Happy New Year!!

MySpace Layouts!It has not been a great "posting" year. I've not posted as much information as in the past. I blame it on my school blog and Facebook!! ;-)

We are blessed to have had such a great year. Our family has been well, with the exception of minor surgery on Angel's shoulder. God is good to us.

The theme for our new year is growth. We hope to grow closer as a family. We also pray for spiritual growth. Angel is planning on retirement this year. Matthew will finish off his final year at school with Mom and will start MIDDLE SCHOOL in the Fall! Lots of changes will hit this year. We hope that through the changes we can grow closer as a family. Friendships throughout the years will grow to be more important. Your prayers are requested in reaching our goal.

Our prayer is that we will have many more blessing and be blessings to others throughout the new year.

Hope all of our friends and family members have made many memories this year as we have and look forward to many more wonderful days ahead. Happy New Year!!
Love,
The Soto Family

Savannah Family Visit

Matthew's Orff Concert- Nov. 1 and Halloween Activities

Final Days of September

Here it is...the final days of September and we've not posted once the entire month! Can you believe how crazy school makes our lives? We're hoping life begins to settle down to a happy routine soon.

Friends, we hope you remember us in your prayers. We miss spending time having fun with our friends. We hope to reconnect soon with many of you.

Back to School

It is that bitter-sweet time of year. Time to say goodbye to late nights and even later mornings! It seems that just when we are able to sleep in, we have to retrain our sleeping patterns to get up at the crack of dawn and go to bed while the sun is still shining outside. (If you have children, you know that this is no unusual feat!)

Our oldest child will be starting MIDDLE SCHOOL! Where have the years gone? She will be in school, for the FIRST time, without her Momma right down the hallway. I feel like that parent who is dropping their first child off at Kindergarten. I've never experienced that feeling of non-control since for all of these years she has skipped right down to the end of the hall, leaving me with the knowledge that I could peek through her classroom door to make sure she is doing her best. Please send prayers our way so I can not be such an emotional WRECK during this time of gradual release.

I can take relief in the fact that our youngest continues to be right down the hall for one more year. He will be able to enjoy some quality Momma time each morning and afternoon. It will be just the two of us! What a blessing to be able to spend this time with this child who I've studied and read ALL of Dobson's books in reference to his STRONG WILL. This time will be treasured in understanding his heart and soul more deeply, which we hope will releave his stubborn streak toward that bend in behavior.

I've heard that being strong willed is a GOOD thing, especially later on in life. Raising kids is NOT easy, but time sure flies when it comes to kids growing up! We ask for God's blessings in abundance in our lives and our children's.

Gratitude Campaign

One of our friends sent us this movie.

Morgan's DVD

God Bless the USA

We would like to take this opportunity to pause and say a prayer for all of our friends and family who are serving or have served in the military. We know that freedom isn't free and so many have given their lives so that we can enjoy the freedoms that we sometimes take for granted.

God bless you and your family during this lovely holiday weekend! Here are a few interesting quotes we thought you might enjoy.

"Ask not what your country can do for you; ask what you can do for your country."
-John F. Kennedy (JFK)

This nation will remain the land of the free only so long as it is the home of the brave. ~Elmer Davis

You have to love a nation that celebrates its independence every July 4, not with a parade of guns, tanks, and soldiers who file by the White House in a show of strength and muscle, but with family picnics where kids throw Frisbees, the potato salad gets iffy, and the flies die from happiness. You may think you have overeaten, but it is patriotism. ~Erma Bombeck

The United States is the only country with a known birthday. ~James G. Blaine

Those who deny freedom to others deserve it not for themselves. ~Abraham Lincoln

How important it is for us to recognize and celebrate our heroes and she-roes! ~Maya Angelou

My God! How little do my countrymen know what precious blessings they are in possession of, and which no other people on earth enjoy! ~Thomas Jefferson

July 4th Picnic with our sweet neighbors

July 4th~ Independence Day