I love these little faces!

How long have you been a friend?

Take a moment and think about who has been your really good friend for the longest amount of time. Has it been 10 years, 15 years, 20 years? Long time!

Well, all of these wonderful people are members of the Bon Ami Club. Marty's parents are members of this club and so is his aunt and many people we love very much. They have been meeting once a month since early 1960 for dinner together. That is 48 years! Atleast 576 dinners together. I find it absolutely amazing that they have all remained friends for so many years and that they carry on this fabulous tradition. Can you imagine how much has happened in all of their lives in the past 48 years? Marty wasn't even born yet when they started having "Club Parties".

This group includes Marty's parents, his aunt, his best friend's dad, one of Keith's former teachers, Brice and Keith's kindergarten teachers, Keith's grandparents on his mom's side of the family and so many absolutely amazingly wonderful people. (And yes, Marty's former in-laws and his parents are very good friends and I just love them both too. They are such truly good people.)

Their motto is "Bon Ami. Good Friends, For Life" I think they've stuck to the motto. :)

Death Of A Gingerbread House

Ever wondered what happens to old gingerbread houses? I wish we'd taken a photo of ours every day since we made it. It seems that we have had a little candy snitch in our midst. (BRINLEY!) Every day there was less and less candy on the side that she could reach. It was so funny to watch the house become less and less "decorated".

Lola

My baby is growing up....okay, at almost 21 I guess I need to say she is an "adult" but she is still my baby and always will be.

She was finally able to buy her dream car and she is sooooo excited! It is a Mazda RX-8. We are so proud of her. She has a new job, a new car............and Cameron. ;) Cameron isn't new. He's been around ever since they were juniors in high school. They met when we moved here in 2003. He was her first official "crush" at school and they have been friends ever since they met. Now he's more than her buddy but they still act just as silly as ever. Good thing she's got that new car since she is making so many trips down to the Citadel in Charleston to visit him when he can't come home!

Something Near & Dear To My Heart

I am one of the foster care coordinators for Grace and Hope in Guilin. Guilin is where both of our girls are from. I am so blessed to be able to give back to the SWI and the children through Grace and Hope.

We have created a blog where you can view the children from Guilin who are currently in need of sponsors so that they can continue to live with their foster families. Please visit the blog and sponsor a child if you can. If you can't afford to sponsor a child at this time, please pray for all of these sweet children that those who can afford it will come forward to sponsor them and that they will all have their very own forever families someday.

Guilin Foster Care Kids

Sharon

Bailey's Guitar Solo

Bailey's favorite gift other than her Jeep is her pink guitar. Ever since she has been home she has played like she was strumming along on a guitar when she would hear music. Brice and I set out a few days before Christmas to find her one that she could play. I think we found the perfect one. She just loves it!

There is a lot of talking in the video because no one knew I was making it but you can see her "in action" and hear her say "hey! hey!". This child is a riot! Home for 5 months.....but seems like she's always been here!

Christmas

I'm a few days late in posting but things have been WILD around here ever since the Jolly Old Elf departed.
All of the kids were here except Keith, who was at his Mom's this year and joined us later on Christmas day. Dee was here too and Granny Mae and Boss came over Christmas morning.

On Christmas Eve, Marty read both The Night Before Christmas and The Christmas Story from the Bible. Brinley loves hearing the Christmas Story.

Brinley and Bailey rec'd very special gifts from their daddy. He made each of them a baby crib in their favorite color. Brinley's is purple and Bailey's is pink.

Santa surprised Brinley with one of her favorite Chinese treats...FISH JERKY! yum. yum. LOL She is very greedy with her bag of fish jerky and doesn't like to share it with anyone. So far, no one has complained about her not sharing it!

Bailey's favorite gift seems to be the new pink guitar from mommy and daddy. She can really jam on that thing! ;) She dances and plays her guitar and occaisionally says "hey! hey!". She is so funny!

Both of the girls have been very good so their big gift from mommy and daddy were new Jeeps. They have had sooooo much fun driving around in our yard! They are so funny to watch! They've both learned to mauever around pretty good. (A huge THANK YOU to all of my My*Little*Pretty customers who bought Thanksgiving and Christmas shirts and made these gifts possible!)

Brice's big gift from mom and dad was a new mini-bike. He scoots all over the place on it and has a blast! Of course, he and his daddy are already discussing what they can do to make it go faster! I only have video of Brice on his mini-bike so far! I'll have to get some photos too!

Keith's big gift was a new laptop from his mom and dad.

I am including miscellaneous photos from the holidays. We went to our local Christmas parade, made cookies and a gingerbread house, had a big dinner at Granny & Boss' house, visited Cousin Shot's house and checked out the trains.........we just had a wonderful Christmas with everyone! We are so blessed!

The Sky Angel Cowboy

Logan is a 13 year-old boy who lives on a ranch in a very small town in Nebraska. Logan listens to Christian Radio station 89.3FM KSBJ which broadcasts from Houston, TX. Logan called the radio station distraught because he had to take down a calf . His words have wisdom beyond his years. Since airing the audio of the phone call and now the making of the video clip, it has taken on a life of its own. People are forwarding it all over the world. We encourage you to share the love of Christ with anyone you can. (**Sky Angel is a family safe broadcasting service that is offered on satellite. KSBJ is a local Houston Christian music radio station. Video clip produced with love by Frank Lozano. Hear the entire message at ValenicaHills.com)

Click here to hear the phone call.



This is a CBN clip and an interview with Logan.

Merry Christmas!

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Wanna Ride???

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CONGRATULATIONS!

Congratulations to you! You know who you are and you know why we are congratulating you! Our family is THRILLED for your family! ;) There really is a rainbow after the storm isn't there??

Hugs, hugs and more happy hugs!
Sharon

Four Months With Bailey

It's hard to believe that Bailey has been our daughter for a little more than 4 months now. She has changed so much. The time seems to have flown by. It really seems like she has been with us forever.

She is such a sweet baby. She has the cutest laugh. She is Daddy's girl. She loves her baby dolls and cupcakes. She and Brinley love each other and play much better together now. They do still fight......like sisters!

I can't imagine my life without this sweet little girl. We are so blessed to be the parents of Bailey Shay.