HELLO Kitty!

I cannot believe Laura Beth is 4 years old! She is so grown up. We have enjoyed these past 4 years that God has blessed us with her life. She enjoyed her party so much. She was completely exhausted (as you can tell in most of the pictures) from jumping, running, yelling, etc. It was a great time!

9 1/2 months

Julie Ann has been a blessing to our family! Periodically throughout the last 9 1/2 months (ish, I'm a little behind on the blogging), I have missed opportunities to be thankful God's blessing of Julie Ann, as she was challenging for us (mainly, more challenging for me). However, ultimately I have forgotten most of the difficult moments and I love Julie Ann more and more every day. 

She's laughing here, it's pretty cute to hear it.

She started saying "da da da" in a sweet high pitched voice. Steve eats it up. Now, when I want her to say  "ma ma," then she says, "da da." nice. Steve eats that up too. ha! We are getting ready for Laura Beth's birthday party this weekend. Hello! Hello Kitty. 

Boot camp!

I am usually a pic blogger...meaning my entries ALWAYS have a pic. But today, that isn't gonna happen. Just wanted to let the blogging world know about the new activity happening at the Mears' home during the girl's nap time. POST NATAL BOOT CAMP is what Mrs. Mears will be doing several days a week during the nap times at this household. Yes, 9 months...read that again NINE MONTHS post natal and I have begun to exercise again. I started today and WOW, I know why they call it Boot Camp. I even did the "beginner" exercises (you know, the leader in the back of the video BARELY moving).

Well, I'm excited about it. However, I dread it at the same time. Still, the dvd cost me $11.99 with free shipping through Amazon. I have no reason NOT to do the exercise. It didn't cost too much. I didn't have to drive to the gym. I don't have children to watch (nap time). AND it only takes 30 ish minutes. I cannot believe that 30 minutes makes my legs and abs feel like they do. This is definitely a sign that I needed to begin to exercise again.

For some reason, Steve won't do the video with me. I'm assuming it's the title of the workout thats holding him back. ha!

Meche's Kingcakes!

While living in MS and TX, I always wanted a good king cake around this time of year. However, the Kroger bakery and Walmart bakery king cakes just didn't live up to my expectations. Here in Louisiana, they obviously know how to make a good king cake. Yesterday, I had the MOST divine cream cheese king cake. THanks to my friend Amber who let us know about the place. Meche's donut house is by far the best king cake I have ever tasted. They are located in Lafayette, LA. We were there for a youth function. I wonder if they deliver?

Glory goes to God alone

This video is from Thanksgiving. We are very thankful for cousins. Even though they don't get to hang out every day, when they are together they have so much fun!

We give God all the glory for our wonderful family and for His wonderful gift of life to us.

Magic Christmas Lights

So, last year in Fort Worth, we saw an amazing light show. The house was in a typical neighborhood, but we LOVED seeing the lights and music together. This year in Alexandria, I was doubtful that we would find such a show. However, tonight...we found one! I LOVED it. I think a little more than the fort worth show because it had a real train on tracks...and more. I was impressed and so was Laura Beth! See the video, but better yet...see it in person. 5201 Argonne Blvd. Alexandria. It's pretty awesome, I think.

Jesus' House

Lately, Laura Beth has been thinking a lot about Jesus. Understandable since, she learns about Him at church, school, and home. In December, she obviously knows His birthday is coming soon. She will probably attend 4 Jesus Birthday parties in the next week. ha! That being said, we have been house hunting (ugh!) and praying to God for His direction as to the house He thinks is best for us. So, we have prayed with Laura Beth in our car in front of a couple homes that we were trying to make decision about. Today, as Steve was driving to one of the homes to view, Laura Beth begins the following conversation:

LB-"Daddy, is Jesus real?"
Steve- "yes"
LB- "Where is He?"
Steve- "He is Everywhere."
By now, Laura Beth is probably wondering about Jesus' HOUSE, because we always look at houses.
LB-Where does He live?
Steve- "He lives in Heaven, but He is everywhere too. And He is with us now, and thats why we talk to Him. He hears us."

At this point, Steve started to talk to her about Prayer. He started to tell her about why we pray at the houses, etc.

I wish I could have been there to hear her voice and this conversation between these two people I love so much. God is so wonderful!