Reflections of 2007

I'm wondering if you truly have "the best year ever" or if they keep getting better? I feel like that. I guess that last year, I would have said that 2006 was my best year. I got walk down the aisle and meet the love of my life, hold his hand for the first time ever and start our new life together. What a dream!
This year, I became a Mom. What an incredible experience that was! After having her, I wondered why anyone would have more than one kid! :) Being a Mom must be the most rewarding job out there. Brooke is only 7 months, so there aren't too many milestones this year of hers, but I have gotten to watch her smile, start laughing, cooing, eat food and sleep through the night! Yay!
I defiantly have to say that I got a lot closer to Nate this year. Being parents brings you closer together, as everyone always told me. And, we have to make it a priority to have dates and spend time together with just the two of us. When we have those times, they are so special and I never want them to end. Being in love with the man who exceeded all of my dreams is amazing!
This year we had a lot of ups and downs, but mostly ups. Nate lost his job in February, so we got to have a last fling before the baby came. We went to several different places, including South Padre Island (where I got horribly sunburned and thought I killed the baby :( ), San Antonio, Iowa where I met Nate's grandparents and spent 4 wonderful days with them. I got to go to MO for a competition. I had never seen one before and it was pretty intense! After that, we went to NY with my family and got to stay for 3 weeks while he was waiting for his new job to start. I loved being able to be there for that long! :)
My cousin Joey who we had prayed for for years, got saved, along with his girlfriend Patty and they both started coming to church. Now they are planning their wedding! Wow, we rejoiced about that!
I thank God so much for everything that he allowed to happen to teach us and draw us closer to him. Mostly I thank him for the wonderful husband and daughter that he has given me and how much I have to be thankful for.
As for my New Years resolutions? Well, I'll save that for another time. It will take awhile! :)

What we did for Christmas

Christmas this year was very special. For one, I felt so much more at home here this year than I did last year. Last year we had been married for about 5 months, and I really, really missed being home with my family and friends. This year was much different. I still really missed being at home, but it was bearable and I had so much fun!

The other thing that was very special was that Adam was here. To tell you the truth, I don't think that any of us thought that we would be with him so soon, God blessed us and he was able to be with us! Who knows how long it will be until all the Simpsons are together at Christmas again!
Christmas eve was at my house. I'm wondering if I'll ever offer to do that again--ok, well, yes, of course I will. I love having big parties with lots of food at my house. I usually just forget all the work that is involved! I made all kinds of orderves and cooked our main dish: brisciut. I have never made one before but it turned out so delicious! Italians pride themselves in their food, and I have to say that I was very proud of myself. :) HA!





Here is Nate carving the meat--it was so tender and juicy! :) (I'm still proud of it)

Here is Brooke opening her first present from Grandpa and Grandma Simpson on Christmas eve. It was so fun having a baby on Christmas this year! It just made everything so much more exciting! :)

For some reason I cannot upload any more pictures, so I'll probably try again later.

Nate and I ended Christmas eve by sleeping under the tree. It was so romantical. :) And Nate was so sweet because he said he didn't sleep very well, but I was sleeping really good, so he stayed there the whole night. What a man! I have some cute pictures of Brooke that I took on Christmas eve and day, so hopefully this will let me upload them soon.

Love to you all!

~~Jen~~

My New SUV!

My husband is the best. To explain how this all came about, I had called him earlier complaining that Brooke and I were all ready to go out. We ahd some errands to do and then an appointment and the car woulodn't start--and it wasn't the first time! Our '91 Pathfinder with over 200,000 miles on it was definately on it's last leg and not worth putting any money to to fix it. Nate has another car that is a two door sports style and it's being fixed right now and then he is selling it. So, at this point I walked down to Nate's Mom's house to borrow her car. By the time I walked down there and drove back, transfered the carseat, stroller, diaper bag and baby, I leaving a lot later than I wanted to and I was very frustrated. I called my husband again and apologized for being so frustrated beacuse itwasn't his fault!
He told me he had to work late and couldn't go by the car place tonight to see a car that we had seen on the internet for a really good deal. I left (in my Mother-in-laws car) later that night to go to the ladies Christmas party. At night as I was coming homehome, Nate called and said he wanted to meet me at Scooters, a coffie shop really close to our house. He came over to me and said, "I want to show you something", and there was this beautiful Equinox parked in the parking lot! I screamed and jumped up and down and immediatley began opening the doors, looking and sitting inside.
There was a special program in TX going on to get old cars off the road, so we got $3500 for our Pathfinder. Can you imagine? It was a peice of junk!
Now I have this beautiful thing to drive, thanks to my wonderful husband who worked so hard to get it for me and surprise me with it! I went a lot of places yesterday just so that I could drive it a lot! It drives great and I love it!

Amazing Night!

On Thursday night, Nate and I went on another date--twice in two weeks! We're doin' good! :) We had a FABULOUS time. I think it was our best date since the baby has been born since we were gone for over 4 hours! I usually can't leave her for that long but now that she is eating baby food, I have so much more freedom and I love it. Nate's parents watched Brooke and we went out to eat at Shady Grove. It's a classic Austin "hippie" place with a casual atmosphere. I whowfed down a huge burger and fries and we talked for a while. Then we walked down to the trail of lights that they have here every year and I was oohing and aahing the whole time! I love anything Christmas, but especially lights, so I was in my glory. The only thing that we regretted was that we didn't have any cash so I could buy some fried oreos or a funnel cake! :) I guess it was for the best cause I had already eaten way too much at supper.


This was the entrance to it. I know it's kind of blurry, but I didn't want the flash on so you could see the full affect.
I loved this blue tree! The lights were all the way up to the top! This was right near the manger scene.
This is out of order, but this is the entrance again, walking in.
Me and my man more in love than ever! The stars behind us were syncronized to music, which was really cool.

They had a "12 days of Christmas" display that was so cute and creative!

Next year, Brooklynne will be old enough to enjoy it and we will probably bring her. Or, we might be selfish and make it another date night! I guess she would never know what she was missing! :) Either way, I will love to go again. Christmas really is the most wonderful time of the year!

The Most Wonderful Time of the Year!

Here are some pictures of our Christmas season so far! I love this time of the year! Last night, Nate and I went to the Trail of lights and it was amazing...I will be posting those pictures next.



Yesterday, Faith, Joanna and I got together (we are neighbors) and did Christmas baking. It's so much more fun to be in the kitchen when there are other girls to talk to and have fun with! Verity helped me unwrap all the kisses for the peanut butter blossoms that I was making.
These are Jo, Faith's and I's kids. It's amzing that there are already that many and we are all so young! :)
Jo making chocolate covered pretzels (with white chocolate and peppermint--YUM!) and Faith making Almond bars that were delicious!

Nate and I taking a picture of ourselves on a walk--yes, we are wearing short sleeves!

Kim has been here for several weeks now with the kids, so we had them over for Italian food which Kim loves! We had a great time!

This is the pictures of Brooke that I am putting on our Christmas card. I took about 15 and got 2 good ones.

Amazingly, this was just a week ago on a walk that we took. We got some lights in the background so that you would believe that, yes, it was Christmas time and we are wearing short sleeves! And no, it's not Christmas in July, either! (BTW, it is pretty chilly now)

This was Brooke enjoying the toys in her stroller on our walk that night. The weather actually really ended up turning by the time we were on our way home and it's been cold ever since!

Robby and Nate with their little girls!Brookie looks so big compared to Trinity!

Prayer needed...

I would like to ask you all to pray very hard for two things in our church right now. You already know about them, I'm sure, but I just wanted to remind everyone.
One, for my Pastor's health. He has a terminal illness that has been bothering him since right after we got married, about July '06. They have given him a "time" frame that he will "live" but we know that God can work miracles and help him to live longer, or heal him completely. At this point, the tumor that was around his lungs last year at this time that they took out has come back with a vengeance. He hardly has any appetite, but when he does eat, all of the protein and nutrition goes right to that tumor. He looks like an African poster child: very thin with a bloated pot belly. Basically, his body is wasting, is what they call it, because he is not getting nutrition from anything that he eats--when he does or can eat.
We know that God can heal him and that is what we are praying for. If not, we will need a Pastor to take over where he left off, and so I would ask you to pray for that too. Pastor said the other night (PTL he was feeling well enough to preach!) that he will appoint a Pastor before he dies which will lift a great burden off of everyone.
Secondly, for Josh and Caleb to get out of prison. I am praying that it would be before Christmas, and I'm asking you to do the same. I know that God can work a miracle here, too! With the court system being so slow, it would have to be all God that will get them out. It will be 4 year this year that they have been in there--simply for spanking a child with a switch the size of your pinkie. The day they were sentenced, a woman had drowned her child in the bath tub and received 10 years probation. Just to let you know how unjust their sentences were.
Thank you all so much for praying for them. I believe that God can do exceedingly above all that we ask or think! Lord, help thou mine unbelief!

Sights and Sounds of Christmas!

This year marks the second year in a row that we have gone to Sights and Sounds of Christmas in San Marcos. Last night was a little different because we had a baby! She was really good for us and got to be carried a lot by "Uncle" Dave and "Aunt" Jess while someone else pushed her empty stroller :).

We were trying several different places to get a good picture for our Christmas card. I think with a little cropping, this might be the one!
They have a whole section that is "Bethlehem." Here is the manger scene.
Daddy and Brookie with a camel!
The walk across the bridge to the arts and crafts side
Entrance to Bethlehem


They have lights everywhere, large tents with vendors set up, lots and lots of food, a midway for the kids, Bethlehem as you saw and several different neat things. It was really fun!

Happy Birthday to my Hero!!!

Today, December 5, is my Mom's birthday. My Mom is officially my hero, especially as I get a little older and am married with a baby. My Mom always amazed me at how sweet and submissive she is to my dad. You guys know my dad--he is a great man of God, and I think to be that way you have to be a little "intense". He is a visionary! And Mom? She just hangs on for the ride with a smile. When I would be pulling my hair out and screaming, she's calm and collected and being the wife that God wants each one of us to be. I hoped that when I got married I would be like her. Well, let's just say that I'm still working on that part. You think it would be easy to submit and reverence (that's the part I have to work on!). Well, when I got married, I had even more respect for her! And I have an easy going, laid back husband who helps me all the time around the house and with the baby. My dad wasn't really into that and my mom still did it all without complaint. I'm not saying it was bad that my dad didn't really do that--just some guys don't and it's not a bad thing!

So then I got pregnant. My Mom's pregnancies were not too bad, but still, she did it 9 times full term and 4 times before she miscarried. And each time you are tired, your back bothers you, you're uncomfortable. And yet, if she didn't look pregnant, you would have never known because she didn't complain about that either. Wow! I realized what a trooper she was for over a decade that she carried babies in her womb!

My Mom got to be here for the birth of Brooklynne. I don't know what I would have done without her gentle support for me during that day and the 2 weeks afterwards that I was recovering. When I was in labor, I remember looking up at her and saying, "I can't believe you did this 9 times!" No drugs, no epidural. What a woman!

I love my Mom for all the times she took me shopping and talked to me about my personal problems. I love her for the times that I got up early enough to see her reading her Bible and kneeling to pray. I love her for the times I was awake enough to hear her on the treadmill downstairs, disciplined enough to exercise almost every day. I love her for the many times I saw her and my dad "sporting" :) in the kitchen or anywhere in the house, because I knew how much they love each other. I love my Mom for her quiet little way about her. I love her for the times she listened to my petty little problems and gave me really good wisdom. I love her for for keeping the house tidy, doing the laundry, cooking the meals, and all the come along with that. I love her for giving me a good education and for being diligent with homeschooling. I love her for so much more and I am almost in tears to think of how much my Mom sacrificed for me, and still does each day.

I love you so much Mom, for the godly example of a Christian woman that you are to me.

Happy, Happy, Happy Birthday!

Me decorating our tree :)
Happy Baby! Nate and I bowling one night
Our Tree!

Nate and I at Dave and Jess' house
Putting on the lights (I only posed for this! :)
rookie putting on th every first ornament (a Cammileri tradition that has carried over)
Santa Baby! She was enthralled with the tree! Nate gave her a branch and she started eating it and he thought it was so funny :)

Some Pictures from November

The Simpson grandchildren in age order: Verity, 3 Uriah, almost 2, Brooklynne, 6 mos Trinity, 10 days

I think that Brooke looks so much like Nate in this picture!
Enjoying yummy applesauce!
Happy to be home again with daddy from Alabama

Christmas Gift--HELP!!!

Each year the Simpson family draws names of who they are going to buy a gift for. This year I got Robby. OK, help! I hardly know what to get for my husband, let alone my 27 year old brother-in-law! He actually seems easy to please--he loves looking sharp (nice clothes) he loves shoes, expensive pens, golfing, socoor and Starbucks. If something interesting comes to mind from that list, please let me know. I have a $50.00 limit :). Thanks!

My 6 month old---all grown up!

It was so awesome having Claire here this past week! We had a blast! Brookie really loves her!
We finally had some cold weather hit so we had to bundle her up. Needless to say, she hates being put in her carseat when she has her coat on. I have no idea why!

Thanksgiving is a Choice!

I hope that you enjoyed a wonderful Thanksgiving! This year we celebrated at my house again with Nate's family. My sister-in-laws family from MO was here also and so they ate and spent the day with us. We had about 15 people and way too much fun! I love having big parties at my house because it reminds me of growing up. Our house was always full of people and we loved it! It wasn't rare for us to have 20-40 people over on a Sunday after church. My Mom was amazing in this area and my dad always helped her out with the food too. I guess then I didn't realize what a big job it was and I wish I would have helped my Mom out a little more. Anyway, I'm off on a bunny trail.
The Wednesday night before Thanksgiving, Brother Kaighen (Joanna's dad) preached a very convicting message called, "Thanksgiving is a choice." To me, even the title was convicting. How often we go about our every day lives choosing (absentmindedly) to be unthankful! He talked about how important it is for us to be positive, happy, thankful people ALL the time. He ended with this illustration: Tonight, when you go home, think of what is most important to you in this life--something that you treasure. Your spouse? Your family? Your church? Whatever it is, think of how much you love and appreciate your treasure and how much that means to you. Then, think of what it would be like to have it taken away. And really think about it. I think of the anguish that I would go through if my best friend, my husband, were to be taken away from me and the turmoil that I would experience of not having his steady, guiding hand to help me through every day life, loving me unconditionally. Now, what can you do to show more appreciation for that person, your treasure? If it were taken away, would you regret not being grateful to them and expressing your gratefulness to your treasure?
I wanted to write that down before I forgot about it. I hope that we all learn to be more thankful and grateful to God for what he has done for us and to others and what they give to us each day. Thanksgiving is a choice, so choose it each day!

Chicken, Anyone?

Last night Nate was going to make his favorite home made vanilla ice cream but we didn't have any eggs. He ran over to the neighbors house to borrow some (which happens to be his brother Robby) and came over with a few different colored eggs--obviously farm fresh. In went one egg into the pot to be cooked, and when the next one was cracked, it said, "CHEEP CHEEP!" A baby chick!!! I have to say that I have seen this before but when you live in the classy, hi-tech city of Austin, Texas, you don't really expect to see it. It was gross. Disgusting! I'm sure you can see by the looks on our faces that we were not too impressed! And when we told the person we had borrowed it from (omitting names :) they accused us of chicken abortion! :) Not really. Anyway, it was a little weird and a little disgusting but it was funny in a way too. So that was our little adventure last from last night! :) By the way, after the baby was properly disposed and a new batch was made, the ice cream came out the creamiest it has ever been, or at least I was told. I, for one, did not eat any!

Alabama Trip

This past week we went to Jack Patterson's "Come and See" Jubilee and I have to say that they were the best meetings I have ever been to. The preaching was phenomenal and the music was uplifting. It was held at Gloryland Baptist Church in Birmingham, Pastor Charlie Andrews. He was one of the preachers, along with my dad, Vince Massa, Eddy Wyatt and several other men of God.



This is the Tabb family singing. They sang kind of a theme song throughout the week called, "I have been blessed." It was so good, and everyone was crying and shouting and having a time when they sang it on Thursday evening. How blessed we have been!
This is the boys home where the Parkinsons live. The guys in Old Paths built it and it is very beautiful inside!
It's so nice whenever I have a chance to sing with my sisters! We sang for most of the invitations and a lot during the services.
Brookie was really good in the car until the last few hours--then she would get really whiny and discontent :) But so would we!

4 of the second generation girls from Old Paths were there along with our babies, so we got this picture one night. It was so neat to all be together again!
We also got one of the grandpa's of the kids! This picture is so sweet!
This is Bro. Jack with his girls home. They sang and quoted scripture. Bro. Jack has and incredible heart for all the kids in his home.
Dave and Pat are really good friends and they had an awesome time at these meetings too. They helped me by taking care of the baby one afternoon, too. :)

Nate and I happily reunited after a week apart. I wished so bad that he could have been there!