a merry christmas had by all

It was a great Christmas and so fun to watch Jack this year...he still isn't really old enough to get it, but he was so much fun...i actually think it may be more fun that way, because we didn't feel pressure about getting certain presents(we didn't really get him much anyway, because the grandparents had that under control!)...we just enjoyed time together and watching him enjoy the family. We were with my family this year and had a great time...I sang at the candlelight service on Christmas Eve...I had never been to it before, and I am so glad I got to be a part of it, it was amazing to stand up on stage and see all of the candles lit. We spent lots of fun time with my parents and my brother and sister...I am so glad that they all love Matt and that he loves being with them too...my parents left yesterday to visit my older half-brothers and 4 nephews in South Dakota...I wish that we could all be there, but I am so glad that my parents are there...here's some pictures of some of our Christmas fun(thanks to the digital camera that we were given this year to replace the digital camera that we were given last year, which I managed to break)...

Jack and Daddy before church on Christmas morning











Jack and his rocking horse from Santa


















Jack's favorite gift so far...he loves to shoot the ball and then shout "OOooohhhhhhh!" along with some very funny jibberish that, when combined with his facial expressions, sounds surprisingly he's talking some trash!...I have no doubt that he AND DADDY are going to have fun with this one!







Christmas Eve at Mimi and Pappy's (my parents)



Uncle Brad, Jack and Matt enjoying some yummy breakfast for dinner on Christmas Eve.








Jack loves his auntie Em!

bloggiversary

Well, I have officially been a blogger for a year now...I wish I had some great thing to say on this day...my posting has been less frequent in the past few months...so, if you are still reading...thanks, and I'll try to get back on the ball...I know you are all anxiously awaiting that!

We had a great Thanksgiving in Smithville with Matt's family. Jack was all over the place and loved being with everyone and eating all that food! Nothing beats that cherry fluff! We also went and saw Walk the Line, and I was really impressed with Joaquin and Reese...they sang and played the instruments...I just have so much respect for those actors who really do the work.

Matt also gave me some really exciting news about Christmas...he has gotten a free hotel stay at any Marriott in the country, so we are going to NEW YORK!!! Instead of getting each other presents we are going to save our money and plan a trip for sometime in the next few months...I am very excited obviously as this will be my first trip to New York...seeing as my degree is in theatre and I teach theatre classes, it will probably be good for me to finally see a Broadway show! I am so excited and can't wait to start planning...what a sweet husband I have!

Well, not a whole lot else going on here...I'll leave you with some amazing and powerful words from The Ragamuffin Gospel by Brennan Manning that hang above our desk...
How I treat a brother or sister from day to day, how I react to the sin-scarred wino on the street, how I respond to interruptions from people I dislike, how I deal with normal people in their normal confusion on a normal day may be a better indication of my reverence for life than the antiabortion sticker on the bumper of my car.
We are not pro-life simply because we are warding off death. We are pro-life to the extent that we are men and women for others, all others; to the extent that no human flesh is a stranger to us; to the extent that we can touch the hand of another in love; to the extent that for us there are no "others."

WHY, Pat Robertson, WHY?!

How do you post something like this on your website...and then, say something like this??!!

I am just so saddened to think that for many, this is what Christianity looks like. I was under the impression that we served a merciful and compassionate God, whose love was not reserved for a select few. If his remarks are true then where is the hope for any of us, as I am most assured that not one of us has made it through life without "voting God out of our town"?

I am becoming more and more worried about the damage rather than good that "christian" politicians and tv personalities are doing for the kingdom. I do not want to be disrespectful, for then I would be no different than brother Robertson. I see so much good being done at the same time, and I praise God for that. And it is my fervent prayer that our generation does not lose the drive and desire to reach out to the broken instead of giving up on them.

My Little Punkin(s)

We took Jack to the Flower Mound Pumpkin Patch last week, and had so much fun watching our little man.







Jack sure does love his daddy (and who can blame him...I'm a lucky girl)








He's getting so big!






Matt and I look like a two-headed person in this one, but it's so rare that I am on this side of the camera, I was just glad to get a decent shot of all three of us!

Scary...but I just loved it that he was walking around the house in his costume and his diaper! They look so cute, but this doesn't really help my case for getting the playstation out of the house!





I just thought we needed one more of the cutest little puppy in the world! Look at those teeth!

"wuh-wuh-wuh" (translation: "woof woof woof")

puppy makes a phone call
Originally uploaded by christine_pinson.

jack...what does the puppy dog say?

puppy dog jack
Originally uploaded by christine_pinson.

ABC...Trips 1, 2, and 3

A is for "Airplane"...the one that Jack slept on all the way to Minnesota, and all the way back to Dallas...what a great kid!

B is for "Blake and Katie's Wedding"...so sweet to watch our amazing friend, who went all the way to an orphanage in Haiti to meet this amazing woman, get married and prepare to go back to that work with his new bride. (I guess in this section, I should also mention "Baja Burrito"! Wouldn't be a trip to Nashville without it)

C is for "Car Trip"...the one we took to Nashville through the night, with Baby Jack sleeping again! Thank goodness for our cooler of snacks and the portable DVD player that cousin Melissa Jo loaned us!

D is for "Donna Hester"...one of my favorite professors and people in the world, who performed her amazing piece, "Iron Apron Strings", at the Zoe Conference. It was so incredibly moving and made me even more thankful to know that precious woman. What an encouragement to be reminded of the powerful ministry that theatre is, aside from those cheesy little "don't put God in a box" skits...I only hope that I can use my gifts and training in theatre to minister the way that Donna does.

E is for "Elmo"...the adorable little red puppet, whose singing we got to enjoy for many hours on the road to and from Nashville!

F is for "Farmland"...which we saw alot of in Minnesota...it was very beautiful, the wedding was at a quaint country church, and we even saw an actual pumpkin patch...not the kind we have in Texas where pumpkins are lined up in a grassy area at the fruit stand, but an actual patch where pumpkins grow!

G is for "Girls Lunch"...the one we got to have in Abilene over Homecoming weekend that was so good, and way too short! I love getting to see my girls and it was so fun to watch Baby Jack and Baby Kadin play together...and to hear about the sibling that Kadin has on the way!

H is for "Homecoming"...a fun weekend in Abilene with friends and family.

I is for "Ira"...the sweet baby boy who went with us on all of these trips...and who is HOME FROM THE HOSPITAL! We have read this sweet family's blog for many months now and feel as though we know them. We were proud to wear our green Ira Lester Hays Bracelets and to tell people about this amazing little boy and his amazing family. We continue to pray daily for this tiny soldier.

J is for "Jack Franklin Pinson"...traveler extraordinnaire...he was so wonderful and so much fun...we had many offers from the grandparents to watch him while we traveled, but I am so glad that we ended up taking him with us...because he made everything more fun, especially when he started officially walking the night before we left for Nashville! He is all over the place!

K is for "Ko Jo Kai"...a lovely little club of women that I was a part of while at ACU, with a lovely Homecoming breakfast whose only fault is how horridly early in the morning you must wake up in order to attend!

L is for "Laundry"...I just thought it never ended before! I am just so relieved that I don't have to repack this time!

M is for "McCloud Inn"...our lovely accomodations during our stay in Nashville. It was so nice to see our friends TJ and Holly, and their ADORABLE house...We were sad that they had to leave town while we were there, but so thankful for their hospitality.

N is for "Nashville"...a beautiful place where Matt and I feel strangely at home and have a hard time leaving.

O is for "Otter's"...a great little place on Music Row that Matt and I ate in Nashville...it's all chicken tenders, so all three of us enjoyed it!

P is for "Parade"...the one in Abilene that Jack loved so much...where we got to see his Uncle Kyle march with the other Brats, where Daddy and Uncle Brad were sad for how sad the Galaxy float was, and where Mommy was proud of the Kojies finally winning again!

Q is for "Quiet Time"...and I definitely had some on my stretch of the drive between 3 and 6 am. It really was nice, when my eyes weren't crossing!

R is for "Recouperation"...we're still working on that!

S is for "Super 8"...our lovely accomodations in Minnesota, which included one room for myself and 4 boys...I am just glad that there were two beds and I only had to share with Matt and Jack!

T is for "Tennessee Family"...so thankful for the time we got to spend together with the Daniels in Franklin...their new house is beautiful and Jack had fun with everyone...especially his sweet great aunt Donna.

U is for "Unpacking"...two words...NO FUN!

V is for "Video Camera"...something that we did not use enough on any of these trips...we are rookie parents...and of course, we taped him constantly back when he was a newborn and all he did was lie there, now we are so busy chasing him, we forget we have the camera!

W is for "Walk-In Clinic"...the one we spent 3 hours of our day at before leaving Tennessee, because poor Baby Jack had croup. But, once again, he was still such a good boy, despite the fact he felt just awful.

X is for "Xmas"!...no relation to any of our trips really, and I actually don't like that abbreviation, but I needed an X, and just wanted to remind everyone that there are only ten more Saturdays to shop!

Y is for "Yummy Homeade Soup and Cornbread"...made by my Aunt Donna on a perfect Fall evening in Nashville. It was a wonderful treat to enjoy as we cozied up and watched some football.

Z is for "Zoe Conference"...an amazing time of renewal, awesome worship, and challenge to be Jesus in this world. I was also privileged to witness the first public viewing of the "Mike Cope Sings the Classics" video, which in itself is a classic!
(Z can also be for "Zoo", where we just took Jack for the first time this past weekend...perfect weather and lots of fun!)

Well, we had lots of fun and survived all of our trips over the past few weeks. We were reminded over and over again how blessed we are to have such an even-tempered baby. He adjusted to every change so well, and was so wonderful through hours on planes, in rental cars, in the stroller, and in all kinds of climates. We had lots of fun, but are very happy to be home for awhile! I can't really take credit for this post, as it was my sweet sister's idea...but I thought it was a good way to cover all of our travels without writing way too much as I have been known to do! Although, this is one is probably still too long by many's standards...definitely by my husband's! Oh well...thanks Em for the idea, and I hope all of my little teacher friends out there are proud!