The Everetts on the Prairie

Back From Costa Rica

2010-04-20T10:40:00.000-07:00

Meagan & Zach made it home safely late Saturday night from Costa Rica. For those of you who might not know this was Meagan's senior trip. They both went to a Spanish school, where they learned some spanish. Zach especially was trying to stuff as much as he could in his brain, since he really needs it talking to the crews on job sites. They got to do some cool, adventuresome stuff like ziplining and ocean kayaking. The went to see a volcano and saw lots of monkeys and iguanas. And one thing they did almost constantly was...sweat. They stayed most of the time in Manuel Antonio which is on the coast and is mostly rainforest, so lots of heat and humidity. They had a great time, back I think they were both ready to get back to their own home with air conditioning:)

OH SO TACKY

2010-03-16T18:23:00.000-07:00

Meagan & Zane celebrated their 17th and 22nd b-days last Sat. night with a Tacky Party. Meagan's b-day is the 23rd and Zane shares our anniversary-the 14th. I just had to share some of the photos from the party. I haven't ever seen so many ludicrous looking people gathered in one room. We all voted on the 3 tackiest dressed people, and as you can see the competition was stiff. We also had a game to see how many things you could make out of tape & newspaper in 30min. The winning team made 48 items, and some of them were quite elaborate, like a double barrell shotgun, a 3-tiered cake, a sword, shield, and helmet, just to name a few. It was a very fun night celebrating the kids b-days!

IT's A Bird, It's A Plane, No It's Meagan, Zach & Zane!

2010-03-16T17:55:00.000-07:00

Last Saturday our family was on a high, some of us were very, very high. Meagan, Zane, Zach, and Meredith (Zane's sister), jumped out of a plane that was flying at 12,000 feet! It's kind of neat and scary at the same time to see your husband and daughter floating down out of the sky. Zach said once was enough for him, Meagan & Meredith said they would do it again, and Zane plans to jump solo this summer. Guess he liked it:) In the pictures, Meagan is the one with the blue & white parachute, and that's Zane in the rainbow colored one.

A Creative Blast!!

2010-01-10T18:49:00.000-08:00

On New Years day the young people at waco got together to have a gingerbread house building contest. And it was great. There were 7 teams and all of the teams were so creative, Meagan & Zane's team built a church bldg, complete with an attached cemetery, Allison , Justus & Catlin's team created an adorable house with little snow covered trees, an awesome chimney, and a swing in the front yard, the team Nina was on made a football field in their yard. Others created great fences, ice skating rinks, and one team created a very abstract looking house. And the best part was everything was edible. The kids had a great time, and I think all the adults were impressed with the creativity of our kids.

On another note, Zach & I are trying to get our Christian t-shirt business off the ground please check out our-still under construction website & spread the word----honoringhimclothing.com

A few More Masquerade Pix

2009-10-28T18:48:00.000-07:00

Midnight Masquerade!!!

2009-10-28T18:26:00.000-07:00

We celebrated Allison's B-day last Friday night by having a Midnight Masquerade. The party started at 9:30 and went to midnight. Everyone came dressed in formal attire, we played several games, voted on masks (Most Creative, Most Ridiculous, ect) and has a treasure hunt outside using flashlights. It was a fun night, one Allison won't forget.

Meagan & Allison

2009-09-03T13:04:00.000-07:00

Back into the Swing

2009-09-03T12:33:00.000-07:00

Life's somewhat back to normal. We're back into a school routine. Justus going to Baylor Tues. & Thurs. Co-op starts in 1 1/2 wks, and will be on Mons., piano on Weds. I'm hoping by the first of the year I can have Meagan proficient at driving our little trooper(which is a standard), so she can drive to piano and start driving to various other places in Waco. Her being independent will free me up some-that will be nice:). I've added alot of pix. Nina & Zach were in a wedding in June, Gretch is pictured with our new little havanese puppy-Stormy. Summer now 14 mons. is starting to exert her own little will-which at times is quite funny. She doesn't realize that she has old parents that have not only been around this block a few times, but after 6 kids we own the block!
Meagan & Allison took some beautiful pictures a couple of wks ago I thought I'd share. Unfortunately they were right before Meagan got her braces off. She'll be taking graduation pix in the next couple of months-so stay tuned. Justus is the only one I don't have pictured. But he's doing great-growing by leaps & bounds literally. His voice hasn't started changing yet, but he always tries to make it sound deep-he's such a cool kid. Keep in touch everyone-Love, Ang

Talent Show

2009-08-18T18:23:00.000-07:00

The church had a talent show last Sat. night. Our family performed a 20 min. skit based on an Adventures in Odyssey. It was great fun. Zach played the infamous thug Rodney, and was very convincing:) I played Connie, Jeremy played Whit, Allison was Alexis, Meagan -Mickaela, Justus-Trent, and Janae Golden played Sarah. The whole skit in a nutshell, was that a window got broke at Whit's End, and everybody thought Rodney did it, and Rodney blamed Alexis. Meagan played a ditzy blonde, that was Rodney's character witness-if there is such a thing. There was a trial, Connie was the judge, everyone presented their cases, and in the end everyone found out that Whit broke the window. The talent show was a great success, lots of people participated, and it was super entertaining.

Nerve Wracking

2009-08-06T14:10:00.001-07:00

Just an update to you guys in the family. The fire department has now been out here 4 times in the last 48 hrs. They put out one significant fire yesterday that started in the neighbors yard and by the time they got here had spread onto our property. That spot is not far from the house. This morning after surveying the property behind us we saw one fire, Zach put it out, then we decided to call out the FD just to soak the area. When they went all through the property this morning they found 3 more fires. We really think it's almost over, but it's nerve wracking having to continually check for fires and to keep finding them! I was suppose to go down to PA today, but I just couldn't leave the Meagan & Allison alone for several hours until Zach got home. Nina took a picture of me talking to the fireman this morning. The 9-1-1 operator knows us by name now-that's kind of scary. I just ask for you guys to pray that this will be over soon and that the Lord would send a big, soaking rain.

Huge Wildfire Around Our House--Seriously

2009-08-05T08:31:00.000-07:00

Yesterday was crazy, hectic, scary, prayerful, and thankful. About 10:30 yesterday morning I saw smoke coming up out of the woods just a short distance from our house. Our property was being showered with ashes. A very long story short, over the course of the day approximately 50 acres of wooded area around our house was burned, including our back pasture. We think the fire started by a cigarette being thrown out the window. Almost 30 emergency vehicles, from 5 area fire departments were spread out over our property, news media, planes flying over head dumping pink powder were all part of our day yesterday. The fire came within a couple of feet of our trees in the creek. Right on the other side of our creek sits the propane tank, we could have had a big problem. But as I sat across the street with the kids, watching the fireman battle this tremendous fire, it was as the Lord put a shield all around our house. The fire literally went all around us. Except for a burnt pasture and aback fence that is now gone, we are OK. Last night Zach & I walked over the back of our property and the man's 3 acres behind us, which was completely burned, and spotted 5 small fires. So we called the fire department back out, they sent 3 trucks and soaked everything again. We got a hotel last night just to be safe, Zach once again surveyed the property this morning and said there were no flames, just smoke from things still smoldering.
We're glad it's over and SO THANKFUL to our Lord, that he protected us yesterday. Hopefully my next entry will be a little less dramatic.

Back on the Air

2009-07-23T18:26:00.000-07:00

We FINALLY got high speed out here on the prairie. So I can once again blog and share our life with family and friends. Alot has happened in the last 6 mons. Meagan turned Sweet 16, and is now driving! We went on a wonderful family vacation to Colorado, Summer turned 1, Justus turned 11, we had a "Cousins Camp" with Jessi's family, and did all kinds of fun, outdoorsy things, and a few weeks ago my sister, Christina and her husband Jesus, welcomed their first biological child into the world, little Bella Elizabeth! The year, so far, has been good to us, I look forward to the rest of '09.

Summer Turns 1

2009-07-23T18:01:00.000-07:00

Baby Summer turned 1 on June 30th. It's sooo hard to believe. i'm getting to be old-because I can honestly say now that time really flies by. We had a fun week with little Summer, on the day of her birthday she enjoyed a piece of juicy watermelon on the front porch, the next day I brought the kids to a spray park-it was Summer's first time. Once she figured out the water wasn't going to hurt her-she just loved it! Then 2 days after her birthday we had a "Cupcake" Party for her. Meagan & Allison made all the cupcakes-they did a great job, they looked professional. We made fruit kabobs, smashed a cupcake pinata, then had cupcakes and gifts. It was a great day!

Fun and Thrills in Colorado!

2009-07-23T17:21:00.000-07:00

We spent a week in Colorado Springs with DJ and Vanessa. We had a superb time. Focus on the Family, Whit's End, 2 Whitewater Rafting trips, and a Family Float that even Summer got to participate in, were some of the activities for the week. If you've never tried whitewater-ya gotta try it!

Oh Happy Day!!

2009-01-12T18:39:00.000-08:00

Thirteen years worth of prayers were answered last night, as I watched Zach baptize Allison into the body of Christ. I don't have the words to express the feelings I had as I watched my 2nd child obey the gospel. As it says in the scriptures,"I have no greater joy than to hear that my children walk in the Lord". As the mother of 2 babes in Christ I ask for your prayers on behalf of Meagan & Allison, that the Lord will take those tiny mustard seeds of faith, and nurture and grow them into mighty trees planted by the waters.
P.S. I'm having trouble posting pictures, I'll try to have her baptism pictures on here soon.

Marcela Diniz Marcelino!

2009-01-12T06:46:00.000-08:00

Ana Paula's baby girl arrived Saturday morning-the 10th-around 9am. They named her Marcela.
Ana Paula and Marcela are doing fine, they came home this morning. Ana Paula's older sister Milena has been very good about keeping me updated. She sent me several pictures this morning.
Here is a close-up of beautiful little Marcela. Congratulations Lucas & Ana Paula, what a beautiful gift from God!

Very Soon for Ana Paula

2009-01-07T07:55:00.000-08:00

Just thought I'd inform everyone Ana Paula is scheduled for induction on Saturday the 10th.
Ana Paula is family to us, and it's hard for me to miss such an important event in her life. But my heart will be in Brazil on Saturday, as I anxiously await the big news!

The Baby Beaver & Other Interesting Facts

2008-12-30T11:46:00.000-08:00

We use to affectionately call Summer the baby princess, but since her two top teeth have come in that has changed. Her top two teeth are so cute, and she smiles so much, we think she looks just like a very happy, baby beaver. She's celebrating her 6 mon. b-day today. She started pulling up a few days ago, and trying with all her might to figure out the crawling thing. She's got the hand part figured out, she's still working on the leg part.
Things have been pretty crazy around here. The New Years's mtg. is going on, and Jessi moved Jeremy down about a week ago, and she's been here off and on since then. Three of my kids have been vomiting like dominoes since last Friday. The ones that aren't sick still want to go to the mtg. and of course to the gym afterwards to socialize, so Zach & I are doing alot of juggling. Last night I was already in bed nursing the baby when Nina vomited "buckets" as Zach put it. I'm so glad he volunteered to go clean it up. And I am so glad the Lord saw fit for mankind to have 2 parents in the home. This last week would have been pretty hard without Zach around. He's a keeper.

Sitting Pretty

2008-12-25T19:30:00.000-08:00

You guessed it. Baby Summer is sitting up! And boy does she think she's big stuff. She won't lie down on her back any more. She immediately rolls over to her tummy, and starts scooting around.
She'll get on her hands and knees and rock back & forth, like she's getting ready for a big race. I predict she'll be crawling in the next month. She is constantly moving. Jessi thinks it's because I drink too much caffeine:)

Christina Update

2008-12-19T06:27:00.000-08:00

For those of you interested in how things are progressing with my sister's long awaited pregnancy,
I have an update. Christina had an ultrasound this week, and got to see her little baby for the first time. Can you imagine the joy of seeing the baby that you've been waiting on for the past 12 yrs.
The baby looked great, and had a strong little heartbeat. She is 11 weeks now. Thanks to those of you who having been praying, keep it up!

PaPa & the Kiddos

2008-12-10T07:41:00.001-08:00

A Great Day with the Grands

2008-12-09T16:00:00.000-08:00

My parents spent last weekend with us. This was only their 2nd time to see Summer. There was lots of excitement & presents. My parents can't hardly see the kids without giving them gifts.
Justus got a bow & arrow set, Meagan & Allison got some new clothes, Summer got a worm big enough for her to ride on, Nina & Gretch each got puppies that they could dress up and a bug making kit. You actually squeeze this gunk into molds and pop it in the oven. After 8 minutes, you have a rubber bug. The kids just thought that was really cool.Saturday night we went to Shogun and watched a nice, Asian man cook our food right in front of us. When the cook was first starting he poured some oil on the grill and lit it, well it made a big fire and Gretchen thought it was time to panic and hopped out of her seat and started to run. I had to grab her and re-assure her that he wasn't going to burn the place down. Anyway it was a fun weekend. Hopefully these pictures will download and you can see some of the excitement.

5mon. old Cousins on Turkey Day

2008-12-02T14:53:00.001-08:00

An Insanely Busy, Yet Fantasticly Fun Holiday

2008-12-02T13:32:00.000-08:00

A revolving front door would have been very handy at our house the last 2 weeks. We had Shawn & Brandy Hanson and their 4 kids with us for about 10 days, My sister Christina & her family, Zach's parents, Jessi & 4 of her kids, Vanessa & her family, and finally Michael Ashlock. Now everyone wasn't here all at once, although many of them did overlap for our Thanksgiving festivities. At our house Tuesday we celebrated turkey day a little early so Jessi could be here. We tried some new Jewish recipes, Played a few rounds of musical chairs-backwards, and a game of Sardines(backwards hide-n-go-seek). Lots of fun & laughter. In the middle of all this we had a week long mtg. with Raymond Stiner & Paul Collins-which was very good. Several of us got a cold, including Summer, but we trudged on. We went to James Traylor's new gym, 5 times over the week. (My kids are going to go thru fun withdrawals this week). And finally finished 2 weeks worth of fun. It was hard to get back to the daily grind on Monday.
During our time with family last week, the 2 new cousins got to spend some quality turkey time together. Here are Summer & Noah trying to roll, eat, and slobber on each other. Great memories:)

Update...

2008-11-14T08:16:00.000-08:00

Christina called this morning, and said her bloodwork came back. She's not as far along as she thought.
She's about 4 wks. Again, please pray for a healthy baby.

Exciting News!!!!!!!!

2008-11-14T06:18:00.000-08:00

After 12 yrs of marriage, my sister, Christina and her husband, Jesus have conceived their first child! Christina called me last night with the exciting news. We never knew if this day would come.
But it's finally here and we're all thrilled. We think she's about 10 wks, due at the first of June. She'll get some blood work back today, and that should give her a more accurate due date. Please remember to pray for Christina, Jesus & Naomi during the coming days. Lord willing, the next few months will be a beautiful, long-awaited experience for all of them!

Nina Chalane 7 yrs.

2008-11-07T14:07:00.001-08:00

Gretchen 4 yrs.

2008-11-07T09:31:00.001-08:00

Summer 4 Months

2008-11-05T11:09:00.001-08:00

Recent Pix

2008-10-29T14:29:00.001-07:00

I'm trying to get current pix of all the kids. Here's Justus & Meagan. Stay tuned for the other kids.

Happy Birthday, Allison!!!!!!!

2008-10-27T20:27:00.000-07:00

Well, she has arrived-Allison turned 13 last week. Zach & I now have 2 teenagers in the house.
Allison has had a great week. Last Thursday we had a special dinner for her, and she had a photo shoot with Meagan. Then the next day Allison & I did some mother-daughter shopping, that was really fun. Now tonight Meagan planned a sisterly slumber party to celebrate Allison's birthday. She surprised Allison with a formal dinner-there was lots of giggling and fun!

Bithday Pix

2008-10-27T20:00:00.000-07:00

Meagan played photographer, and took 116 pictures of Allison-here are a few.

Celebrity Baby

2008-10-27T18:29:00.000-07:00

Most of you know Diane Bounds. And if you know Diane you also know she's famous for wearing out of the ordinary clothes. Diane bought this adorable little outfit for Summer. Summer wore it last Sunday to church, and you would have thought she was a little celeb. Everyone who came by her had to say how adorable she was. She was a little chip off the old Diane block, at least for the day:)

First Solids

2008-10-27T14:46:00.000-07:00

About a week ago Summer ate rice cereal for the first time. She was very unsure about this new taste & texture. She got about half of it down, the other half she spit back out at me:)

Babies Are Fun

2008-10-10T14:38:00.000-07:00

5th Place at the Fair

2008-10-08T13:13:00.000-07:00

Just thought I'd let everyone know that Meagan entered an adorable picture of Gretch at the fair and won 5th place. There were quite a few entries. The picture was suppose to show our western heritage, and her picture was country but not really western. So we were really excited about her placing!

Happy Birthday Nina & Gretchen!!

2008-10-06T11:00:00.000-07:00

Last night me celebrated Nina's 7th & Gretchen's 4th birthdays. We went to the park and had lots of food,friends and fun. Jacey Perryman made the girls beautiful princess cake. We had a pinata and water balloons. The kids had a blast and got way too many toys and too much candy. But I guess birthdays only come once a year. Zach & I got the girls a large dollhouse, a couple of barbies, and clothes. Nina & Gretch played with those dolls and dollhouse all day last Saturday, literally 10 hours. Nina said she loved every single thing we got her. They were so excited about their new toys-it was worth the expense to see their eyes so lit up!

God's Craftmanship

2008-09-26T12:16:00.000-07:00

It's no secret that Summer was a surprise baby. And what an adorable, precious gift she is from the Lord. She's a happy baby, unless she's in the car. She'll flash anyone a flirty smile, if they'll just take time talk to her. But I've got to admit I'm in love with her blue eyes. Coming from a family where everyone has brown eyes it's pretty neat for me to have 3 children with light eyes. Even my brown eyed children have 3-different color browns. Isn't it amazing that our God creates each individual so unique. I could write a very long paragraph on all the amazing talents and gifts my children have, but you would just think I'm very biased. I am, but every word would be true. One neat thing about having a large family is you can see up close how amazing God's craftmanship is.

Cuddle & Play

2008-09-19T18:45:00.000-07:00

Vanessa posted such a sweet picture of her holding her cuddly little Noah. So I thought I'd post me with my little cuddle muffin. And here's Zach & Summer having a little daddy and daughter time.
And man, I've just got to admit (not that I'm biased or anything), but isn't she a cute little munchkin?!!

Ike's Aftermath

2008-09-19T12:01:00.000-07:00

The damage from Ike is really extensive for some of our friends and loved ones. My sister and brother-in-law had the roof taken off of half of their apartment building. They lost alot out of their 2 bedrooms. Many others had less substantial damage like Billy and Nicole. This is a picture of the pine tree in their front yard that was uprooted. But Jeff & Dana suffered the worst. They had extensive flooding. Zach talked to Jeff this morning, and Jeff said he thinks they lost everything. Those who are back home are still without power. Please pray for everyone down there. Ike was a tough one.

More Evacuees

2008-09-13T13:18:00.000-07:00

Hurricane Ike has forced many of our friends and family to evacuate again. For some, this is the second time in the last 3 weeks. Ike made landfall early this morning around Galveston. We've felt it's strong winds here in the Waco area. At this time no one is allowed back in the Beaumont-Pt. Arthur areas. We know there are lots of power lines down. It will be several days before all the damage can really be assessed. We have our good friend Nicole Meche here with her two kiddos. Her husband Billy stayed at their house in Beaumont. He told her a pine tree in their front yard was uprooted and fell into the street. Thank God it didn't fall on their house. Hopefully this will all be over soon and everyone can go back home and start the clean up process. We hope and pray that this hurricane season is about over.
Here's all of our kids playing in Ike's rain, while Nicole checks the computer for updates.

School Days

2008-09-11T14:49:00.000-07:00

Here are a couple of pix of Meagan, Allison & Nina enjoying what we call the "Swing Thing" at the
Mennonite school. I bring our homeschooled kids up to the school about once a week during recess, to play and socialize. I think at the end of this 3rd week that we're all getting use to our new schedule and responsibilities. This third picture is of the girls with their friend Greta Miller. Greta's parents own the bakery where Meagan has worked the past couple of years. Greta has been a good friend to Allison especially since school has started. She's been helping Allison learn the ropes. Tonight Greta's spending the night and going to Thurs. night volleyball with our family. I'm sure they'll have fun.

Two Too Many

2008-09-08T14:40:00.000-07:00

At the moment we have two too many puppies. Our boxer Zinnia had puppies. We had 3 and have sold one, but these two little orphans are up for sale. But until they sell, the kids are having a ball having puppies around. Here are the girls with Rosebud & Butterball.

Growing

2008-09-08T11:35:00.000-07:00

Here's the baby princess at 2 1/2 mon. with the beautiful blanket Sheila made for her.
Isn't she cute?!!

Update...

2008-09-02T10:51:00.000-07:00

Hurricane Gustav took a north-westerly direction after making landfall on Monday, sparing Sulphur, LA and the Port Arthur areas. We got word today that those areas are now open for residents to return home. We are very thankful our family was spared this hurricane.

Evacuees!!

2008-09-01T07:40:00.000-07:00

Our little cabin has residents at the moment. Hurricane Gustav forced my in-laws to come for a visit. The hurricane is arriving on the Louisiana coast today and continuing (probably) down the Loiusiana coast and into Texas by tomorrow. My side of the family already had Labor day plans in San Antonio, so they're there now. But if the hurricane stalls too much, they'll be headed to Waco.
Please pray that the storm won't wreak too much havoc, and our families will be able to go home soon.

World Famous Pianist - Not!

2008-08-29T10:42:00.000-07:00

Hi it's Meagan,okay- so I'm not famous yet, but I'm working on it. Tabby Hymer just moved down from Arkansas. She's an awesome piano teacher(she also teaches voice and violin) so I recently started lessons with her. Actually, I'm not very good at playing the piano at all, but hopefully she'll help me with that. So maybe one day you can look for me at Branson!(that was a joke). But hey, with Tabby, who knows. . .

Peter Pan

2008-08-29T10:27:00.000-07:00

Here's Justus with one of his favorite things in the world-right now, his Peter Pan hat.
Justus attended a month long camp at Baylor this summer, and each week they had a dress up day for the kids. One week it was Disney characters. Justus wanted to be Peter Pan, so with my feeble sewing skills I made a Peter Pan costume. When it was done I thought it was OK, but Justus thought it was great, especially the hat. He wore that hat literally everyday for the next month!
I'm so glad I made it for him. I don't think either one of us will ever forget that hat.

Cool New Baby Products

2008-08-29T10:13:00.000-07:00

Here's the baby princess in her new Bumbo that Deanna bought for her.
When Deanna first showed me the Bumbo I thought it was for the bath tub.
She then had to explain that this is a hot new product in the baby world. You just set the baby in it and it's light weight so you can move it from room to room. The other cool new thing I love right now is my sling (you can see a picture of it on Vanessa's blog) Boy,
baby products sure have improved over the last 15 yrs!

Progress: Slow but Sure

2008-08-26T17:09:00.000-07:00

Dana requested picts of the house. Here's one of the outside. Hopefully in Sept. we can put the hardy plank on the outside of the house and take down those hideous scaffolds. The other pict is of my new kitchen. Zach recently had granite countertops installed. Quite an upgrade from the plywood ones I had for awhile.

The Baby Princess

2008-08-26T15:16:00.001-07:00

Here's Gretch with the Baby Princess-Gretchen's name for Summer.
Summer is almost 2 months now, and is smiling on a regular basis.
She has the whole family wrapped around her tiny finger. People say
you couldn't possibly love the 6th child as much as the first. All I can say
is that person has never had 6 children.

2008-08-26T14:16:00.000-07:00

Inspired...
Vanessa's blogging has inspired me to create a blog myself. Since we live away from all family,
I thought it would be nice to keep everyone updated on the happenings out here on the prairie:)
Our kids are growing up on us at a very fast pace, for those of you who don't see them often -
you miss a lot. Hopefully, by the creation of this blog, you all will have a peek in to life on the prairie.