Blog Background

March 14, 2011

This is your life, are you who you want to be?

Yesterday is a wrinkle on your forehead
Yesterday is a promise that you've broken
Don't close your eyes, don't close your eyes
This is your life and today is all you've got now
Yeah, and today is all you'll ever have
Don't close your eyes

This is your life, are you who you want to be?


The lyrics to that Switchfoot song always gets me thinking. Lord, what do you want me to be? Who do you want me to be?
I am so thankful for all that I have, but what does He want me to be?

Last year was a seriously hard year for us. We lost some friends, we gained some friends, but in the end, we are still a happy, God fearing family that trusts Him daily. What else in life should matter? I want to do what He wants me to do for Him and Him alone. When we leave this place, I am excited that I will be able to sing His praises all day, every day. What a joy that will be. It saddens me to think of all the people that do not have Christ that have really no hope for what happens when our time on earth are over. If we didn't have Him, how depressing. We have a wonderful thing to look forward to. No more sickness, no more pain, but just the chance to sing and praise our God and King.

As I have gone through my day today, I am reminded that these little faces that I take care of are only a few years away from moving on to be adults somewhere else. My oldest only has a year and a few months before he is 18. My youngest is only 2. This major difference in their ages has made me more sensitive to that. I don't want to miss a day of what my little girl might do. My son is growing to be a handsome, God loving,young man and I am thankful for that. My time with them means more to me that anything. I strive to be that perfect mom and wife, and I know that I will fail. Nobody is perfect. Although we are trying to be that perfect person for our family, they don't see us as imperfect. Has anyone ever thought of that? We put such a high expectation on ourselves and we forget that others aren't as critical. If we just follow along what God has for us, live for Him daily, we can achieve our goals.

I am excited to be starting a new venture. Andrew and I have been meeting with the worship leaders from another church here in town and we are serious about taking worship to the dark corners and low places. Our friend Mark is a wonderful singer/songwriter and Marlene has an amazing voice. We want to take our worship higher and for it to become more passionate. I am so excited about this. This is something that I have dreamed about for so long. I love to sing for Christ and I love to bring the people into His presence. Please pray for us as we start this group. We are now trying to come up with a name that speaks volumes. We want to record. I am just so happy that I have this opportunity. God is so good.

So, no dream is too far away.Do it to your best and God will fill in the rest. I have learned that. No matter what kind of day that I have had, I can take 5 minutes to pray and thank Him for all that I have and feel worlds better. I wish that more people would. He is there for you. For the lonely. For the broken. For the lost. He loves each and every one of you. Don't forget that.

So, This is your life, are you who you want to be? Or who He wants you to be?



We know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.  Romans 8:28





Have a good week!

Love,
Angela

March 8, 2011

Bearizona!

After church  last Sunday, some good friends took us through Bearizona in their van. Allison just loved it! She kept thinking that everything was a dog or a moo-cow. :) They have done so much to the park since we had seen it last August. They just reopened for the season. They had two baby bear cubs still in a little incubator. So cute! Enjoy the pictures.



March 3, 2011

Kolachies with Grandma



Ok, if anyone knows the Hambys well, you understand their love of the kolachie. I mean....L O V E. Some of us don't really care for them, but most of the time, when a new spouse comes into the family, or child, they love them and understand they are a rare item to see on the counter top at Grandma Linda's kitchen. Usually the new ones will grab one right out of the oven, only to burn their tongue on it's hot, PIPING hot, apricot filling. Some have tactics. One brother in law, to remain nameless, said, that he grabbed one when they came out of the oven and no one was around to see, so he slowly savored it. Then when the feeding frenzy began, he was in the kitchen grabbing three more, only he had already had one! This is how much the Hambys love themselves some kolachies. Traditional kolachies look like sugar cookies with a dollop of raspberry jam in the middle. These are much different. They are little flaky pastries with a apricot filling in the middle. The obsession with them? They take awhile to make the dough and then it has to sit overnight. Then you have to roll out the dough, divide evenly, and then you get the idea....lots and lots of work. My husband is lucky to get them on his birthday. I am pretty sure I could have whatever I want if I were to make these for him...but I don't even like them myself, so I don't. Here are some pictures I took at Thanksgiving time with Grandma showing yet another granddaughter how to make the kolachies. So cute.


I also forgot that this was the time that Allison had fallen, so look at her poor eye :(

Drooling yet?



What a great memory these photos will be later on for Allison. I am so happy to have them.
I will post a picture of a cooked one soon....

Good night all,

Stay tuned....

Stay tuned to see what I am going to turn this nightstand into!! Allison was helping me clean it off. She loves to clean! Finally, a child that loves to clean!







Have a blessed day!

Deep in the Heart of Texas Part 2

So sorry it has taken me so long to finish this post! We have been sick and out of town.

Day two in San Antonio, we went to the town of Gruene (pronounced Green) and what a quaint little town. Lots of cute shops and restaurants and one of the oldest performance halls around! We had alot of fun going from shop to shop and I especially enjoyed the coffee shop!





After getting my espresso, so good..We hopped over to this cute little cupcake shop. I loved it!! As you can see by the pictures. YUMMMMMM!!


Say hello to pumpkin spice, red velvet and vanilla bean....

Must say that the red velvet was probably my favorite. They added mini chocolate chips to it. YUMM-O! The vanilla was so fresh and just amazing...I cannot even describe how good of a vanilla it really was. Pure. The pumpkin spice, moist and delicious. Hard to pick just one, so I sampled them all! They were so cute.
Only open until they ran out of cupcakes. Love it.

Then we did some more shopping, to burn off those cupcakes, and I came across a rock that looked like the state of Texas!

Sorry it is sideways, but you get the idea...



The Gristmill Restaurant on the river and in an old cotton gin.






We loved Gruene! Cute shops, good food and a fun time! So we drove back to San Antonio to rest up and get ready for another fun filled day. Except, yep, it decided it was going to rain! Yea, I hadn't planned for that. So we drove back through Gruene to the outlet malls to shop around. Then, we just drove around looking at the different towns. Really cute places. I really didn't take any photos that day, because it was rainy. We asked different people we knew where we should eat while in San An and my sister in law Crystal told us that if we wanted something different and crazy, to try this place called the Magic Time Machine. Then she told me to make sure that I asked where the bathroom was while I was there..huumm. Well, we were all game and gave it a try. It was super eclectic. Kind of like Red Robin meets T.G.I.Friday's meets Chili's meets Bucca di Beppos, well you get the idea..CRAZY! Our waiter was dressed up, and I think he really believed that he was, Captain Jack Sparrow. He was alittle too flirty. He asked us lots of funny things that I will not post here and I am not sure why he asked why the rum is always gone, when I do believe he might have been into his "cups" before work. He gave us (temp) skull and cross bone tattoos and took our order. We were warned that the food was so-so, so we knew were were there for the flavor of the restaurant and not the food. We were beginning to think that this was just a place for families, yes I think it was. He wasn't our only waiter, we also had Ace Ventura, and this guys had to be the real one too...He was pretty funny. Anyway, after we orderd, Captain Jack took us to the salad car, yes I said car. I didn't take any pictures while I was there...so sorry!! It was a VW Bug with the salad bar in it. It was cute! Our food was pretty good, no complaints and I just waited to hear someone ask to use the bathroom to see what was up. It was clear that it was hard to find for a reason. One lady did at another table and Captain Jack shouted " OK, she has to use the bathroom, line up and here we go..." he took all the ladies and a guy to the bathroom muttering, "Hope we don't run out of toilet paper!" Thanks, Crystal, glad I saw that coming before asking!!

On the day we left, I took some pictures of the inside of the hotel. So cute.



Original elevators, the new ones were around the corner
  
So on our way out and about for the last, rainy, day in San Antonio, we ate at this restaurant near the airport that a local had recommended. Apparently there was a flood, I cannot remember when, but everything in that part of town was ruined but this one restaurant. You can defiantly tell while in there because it leans and I mean leans.We were really glad that we were referred this place because the food was wonderful! It was alittle hard to eat and look out the window, it really messed with you, but was a find! Even the drinking glasses leaned!



Here is their website, but it is under construction
http://www.boehlersbarandgrille.com/
Even with all the rain, the crazy waiters and cold beach, it was such a good time among sisters. I know that mom would have been proud of us coming together to remember her. I thought of her everytime I looked at jewelry, or anything shiny.We laughed about what mom would have said if she was with us on this trip. In a sense, she was. I am so happy that I got to have this time with the two most special sisters and friends that I have. Thank you mom.We will always think of you and miss you....