Merry Christmas from Jake!

Merry Christmas from Jake!

Howdy Y’all! This is Jake. I’m back! After my Christmas Card-writing Debut, I decided I like all this attention. So here goes…

2009 started off with a bang and lots of fireworks at the Baehren house. Aunt A’Lise met us at the Creek. She caught a fish; Kait fell in. John had business trips to China, Russia, the Netherlands, Argentina, South Korea, Buffalo, Dallas and a few points in between. Buc-ee’s moved into the neighborhood, and the girls have kept their Icee machine in business. I dug a lot of holes in the backyard. Kait on American Idol’s Bikini Girl: That number was probably taped to her, because if it was stapled it would have hurt! Aunt M’Lys and Aunt A’Lise joined us for Spring Break at the Creek. I chased jet-skis up and down all day long. Kait fell out of a tree and gashed her arm. One hair-raising drive and 17 stitches later, we breathed a sigh of relief over the realization of how very close it came to being a really big deal. The Scott family came to town, and Kait lost her first tooth! Overheard in Biggsville… Abbie: Kaitlyn, you’re really not that smart. Kait: Yes I am! Just ask me a question. Abbie: What’s 1000 plus 400? Kait: Okay. Another question. Abbie & Kait took gymnastics. I jumped on the trampoline. “That man did nothing but spread love.” Pa got a yellow lab puppy named Boomer, and we all fell in love immediately. We spent lots of time with the Owen kids and enjoyed introducing them to some of our favorite places. The Keith Kuties took the Pink Limo to Sub Training. We spent Memorial Day weekend at the Creek with the Bruins. D’Lyn got the Meatless Whataburger. Abbie: Kaitlyn thinks all the boys in her class are in love with her. Kait: No. Just three. Abbie’s 7-8 Girls’ Softball team, the Flames, only won one game all season – and then won the tournament! We wrapped Coach Scott’s house! Kait’s SweeTees T-ball team, also the Flames, were undefeated! Abbie made All-Stars, and then caught H1N1 the week of the Big Game. Hoedown Throwdown! We spent our vacation at the Creek. I chased jet-skis up and down all day. The girls caught redfish, trout, hardheads and sharks! They saw dolphins! My peeps went to Rockport with the Baehrens. They loved the Texas State Aquarium, and they saw George Strait’s house! Abbie & Kait went to soccer camp. John & D’Lyn spent a great day on Matagorda Bay with Captain Gene. D’Lyn out-fished John! I barked all night. John bought me my very own jet-ski to chase! The first time we took it out, somehow a plastic hose from a gas can “landed” in the tank. The second time we took it out, D’Lyn managed to run over the tow rope and wrap it around the impeller. The third time, we had a HUGE thunderstorm. That jet-ski was barely in the water enough for me to chase it up and down the Creek, but it was long enough for Abbie to learn to water-ski. I’m hoping for a better spring! Kait started 1st grade, and Abbie started 3rd grade. Several dear friends met us in Fluvanna for Opening Weekend. Abbie started Destination Imagination. Abbie & Kait got the flu vaccine. That weekend, Kait got the regular flu. Two weeks later, she got H1N1. Abbie’s 7-8 Girls’ Soccer Team, the Texas Bluebonnets, was undefeated and won the division and the tournament! They wrapped our house! Kait’s 6G team was undefeated, too! D’Lyn painted the Expedition pink. She swears it was an accident, but I think it’s kinda fishy considering she is all into pink. Team Tiara walked in the Breast Cancer 3-Day for the fourth time, and raised over $100,000! 2010 is going to be their 5th year, and their goal is to have 100 walkers on their team! I escaped and didn’t get home until eight hours later. Rumor has it John was already mentally landscaping the yard, and D’Lyn had her sights on a yellow lab puppy. Soccer in the cul-de-sac every evening! It snowed in Houston! John & Abbie built a volcano that spewed Big Red several feet in the air! Abbie got her ears pierced. We’re looking forward to Christmas in Waxahachie, followed by a trip to Fluvanna. Watch out deer, here we come!

We hope you had a great 2009 and are wishing you an even
better 2010! May God Bless You!
Love, Jake & Co.

This Child.

This Child now knows the value of a Chi. She now knows she can achieve the straight hair she has always wanted -- in just a matter of minutes.

This Child is growing up.

And as she does that, God is sending people my way who let me know that she is truly a Child of His.

Today a para from the Lifeskills class sat across from me from lunch. She shared with me how much she loves Abbie because This Child plays with her friends during recess. When she could be running all over the playground or hanging out with her other friends, Abbie chooses to entertain a few very special people. And this isn't news.... In Kindergarten she often chose to play with a little boy named Lionel who was in a walker.

This Child is truly a Child of God. I love it that she loves Jesus and lets that love shine!!!

You Missed Me! You Missed Me! Now You Gotta Kiss Me!

Okay. I know. BlogHer should give away a "World's Worst Blogger" award -- I'd be right in line.

I've been gone as a girl can get. I've had so many things I needed to write about, so many thoughts rattling around in my brain, that I couldn't wade through the muck enough to make that happen.

I have things going on in my life and around my life that just don't belong in the outside world. Not even for me.


But here's a glimpse....

I think it's ludicrous that Obama got the Nobel Peace Prize.

I wonder how many people who voted for Obama now regret that decision.

My dear mother-in-law deserves a big, huge pat on the back for meeting some significant goals and making some great triumphs in her life in the last few months. I ask that you praise her if you know her and pray for her even if you don't. I love her, I'm proud of her, and I'm basking in God's great goodness for her.

My sweet friend Ruthie is here in Houston visiting the Berzynski Clinic for treatment of her cancer. She still has a tumor the size of a honeydew melon, but yesterday they gave her one bright, gleaming hope. Just one -- that's all she needed. She now has a new lease on life and knows she's found a great place for treatment. What they do there is pretty neat -- treating cancer from the ground up -- not just attacking it with chemo. Just keep praying for her.

When you're not ready to air all your dirty laundry via the web, it's kinda difficult to know what to write. But what I can say is that I need your prayers for wisdom, judgement, and for God to give me the words I need to express what I need to. For those words to fall on open ears and a clean mind and to be taken to heart. And for action to follow.

Team Tiara already has 37 team members signed up for 2010. How cool is that??? We're about to close out 2009 with right at $100,000 raised. AND now we've got a huge start on '10!! So excited!

Yesterday was Volcano Day at school. It's pretty darn cool what you can accomplish with a 2-liter of Big Red and a pack of Mentos. Don't think I've seen that much fun in a while!

Last night was my annual cookie exchange.... Houseful of fun friends who REALLY know how to bake. Now to keep from gaining 20 lbs. between now and New Year's.

My Grandma went to be with Momma and Jesus last week. That was a story in itself. I pulled the girls out of school to go home for the funeral and the weekend. I waited to leave until 3:00, so Abs wouldn't miss her field trip. Well.... With an 8-hour drive north, that put us at the house at 11:00. The girls had gone quite willingly because while snow was a "maybe" for Houston, it was a "certainly" for West Texas. Ummmm..... We arrived with flakes falling and woke up to a dusting that looked like you had sprinkled a single snow cone over the entire home place. Strike one.

When they dug Grandma's grave, apparently someone had beat her to it. There was an unmarked grave there, with a pine box parked in her "spot." Even funnier was the fact that Grandma used to run the cemetary -- and had assigned herself that spot. So.... They quickly covered John Doe back up and buried Grandma a ways away.

The Obituary in the paper wasn't my favorite of all time, I have to say. You see, my Mom's Mom, my Grannie Herring, died in a car wreck when Momma was in college. So I never knew her. Before I was born, my Grandad married my Grandma. She was the only Grandma I ever had. And while most of the cousins called her Laverne, I called her Grandma.

In the paper, a big deal was made out of who were the "steps" and who was the "special" and we were all listed as step-grandchildren. I never thought of myself as such, and I have to admit I felt like I'd been demoted. Grandma didn't think of me that way, either. But such is life.

So... I know this is an insanely jumpy posting, but you're gonna have to deal with it.

Early Friday morning (before the funeral), I talked to Biggsy, who informed me that it was "snowing in Houston; expected to snow through the night; 3-6 inches by morning." Being as I'd already flunked the snow thing once, I decided to skip Saturday's football game and rush home to the snow. We left right after the burial, and made it to Gatesville about the time it stopped snowing in Houston. That's right. Strike two. The girls were PEEVED.

So... Saturday morning we got up and went to the Natural History Museum for Snow Day! The girls had a GREAT time. Mom had a GREAT time. AND Abbie got to pet a real, live reindeer that Santa brought with him. Santa wasn't so happy about that -- apparently the reindeer is hands-off. If Santa really knew my Abbie-girl, he would have known she wasn't going to hesitate to love on that reindeer.

If you're one of those people who has never seen a 6-Man Football game, or you're one of those people who loves 6-Man, this weekend is your chance to see a REALLY great game! My high school, Borden County, is playing Highland in the 6-Man State Championship. It's at Shotwell Stadium in Abilene on Saturday at 2:00. Highland is the school where Carla teaches and Callie cheers. Our family is also well-represented on the BHS side where Jon plays football. It's kinda crazy to think of Callie cheering against Jon. This really should be a fantastic game. Both teams are 14-0 and have 45'd many, many opponents along the way. BHS won their state semi-final game on Saturday 50-0 at the start of the 3rd quarter.

So that's what's been going on here. Hope you enjoyed the update!

Really???

Idiots.

You Interrupted Your Regularly-Scheduled Holiday Programming.....

... To wish me Happy Birthday. And you'll never know what that meant to me.

When you're born on Thanksgiving Day, your "Birthday" should come with a disclaimer. Where you might think people would think, "Oh. It's Thanksgiving. That means it's D'Lyn's birthday," they don't.

The vast majority of the world forgets your birthday.

Growing up, that wasn't the easiest thing to deal with. And in this post-Mom life I live, where I don't have Mom around to run interference for me, it's not always fun.

I remember the great lengths Mom would go to to make sure My Day was acknowledged. A cake, including my boyfriend of the hour in our holiday feast, making sure people were lined up to wish me Happy Birthday. But without her around, Biggsy has stepped up to the plate.

And oh, how he has stepped up. BUT I want to clarify for anyone out there. I'm NOT 40. YET.

What I've come to realize, though, is how very much I appreciate the people who do remember it's my birthday. The people who interrupt their regularly-scheduled holiday programming to help make my birthday a VERY BIG DEAL. The friends who brought me donuts and chai (just like I like it) to start my day off right. The sweet sister-in-law who made me a birthday cake just like I requested it. The relatives who called and sang -- sometimes off-key. The chick friends who sent me texts. The husband that didn't even blink when I wore my real, live tiara all day -- even to Thanksgiving lunch at the kin-folks.

And I have to say, a lot's been said lately about "Facebook Friends" not being "Real" friends. Whatever. I loved the notes they left me. That was pretty darn cool.

And I won't hold it against those of you who didn't step up to the plate. Or at least I'll try not to. I'm not perfect, you know.

Thank You!

Make a Smilebox scrapbook

Wow.

It's been an amazing week. When I got home from the 3-Day, I thought I'd take the week to clean up, organize, get a pedicure, maybe a massage....

Not so. I ended up subbing all last week for my friend.

There's not any place I would rather have spent my time. My role in making sure things ran smoothly for her last week was so, so very small. But I was glad to play it.

Alexa's not well yet, but they are on the right path to getting her there. Last week's cancer diagnosis was put aside on Friday, when they had exhausted the testing without finding cancer. Praise God! Now, they're working towards healing little Alexa.

I'm not teaching today -- I have a doctor's appointment of my own. BUT I'll be in her class for the rest of the week. Again, I'm glad to have a small role.

With all that's been going on, I haven't had a chance to really process last weekend. But maybe I don't need to. We're off and running for 2010. We already have 18 walkers signed up to walk with us next year. That's almost 20% of our GOAL. How cool is that?

I've spent the morning making a video with some of my pictures. I'm just about to upload it to my sidebar.... So click on over there and check it out!

Kait finished her soccer season on Saturday. The Wildcats were undefeated! Whoop!

AND we went to the Rice game on Saturay. They won! Dinner afterwards with the Lamys and most of the Ecklunds was such a treat!

Tonight, the Bluebonnets play for the Whole Enchilada. They're undefeated and have already won the regular season. If they win tonight, they clinch the tournament as well. Abbie's defensive clearing kick has been a huge factor this season, and we are so proud of that!

And that's the Rest of the Story!

I'm Home....

The 3-Day was an amazing experience. I can't even begin to tell you just how incredible it was. I was able to walk 43.5 miles and some change -- I could have done all 60, but we had a bit of drama. My friend has a GREAT wrap-up on her blog at: www.karavancrew.blogspot.com

As for me, I haven't really had a chance to process all that happened. I hobbled around a bit on Monday, and got the truck unloaded. The house is still pretty much a wreck of pink stuff everywhere.

But that's not important.

What is important is that I've been pulled into a Sub job for a very sweet friend. Yesterday they diagnosed her precious, 15-month-old granddaughter with a type of cancer I can't even pronounce, much less spell. It's a type of neuroblastoma that started in her abdomen.

Please pray for little Alexa and her family. Pray that the doctors will be able to quickly determine a plan of action -- they are working today to determine whether or not the neuroblastoma is operable. Pray that she has no lasting effects from the seizures and other difficulties she's been having. Pray for peace and strength -- her family is exhausted.

Having come off a very emotional weekend, and coming home to this news, it makes me all the more determined to help find a cure for cancer. For now, I'm just glad I'm in a position to step in and help on this very small level -- sore feet and all.

Under Attack.

Okay. I'm not going to get all freaky on you, but our 3-Day team is in dire need of your prayers. WE need an umbrella of prayer protection over us this weekend.

We know that when things are rockin' and rollin' and bringing glory to God, Satan just can't stand it. And we know that's when he attacks.

This team has done some incredible things through God's direction -- just this past Sunday we were invited to speak at the Methodist Church here in our neighborhood. It was very powerful.

However, things are starting to go a bit haywire. Sequoya's aunt passed away yesterday at the age of 53 -- cause unknown. Carlisa is in the emergency room with her son right now -- he has a history of health issues and when things go bad, they can go very bad, very fast. And I had a nightmare this morning, that when put into this context makes me a bit nervous.

I'm not saying we're under attack, but I do recognize that possibility and the need for prayer. Please, please keep us in your prayers all weekend.

If you want to let us know you're praying for us, you can text any team member. Or you can text me. 2818838642 Please don't call during the day, Friday - Sunday, unless you really need to talk to us. We have to step off the trail to talk on the phone.

No Glee???

Two weeks without Glee does not make for a happy Me! If you're feeling the glee-less gloominess that I am, I have a treat for you!

And yes, she got that rhythm from her Daddy.

Oh, and you'll want to pause the "iPod" on the lower right of my page!

We're Getting There!!!

FIVE more days till we leave for the DFW Breast Cancer 3-Day!

This time next week, I'll be settling into my pink tent, praying it doesn't get too cold. I'll be tired, but I'll be elated!

We still have several team members who need help with fundraising. If you want to make a donation, you can do so here.

The team members who need help most are:
Bridget Mohrmann
Leslie Osborne
Anthony Patton
Anna Sullivan
Robin Rosa

The list is getting shorter, but we're not there yet! Thanks for all your help!
- d.