December cuties

I just had to share these pictures of my cuties. We've already had our Christmas celebrations with my dad's family and my mom's family. We've also celebrated Liam's birthday, several times! He got a really nice bike from his mom and dad.

I know I am a slacker this year and didn't send out Christmas pictures, but I sure have enjoyed getting cards and photos from everyone. They are posted all over my fridge. If you'd like to see the family pictures we WOULD have used, go to the Foster Cryer link to the right and click on proofing. I'm considering this blog as my Christmas letter too. Told you I am a slacker.

60 years and counting....

We had a great time on December 1st celebrating my grandparent's 60th wedding anniversary. That's quite an accomplishment these days! Here are a few pics from that fun family time. I don't know what was going on with my hair, so just ignore that....

What about November?!?!

Some of you that are used to reading my blog may have found yourselves saying, "What about November?" when you are looking for updates. All that I can say is that December comes WAY too early. It's starting to take over November's events. If I were November, I'd be very upset with December. Anyway, here goes all of the posts I should have done in November...


I made my first cake, or I guess I should say, I decorated my first cake.

Lily has been doing and saying so many cute things. I didn't think she would ever talk and now she is talking in sentences. Of course, I have to translate much of the time. She says, I need help, I change (remote control), I sweep, don't touch it, let me out, and her favorite is NO! MINE! There are some pictures included here of her in a pink dress and red stipe pjs that were mine when I was the same age.

Luke keeps us laughing all of the time. His vocabulary is very large for a 5 year old (he watches too much TV) and he always amazes us with the words that he uses and uses correctly.

Liam is already a little engineer. He's constantly drawing. The drawing you see here is of a bike ramp, side and top view. He came up with that on his own. He also got a pretty good knock on the chin playing at school.

Lily is quite the diva, but she doesn't like the paparazzi as you can see...

We also got to go visit our new nephew, Joel. Here are some cute pics from that snuggly visit. Liam LOVED holding baby Joel. Even though the baby was crying loudly, Liam wanted to hold him one last time before we left. Luke took a bit to warm up, but after some bribes, he really enjoyed himself. Lily, however, wasn't sure what to think of the new kid in town....

Slideshows on YouTube

Southpark Church has been a bustle of activity the past few months. Our friend and wonderful photographer has been capturing church events and families on film. He put together some slide shows for our Fall festival and another montage. Please take a look by clicking on the link at the right. You can view both videos from there or click on our pastor's link to see the latest 'commercial'. xo, S

Welcome baby Joel!!!!!

We are so excited to announce that our newest nephew, Joel Emmitt Ferguson (named after his uncle and great grandfather), was born today at 12:03 pm. He weighed in at a whopping 9 lbs and 6 ounces and was 21 inches long! Whoa! He will need 3-6 month clothes very soon I'm sure. He's still smaller than his daddy who was 9:15 and 23 inches!!! We're told mom and baby are both doing well. Although I'm sure that baby is feeling quite a bit better than momma. Their family has a new blog site. Click the link to the right to see how Joel grows, and grows, and grows, and grows... I'll post more details and pictures as I get them.

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Pator Tom Hopkins on You Tube

Just a quick blog to let you know our new pastor has done a commercial for our church. Long story, but a big blessing. We got to do the whole thing free! God is good! Anyway, check it out when you get a chance.Click on the link to the right or go to YouTube and search for Tom Hopkins or Southpark Community Church.

Tag, I'm it.

A good friend of mine has 'tagged' me which means that I'm going to have to write about what I was doing 10, 20, and 30 years ago. Gee, thanks Peggy! I'm not the writer she is but I'll give it a try....


Ummmm, let's see.... 10 years ago... 1997... that would make me 22 years old. I was waiting for Joel to ask me to marry him, which he did in December. I lived in OKC attending UCO for nursing school. I didn't like the school much having gone to OSU for 3 years previously. I lived with a gal I met at OSU who happened to be an old high school class mate of Joel's. I can't remember which job I had at that time. I think I was working in the office of a hospice care center. I pretty much studied all the time and spent as much time with Joel as I could. He was in Stillwater getting his engineering degree. Here's a picture of us at the Cass's wedding. I have very short hair and Joel looks like he is about 11 years old.


Okay... now for 1987... 12 years old...6th grade...here's where it gets fuzzy. I don't remember too much of this time. Hormones raging, boy crazy, dumb looking and awkward. First year of Jr. High. I remember standing in front of the mirror crying at my changing figure thinking that I was fat. I wish I still had that figure.... I hated being a teenager. Everything was so emotional and such a big deal. If you woke up with a zit, it was like the world was coming to an end... I had a step-dad that I needed (and still does) God so badly, but drank to drown his pain instead. I stayed in my room most of the time where everything was neat, clean, and organized. My little land of complete control! I loved watching Mama's family and Star Trek and Shark Week with my brother. We played Mario Brothers on Nintendo. My favorite memories are of Christmas and Thanksgiving with family. I believe this picture is around this time. The yearbooks are in the attic and I'm too lazy to get them down to check.


30 years ago I was only 2... I was sure cute if I do say so myself. This is a picture of me, holding my new baby brother with a cast on my arm (although you can't see the cast). This would have been in June, just before I turned 3. Apparently we had a mare with a new baby which I wanted to pet. I waited until my dad was busy behind the barn and my very pregnant mom went in the house to cool off, then I crawled in the pen. The mare must mistaken me for a threat and she kicked me. My dad found me laying in the pen, unconscious with a very bruised left leg and broken right arm. I spent a week in the hospital. I remember shadows of events there. There was a nice nurse there that happened to also be my mom's nurse when she delivered me. I received a set of books from her. My cousin Heather pushed me down the hall in a wheelchair and I got to take a bath with plastic around my arm. As a mother now, I can't imagine my parent's horror finding me like that!

Okay Peggy, there you go, I hope that will suffice! xo, S

Happy Fall Ya'll

We had a great time at our church's annual All Saint's Party. The kids ran around like they were insane and charged themselves up with candy. I'm surprised that no one barfed! Anyway, Lily actually won 2nd place in her age group costume contest. Her outfit wasn't anything great, but she did actually look like Boo from Monsters, Inc. We were hoping that Luke would win a prize. He looked so cute and Willa Rae worked so hard on his chef costume.

Bunco Debunked

I was so excited to do a blog posting of our annual Halloween bunco. Everyone puts on a good show with their costumes. Alas, I had to cancel the occasion due to illness. I wasn't sick, however, Owen, Luke, Liam, Harry, Margie, Jake, Jason, Charla, Matt, & Diane all have had a stomach virus this week! Yikes! Apparently it is very contagious! Anyway, I didn't want to pass it along to anyone else, which they appreciated. So, I cancelled bunco. I had to take pictures of the things that I could anyway. Carrie worked so hard on her sugar cookies and dirt cake. They are so yummy that I was going to drive over to her house last night to get some, but she offered to bring them to me today. I guess two good things came from bunco getting cancelled (besides no germ spreading!). My house is VERY clean. Joel even helped me scrub and polish the kitchen cabinets. He also made my room scrapbook table screen (which I didn't get painted) and fixed the toilet paper holder to prepare for bunco. What a guy! And, I got to keep the bunco gift! Hurray!

Pumpkin patch

We were having a grand time at the pumpkin patch on Wednesday. The kids were excited to pick out a big pumpkin to decorate our front porch. As we were searching, a 9 year old boy came running up to his mother, holding his head with bloody hands. He went to sit down and I asked if I could help since I was a nurse. His mother mouthed, "It's pretty bad" over the top of his head. She removed her hand and there was a two inch gash on his forehead, through which his skull could be seen! She said, "They can stitch that up, right?" I reassured her that they could. I stayed with the boy as his mother walked a few blocks away to get her car. He did great but I started to feel like I was going to pass out! There's just something about a child being injured that bothers me a lot. They boys and I prayed for his quick recovery. The next day, we returned to the pumpkin patch and the church ladies running the booth said that the boy had returned after getting 12 stitches because he wanted free his pumpkin! Liam is bare foot in the picture because he took his shoes off at Jazzercise and left with out putting them back on! I refused to turn around to get them, so here he is, shoeless!

He's HOME!!!!!!!!!!!

Thank you Lord for the many thousands of prayers that You answered for my brother's safety. There is NO doubt that You alone brought him home safe and whole, just as we asked in Jesus' powerful name. Please make his adjustment to home life as smooth as possible. Give he and his wife Dustin grace and understanding with one another as they adjust to married life again. I ask too, that You would cause any undesirable memories to fade for him, never to return. Thank you also for Rob's safe return and for Your miraculous protection and healing of Pat and J.B.. Please continue to heal them body, mind, and spirit. Thank You, thank You, thank You, for our freedom and for those who pay so dearly for it. May we NEVER take it for granted and may we stop to consider how high the price is for it. Lord, please continue Your mighty protection on the others that are still in Iraq and all over the world. In Jesus precious name, Amen!

Grandpa Steve's new digs and some pigtails

Monday we took a little trip over to Jennings, OK to see my dad's new place. He just completed the move of all of his belongings. Soon he will be settled and be working on land improvements. Before long he plans to build a small house where we can all come to fish and camp and relax. The kids had fun looking at the horses, inspecting wild flowers, throwing dirt clods, and climbing on tractors. After we looked everything over, we ate some Charlie's Chicken then visited for a while. Before we knew it, it was time to go!

I had to include a couple of pictures of Lily with pigtails in this blog. She just looks so cute! Please continue to pray for Seth. His return has been pushed back a couple of days. He and Dustin can hardly wait! Check out our second set of family pictures that will (probably) be added to Foster Cryer's proofing area next week. Also, I've updated the OFRT blog. They had a fun and safe trip to Arkansas last weekend. Luke and I had strep throat while they were gone. My mom came to spend the weekend with us and now she'd sick! Sorry Mom! Hope this finds the rest of you well! xo, S

Recap

Okay, I haven't posted for a while. We've been really busy going and doing, what, I can't say... Anyway, here's a little recap of what we've been up to.

My sister-in-law Diane and I went to our other sister-in-law's baby shower. It's too bad the poor girl has so many friends, she had to sit and unwrap gifts for about an hour and a half! The father-to-be (Joel and Diane's brother) Neil dropped by just in time to load up gifts. Mary isn't fond of his fanny pack that he sometimes wears, but I felt that little baby Joel might need one too. You can see a picture of the proud papa trying it on. My mom and aunt Pam attended the shower too and afterwards we went to eat at P.F. Chang's. Yum!!

Next we did some miniature golfing with our church. Luke said, "Mommy, who's that brown guy that we watched on TV?" I guessed that it was Tiger Woods and he said that's is who he wanted to be. Luke and I both got a hole-in-one on the same hole!

On Sunday we had a welcome party for our new pastor, Tom Hopkins. We are all excited to have some one at the helm again and looking forward to some structure and changes in our church. I didn't get any pictures of this event as I forgot my camera. Can you imagine!?

Last night we attended the Tulsa State Fair. Yes, I know it was raining, but we went anyway. The first hour we did outdoors things since the rain was holding off. We watched a dog show and Lily was captivated. Next we went to the petting zoo, she loved that too. Once the rain started, we moved in doors and looked around at all the 'man' items. The boys climbed around in an ambulance and a semi truck then Joel and the boys went in to an exhibit of antique motorcycles.

That's it for now! Look for an update to the OFRT blog next week. The guys are going to Arkansas this weekend. Pray for a safe ride! Also, be looking for our family pictures in the next couple of weeks. If you want to see the first set, click on the link to the right for Foster Cryer. Go to his proofing area and you can see the Ferguson family pics. xo, S

Luke's 5th Birthday

Last night we had a WILD time as we celebrated Luke's fifth birthday. We were initially going to celebrate just as a family, but in the spirit of fun, I decided to invite a few 'regulars' along. We were a crew of about 27! After eating, we went to do some bowling! Everyone had a wild time and Diane bowled a career high of 167! Congrats Diane!

Third Annual Ferguson Family Fun Weekend

It seems anticlimactic now, but we had such a great Ferguson Family Fun weekend on the 14-16th. We stayed in a cabin at lake Murray in south central Oklahoma. Each year the trip gets better. There was so much to do and see!

The first night we celebrated birthdays for Luke and me. It was extremely windy so we decided to take the party indoors for gifts and cake. When Neil and Mary arrived, we all rubbed her belly. Baby Joel is really growing and we look forward to the day he arrives!

The next morning we boarded a pontoon boat and cruised about the lake a bit. We didn't discover we weren't provided with an anchor until we were underway, so in order to fish we tied off to several old tree stumps. With the first cast of the day, Liam caught the largest fish, a 3 lb drum. He did all the work himself and was really proud. Someone, I won't say who, got his line hung up and Neil volunteered to jump in to the rescue. When we weren't tethered to a branch, he also pushed and pulled the boat in the desired direction. We took a break from fishing and a nice lunch and Lily had a nap. At the boat dock we enjoyed feeding the massive and slightly creepy carp. In the afternoon, we split up and did our own things. Some played golf, regular and miniature. While Matt and Diane tried out their new boat motor and later were pulled back to shore by some nice people when the motor had a glitch. Meanwhile, Matt got a nasty gash in his foot when he stepped on some glass as he waded out to the boat. Later we had steak on the grill and made s'mores while we sat around the camp fire. Before bed we glued Matt's foot back together with some super glue made for surgical wounds. I almost got my fingers glued to his foot in the process!

On Sunday morning, we took a bike ride and then went to Tucker's Tower. The views were impressive! Every day we were there the weather was perfect. The breeze felt great on top of the tower. Lily was most impressed with the 'kittykittykitty' roaming the grounds. On our way to have lunch at the Ferguson's RV, we packed up our stuff. After lunch we Lily played in the water for a bit and then we were on our way home. Look for the fourth installment of Ferguson Family Fun in May!

Remembering Mildred

Today we got the news that Joel's paternal grandmother, Mildred, passed away from a sudden stroke. We will miss her so much! She had such spunk and wit! I know that Joel gets his dry sense of humor from her.

The past few years, she has lived with Darrell and Willa Rae. We are so glad that she came here from Pennsylvania so that we could spend more time with her. She enjoyed her great-grandchildren very much. In fact, I had a hard time finding a picture with out her holding Lily!

Over at Darrell and Willa Rae's home, we had a lovely dinner provided by some of the ladies from South Sand Spring Church of God. During dinner, Joel suggested that we honor Mildred by taking our time eating and making sure that we went back for thirds! For those of you who didn't know Mildred, she was a tiny little gal (about 4'11" and 90 lbs) who could really put it away! We often teased her that she had a hollow leg! I still don't know where she put it all.

I can't believe we won't see her again! But she'll forever be in our hearts. I smile when I think that she's seeing Virgil, Kathy, and her parents again. Most importantly, Jesus! Thank you Lord that she didn't suffer. We love you Millie!