October Field Trips

 The month of October provided the opportunity for our family to take several fun field trips.  One day we visited the Fort Worth Zoo.

Unfortunately, I didn't take many pictures. 

Katherine taking advantage of a hands-on exhibit.

One trip that we always look forward to during fall is the Great State Fair of Texas.  We eat lots of good (& really unhealthy) food, walk A LOT, see many different exhibits, ride fair amusement rides, spend money tickets, enjoy time together, and leave incredibly tired.

The kids enjoy the hands-on farm exhibit where they get to pretend to be farmers.  They planted a garden.

 Harvested the fruit & vegetables.

                                         They fed the animals and milked the cows.

 They sold their products.

 After selling the products they spent their earned  money at the local store.

I could be guessing, but I believe the reason the kids enjoy this exhibit so much is receiving the free snack they purchase receive at the end.

 The whole family enjoys the feeding & petting some of the animals.  There were a few of animals we didn't want to touch or feed!

 Another day we visited the Dallas World Aquarium with other local homeschoolers.

 Our last field trip of the month has probably been our favorite.  We participated in the Dallas Stars Education Day.

We enjoyed watching the teams (Dallas Stars & LA Kings) practice and a two hour tour of the American Airlines Center (AAC), where we learned many facts about the AAC, hockey, and even some basketball. 

When we arrived home we couldn't wait to share all the information we'd learned with Wes.  Katherine completed the work page she'd received, and we spent the rest of the afternoon preparing to attend the game that night.

We had a great time and even made it on the big screen once!  We've decided we'd love to attend another Stars game sometime in the future. 

The attendance was a lower than normal as many of the metroplex sports fans where at home watching the Texas Rangers battle the St.Louis Cardinals in game six of World Series.

Unfortunately neither the Stars or the Texas Rangers came away with a win that night.

Halloween 2011

NYC Shopper & Green Lantern

Vacation Recap

 Here is a picture of Katherine, Sebastian, and Wes in the cockpit of the FedEx plane at the Memphis Children's Museum.

As we drove through Indianapolis, IN, we decided to stop at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

We took a lap around the racetrack....

Sebastian came to a conclusion...

"Dad, this track is on Gran Turismo Five...I didn't know it was a real track!"

Finally in Michigan, our vacation destination, we met up with extended family for brunch at a beach house in Grand Haven overlooking Lake Michigan.

We walked along the beach, roasted marshmallows to make smores, and enjoyed reconnecting with family, some of which we hadn't seen in nine years.

We left Grand Haven to spend a few days in Lundington, MI.

After the four of us spent several days hangin' out in Lundington, we headed to Grand Rapids.

Wes and Verne enjoying a nice father/ son moment before dinner.

Before we headed home the kids and I visited the Grand Rapids Children's Museum. 

Katherine & Sebastian love visiting children's museums, and I enjoy watching them use their imaginations. 

This last picture is taken at a rest area where we stopped to let the kids run around and burn off some energy before another round of driving home to Texas.

Deb's Random iPhone Photos

Katherine & Sebastian enjoying a special treat.  Wes must have been out of town! :-)

One of my favorite summertime photos.  Sebastian & his Grandpa Roy Banks.

What can I say? It's Toy Story Mania at the Kenney's!

Kenney Academy classroom clock

That is TOO HOT!

Wes's office at TBC before I packed it up

Pioneer Sebastian & Katherine

Enjoying the Northeast Texas Children's Museum in Commerce, Texas.

The DART bus that almost hit us that day

September Recap

~ 3rd...Debra's 39th birthday.
~ 4th...Wes preached at First Baptist Church, Farmersville, Texas.
~ 5th...Labor Day was spent packing, packing, packing, and well, packing.
~ 6th is official move day...Loaded the UHAUL.
~ 7th...Unload in Hurst, TX.
~ 8th...Back in Valliant, OK, to paint.
~10th.... Back in Hurst, TX, to begin unpacking.
~13th... Visited the Northeast Texas Children's Museum in Commerce, TX, on our way back to Valliant to finish the cleaning of our old residence.
~14th.... Finished cleaning and picked up our dog (George) & cat (Bob) before heading to our new home in Hurst.
~15th...Unpacking Continues...
~19th... Kenney Academy is back in session.
~ Beginning to adjust to our new home and life.
~27th...Vacation begins...  :-)

As you can see most of the month of September was spent packing, unpacking, and getting settled into our new home.  Wes, the kids, and I are making friends, and we've begun visiting churches in the Fort Worth area to find a church home.

We spent the last week of September and first week of October on vacation and as soon as I get my pictures uploaded I'll post about our vacation adventures.

D6 Daddy Daughter Banquet

On Tuesday night the D6 Home Educators of Southeast Oklahoma held a banquet honoring dads and daughters.  The moms and sons hosted this event. 

The banquet room was elegantly decorated for the honored guest.  Each dad and daughter had their picture taken together soon after they arrived.  They then had time to mingle with the other dads and daughters and find their places at the tables.  A photo slideshow of our groups past events and activities played as the guests mingled and while dinner was being served.

The menu for the evening was

• Chicken or Brisket
• Pasta Salad
• Ranch Potatoes
• Green Beans
• Bread
• Individual Chocolate Heart-Shaped Cake or A Slice of Cocoanut Cake

After the wonderful desserts it was time to play some fun games.  The first game involved the oldest girls and their dads.  It was our version of The Newlywed Game to see how well the dads knew their daughters.  The second game involved the other dads in which they each had a deck of cards and a plastic cup.  They placed the deck of cards on top of the plastic cup and the goal was to blow all, but the last card off the top of the cup.  Their third game was to place an oreo cookie on their forehead and move it into their mouth without using their hands.  The finial game of the evening was to see who could empty a box of Kleenex the fastest.

It was a wonderful evening and a great way for us to end our time with the D6 Home Educators of Southeast Oklahoma.

Reflections

It was in Valliant

  ~where Wes began his first pastorate.

  ~where our TBC family loved and supported us.

  ~where Katherine & Sebastian will most likely consider their first home as they were 3yrs & 9 months when we moved here.

  ~where Katherine at three years old sat in church on a Sunday night listening to her daddy preach about Jonah and whispered to me "How does my daddy know about Jonah?"

  ~where Sebastian began walking and talking.

  ~where Katherine & Sebastian raced down the driveway in their  little tikes cars and later on tricycles & scooters.

  ~where Katherine and I made her first emergency room visit.

  ~where K & S began loosing their baby teeth.

  ~where K & S learned to swim.

  ~where God carried me (and my family) through a physically & spiritually difficult situation.

  ~where Katherine attended kindergarten & first grade at Swink Public Schools.

  ~where K & S were apart of TBC Christmas programs & Vacation Bible School.

  ~where I discovered my passion for VBS and for training VBS leaders.

  ~where God placed in us the desire and opportunity to homeschool our kids.

  ~where God provided the opportunity for Wes to finish his bachelor's degree.

  ~where my beautiful daughter, Katherine, stood before the church and confessed her need for a savior and her faith in Jesus as Savior and Lord and was baptized.

  ~where our family made many wonderful memories with  the wonderful people of Trinity Baptist Church.

The End of a Season

Since graduating from Liberty University this past spring, Wes knew God was leading him to attend seminary. The next step of his educational journey would be whether to attend Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary (SWBTS) or New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary. God led Wes to SWBTS.

At the beginning of this process we believed Wes would continue to serve as pastor of Trinity Baptist Church in Valliant and commute one day a week to SWBTS in Fort Worth; however, God would ultimately lead us in a different direction. After much prayer and a variety of circumstances we saw God leading us to step out on faith and make a move to the Fort Worth area.

On Sunday Wes announced his resignation to Trinity Baptist Church in Valliant. He will continue to serve as pastor until the end of August taking his last week of vacation the first week of September. Our official last day in Valliant will be September 7, 2011.

We are saddened to leave the many friends God brought into our lives during the nearly six years here. We've learned a great deal and will always look back with fond memories of the friends we've made.

Thank you Trinity Baptist Church members friends for loving our family. We will miss you and continue to pray that God will use you to show his love to Valliant and the surrounding areas.

The Sleepover

On Monday, August 8, 2011, Katherine invited several of her friends from our homeschool group over for her first ever birthday sleepover.  Katherine decided she wanted a big city shopping themed party, so with that we were off.  I brought part of the skyline decorations (paper covered boxes) used during this years New York themed vacation bible school to help transform the dinning room into a city full of places to shop!  Wes took care of decorating the table complete with a personalized mug for each attendee with their first initial and a party chandelier above.  Katherine was ready for her guest to arrive and the party began about 6:15pm that evening.

Katherine and her friends enjoyed a variety of activities over the next eighteen hours.  The girls ate, laughed, swam, watched movies, danced,  giggled, gave manicures & pedicures, made gift bags, played games including bible drill, and slept very little! They stayed awake until 2:30 AM, which was Katherine's time of birth nine years ago!  All but one of the girls was awake and up by 8 AM.  Sleep wasn't a high priority that night.

The first ever birthday party sleepover was a success!

Our family ended the day with Katherine's birthday dinner.  Her favorite meal is steak especially steak grilled by her dad!

Happy Birthday Katherine Grace!

June / July Recap

~TBC, Valliant Vacation Bible School.
~Katherine decided to take piano lessons through the summer.
~June summer school schedule.
~Wes attended the Southern Baptist Convention in Phoenix, Arizona.
~I began planning 2011/2012 school year.
~Kate & Sebastian attended other local bible schools with their friends.
~Sebastian decided to put his head under water in the swimming pool and now he's a little fish!
~Kate & I spent a couple days of girl time with my sister in Dallas.
~Kate, Sebastian, & I enjoyed time with my brother & sister.
~The four of us enjoyed spending July 4th at Wes's brother's house with our extended family & their friends.
~We visited the East Texas Oil Museum and Rangerette Museum in Kilgore, Texas.
~We're spending time with friends.
~I've tried to de-clutter around the house.
~Katherine attended kid's camp.
~Katherine survived her first kids camp experience & had a great time.
~Kate & I attended a Paper Doll Brunch at Trinity Baptist Church in Idabel to benefit the Oklahoma Baptist Home for Girls in Madill.  
~We attended the Valliant Watermelon Festival.
~And there's a good bit of evening time spent in the pool! :-)