christmas already?!?

Wasn't it just summer? Where does the time go?

We have already had a few Christmas celebratory moments. The Christmas parade was not long after Thanksgiving. We got to see Abby Pea march by in her cute Santa hat really quickly! Sitting there for an hour just to see your pea march by for three seconds? Yep, and we enjoyed all three seconds of it! :)

The Christmas parade was really cool. The Christian academy here definitely had the best Christmas float ever! It was a nativity with the kids as the characters and the rest of the little peas were dressed as angels and singing. I was trying to hold back the tears; it was so darn cute and special! Anyhoo, back to my sweet peas!

Anne Pea had her band concert the other day. I couldn't hear her by herself, but she was definitely the cutest one up there! I had forgotten my phone, so I don't have video of it {Abby had her phone; I will have to try to get the video from it.}. But I got a sweet pic of her afterward!

We also had Christmas with my parents and my brother's sweet family. I love having my nieces around! Eeeekk! Opening presents is so much fun with the littlest peas!

Nina and Papa D's beautiful tree! I snuck a peek and a pic!

I love seeing these little peas with their messy hair and in their jammies opening presents! So cute!

Rylee Pea was the little elf passing presents out to everyone {with a little help from the bigger peas}!

Someone was awfully good this year to get such a big present!

Preslee Pea opening a present!

Rylee Pea must have been a good girl! She has a big pea-resent!

Rylee had to help Anne Pea with one of her presents!

I know I was supposed to crop out all of the big peas, but I just love this pic of Rylee and her Daddy cuddling together!

Preslee Pea is our wild child! She reminds me so much of Anne when she was that age! Haha! Such a cute, sweet mess!

And the whole Barrett-Penprase clan! This almost never happens for us to all be together! Especially including King Pea! So thankful he was here with us this year! There will be more to come! It's not even Christmas yet!

life as we know it

I can't believe it's been a month since I've written. So much has happened, and I thought things would slow down after football season. Haha! What was I thinking?!

We had a great Thanksgiving holiday. Our peas were in beautiful Tennessee with their grandparents. They had an absolute blast and I am really jealous because I didn't get to go! They went zip-lining and Segway-ing (yes, I'm making words up)! And I'm totally jealous! I am so glad they got some time with our Georgia and Tennessee crew though! (Did I mention that I'm jealous?)

Abby's Marquette stuff is slowing way down. We have a parade and a recital coming up, then we'll be done for a little while! Football season was really fun, but I'm quite glad for it to be over. Whew! It's a lot of work! Now, she's back to being her normal, sassy self, and back to work on bringing up that AP World History grade! Pray she passes this darn class!

Anne has a band concert upcoming, and then she's done with her activities for a while, too. We're in the middle of looking for someone to give her a ride home from school most days and someone to give her tennis lessons. I don't want my girlies growing up too fast, but we really need another car and driver in this family! Just 5 more months! {Can you believe Abby's driving?! Me neither!}

King Pea is loving his job and his new promotion!! Congrats! I would be more ecstatic, but the promotion took him farther from home with a commute on a toll road, so his pay will pretty much stay the same.

Speaking of pay though, this momma finally got a new job! An actual one with paychecks and stuff! I've been doing temp work for a couple of months, but it doesn't compare to a steady job! It's in Accounts Payable (again). At a small oil and gas company (eh). It's not the *perfect* job, but it's with really great people and it will pay the bills. I will never give up my tree-hugging ways! :)

We have so much to be thankful for, so much we're blessed by! I can't even count the ways! This Christmas season, we're going to do things simply and lovingly. And we're going to be filled with joy rather than depleted in spirit. May you have the same wonderful experience this year!

cross country meets

Anne Pea has just finished up her Cross Country season! It's so fun seeing these runner peas! She is so glad it's over. She wasn't really wanting to run this year, which breaks this momma's heart! I keep hoping she'll run in high school next year, but Saturday may have been our last meet. :(

Here are some sweet pictures from the district meet this past Saturday. It was "Pink-out" week, so of course she looked adorable! I'm going to miss getting up super early on Saturdays and waiting around for an hour to watch her run for 15 minutes! Haha!! The crazy things we do for our peas!

This is Anne Pea hugging her coach from last year, Coach Martin. We adore her and miss her like crazy! It was a huge reason Anne didn't really want to run this year. But, she's having a baby and we're so thrilled for her!

Starting line!

Ready, set...

...GO!

They're off!

This is about the halfway mark. She may not be first, but she looks really cute! :)

Running up the steeeeep hill at the very end of the race!

They call it "The Beast!" It is aptly named!

Go Anne!

After the race! She was so glad the season's over! Me, not so much!

Pretty, sweet pea!

This is Cameron, one of her best friends. {JUST friends!}

He's winking at the girls who are cheering him on!

This is from a few weeks ago and I think I missed posting it! She said she always wanted to run and jump into his arms, so she did it! {She's almost as tall as he is!}

My sweet family! I love them!

mhs homecoming 2012

Last night was Homecoming for MHS. Abby Pea danced at the game (of course), but this week she was nominated Marquette of the Week!! So proud of our girl! There are 50 Marquettes, about 10 football games, 1 chosen each game; well, you can see the odds of her getting chosen! Here's our MOW! :)

Abby Pea practicing her moves before halftime.

I wish I could remember this sweet pea's name! They're pretty precious!

I know that Abby is out of focus in this pic, but this is right after they announced her name over the loudspeaker. Needless to say, she was pretty stoked! Her expression says it all!

Abby and Sarah! Both were announced with honors!

MHS Marquette of the Week! Congrats, sweet pea!

video trouble

I tried several different tactics to get a decent quality video of Abby Pea's first pep rally performance loaded onto my blog. After much frustration, I pretty much gave up. I then remembered that I had made a Vimeo account at one point during college and decided to add that as a link onto this homepage. You can also click here to view it!

While I am sure I am expecting too much from my Iphone video capabilities, it would be nice if you actually could see what was going on! The compression was horrific trying to get it to upload directly. The quality still isn't what I wanted, but is so much better than the other options I tried. So, from now on when I have a video I want to share with you, I'll make sure to let you know! :)

One of these days I'll have it all figured out!

dancing, running; running, dancing!

So much has happened over the last few weeks! I can barely catch my breath! The "new job" is now the "old job." The only words I have are, "I hated it." Moving on! I am currently seeking employment. I am doing some temp work with the agency that got me my previous Geomap job, and taking things one day at a time! This family needs prayers for Momma Pea to get a job! I have one in particular that I am waiting on and I really hope it is what God has planned for me! It would be perfect {in my mind anyway} and would be a fantastic long-term opportunity. So, keep us in your happy thoughts!

Anne Pea is a running fool! Her cross country meets are in full swing! She's been placing in the top 25-40% of runners (there are always so many girls out there)! Last week she placed 83rd, but that was out of about 250 runners! We're really proud of her tenacity! I have a feeling this will be her last year in cross country though. Sad face from Mom! I hoped she would love it and keep going throughout high school! It's crazy that we love getting up early on Saturday morning to watch her come in 83rd, but it is such a blast!

Abby Pea is a dancing fool! Football games are in full swing, and that means halftime shows and pep rallies! This coming Saturday is the homecoming parade and this Momma Pea is so excited about it! It will be in our historic downtown and will be so much fun! There will be pics! :) She just got her letter jacket today {a big deal, by the way} and she looks really cute in it! I can't wait to start getting patches put on it!

Anne Pea cheering for her teammates! 

At the starting line.

My runner pea! :)

Here she comes!

Anne Pea and her sweet friend, Cameron! (He's cute and sweet! Yikes!)

Abby and her friend, Megan, at a football game! Two sweet peas!

Abby cheering/dancing at the pep rally!

greener pastures?

What a crazy week and a half! I don't even know where to begin! I started my new job last Monday. That seems like it was two months ago! I am really unsure if it will work out. I usually have a great intuition about things and a great determination to "make it work," as Tim Gunn would say. I think my hunch on this one may have been totally wrong! I don't even know what to do about it. All I can do is keep looking and pray that God gives me direction on this. I have already learned a great lesson that maybe I'm not so smart after all and I have a long way to go before I know it all! There I said it! {That hurts!}

I have always been an advocate of "the grass isn't always greener on the other side" mentality. But, sometimes you just have to take a risk. You never know until you jump in with both feet. Well, I know that my feet need to keep looking and I need prayers for another opportunity to come my way. And, in case you're in the area, I am taking any and all photography appointments! I'd love to make that my full time job! So, it starts here!

Love to you all! I pray many blessings for you!

anne's first date

Anne Pea is now 14 years old! I can't believe my baby girl is fourteen! She is such an awesome girlie; I can't even begin to tell you how amazing she is. She has this magnetic personality. Every one loves her; she is just stunningly beautiful inside and out. I am so blessed to be the momma to this glorious creature!

King Pea and I started a small tradition in our family {I say small because we only have two girlies}. On their 14th birthdays, Dad took our girls on their first date. Like a real date with flowers, suit and tie, a fancy dress, a beautiful restaurant, dessert, jewelry...the whole nine yards. It's so neat for me to let him take over their celebration! I just get to take photos and leave the rest up to him!

The time will soon come that someone else will be taking them on dates. I don't like to think about it too often (yikes!), but I know the time is coming. They now know how they should be treated on a date; with respect and love. It doesn't have to be expensive; it's not about the money. It's about how they're treated. And they better be treated well!

For each one, we gave them a James Avery ring. Nothing super fancy or expensive. They're not necessarily purity rings; just symbols of our commitment to make them realize they are loved unconditionally by us and they deserve only the best life has to offer. It's a symbol of our hope that they stay true to themselves, respect themselves, and make good choices for themselves. Abby Pea actually considers hers a purity ring and she is proud of it. Anne Pea doesn't and that's okay. It's just her ring that her dad gave her with love. And every time she looks at it, she'll reflect on that.

I now have two little women in my house. It's a blessing, but I don't want to let them go in a few short years! Time flies when you're having fun....

Happy birthday, my darling Anne Lauren. You are loved more than you know. May God bless your life always. 

big week ahead!

Yesterday was my last day at Geomap Company. I have a new job that starts Monday morning! I am definitely excited and nervous! It's hard for me to change, so this is a pretty big deal. Queen Pea is moving up! Pray for me (and the family) during this big change!

So, speaking of a big week, our baby girl is turning {FOURTEEN YEARS OLD}!!! Yes, you read that correctly! 14! I don't know how this has happened! Anne Pea is such an awesome girlie and I can't tell you how blessed we are to have her in our lives! You will see photos on her big day!

I also have a photo shoot for a sweet, special family tomorrow! I am excited to photograph this family in beautiful Waxahachie!

Last week was also a pretty big week. Abby Pea performed at another *winning* football game! The Marquettes were amazing as always! I knew they were good before, but seeing the other drill teams compared to the Marquettes...well, there just is no comparison! I was able to get a press pass and got some photos from the field. That was a pretty awesome experience! Hopefully, the pics were good enough that I'll get to do it again!

See the McKinney Marquettes website here! It has photos, information and the game schedule.

we're back!

Our first week of school was hectic, scary and fun all at the same time. Getting our wacky schedules coordinated has definitely been a task! These peas are everywhere!

Anne Pea started her cross country practices this week. Last year she was gung-ho for cross country and this year, well, her enthusiasm is lackluster. I think it's because they lost their amazing coach after last season (even I miss you, Coach Martin!). Hopefully, once the meets get going, her competitive spirit will kick in to overdrive! Even though the meets are on Saturday mornings, early, they really are so much fun! She's also in yearbook and band this year. {She has a few actual classes, too, I think.} Overall, she's having a blast! She said she knew it would be a great year when she walked into lunch the first day and her friends were saving her seat for her from last year! :)

Abby Pea is a sophomore in high school! {Yes, you can all gasp!} Her livelihood is still dance, but this year it's with the Marquettes! McKinney High had a football game on Friday and it was so much fun to see her down on the field! They are really awesome and a great group of girlie peas! The game itself was a blast! McKinney High won their first game in over a year! I was so excited for them! My throat was sore the next morning from all the cheering! I can't wait for the game next week!

Of course, I had to take a few photos (okay, more like 100)! By the time I actually found Abby on the field, their performance was almost over! But, there are only about 10 more games left to go! :)

Here's a little pea-k!

She's in there somewhere!

This is Lauren Em, the Captain! She's also Abby's Big Sis! We're pretty proud that out of all the girls, she chose Abby to be her Little Sis! Huge honor!

I could watch her all day! Although, I did most of my watching through the camera lens. I think I'll have Anne Pea video the next performance so I can see it later!

"New Year, New Record!" And they started it off right!

Even sitting in the stands they are in sync and precise. Very cool!

I'll give you ten points if you can find her! :)

Dancing in the stands to the band was her favorite! You could tell by the look on her face! They were having a blast! (It probably helps when your team is winning!)

See?! We won! :)