Liz's Letters

Today, February 14, 2010 our beautiful daughter turned 16 years old! We celebrated all weekend long! Here is what part of our festivities looked like! A group of friends went to see the movie "Valentine's Day" at the local movie theater. And no birthday is complete without a few family photographs! An Italian feast was served, Rebecca's favorite - Cheese Ravioli's, choice of 3 different sauces, salad, and garlic bread. There was serious cupcake decorating that took place after dinner. All the cupcakes were very creative! And everyone had a lot of fun customizing their own desserts! After the delicious meal and dessert, it was time to open gifts! And then some moments that were simply worth remembering! HAPPY SWEET SIXTEEN TO OUR BEAUTIFUL REBECCA! We find it so hard to believe that you are no longer a little girl, but a lovely young woman! We are so proud of you and we love you very much! What a joy to have you in our lives, and what a pleasure it was to celebrate...

It just doesn't happen that often in Texas! Not like this anyway! We received almost a foot of snow! Reports range from 10 to 12 inches, depending on where you live, but either way, it is a lot of snow for a bunch of folks who are only used to an occasional dusting or ice storm. School is closed for two days now. I even took a snow day from work. Snowmen are being built all over the neighborhoods! Here is what it looked like at my house!

A picture a day? It hasn't happened in some time. I took a handful though. For several weeks, my family ate only vegan. This is what it looked like in my kitchen through out the month of January. Rebecca and I had a mother daughter day. We went to the Galleria to shop and then she had her hair cut and colored. She went from being a blond (above) to brown (below) These are some photos that I took so that she could update her Facebook profile with her darker hair. The hair color faded a little more than she wanted it to, so we went back and had it darkened...just a bit. Here is what she looked like on the night of our Superbowl party! Below is a picture of me and my good friend, Tricia. I was coming down with a cold (that turned into bronchitis and an ear infection)...so I don't like this photo at all...but Tricia looks cute as always!

It is Friday. And I am participating in a "snow day." The Dallas/Ft. Worth area received almost a foot of snow in the last two days. Unheard of! The streets were mostly wet, but school is out, and hey, I just decided to take a snow day. 1. Pickles are not one of my favorite things to eat . 2. I like staying at home. 3. The snow is cold, wet, beautiful, and everywhere I look . 4. God's wonder is visible in nature. 5. It's 5:16 PM; that means I spent the entire day at home today . 6. A four leaf clover is hard to find. 7. And as for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward to hanging out at home and staying warm , tomorrow my plans include hosting a Sweet Sixteen party for my daughter and Sunday, I want to go to church, celebrate my daughter's REAL 16th birthday, and celebrate Valentines Day too ! Hope you have a great weekend!

Week 4: Video Update from Matt Chandler

It is Monday and I have been in my pajamas all day. (currently, it is 3:40 p.m.) My weekend was filled with activity, mostly centered around my almost 16 year old daughter. And it involved spending lots of money...well, it felt like lots of money. We shopped for clothes, some of which were purchased with gift certificates that she received at Christmas. In addition, she chose to have her blond hair colored brown, (she was in the mood for a change!) and then we selected an expensive name brand purse for her 16th birthday present. (this is not something I wanted to select without her help, so she was invited along) And when this morning's alarm started buzzing in my ear at 5:00 a.m., the pounding in my head lead me to make a decision.... STAY HOME! And so I did. I haven't done anything really, except take a nap, visit with my mom and my sister (who is having a birthday today) on the phone and played a few rounds in the online scrabble game, Lexolus. I did sub...