Ready or Not here I come!

I guess my time away from my dear blogging friends is like a game of hide and seek. Yes, I have been hiding for quite awhile, like 4 months, but I was found just a few days ago when getting "called out" for not blogging anymore. I thought, seriously, the only ones that read this are the ones that I see on a weekly basis so what's the point. My husband then mentioned I used to read it so I knew what was going on because you just don't tell things. So here I am back on base for now, anyway! A lot has really been happening around the Klein household. HMMM let's think back to some of the old blogs.........I'll start with the one titled Who are You? I think that is what it is called, anyway, yes that snotty woman that I spoke of, oh funny story. We had yet another event where she attended with her husband and I got to see a side that showed me just how fake she is. From a lady who looked down upon me about a year ago is now inviting me over for an afternoon swim and cocktails. SERIOUSLY!!!!! It all changed when my precious husband made a speech at a large company function, apparently she found that impressive! She then started making proper conversation with me and somehow it went to politics and how I ran the Republican Women's group at A&M and was a major role for the Aggie's for Bush Campaign. She then invited us to her home for that swim and cocktails. Such a joke! All in all though, that night was great and the party was a BLAST! So here is to you M&S Engineering, HAPPY 10 YEAR ANNIVERSARY!!!

Here is another update from previous blog titled From Step-son to Son Happy Birthday to my Favorite Teenager: Lawton is now 14!! I can't believe how old he is. He closed one chapter of his life today finishing middle school and started a new chapter as he begins high school. He is a great kid. He is so smart and tender hearted. I think it is pretty funny though that he is way taller than me and his dad. He now is 6 ft and wears a 11.5 shoe. CRAZY!!!! If now we could just put some meat on his bones!

Last but not least, the blog titled, Not Too Cool For School: my BABY finished pre-K yesterday. We had an amazing year with Mz. Lynday! She is such a blessing to our family and to Zane. I am honored to have a woman like that teaching my child. Lance and I explained to him that he had a summer break and wouldn't go to school for 2 months. He cried and didn't want to miss his friends. Yes, that is my social butterfly!!!

So game players, do I need to come find you now? Will you come out of blogger hiding?

Something funny!!!!!

This was our 1st Sunday in the Emerald Rainbow Family Fun Center for our worship inviting others in the community. As most of you know I am NOT a shy person, but when it comes to speaking in front of crowds I HATE IT!!!!! Since we have started community worship with the children in service they get to have their own little sermon piece that has to be "quick"! I feel that I never get it out right because I'm worried about time and Sunday just felt so uncomfortable doing it. Well if you work with children, you know that it is always better to get down on their level and at our 9:15 service I took a seat on the stage, the mic wouldn't work so I had to scoot back further away from the kids. Apparently I gave the praise and worship crew a crack show and was told about it afterwards. Girls, come on like anytime we sit these days you take the chance of showing the rear. If the fashion police want to make jeans come up a little more I would be happy to wear them but I don't see that happening anytime soon!!! HA!!! I apologized to the men and they were like, "what are you talking about." So at the 10:45 service I tried to stand and it just felt sooooo wrong. I looked back at the band and said, " I'm sorry, but I'm going to sit now." I have no idea if they got another show, but i think it is so funny. Nothing like a little Raenette crack to add to your life!!!

Emerald Rainbow Family Fun Center

Well, it was long waiting and finally the Emerald Rainbow Family Fun Center opened for business. I think the name is way too long so we have decided to shorten it to the ER. It is not only a a place for children to have fun but adults too. This place has a salon/spa, an organic cafe and the obstacle course is fun for us too. I took Zane with some friends and as long as they let him do the big kid stuff it was fun for him and kept him busy.

Taking a break from jumping and playing trains!

Jamie, is that baby ready yet?
My friends enjoying some girl time while the kids play!

playing trains again and we have a train table at home. I guess they are better at other places

One of our kids on the rock wall!

Going down the slide...what fun!

My good friend, Jen Taylor, on the rock wall!

She's coming down!

If you havn't been to the ER, go visit and bring some extra cash for the bowling and some food. It is so nice to have something like this in our little town. Oh, yeah, and our church meets here now on Sundays. Please come visit Riverside here at the ER at 9:15 or 10:45!!

Good bye 2008 bring on 2009

2008 was a very blessed year for the Klein family. God blessed us in so many ways. We bought our first home, I started a J O B, Lance was truly blessed within his workplace and a miracle happened....we got 2 dogs! After all the struggle that Lance and I have been through it was like I had to keep pinching myself. God is so good and his love for us endures forever. I praise him for all that he has given to us in 2008. I pray that with our new adventures in 2009 that our Lord will be the center of it all and we will be able to bless people as we have been blessed abundantly. I pray that all of you have a very blessed New Year all year long and that we all continue to seek his face in the good and in the bad.

Rewind from now to November

I have been really terrible at blogging here lately but I am going to get back on track......here we go! Our lives have been busy and fun since you have heard from me last so here is a rewind. Zane kept asking for roller skates for Christmas, well see for yourself!!!! Lawton kept wanting a camo backpack for an Israel trip that he is saving for. He wants one a lot like Ben's so this is what we could do!

Christmas is also Zane's birthday so of course he had to have a cool birthday cake. He wanted us to sing to him twice and so we did!

Christmas at Bear Creek was nice. It was full of laughter and blood. Poor Aaron..that is what he gets for shooting a gun that is out of his league...just kidding B.I.L.

Zane got a tool set for his birthday morning! What fun to work on projects now with daddy!

Zane also got to celebrate his birthday at school before the Christmas break. Lance and I brought pizza and cupcakes to the children and he felt so special to have us both at his school at the same time. I can't believe he is 4!!!

He is counting 1,2,3 for them to start singing. His teacher is the best ever!! She really is a god sent to our family!!



It snowed here one morning. The day before it was 85 degrees and then it snowed that night...crazy Texas weather. Zane had been praying for snow and I was so excited that it snowed for him to see that God loves us so much he sent us snow!

Every other year we switch off Thanksgiving between my family and Lance's family. This year I got to see a lot of my family. We went to my sister's in Lindale. My grandparents got to see Zane and Zane just loves them. It make me so happy since they only get to see them about once a year! He he is with my nunu and Papaw!

In early November we went with Lance to a conference and then swung by College Station. We ate at the good places and then walked around campus. It was so much fun and people loved seeing Zane with all his Aggie gear! He is a true Aggie through and through and he already bleeds maroon!

Whoop it up!

I hope you enjoyed our whirlwind adventure for the past few months. January is a whole new beginning and I will try to keep up the blogging.

What do the Klein Saturdays look like?

As a child I remember our Saturdays of getting up early, watching cartoons and I would make coffee for my mom and dad. Saturdays were relaxing! My biggest thing was getting to go to Wal-Mart with my Dad to pick out new bushes to plant. We would go home and my sister Melanie, my mom and dad and myself worked in the yard. My other sister sat in her room and read. We would go to the park for pic-nics with neighbors or friends from church. Our Saturdays were ours. I did play sports growing up but our games were on week nights and so was practice. Of course this was back in the day when teaches and schools realized that kids played sports so not much homework was given. It was also during the time when no homework was given on Wednesdays because most families went to church on that night (that is a whole other blog). It was also a time when there was no select sport teams and playing sports did not run the family. The family ran the sport. I am not shy to say that I do NOT enjoy watching soccer. It is growing on me but it is still by far my least favorite. So years ago I was not happy to find out that Lawton was going to play select soccer for a team in Boerne. Our Saturdays revolve around where and when the game is. I'm not talking one hour but more like 2 not including the traveling time to get to these places. It makes me sad that every Saturday our life our family revolves around this and for Zane this is the only life he knows. Zane doesn't know Saturday pic-nics in the park or Saturday "fun" day. He knows at 3 it is Lawton soccer day. I feel that it takes away from us going as a family to the zoo or harvest fields in the fall, hunting weekends in Freer. Most of you are saying big deal we all have sports on Saturdays, but what you need to understand is that select soccer is year round. Yes, year round!!
As I sit and complain, I couldn't be happier for the soccer player that Lawton has become. I have watched him get more aggressive and fight for the ball for his team. I have seen him get excited for others when they score and I have watched him teach Zane everything that he knows. Zane gets so proud of Lawton out on the fields and yells "Good Job Lawton" at every game. Even though I get bummed with not allowing Zane to do kid things, I see him support and cheer on his Big Brother!

my birthday!

Well, on October 17th I turned the big 31! Last year Lance threw me a big surprise party, so this year we took it easy. My awesome hubby took the day off so he could treat me to my favorite breakfast place, Le Peep! Lance and Zane took me there for brunch and afterwards we headed to look around at Academy. After a fun morning we came home and I took a long nap. Lance watched Zane so I got about 2 hours of interrupted sleep. Lance and Zane went to Fair Oaks to pick up Lawton; when they returned we went to have dinner at our neighbors. They were so sweet to have steaks and some very tasty sides for a birthday dinner. Debbie was even so kind to have a cake made for me. So very sweet. We are so blessed to have wonderful neighbors.
Leaving there around 9:00, we fed the horses and then went to the San Antonio Airport to welcome home our "family" from Riverside. They had been in Israel/Turkey for 17 days. We were so happy to see them all return home safe and with so much knowledge to share. I loved seeing the children's faces as they saw their mom or dad step off of the plane. That was the perfect way to end my birthday!

Zane trying on silly hats at Academy!

Look at this wonderful sinful chocolate kiss! LOVE IT!!!! Zane drank half of it though!

MOPS CONVENTION

Mothers of Preschoolers is the Best thing that happened to me when I started staying home with Zane. It gave me sanity because I was so used to working. This is my 3rd year in MOPS and I love it so much I wanted to bless the women that come in just as my dear friend Jen Taylor and Angela Gilbert blessed me. Last year my role was not one I should have taken, but I did learn life lessons from it. I can teach my leadership that it is okay not to get along with people and still make a function happen. I can teach them that we can forgive and learn from that. This year my role is much different and so much less stressful. I am co coordinating with Ruth McClain, an amazing woman, mom and wife! I do not see how this position can be done any other way than working as a team! One of my BIGGEST hang ups about what my position did last year was to raise money for Convention. I refused to go and spend money on a "good time" when we could use that money in so many different ways. After much prayer, others inputs and pushing from others, I decided to register for the Mothers of Preschoolers International Convention held this year in Dallas. Our Bulverde group took 8 women. It was amazing. I don't think any of us knew what to expect or how the Lord would transform us during this time. I just saw out of our group so many things. I got to know people that I saw a whole new light on. I fell in love with these women (not meaning to sound gross). I saw that our group and my life is so very blessed. I learned that we are all MOMMIES and we are here for each other. I learned that I needed to have more grace for people because we have no idea what is going on in their life or in their home. I cried like a baby a lot! The teaching was awesome and the praise and worship was touching. I hope that we can go again next year as a group.

Of course I learned things about the people that I went with...well, I'll tell you about those with the pictures!

OUR HOTEL! IT WAS BEAUTIFUL!!!!

THIS GUITAR WAS A TRAIN TRACK. VERY COOL
ONE OF THE PLACES TO EAT. EXPENSIVE JUST LIKE THE COFFEE AND BREAKFAST THERE
IT IS SUPPOSED TO BE THE GRAND CANYON
OIL DERRICKS!!!!!! I WOULD LIKE TO SEE THE RAIDERETTES JUMP OFF OF THIS ONE
RELAXING AFTER ONE OF THE SESSIONS
OH, WAIT, IS THAT ONE OF OUR MOPS MOMS, OH, YEAH, SHE MOVED TO CBC! WE STILL LOVE YOU KATIE!
MORE MOMMIES COMING IN FOR THE SESSION
G O FISH! MOM SONG....YOU ARE A DOCTOR, A COOKER, YOU'RE MAN THINKS YOU'RE A LOOKER
YES, PLEASE DON'T BE JEALOUS BUT THAT IS JACKIE VELASQUEZ AND HER HUBBY FROM SALVADOR

(LEFT) LAURA..HAS A GREAT MINISTRY IN THE FUTURE..THAT IS WHAT SHE LEARNED! (RIGHT) DENISE IS FUNNY WHICH I NEVER KNEW AND SHE KNOWS EVERYTHING ABOUT HOLLYWOOD GOSSIP

TRACEY..WELL THAT IS STILL TO COME AND JESSICA, MY BMT GIRL, WE WERE TOO MUCH A LIKE IN HIGH SCHOOL
TRACEY....GETTING DOWN TO THE GO FISH GUYS. I HAD TO MOVE SO SHE WOULDN'T KNOCK ME DOWN
LORI KNEW ALL THE WORDS TOO. SHE ALSO HAS SOME MOVES
RUTH LIKES FRUIT BY THE FOOT!!!


WE ALSO CAME BACK WITH LOTS OF ITEMS FROM THE MOP SHOP AND LOTS OF T'S. WE ALL FOUND OUT THAT OUR HUSBANDS ROCK AND THEY LIKE IT WHEN WE SHOW THAT T-SHIRT OFF!! MAYBE THERE WILL BE MORE BABIES IN THE NEAR FUTURE FROM THEM!

Indiana Jones

Zane went to the Best decked out party EVER!! Of course when I walked in and saw all the decorations and activities, I thought, well, scratch them off our list for Zane's party because it won't be near this good. Just kidding, Melanie, Blake is always welcomed at our house.
Blake is a huge fan of Indiana Jones and he was so cute all dressed up as him. Zane had the best time swinging into the "snake pit", finding minerals and digging for treasure.

This is Case and he is in Zane's class!