Prayers.....

Hey guys,
I've been subbing like CRAZY up at school. The teachers are all wanting time for shopping and doctor's appointments and all that goes with it, and I'm more than happy to help out!

However, that means my head has been spinning trying to keep up with everything that needs to be done here.

Today is Candy Day -- the one day a year when I do nothing but make candy. The kitchen looks like Wal-Mart -- brown sugar and Eagle Brand and all that jazz piled high. In the midst of Candy Day, though, I have a few things to ask you to pray for.

First, prayers of praise that Elise Goertz is going to Disney World! They leave this Friday. An Angel has made sure her Gramma could go along as well. She's going to Clinic every day this week to make sure she's ready -- please pray that she feels good enough to enjoy this trip. The leukemia is progressing much faster than they ever thought it would.

John Paul Harris and his family also need your prayers. It's so hard to believe this young, vibrant guy who took my baby sister to the prom has ALS. There are signs that his abdomen and chest are beginning to be affected. They need your prayers. Especially for his two small children.

I also have a somewhat selfish prayer request. As a Mom, it's so hard to see your children be disappointed. We place so much pressure on ourselves trying to make sure that happens. Gymnastics evaluations are this week. Kaitlyn bounced up a level last night and could cartwheel her way up another level tomorrow night. Abbie, on the other hand, struggles with the beam and cartwheels and scored a 62 last night -- three points short of the 65 she needed. She gets another chance tomorrow. Please pray that she'll get those points she needs. And if she doesn't, that she'll be able to shake it off and keep working hard. I know they have to deal with disappointment -- but twice in one week may break my heart!!!

Finally, a HUGE prayer of praise! I don't blog about Biggs being out of town, but last week he was in Amsterdam and Turkey. I didn't sleep a lot -- was really worried about security. But he's home safe! Yea God!!!

Thanks for the prayers!
- d.

Don't Forget to Wash Your Back!

Abbie & Kait in the shower. Washing their hair.

Dad, “So, do you wash each other’s back?”
Abbie & Kait, “Nope.”
Dad, “So, how do you clean your back?”
Abbie, with hiney shaking, “We put soap on the wall and wash all up against it.”


The funniest part of this? The cleaning lady has been having serious issues with trying to get the soap off our shower walls, and I had no idea how it was getting there!

Kait's Impression of our Christmas Lights....

"If Mr. Charlie would just put lights on his house, we'd be the prettiest street on the block!"

What are You Doing December 30???

I have a suggestion!!!

Rice is playing in the Texas bowl -- opponent TBA. Ya'll should all come out and root on the owls!

You may not know it, but the Rice Owls have been very busy breaking NCAA records this year. And they have some really great players on the team.

Find out more at: www.riceowls.com

From Bethany, Elise's Mommy

I don't know how to plug you all into the Care Pages updates for Elise Goertz, but if I could, this is what you would read. Her Mommy just posted this....

"Elise spiked a fever in the middle of the night last night. I rushed her to the ER. She started antibiotics and was admitted to the 8th floor at about 7:30 am. She received blood and platelets today, too. She was in an extreme amount of pain in her whole body. They have her on a pain patch and morphine to keep her comfortable. We aren't sure what the next step is and we are pretty scared for Elise. She really can't walk right now because her legs hurt so much. I had to carry her to and from the bathroom last night and today.

Please pray that Elise's pain subsides and she is able to make her trip to Disney. Or if she cannot make her trip.....please pray her pain goes away and she does not suffer. I just want her to be okay. I love her so much and it kills me to see her hurting so much. I feel so helpless.
God Bless"

Please, please pray for Elise and her family. There is so much sadness there. This is such a precious, beautiful little girl.

Urgent Prayer Request

In the interest of that minute chance that I could make things any worse than they already are, I'm leaving out the names and locations on this particular prayer request. That being said, our God knows who I'm writing about, and He'll know when you pray.

When Suzi and I saw a friend of mine in Dallas during the 3-Day, we knew something was up -- she just wasn't herself. She has three young children, and anyone with three little kids would look tired, but that didn't really explain it.

We finally TALKED last night, and she told me her husband was accused of raping a girl in their small town in May while she was in visiting her family in another state. At that time, her husband was a police officer in a neighboring town and was placed on administrative leave while the D.A. tried his best to build a case. He didn't get anywhere -- the charges were bogus. But in the fall-out, his police department fired him because they didn't want to discourage future rape victimes (even though the police chief couldn't find anyone else who had anything negative to say about this amazing young man), and he's having a hard time finding another job with this on his work record.

He interviews with another small town next week. Please be in prayer about this as well. He really is an amazing guy. He was the Valedictorian in his class in HS but chose to fight for our country rather than go to college. He was a sniper in the Marines and was in Fallujah. He lost a lot of friends there. He's already paid too high a price for us.

This young man is incapable of violence -- particularly towards a woman. He's a devoted husband and father. He's exactly the kind of guy you want to have protecting you.

Thanks so much for lifting this young family up in your prayers.

The Elves are Back in Town!!!

Our Elves are back in town!!! If you don't have an Elf on your Shelf, I highly suggest you run right out and get one. We have a blast with our Elves. The crazy thing? I grew up visiting the Elf on Granny Nelva's Christmas tree. When I got to be a grown-up, I found one at Restoration Hardware and got it for myself.

Last year, when our girls were introduced to the whole Elf on the Shelf thing, I just put two that we had here into service. But this year, that wasn't enough for Abbie. She bought the whole book and a new Elf with her birthday money. So now we have a new Elf!

And I know I shouldn't, but the whole "The Elf can Hear You!" thing really works. With the threat of Santa finding out when that Elf reports back tonight, our girls got right into bed and went right to sleep.

Rice Beats Cougar High!!!

We had a great time at the game on Saturday. Our friend Marie joined us for the first half. It was great to see her. We were also very surprised to run into Doug & Electra Elliott -- friends from our UT MBA days. They have two boys who look exactly like Doug. It was such a treat to see them!

Of course, we had to visit the Balloon Lady and Jingles the clown. Kait got an Owl balloon this time and an owl painted on her face. I'm not sure, but I think it kind of looks like a blue Pokemon.

Look at all the U of H fans that turned out to watch Rice win!

Rice had a great showing as well. Check it out!

This is kind of like the "Where's Waldo?" of football. This is our section. See if you can find Biggs and the girls!

Hey, Uncle Jay!!! Thanks for letting us use your press box passes! We thought the free brownies and cookies were pretty cool. Daddy liked the Open Bar. Mom enjoyed watching the lady who had too much fun at the open bar try to get on the elevator.

Check out that score! What a game!

Nutcracker Dreams...

Mimi & I took the girls to see The Nutcracker on Friday night. It was incredible. Having grown up in West Texas, the version I saw way-back-when in Lubbock wasn't quite as elaborate as the Houston Ballet. Wow....

Aunt A'Lise bought the girls their Christmas dresses. I don't think she could have found anything they would have loved more -- the girls' dresses came with matching dresses for Nellie and Nikki, their dolls. So of course, we had to take the dolls with us to the show!

Both girls got Minnie Mouse's autograph. When Abs stepped up, Minnie grabbed Nikki the doll and ran around with it. Abbie had to chase her down! Silly mouse!

Merry Christmas from Jake

Hi, I'm Jake. I generally get a starring role around here at Christmas time. Or at least I have a starring role in the family Christmas letter. Not so sure about this year. The only really notable thing I've done all year has been to attack the neighbor's cat -- and if you want to be really technical about it, that was on New Year's Eve -- so it really falls under the category of 2007.

It was a rather expensive venture for my family, so I've pretty much been confined to the back yard -- and I mean confined -- since my family got back from their cruise back in January. So while Mom sits at her computer and tries to come up for a Christmas letter role for me, I'll just give you a tour of the Christmas decorations....


This is the Christmas Card tree. It pretty much looks like no one loves my family right now, but we know you're probably just procrastinating and haven't sent those cards out yet. Or maybe your dog attacked a cat, and you're looking for something a bit more positive to write about.

Here's Mom's village.... More than anything else, it's a great way to keep junk from piling up on the bar!

This is the family tree. It's full of lots of ornaments from all over. Some of them are ones the kids made in school. Friends have brought a lot of them back from trips all over the world. There are ornaments from Holland, Germany, England, Australia, Mexico, Japan, Costa Rica, Honduras and Lubbock.

This is the "Jesus Tree." It's the first tree you see when you walk in our front door. It's supposed to remind you, right up front, to keep Christ in Christmas. It's got angels and hearts and nativity sets all over it.

That's it for our little tour. I've got to get back out to the yard. I heard there was a bird out there.

Merry Christmas, Ya'll,

Jake.

Wanna Walk or Crew with the 2009 Breast Cancer 3-Day??

If you want to join us for these incredible three days, you can save $35 on your registration if you register by Wednesday, December 3. Just enter the discount code "Legacy."

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Please join us!!!

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