Our newest niece!

Tia (Christiana Grace)

has now been in our

family since May of 2007.

She is such a doll (20 months old)!

Totally adjusted and just having a blast

with her older sister (16) and brother (11).

Her mommy and daddy are praying about

a younger brother or sister

for her from Ethiopia.

How fun!!

~***~

It seems like Christmas was ages ago.

I hit the ground running on January 2nd

when I went back to work.

We have continued to see friends,

old and new, and have had some great times.

I love you Faye & Kat, and Kent & Claudia!

This week Jeff and Shelly were in town.

We filled up the evenings visiting

and catching up on everyone's news.

~***~

On Monday evening I, along with

Sandy of "Set Them Free Ministries,"

met with the chaplain of the

Grayson County Jail.

God is opening the door for her study

"Untying the Lies That Bind Us"

to be taught there.

We use it as our introductory course

for inmates (7 weeks)

with Seed Sowers and we have seen

wonderful results.

It sets the stage for further courses with

EvanTell and Evangelism Explosion.

We are blessed to be partnered with

Prison Fellowship,

EvanTell and Set Them Free.

Our joint efforts are giving God the

opportunity to accomplish

far more than each could do alone.

Praise Him!!

~***~

The weekend of January 25-26 will be huge.

Several supporters of

Seed Sowers along with the

Board of Directors will spend Friday evening

in Dawson State Jail (downtown Dallas)

followed by strategic planning meetings

later that night and all day Saturday.

We will be privileged to interview

inmates, correctional officers,

victims of crime,

a parent of a child that is incarcerated,

and a caregiver of children whose

parent is incarcerated.

Our goals for future ministry are four-fold.

Victim Outreach,

Offender Outreach,

Offender Family Outreach, and

Officer Outreach.

All of this will be combined with the

opening of the Monarch House,

a transitional housing facility

for female inmates.

Elaine (our founder) has updated her journal,

so you might want to

click on "Monarch House" under

"some of my favorite things" for

the latest news.

~***~

This coming Monday evening our

ladies small group (Grayson Girls)

will meet for the first time in 2008.

Our number has grown to 14

as we have reached out to other

gals who are hungry for

fellowship with sisters in Christ.

The amazing thing is that the ages of the

ladies range from 28 to 70+,

and we are having a ball together!

We look forward to ministry projects for '08,

as well as continued

outreach and Bible study.

~***~

God is so good!

Kid's Christmas Table

Our Bible Fellowship Group came for dinner last Saturday.

Several of their kids were here.

I had the privilege of eating with them at the

"kids table" in front of the tree.

We had our snowmen dishes, snow figures, etc...

on the coffee table,

plus, I borrowed 6 of the oldest

little brown chairs

from ESBC.

It was so cozy! We had lots of fun!

~***~

Tom and I shopped again this evening.

The grandkids gifts are done!

I'm taking my mom to shop for them in the morning.

I have a few grocery items to pick up,

then cleaning to do. Also wrap presents.

Relaxing a little sounds good. :)

~***~

Very productive meeting in Plano this

morning for the prison ministry.

I can just sense that the

Monarch House

is going to be a reality before we know it!!

~***~

SHOEPEG CORN CASSEROLE

melt 2 sticks butter in sauce pan

add 2 pkg cream cheese and blend till smooth

add chopped jalapenos with juice as desired

pour over 4 squatty cans of shoepeg corn in 9X9 dish (drain 3)

bake at 350 degrees covered for 30 minutes or so

YUM YUM!!!

~***~

Choir sings in all three services Sunday with

Adam Paul Williams

as the featured soloist.

He has played "JESUS" in the passion play

at Glenrose, TX.

Grayson Girls

Our ladies small group had a

wonderful time at our

Christmas Dinner recently.

We feel so comfortable together

even though we have only met 4 times.

Some could not attend,

others came for the first time.

I believe we have

13 all together.

~***~

Yesterday was my

last day to work till

January 2nd.

It will come all too soon!

~***~

Tomorrow morning early

I will be in Plano

with Elaine

(prison ministry)

as she shares the vision of the

Monarch House with

a company that is interested in

providing financial support

for the house and

supplying volunteer

manpower for vital roles.

~***~

Sunday we have our meal

with my kids,

my parents and Tom's mother.

Jenn will host the occasion.

~***~

Julie and Rob will arrive

late that evening.

Family fun!

We've had a great week!

A little relaxing,

a lot of eating, lots of laughter,

and that feeling

inside that all is well with the world! Isn't is

wonderful to take a break every so

often from life's routine?

~***~

How fun it was to hear Christmas music

on the radio while I ran a few errands today.

(NO CHRISTMAS SHOPPING FOR ME AT 4am!!)

I've actually been listening to

Christmas CDs since mid-October.

~***~

Dress rehearsal tomorrow afternoon for

"Deck the Halls"

at church. We'll sing in 3 services

back-to-back

on Sunday morning.

~***~

God continues to amaze us concerning

the Monarch House.

Elaine has started an online journal

to keep everyone informed.

A link has been added

on the left under

my favorites:

Monarch House

~***~

Our ladies small group meets

at Panera Monday evening

for food and fellowship.

Ladies Small Group

How fun!!

Our small

group met

at the

Boiler Room

last night

for dinner and

a visit.

Great

atmosphere,

great food

and

great

company!!

We will

definitely go

there again!

~***~

Stel, the next time our gang gets together this

would be a neat place to meet up,

so pass the word.

~***~

Commitments for the Monarch House

continue to rise. Praise the Lord!

The overwhelming outpouring to fill various

volunteer positions is incredible!