Raising Godly Children: 10 Commandments of Parenting

Raising Godly Children: 10 Commandments of Parenting: 1. Pursue Righteousness in Your Marriage Husbands, you need to show your children how a husband loves his wife, even as Christ loved...

Dinner and Fun!

Merit loves taking his own socks off! He really likes to have them off when we play at the Galleria play land.

Daddy went out of town and Mimi came over to spend the night. We had a surprise "Thank you" gift for Mimi!

Every night is a special occasion, right? :) I'm using my fancy place cards tonight for dinner! Thank you to Melissa for giving them to me.

Banana pudding trifles for dessert...yum!

Papa joined us for dinner but he's not in any of the pictures. :(

As you can tell, Merit thoroughly enjoyed this treat!

Handsome Boy

I know...I take way too many pictures. I just can't resist this adorable face!

He loves to ride his tricycle in circles through the kitchen and living room.

Playing in the leaves...totally all boy!

New Play Set!

Our sweet neighbors are moving in the next couple of months. They called us this week to tell us that they wanted to give Merit their boys' play set. We haven't bought him one because we have a playground literally across the street from our house. However, we really couldn't say no to their thoughtful and generous offer. Merit had so much fun playing on it. He really liked climbing up the side and then going down the slide. Cali and Maui even got in on the fun! Thank you Bolton family!

 A tunnel, slides and walls to climb...Merit is in heaven!



Saturday Fun & Projects!

Merit helping Mommy die coffee filters for a Valentine project.

Making shapes using candy hearts

 Mommy is working on a project for Merit's room; a magnetic board to work on his letters and numbers.

Playing with dominoes; I used to love this and Merit likes it too! They are great for matching numbers or just stacking!

Cool New Shoes!

J.P. and I found these way cute New Balance tennis shoes online and couldn't resist buying them for Merit. He got really excited when we told him his new shoes came in the mail. Daddy put them on his feet and then he ran around the house. I bet he can run really fast now!

Interview Update!

The interview went great! She told me that she'd like to highlight what each survivors "weapon" was for their battle. After I told her my story she asked me if she was correct to say that my battle weapon was God. I said, "yes! God, his Word and my faith". I hope I get selected! However, she said with my permission she would like to possibly use my story in another article if it's not selected by her editor this time. Thank you for praying!

Ready For a Nature Walk

It rained all day Wednesday and most of the day Thursday. However, when Merit woke up from his nap on Thursday the sun was shining bright. So, we both put on our rain boots and headed out to find some puddles. We actually didn't find very many but we still had fun! I'm not sure why he looks so serious in these pictures; too funny.

Unique Opportunity to Share My Story - Maybe!

Today at 2:00 pm I have a phone interview with a reporter from the Dallas Morning News. She is working on a story about cancer survivors. She wants me to share my experience and tell what has been most helpful in getting my through this time. Well, for me it's been my relationship with God and my faith. I love sharing my faith and telling of how God truly carried me through my diagnosis, treatment and helped me overcome my fears. I will be completely honest with her however, I know that my story may not be chosen because of my faith. So, I would appreciate your prayers. I'm praying that the reporter and editor feel that my story would be very helpful and encouraging to others and that it will be chosen. Stay tuned for details!

Balloon Fun!

I needed to go by Party Warehouse  to pick up some supplies for a project and I couldn't resist buying a balloon for my sweet Merit while we were there. It's amazing how something so inexpensive can make a little one so happy! He giggled the whole way home and then played with it all evening.

Merit really thought it was funny to hit Mimi on the head with the balloon!

Mimi spent the night with us that night and brought Merit a chocolate cupcake. He enjoyed it but of course I only let him eat half of it. :)

Health Update!

Many of you have asked how my health is lately.Well, my bone marrow biopsy came back and I was so close to remission that my doctor decided to leave me on my current medication. J.P. was thrilled about this because he was worried of new side effects coming with new medication. I am supposed to meet with the head of Oncology at Medical City in the next month to determine course of action at this point. Dr. Juturi believes I will reach remission very soon because I am so close now. I appreciate your prayers and please continue for complete healing for me. I faith that God will heal me in His perfect timing!

Giving Him all the glory,

Charissa

Silly Merit

Using the snuggies to block the sun; his sunglasses were in his backpack.

Climbing up to the very top of the stairs at the Galleria. Merit gets his exercise too! And, we practice counting on the way up and the way down.

My happy boy. :)

My First Backpack!

 Merit trying on his new backpack; look at that smile.

Showing Mommy & Daddy that he knows how to unzip his back pack

Taking a look inside and wondering why it's so heavy!

 Practicing walking around wearing his new backpack

Merit really likes to bring all of his stuffed animals into the living room.

Enjoying a caramel apple after a busy day of shopping.

I just love these pictures! You can tell how proud Merit is of his new backpack. I've been wanting to get him one but haven't really spent any time looking. So, Daddy found this one at the Oakley store when he was there buying some new lenses. What a great find!

Shapes with Beans

This week Merit is working on the number four and the letter P. I always try to come up with some sort of craft to reinforce what he is learning. So, this weekend we made shapes our of dried beans. I put several different types of beans in plastic containers and then drew shapes with glue. I drew the shapes and then filled them in with the glue. Merit sprinkled and placed the beans in the shapes. He loved mixing the different colors of beans. We used lentils, black beans, black-eyed peas and sunflower seeds too. The finished product looks really nice! He was very proud of his artwork!

We also made a polar bear out of cotton balls and used black beans for his claws, eyes and nose. Polar bear begins with the letter 'P'!

Fun With The Griffin Family

We enjoyed time with Tim, Holly and baby Thomas on Saturday night. We met at Hard 8 BBQ, had a delicious dinner and then enjoyed some great music from the band. Merit and Thomas had fun together. Merit tried to get him to laugh by doing silly things, such as sticking his tongue out. These two were pretty entertaining to watch. What a fantastic evening with wonderful friends. Friendship is truly a treasure!

Being silly with Thomas. They are both pretty darn cute, huh!

Watching the band and all of the kids

Listening to the music with Daddy

High-fives for Thomas