encouragement. most people know verse 11, but to get the whole idea you really need to read through about 14.

Jeremiah 29:11-14
"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 a hope and a future. Then you will call on me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart and I will be found by you," declares the Lord.

blessings as we each enter into this weekend.

a new season of bounty to you all.

love and prosperity,

nicole