Adorable Charlie

My blog would be overwhelmed if I posted every cute picture of Charlie. :) He really is the most adorable, wonderful dog a family could ask for. Here is how I found him this morning in my living room. 

I love my dog, and he loves me. (My family is in denial that I am his favorite. But it's true!)

God made the wild animals according to their kinds, the livestock according to their kinds, and all the creatures that move along the ground according to their kinds. And God saw that it was good. Gen 1:25

Mother's Day

I woke up to a delicious breakfast that my wonderful husband and daughter made. (Landon's job was to clean up after them...and trust me when I say, that is no easy task!)  :)

Delicious omelets, hash browns, toast, etc. 

After church they took me to Sakura for lunch and to the movie "Mom's Night Out."
It was truly a wonderful day!

I got a beautiful flower bouquet from my children, and a very special cross bracket from my hubby. 

I am so blessed.

Nothing, other than my relationship with Jesus, has brought more joy than being a wife and mother. I wouldn't trade my life for all the fame or riches of this world. THEY are my riches, and I am so thankful to God for this privilege!

Her Children arise and call her blessed; her husband also, and he praises her:

 Proverbs 31:28

Tournament X2

The week before Easter we had back to back Tournaments. Whew, it was crazy! 

The first was a soccer tourney in Prescott, AZ from Friday to Sunday, then instead of coming home, we headed to Phoenix for a debate tournament from Monday to Wednesday (late!) night.

As exhausting as it was, it was also very exciting! Payton's team took 1st in their division at the soccer tourney, and then....she and her partner made the top four teams at the debate tournament! (Which is VERY difficult to do. The competition is tough!) 

God sure blessed her! :)

 Getting ready for a nice pass....(or goal?).  Hmm...don't remember.

 It was SO windy in Prescott! It made it very difficult for the girls to pass, shoot, etc. because of the 80 mile an hour winds. (Yes, I'm exaggerating, but not by much!)

My champion! :)

 This is what my "daughter" plays between rounds at the debate tournament, but

....now it's time to get serious and debate! 

 Here she is with her friends for an Instagram pic, so I snapped one, too.  

Rescue Ball & Easter

Max and I attended a Rescue Ball at a beautiful resort here in Tucson. Many helicopter pilots & crew members from around the country gathered for a nice evening.  The guest speakers were from Max's unit. They were the guys who accomplished the rescue for which the movie, "Lone Survivor" was made. They talked about what really happened that night.

 It was chilling. (I personally have not seen the movie. The language is horrific.) 

 Landon took a picture of us when we returned. It was a nice evening with my handsome husband.  Although, I was exhausted from a VERY busy week. (That will follow in another post.) 

We had a wonderful Easter celebrating our Risen Lord and Savior. 

We started out with service and got to see the New's Boys. (My kids LOVE music, so we take advantage any chance we get!)

We got out very late, so we missed our brunch reservations. We ended up really enjoying our lunch (and scrumptious desserts!) at The Cheese Cake factory.

It was a perfect Resurrection Day celebrating, "God's Not Dead." First with the New's Boys singing the song and then we watched the movie. (The movie was great! It's a must see!) 

As my banner states below, He IS Risen!! 

Easter 2014

Spring Break

Landon was on spring break, so we took advantage of spending time with him. We sure miss him! (I know he lives at home...but between school, church and friends, he's gone a lot.)  

                                    We started off with a few day skiing in the Pine Top, AZ.

                                       Lots of snow, blue skies and no injuries...a perfect ski trip! :)

 Payton tried snow boarding for the first day. She caught on very quickly. Although, the second day she decided to give her bottom a rest and ski. (Daddy was glad about that! He was so worried she was going to break a wrist, which is another place snow boarders land on!) 

Getting ready to hit the slopes. 

 We then went with some friends to Rocks & Ropes. 

 It looks like so much fun, but also....very tiring! 

Huh....Spider Man? :)

We got lots of chores done on Saturday, so we ended the weekend with going to the Lego Movie. It was cute, but as I looked over....I couldn't help but wish my son was eight instead of 18. He LOVED Legos when he was young. 

I am so grateful for the time I have with my family.

I  will be glad and rejoice in you; I will sing the praises of your name, O Most High.

Psalm 9:2

Science Fair

Payton is on her way to state with her science fair project! She won 1st in her category for high school at SARSEF (Southern Arizona Regional Science Engineering Fair  - whew, that's a mouth full!) :)

 She was very excited to win as a freshman, but even more excited to win $270!  (The cash was between QUEST our homeschooling science club and SARSEF.)  

Her project was to debunk the theory of learning styles. She claims that if information is presented interesting, you will learn. She was successful.
(Which is "another" waste of government money, but I won't get on that soap box today!) :)

QUEST Science Fair

SARSEF 

Valentine's Day

It was a different Valentine's Day at the Maxwells. Our typical tradition with a nice dinner including a heart-shaped meatloaf and delectable chocolate dessert didn't happen this year. Landon went to Austin, TX for the Passion Conference with his college group from church. The conference is an wonderful weekend with great speakers and several Christian bands. He had a great time...with 18,000 kids young adults praising and growing in the Lord. Although, I am so glad he had this opportunity, I was bummed it was over Valentine's Day. So instead, Max, Payton and I went to a friend's open house. They had a chocolate fountain and lots of games going on for all ages. It was  a fun evening. 

Max can always count on dark chocolate from me. (His favorite treat!) And, he always buys me roses...and usually a beautiful piece of jewelry. This year I got my dozen roses, but I had to work for them. He was very proud to tell me, that he thought of this all by himself! ;) He is one special man!!

Each rose had a note and was put in a special place. Example: This one was on my homeschool desk...with him telling me he loves me because I homeschool our kids. Another one was on my Bible with a note saying, he loves how much I love the Lord....one on the washer...and on and on. Too cute!

We had Game Day (homeschool PE) on Valentines, so I bought Payton and her BF a few Valentine treats. These glasses being one of them. 

It was a blessed day. I missed my son, but loved having Payton and my wonderful Valentine with me.  

And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.

1 Cori. 13:13

A Tucson Sunrise

 This is what I woke up to. Spectacular! Tucson has some of the most beautiful sunsets and sunrises!

Psalm 118:24

This is the day the Lord has made;
We will rejoice and be glad in it.

A BIG Surprise!

What more can I say about marrying the most wonderful man on this earth!...but that, he did it again. Bless me, that is. He gave me a surprise 5Oth birthday party. I can not believe he pulled it off! I am one of the most observant people there is (it's a blessing and a curse!). ;) Apparently he started planning back in Nov. My kids and family knew and no one slipped. No one! It's unbelievable to me.

He lead me to think I was going to a military retirement luncheon. I didn't think twice when it was at a restaurant instead of on base because he said the "retiring Col." wanted the luncheon close to Ventana Canyon, so they could go golf after the luncheon. Made sense to me. Ha!

He also told me the night before he had to go to dinner with a General that came down to do the retirement, when instead, he was having dinner with our family who came in for the party.

 I was so blessed to have my oldest brother Mike and his wife Mary, my younger brother Anthony, his wife Darla, and their boys, Brett and Sean, my dear friend, Berna and her girls and grand daughter, my parents, and Max's dad and his wife all come from NM and CA for the surprise of my lifetime. As you can see in the pictures below - I WAS surprised. :)

This face says it all.... ;) 

I looked at everyone and thought to myself, "Why are my family and friends from NM here at this retirement luncheon? And, why is there birthday signs up instead of retirement?"
 It just did not register. I stared at everyone for sometime before it dawned on me. :)

Here is some of the gang. 

Here my nephew, Sean, is reading a letter their family wrote me. Max asked everyone to write or say something for the luncheon. Most did. Let's just say, I spent most the afternoon in tears.

Landon also put together a montage that they showed on a big screen. It was BEAUTIFUL! More tears. 

 Here my beautiful sister-in-law is reading hers, and my niece and nephew also sent one with them. So sweet. 

My wonderful husband is reading his letter to me. He is truly a gift from God.

My precious children wrote me a song. It was beautiful.
Unfortunately,  I don't have nearly as many pictures that I would have loved. Especially with my kids. I am usually the one with the camera, but since I was the guest of honor this time....I just sat back and enjoyed. :)

 They gave me a banner and a crown when I arrived. It was fun being princess (at 50, it was more like queen) for the day. :)

We celebrated the whole weekend...we ate, played games, went to church together and laughed til we cried. It was PERFECT.
This birthday surprise will go down as one of my most memorable times of my life. I will treasure it forever! 

I can't thank my Lord enough for an amazing 50 years of life! Words can't describe how grateful I am for my life...and especially for my eternal life. Where everyday will be a celebration in His presence.  

Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and comes down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow of turning. 

James 1:17

Flash Back Friday

Oh, the patience to try and get these little hands positioned just right! :) 

(I'm not sure why I am torturing myself by posting pictures when my babies were little. I REALLY miss this age, and would do just about anything to have it back! I know all parents feel the same.) 

Happy Birthday to my Wonderful Husband!

Max didn't have a typical birthday, but then, Max isn't a typical man. (He is, truthfully, the hardest working and unselfish person I know!)

Anyway, ever since we bought our home (in 1990), he has wanted a shed to store all his tools, tools and more tools. :) But since this house (was a repo when we bought it) needed so much necessary work, he kept putting if off what he wanted...until now. Since Landon was still on Christmas break, and things were quiet at work, he ordered the wood and the work began.
 And since this project happened to fall on the week of his birthday.... I did the best I could with what I had to work with - a shed under construction. :)

The night before his birthday, the kids and I snuck out and decorated. Not bad for doing it in the dark! And, I only stepped off the ladder wrong one time. OUCH!

 I made a very nice brunch, and we had a picnic in the shed. Yes, unusual, but fun! :)

 We decorated his saws, ladders...and even got a birthday pin on his tool belt.

 Here's the proud birthday guy with his children. Just being together as a family is the best gift you could ever give Max and I!

After brunch, we climbed on the roof to enjoy a beautiful Tucson "winter" morning. (Hey, we pay the price in the summer!) We enjoyed fruit and muffins and sang him the birthday song. (I know our neighbors think we're nuts.) :)

Max and Landon worked the rest of the day until Payton's soccer game at 4:00. After the game, we had pizza and tiramisu. (He's actually gets two birthday desserts. My mom mails (yes, mails!) him a German Chocolate cake, too.

I thank God for the BEST husband and father in the world!

Happy Birthday, my wonderful husband! 

Throwback Thursday

I don't participate in social media, but I have always loved how it encourages to post pictures during certain days of the week. This year, I decided I am going to participate on my blog.

Digital cameras were not popular when my children were young, but years ago I scanned many of my photos. It was certainly a chore, but it was important for me having them backed up for safe keeping. I took on this task while living in Florida. I tried to be prepared for the potential damage that could be brought on by those dreaded hurricanes. I don't miss them!

Here we have the two cutest children in this whole world! :)

Merry CHRISTmas!

We had a wonderful Christmas in NM. We didn't get a white Christmas, but we did get a relaxing week with my parents...and then on Christmas day, we had a full house with my brothers and their families. Always lots of fun and laughter with that gang. 

Before we left to NM, we had our Christmas at home. We started out with our yearly tradition of reading the humbling story of Jesus' birth. 

Here's Landon reading....

We had a casual pre-Christmas in pajamas. :)

One of my favorite nativities.  

Payton patiently waiting....

 Here is Landon admiring our "gas" fireplace. This was my favorite project of the year. We remodeled  the fireplace with rock, and after lots of pleading to my amazing husband, he turned it from wood burning to gas. I love it! Just click and the heat is on. 

 Father and son acting silly after I asked them to pose for me. :)

 Payton showing off her new Cardinal jersey. 

Here I am teary eyed from opening my gift from Landon. Again he blessed me with a donation to buy animals for the poor from World Vision. I know it was hard for him since he's a poor college student. I pray they always make sacrifices for others. 

Here's some of my family in NM as we get ready for a White Elephant gift exchange. 

I told my nieces and nephews to give me a silly shot, and they succeeded. :) 

 My wonderful parents.

 Me and my wonderful nephews. I didn't get a picture with my nieces because my niece living in Tx couldn't make it. Next time.  

And we always end the night with board games. These are only some of the players. 

Our 2013 Christmas photo.

Thank you, Lord, for a wonderful Christmas!

For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace. Isaiah 9:6 -